EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY!

Elul 16, 5783 / September 1-2, 2023

Parashat Ki Tavo
Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)

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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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Barukh Dayan Emet. This d'var torah is offered in memory of Barbara Mazo, longtime member of Temple B'nai Hayim, who passed away on Sunday. The funeral will take place on Friday, September 1, at 11:30 AM, at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - her memory is a blessing.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. Please Note: NO Lunch and Learn until September 11. Happy Labor Day!
We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On Monday, September 11, we'll be at BT Shabbat 115b, page 184 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "תנו רבנן ויהי בנסוע הארון"  - 'Our Rabbis taught:" And it came to pass, when the ark set forward...”'

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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Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
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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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Rosh Hashanah is two weeks from this Shabbat! Please submit your Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! And your Book of Remembrance forms! And check your mail for our High Holy Day bulletin!
 
My Cheshbon Hanefesh Worksheet 5784 Edition is now available at my blog:
https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2023/08/cheshbon-hanefesh-worksheet-personal.html  
 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY!

"This very day the Lord your God commands you to perform these decrees and statutes; and you shall observe and do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 26:16

Rashi (citing Tanchuma): Every day they should seem new in your eyes, as though on that day you had been commanded concerning them.

"Moses and the priests, the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, 'Take heed and listen, Israel; this very day you have become a people to the Lord your God.'" Deuteronomy 27:9

Rashi (citing B.T. Berakhot): Every day it should seem in your eyes as though today you enter into the covenant with Him.

Moses Pleading with Israel, the Providence Lithograph Company, 1907. Wikimedia

In my view, one of the very wonderful aspects of Judaism is that one need not dwell on the past in order to live the good life. It is true that one must do teshuvah, repentance or turning oneself around, with both God and human beings in order to ultimately achieve a life of goodness. Having done so, however, one is not required to continue beating oneself forever. Rashi tells us that the commandments and the covenant, and by extension, all of the Torah, are given to us anew, every day. That is a reason often given for the language of the blessings recited before and after reading the Torah - "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who gives the Torah." It seems to have almost a Zen quality to it - we need to live in the "now". The past is ... past. We remember it, we learn from it, we improve ourselves, we move onward.

What does not have a Zen quality is the Torah's view of the future. Year in, year out, the holy days come and go. Week in, week out, Shabbat comes and goes. "Thou shalt ..." "Thou shalt not ..." "And it shall be that on that day, you will ...." The Torah anticipates that at some point in the future, we will be better than we are now. We will be more learned, more observant, more experienced, more spiritual - closer to God and our fellow human beings in every way. And we will always have opportunities to become so - literally, every day.

The philosopher Franz Rosenzweig said that, when asked whether we observe any particular mitzvah, we should answer either "yes" or "not yet". What we do (or fail to do) now has implications for the future, but it does not necessarily determine the future. But when is the best time to start? You already know the answer to that - "this very day"!

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple 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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