YOU CAN’T GIVE UP!

Tishrei 8, 5783 / September 22-23, 2023
Parashat Ha'azinu (Shabbat Shuvah) 
Torah Reading: Deuteronomy 32:1-52
Haftarah (Shabbat Shuvah): Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-27
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This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Sidney Schugar, whose yahrzeit falls on Yom Kippur. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - his memory is a blessing.
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My Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Day 2 is available at my blog. You can view it here:

https://rav-rich.blogspot.com/2023/09/this-is-my-sermon-for-second-day-of.html 

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 
We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov. On Monday, October 2, we'll be at BT Shabbat 117b, page 186 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "...אמר רב חסדא לעולם ישכים אדם"  - "R. Chisda said: 'A man shall always rise early...'"
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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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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YOU CAN’T GIVE UP!
 
“For from afar, you will see the land, but you will not come there, to the land I am giving the children of Israel.” Deuteronomy 32:52
 
Rabbi Tarfon taught: “It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task; neither are you free to refrain from it.” Avot 2:16

The Death of Moses, Deuteronomy 34:1-12. Illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company. Wikimedia

Moses already knows he is going to die – before he is able to completely accomplish the assignment he had been given forty years before – leading the Israelites into what will thereafter be known as the Land of Israel. Yet, even to his dying day, he continues to carry out his duties as the leader of the Israelites, still asking God to permit him to go into the land with them. Once he knew he would not be allowed, he didn’t throw in the towel – he didn’t say, “Well, there’s no further reason to do this anymore, since I can’t finish the job.”
 
That’s how it is to be a Jew – that’s how it is for every human being. It’s up to every one of us to strive to accomplish our work and to fulfill our obligations for as long as we are able. Others will pick up where we have left off. Moses knew that Joshua would take up the mantle of leadership afterward – that’s one of the reasons he continued to serve as Joshua’s mentor. Similarly, we should all know that if we give up on the holy enterprise of living lives of meaning and goodness, our children and our community might well assume that there is no point to that task at all – pursuing the work means it will continue after us.
 
Another way to understand Rabbi Tarfon is this: The Israelites’ release from Egyptian bondage created the freedom to act on, rather than to reject, the responsibility to willingly serve others. And Moses was their model to follow.
 
Don’t give up!

Yom Kippur begins Sunday evening - candle lighting and fast begin at 6:23 PM (PDT) in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom and Tzom Mashma'uti - A Meaningful Fast.

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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