Parashat Lekh L'kha
Cheshvan 11, 5783 / November 4-5, 2022
Torah Reading - Genesis 12:1 - 17:27
Haftarah - Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Stana Cooper, who passed away on Saturday night. Funeral/shivah private out of state. The community extends condolences to Stana's partner, Jack Howland. Y’hi zekherah liv’rakhah – Her memory is a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
NO Lunch and Learn on November 8. We will meet on November 1.
On November 1, we'll be at BT Shabbat 28b - page 114 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 -
"...מאי הוי עלה דתחש" - "What remains of the discussion regarding the so-called badger (Tachash)..."
Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Cheshvan 11, 5783 / November 4-5, 2022
Torah Reading - Genesis 12:1 - 17:27
Haftarah - Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Stana Cooper, who passed away on Saturday night. Funeral/shivah private out of state. The community extends condolences to Stana's partner, Jack Howland. Y’hi zekherah liv’rakhah – Her memory is a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
NO Lunch and Learn on November 8. We will meet on November 1.
On November 1, we'll be at BT Shabbat 28b - page 114 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 -
"...מאי הוי עלה דתחש" - "What remains of the discussion regarding the so-called badger (Tachash)..."
Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
-----------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at:
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com
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Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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MUTUAL BENEFIT
"Then the Lord said to Avram, 'Get yourself from your land, from your community, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.'...So Avram went as the Lord had told him..." Genesis 12:1, 4
Rashi: "Go for yourself" - for your own benefit and your own good.
According to Rashi, God was convincing Avram (later to become Avraham) to go to Canaan because of the benefit he would receive - to become a great nation and to be blessed (v. 2).
Abram's Journey from Ur to Canaan (1850 painting by József Molnár)
But the S'fat Emet, Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Ger, disagrees. He says that this was the first of ten tests of Avram. It wouldn't be much of a test if he received a benefit for listening to God. Rather, Avram went solely because he was commanded to, without thinking of the benefit. Thus, the act of going to Canaan was not contaminated by selfish motives.
Very few of us are as pure of heart as the Avram conceived by the S'fat Emet. Everyone wants to know "what's in it for me?" If I am to spend time and/or money, what is the payoff? This cost-benefit analysis is cynical, to say the least. But it need not be so.
Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are not simply for the benefit of the recipients; we make our world a better place for ourselves and for our children when we reduce suffering and strife, even though tzedakah has a cost. The same is true for cleaning up the environment, regardless of the "price". Similarly, doing work for the synagogue community benefits everyone, including the one who does the work.
The answer, then, is that doing what God asks of us is always beneficial to us, even when it might seem to be the opposite. The benefits of carrying out God's word can be physically and spiritually uplifting, for ourselves, for those around us, even the whole world! Carry out God's word, and join the mutual benefit society.
Shabbat Shalom Uv'rakhah!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi EmeritusTemple B’nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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