THIS IS AWESOME!

Parashat Vayeilekh

Shabbat Shuvah - The Sabbath of Return

Torah: Deuteronomy 31:1-30

Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20

Tishrei 5, 5786 / September 26-27, 2025

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Tashlikh – This Sunday, September 28, 10:00 am at Los Encinos State Park – 16756 Moorpark St., Encino. PLEASE DO NOT BRING BREADCRUMBS. Birdseed will be provided. But please do bring snacks/drinks for yourself, and maybe a shofar!

Yom Kippur begins Wednesday evening! Kol Nidrei Service is at 5:45 pm SHARP. If you have not already done so, please submit your Membership/High Holy Day forms ASAP! Or call the synagogue office!

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my uncle, Sidney Schugar, z'l, whose yahrzeit falls on Thursday, Tishrei 10 - Yom Kippur. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – his memory is a blessing.

This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah and a speedy and safe return of all the hostages being held by Hamas.

This d’var torah is offered for an end to the hunger crisis in Gaza.

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 

On September 29, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Yevamot, p. 42 (BT Yevamot 63a) - 

' ...וא"ר אלעזר עתידין'  - "Rabbi Elazar also said: 'In the future...'"

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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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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THIS IS AWESOME!

“And that their children who have not known may hear and learn to fear (to hold in awe) the Lord your God, all the days you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.” Deuteronomy 31:13

The word translated as “to fear”, l’yira, might also be translated as “to hold in awe”. Indeed, these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as “Yamim Nora’im” - the Days of Awe, not the Days of Fear, even though nora'im and yira share the same root. 

Note 1: The verses immediately preceding our verse instruct all the Jewish people to gather together to hear the reading of the Torah - to learn how to practice Judaism. We do this now in the synagogue, on Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays, New Moons and Holy Days.

Note 2: Since the dispersion following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. until 1948, few Jews physically lived in the Land of Israel - i.e., “over the Jordan” - but all lived there spiritually. Yet, they continued, even to today, even though most Jews still do not live in the Land of Israel, to hold God in awe and to hear and to learn, and to practice Judaism. I want to suggest that it is not only God that is awesome, but that the verses mean to tell us that the Torah and Judaism as we know it (and as it is still developing) are also awesome! Our ancestors knew this – and so should we all!

The best way, perhaps the only way, to hear and learn how to practice awesome Judaism is to come together, in synagogues and in study halls and in living rooms, and study Torah. We don’t have to be physically "over the Jordan", in the Land of Israel; we can be anywhere, and these days, thanks to the internet, we don’t even have to be in the same time zone, let alone the same room.

Go to a synagogue; join a Jewish learning program; gather together with other Jews and experience the awesomeness of it all!

Shabbat Shalom! Wishing you a g’mar chatimah tovah umetukah - May you be completely sealed for a good and sweet new year!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B'nai Hayim

הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם

Who is wise?  The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

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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

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ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

Parashat Nitzavim

Torah: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20

Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9 (Seventh Haftarah of Consolation)

Elul 27, 5785 / September 19-20, 2025

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ROSH HASHANAH starts this Monday evening, September 22! Happy Birthday to the world! Happy rebirth to us all!

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This d'var torah is offered in loving memory of my grandmother, Cora Slome, z'l, whose yahrzeit falls on Sunday, Elul 28. Y’hi zikhronah liv’rakhah – her memory is a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Rabbi Meier Schimmel, z'l, whose yahrzeit falls on Friday, Elul 26. Y’hi zikhro liv’rakhah – his memory is a blessing.

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 

NO LUNCH AND LEARN on September 22.

On September 29, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Yevamot, p. 42 (BT Yevamot 63a) - 

' ...וא"ר אלעזר עתידין'  - "Rabbi Elazar also said: 'In the future...'"

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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ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

These final few days leading up to Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe and through Yom Kippur ought to be a time of introspection and repentance. Jewish tradition teaches that during this time, we should repent and make amends for all the wrongs we have done, to God, to our relatives, to our friends, to everyone with whom we have a relationship. The Hebrew word for repentance is "teshuvah". The root of this word, "shuv", appears seven times in our parashah, at Deuteronomy 30:1-10. The word connotes repentance, turning, returning, turning around, and recalling. It has active and reflexive forms.

"... and you shall recall (v'hasheivota) them to your mind ..." 30:1

"...and you shall return (v'shavta) to the Lord your God ..." 30:2

"...and the Lord your God will return (v'shav) your captivity and have compassion upon you, and will return (v'shav) and gather you from all the peoples ..." 30:3

"...and you shall return (tashuv) and hearken to the voice of the Lord ..." 30:8

"... for the Lord will return (yashuv) to rejoice over you for good ..." 30:9

"... if you turn (tashuv) to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." 30:10

R. Shlomo of Radomsk once asked, ‘if the Torah states in verse two that "you shall return to the Lord your God", implying repentance, why does it say so again in verse eight?’ He answers that before a person begins to repent, he doesn't even know what offenses he has committed - he doesn't know what he doesn't know. Only after the first steps of teshuvah, through the process of cheshbon hanefesh (accounting of the soul) does one realize the enormity of their wrongs. So, one begins to ascend, step by step, in spiritual development. It's not a one-shot deal.

The point of this is not to afflict one’s soul, though that might be a small consequence of it, but to return oneself to the good life. What is the good life? It’s a life of goodness, purpose, meaning, ethics, values, service, loyalty, duty – in short, virtuousness without self-righteousness. Each of us, it seems, is a self-improvement project.

Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? What R. Shlomo doesn't say, perhaps because it was obvious to him, is the role that God plays in all of this. It's a two-way conversation. We turn toward God; God turns toward us. We move closer to God; God moves closer to us. We repent; God draws us into greater repentance. And repentance, teshuvah, turning ourselves around, leads us to the good life.

