Adar 1, 5785 / February 28 - March 1, 2025
Parashat T'rumah
Torah: Exodus 25:1 - 27:19
Aliyah 7 (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh): Numbers 28:9-15
Maftir (Shabbat Shekalim): Exodus 30:11-16
Haftarah: 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 - 12:17 (Sephardim); some congregations add Isaiah 66:1, 66:23-24 for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Mildred Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Monday, Adar 3. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - her memory is a blessing.
This d’var torah is offered in honor of the women of Temple B'nai Hayim on Shabbat Rosh Chodesh.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On March 3, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Vol. 3, Yevamot, p. 32 (BT Yevamot 6a):
"...תניא איש אמו ואביו תיראו"
"We are taught in a Baraitha Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father ...'"
https://hebrewbooks.org/9632
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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EXPLORING THE GARDEN
"And you will make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering of the sanctuary; you shall make eleven curtains.” Exodus 26:7
Rabbi Yitzchak Nissenboim offers the following comment: “All the beauty of the sanctuary was inside – gold-covered beams, blue and scarlet curtains, gold vessels with precious stones, etc. But outside was a covering of simple goats’ hair. This is to teach us that one’s principal beauty should remain inside, with no conspicuous display of one’s wealth, so that jealousy and hatred will not be aroused.”
It is curious that he sees wealth as a form of beauty, although both wealth and physical beauty can be the objects of jealousy and hatred. What I see here is something quite different. There is the idea that what lies within a person is the true essence – if physical beauty, plainness, and ugliness, all of which are social/cultural constructs, are only skin deep, then looks can be deceiving. Outward appearance gives no indication of the depths of personality, intelligence and character - they do not necessarily manifest themselves on the surface.
Ark of the Covenant (representation) - George Washington Masonic National Memorial
As with people, so also with the Torah. We might read verses about the design of the sanctuary and wonder what any of this has to do with us in our modern world. Not every verse of the Torah is immediately uplifting. The externalities, the plain meaning of the text may do little to motivate us, or charge our spiritual batteries.
The Rabbis used the word “pardes” (an ancient Persian word for a walled garden, the root of the word “paradise”) as an acronym to describe the Torah and its depths – P’shat (simple or obvious meaning), Remez (hint, allegory), D’rash (drawn out, homiletic) and Sod (secret, mystical). Peeling away the layers (the method used above, millennia before Shrek) allows one to explore and enjoy the complexities of Torah – and of our fellow human beings!
The inner beauties can be found – if we dig deeply and long enough. And getting to know more on the way is just as enjoyable and rewarding.
Be Happy – It’s Adar! Shabbat Shalom!
HaRav HaGa'on HaTzaddik 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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To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah, send an email to ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading "Dedicate Cyber Torah" and provide details in the message body.
To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah, send an email to ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading "Dedicate Cyber Torah" and provide details in the message body.
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