Parashat Ki Tisa
Adar Harishon 22, 5784 / March 1-2, 2024
Torah: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - 1 Kings 18:1-39; Sephardim - 1 Kings 18:20-39
Torah: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - 1 Kings 18:1-39; Sephardim - 1 Kings 18:20-39
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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the Hamas terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.
This d'var torah is offered in memory of all the victims of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. Y’hi zikhronam liv’rakhah – May their memories be a blessing. And may the memory of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah and all their supporters be forever erased.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, March 4, we'll be at BT Shabbat 139a, page 203 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "... אמר רב פא אי בטלי יהירי" - "R. Papa said: 'When the haughty will cease to exist ....'”
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, March 4, we'll be at BT Shabbat 139a, page 203 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 1 – "... אמר רב פא אי בטלי יהירי" - "R. Papa said: 'When the haughty will cease to exist ....'”
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
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/
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com
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!משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה - With the beginning of Adar, we increase joy! (BT Ta'anit 29a)
HERE'S A LITTLE PURIM TORAH CONTEST
As this is a Jewish Leap Year, it raises a question, and the person who gives me whatever I believe to be the best answer will be awarded one slightly used bottle of slivovitz (the decision of the judge and the amount of slivovitz he drinks from the bottle first are in his sole discretion and are final): Since we are instructed by our rabbis to be joyful in Adar, and Adar is twice as long this year, does that mean that we have twice as much joy this year than in non-leap years, or, does it mean that on any given day in the months of Adar, we are only half as joyful as we would have been in a non-leap year because our joy must be spread over twice as many days? There is no right or wrong answer! Be (very) creative with proof texts!
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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MAKING ROOM IN SPACE AND TIME FOR SHABBAT
"And the Children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat; to do the Shabbat for all their generations; it is an eternal covenant between Me and the Children of Israel; a sign forever ..." Exodus 31:16-17
This passage should be familiar. We chant it Friday evening during the Shabbat Ma’ariv service, and again Shabbat morning at kiddush.
Rebbe S. A. Taub of Modzhitz asks, “Why is Shabbat stated twice?” He suggests that the answer is found in the B. Talmud Shabbat 118b: “If Israel would only keep two consecutive Shabbatot according to their laws, they would be instantly redeemed.” That is an awesome reason to keep Shabbat! But he thinks there is another answer as well.
"And the Children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat; to do the Shabbat for all their generations; it is an eternal covenant between Me and the Children of Israel; a sign forever ..." Exodus 31:16-17
This passage should be familiar. We chant it Friday evening during the Shabbat Ma’ariv service, and again Shabbat morning at kiddush.
Rebbe S. A. Taub of Modzhitz asks, “Why is Shabbat stated twice?” He suggests that the answer is found in the B. Talmud Shabbat 118b: “If Israel would only keep two consecutive Shabbatot according to their laws, they would be instantly redeemed.” That is an awesome reason to keep Shabbat! But he thinks there is another answer as well.
He says that there are two unique dimensions to Shabbat. One is sitting and doing nothing - resting, refraining from any prohibited activities, and the like. That is “keeping”, or “observing” Shabbat. The second is actually doing something - studying Torah, eating a festive meal, singing z’mirot, and so forth. That is “doing”, or “making” Shabbat.
All of this observing and doing, though, has to be done not only in accordance with the positive and negative commandments concerning activity, but also within a specific framework of time. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his book “The Sabbath”, tells us that our daily lives are all about the physical world - “building castles in space”, he calls it. But Shabbat is metaphysical - by refraining from work for twenty-five hours, we are actually building “castles in time”. By observing Shabbat and doing Shabbat, we transcend the physical world, putting us somewhere else on the space-time continuum – or taking us beyond it altogether. The Rabbis say that, by “keeping” and “doing” this particular covenant with God, we get a taste of eternity now. Try it - you’ll like it.
All of this observing and doing, though, has to be done not only in accordance with the positive and negative commandments concerning activity, but also within a specific framework of time. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his book “The Sabbath”, tells us that our daily lives are all about the physical world - “building castles in space”, he calls it. But Shabbat is metaphysical - by refraining from work for twenty-five hours, we are actually building “castles in time”. By observing Shabbat and doing Shabbat, we transcend the physical world, putting us somewhere else on the space-time continuum – or taking us beyond it altogether. The Rabbis say that, by “keeping” and “doing” this particular covenant with God, we get a taste of eternity now. Try it - you’ll like it.
Keep Shabbat! Do Shabbat! Live Shabbat!
Shabbat Shalom!
HaRav HaGa’on Abba Reuven ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita
Av Beis Din – Chelm
Slivovitz Taste Tester
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT Ta’anit 29a
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Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Av Beis Din – Chelm
Slivovitz Taste Tester
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה
From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.
BT Ta’anit 29a
------------------------------------------------------
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
