DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER!

Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)

Torah: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10

Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34

Adar 11, 5783 / March 3-4, 2023

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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 MARCH 7.
On March 14, we'll be at BT Shabbat 55b, page 145 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 -  "...מיתיבי ד' מתו בעטיו של נחש" - "It is taught in a Baraitha - Four died in consequence of the instigation of the serpent” 
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630 
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria: 
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents  

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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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DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER!

"And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulder pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the Children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a remembrance... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:12, 29

The Breastplate of the High Priest (illustration from the 1905–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia)

"Remember (zakhor) what Amalek did to you, on the way when you were leaving Egypt ... you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens - don't forget!" Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (the maftir for this Shabbat - Shabbat Zakhor)

“Memory is redemption; forgetting is exile.” Baal Shem Tov to Exodus 28:12

There are so many ways to take the short but deep statement of the Besht – the Baal Shem Tov. At one level, I have often used his statement at shivah minyanim to teach that, by remembering those who have passed on, we keep them alive in a meaningful way – if we forget them, it is as if they never lived. In remembering, we redeem them from oblivion.

It is worth noting that, among the Hasidic followers of the Besht, and more generally within the Jewish mystical tradition, there is the concept that every time a Jew observes a mitzvah, it is an act of tikkun olam – of restoring a fractured world to its ideal state. Thus, we might understand the Besht in this way – if we remember to observe the mitzvot, we redeem ourselves and our people – maybe even the entire world; if we forget, then we exile ourselves from our people and our tradition, and contribute nothing to tikkun olam.

One might finally see the Torah and the Besht as the basis for George Santayana’s saying: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This teaches us the power of memory, and the danger of forgetting. We Jews remember the baseless hatred of Amalek, Haman, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Almohades, Cossacks, Nazis and Communists – among others. American Jews have been at the forefront of exposing the genocidal atrocities against the Rohingya people, as they have been concerning Darfur. We remember what happens when others want to forget – and we remind the world – sometimes at great sacrifice. Because we are commanded to remember.

Who would have thought that “merely” remembering takes on redemptive qualities for us all.

Shabbat Shalom! Purim Sameach!

HaRav Haga'on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel, Shlita

Rosh Yeshivah - Shlabodkieville Bartender Academy

Av Beis Din Chelm

משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה

From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.

BT Ta’anit 29a

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