How do we start? The answer is found in the concluding sentence of "Etz Chaim", recited at the conclusion of every Torah service. "Bring us back (hashiveinu), Lord, to You, and we will return (v'nashuvah); renew our days as of old." Lamentations 5:21. We seriously ask God to help us repent, and we are on our way!

Shabbat Shalom! 

L'shanah Tovah Umetukah Tikateivu V'tichateimu - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet new year!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim

הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם

Who is wise?  The one who learns from every person.

Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1

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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 

REJOICE IN THEIR REJOICING

Parashat Ki Tavo

Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (6th haftarah of consolation)

Elul 20, 5785 / September 12-13, 2025

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ROSH HASHANAH begins the evening of Monday, September 22! And TBH's Selichot service in preparation for the High Holy Days is this Saturday evening, September 13, at 7:45 PM in person and on Zoom.

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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah and a speedy and safe return of all the hostages being held by Hamas.

This d’var torah is offered for an end to the hunger crisis in Gaza.

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 

On September 15, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Yevamot, p. 42 (BT Yevamot 63a) - 

' ...וא"ר אלעזר עתידין'  - "Rabbi Elazar also said: 'In the future...'"

NO LUNCH AND LEARN on September 22.

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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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

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REJOICE IN THEIR REJOICING

“¹¹And you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you, and to your house - you, and the Levite, and the stranger who is in the midst of you. ¹²When you have concluded tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be satisfied. ¹³You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have put away the holy thing out of my house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me: I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them: ¹⁴I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away of it while unclean, nor given of it for the dead: I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.’” Deuteronomy 26:11-14

 
Rashi on verse 14: “I have rejoiced and caused others to rejoice.”

Image courtesy ariesjay on Pixabay

 
The Torah commentary Mikra Meforash makes this comment on Rashi: “All of the Torah is encompassed in the commandment, ‘You shall love your fellow as yourself.’ (referencing Rabbi Akiva’s dictum in Sifra Kedoshim) By helping others to rejoice, one fulfills this commandment, and is thus able to say, ‘I have done according to all that You have commanded me.’”
 
The third- and sixth-year tithe (10%) ma’aser shlishi (the third tithe) is also known as ma’aser ani – the tithe for the poor. With the destruction of the Temple, the two other agricultural tithes fell away, but ma’aser ani morphed into the rabbinic commandment of ma’aser kesafim – an annual tithe of money income. It is also more commonly known as the basis of tzedakah – charity, derived from tzedek - justice.

Setting aside 10% of one’s income (Maimonides says 20%) and donating it as tzedakah for the poor allows them to rejoice, to eat, and to be satisfied. In doing so, one fulfills what Rabbi Akiva called “the fundamental principle of the Torah” – loving one’s fellow as oneself.
 
If you are in a position to give tzedakah, rejoice in that happy status – but first, fulfill that central commandment - show your love and dedication to others by causing them to rejoice - with you.
 

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim

שְׁתִיקָה כְּהוֹדָאָה דָמְיָא

Silence is like consent. 

BT Yevamot 87b

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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 
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WHO IS AMALEK?

Parashat Ki Tetze
Elul 13, 5785 / September 5-6, 2025
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)
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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah and a speedy and safe return of all the hostages being held by Hamas.

This d’var torah is offered for an end to the hunger crisis in Gaza.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. 

On September 8, we'll be at Ein Ya'akov Yevamot, p. 39 (BT Yevamot 49b) - 

 '... תניא בן עזאי אומר' - "We are taught that Ben Azai says..."

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  
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

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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Query: Who or what is Amalek?

Answer: More people than you might think.

 
This week’s parashah contains a large number (74 according to Jewish tradition, the most of any parashah) of seemingly unrelated mitzvot. These include: restraints on a warrior who captures a woman in battle; inheritance rights; the rebellious son; returning lost objects; safety measures at home; not mixing species in the field or in the yoke; punishments for rape and adultery, and false accusations thereof; rules of marriage and divorce; caring for work animals; feeding and paying human workers; prohibiting mistreatment of debtors; and, honest weights and measures.
 
The parashah then concludes with these verses:
 
“For whoever does these things, whoever perpetrates such injustice, is an abomination to the Lord, your God. (emphasis mine) You shall remember what Amalekites did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt, how they happened upon you on the way and cut off all the defenseless who were (left) behind, when you were faint and weary, and the Amalekites did not fear God. [Therefore,] it will be, when the Lord your God grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the Lord, your God, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:16-19)

Battle with the Amalekites, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860) - Die Bibel in Bildern

 
Our tradition refers to Amalek as the eternal enemy of the Jewish people (Haman, Hitler, and their followers), that seeks to destroy us out of baseless hatred for us as the perpetual outsiders. Additionally, the Jewish people are sometimes described as canaries in the mine – how a society treats Jews is indicative of how it treats Others, outsiders, as well.
 
So it’s no wonder that I see from these verses that Amalek is an abomination that is equally the enemy of common decency and civilized behavior. Any society, even one that considers itself a liberal democracy, that mistreats, cheats, or exploits marginalized populations and defenseless outsiders – women, children, poor people, aliens, innocents, and animals – whether de facto, de jure, or structurally – is a society of Amalek. Such a society cannot long survive, and brings its own doom upon itself.
 
The Day of the Sounding of the Shofar is approaching. The Days of Awe are approaching. The Day of Atonement is approaching. Remember. Don’t forget.
 
Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim

שְׁתִיקָה כְּהוֹדָאָה דָמְיָא

Silence is like consent. 

BT Yevamot 87b
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Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
 
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 
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