SOMETHING OF VALUE

Adar 18, 5786 / March 6-7, 2026

Parashat Ki Tisa (Shabbat Parah)
Torah: Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
Maftir: Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38 (Ashkenazim; Sephardim read 36:16-36)

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, March 9, we'll continue our learning in BT Pesachim in preparation for Passover, commencing on Wednesday, April 1. 

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.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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SOMETHING OF VALUE

“And the people broke off the golden earrings that were in their ears - and brought them to Aaron.” Exodus 32:3

“And the Lord repented of the evil that He had thought to do to His people.” 32:14

Rabbi Eizel of Slonim on verse 3: “Truly this was a great sin committed by Israel in making the golden calf. For all that, we must admit that that generation was better than our own. The members of that generation were willing to cast away their silver and gold in order to make gods for themselves; but today, in our great iniquity, we think it permissible to cast away God solely for wealth and happiness.”

The Adoration of the Golden Calf - Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1633-34

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk on verse 14: “Why did He forgive the sin of the golden calf even though the people did not repent, while He did not forgive the sin of the spies even though the people did repent? The sin of the calf had at least a spark of holiness, a thirst for the Divine. But the sin of the spies was all about a better material life.”

These are fascinating comments. Our teachers boldly imply that even mistaken worship of false gods is better than denying divinity and holiness altogether. It is not that money and happiness are innately sinful. Certainly not true happiness! Greed and narcissism are the true enemies of the Good Life - i.e., a life of goodness. The evil arises from giving up on any sense of holiness in order to pursue only worldliness.

Shabbat Shalom U’Mevorakh - A Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat!

Rabbi Richard Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent."
BT Yevamot 87b

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REMEMBER?

Adar 11, 5786 / February 27-28, 2026

Parashat Tetzaveh (Shabbat Zakhor)

Torah Reading: Exodus 27:20 - 30:10
Maftir (Shabbat Zakhor): Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Haftarah (Shabbat Zakhor): 1 Samuel 15:1-34

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. NO Lunch and Learn on March 2. On Monday, March 9, we'll continue our learning in BT Pesachim in preparation for Passover, commencing on Wednesday, April 1. 

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.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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REMEMBER?

This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Zakhor (Remember) because of the first word of the Maftir, the additional Torah reading, which instructs us to remember what Amalek did to our ancestors on the way out of Egypt. This serves as a connection to the observance of Purim, Monday night and Tuesday, when we commemorate the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek. However, I want to focus on a different kind of remembering, mentioned in the weekly portion for this Shabbat.

"And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulder pieces of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the Children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a remembrance... And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before the Lord perpetually." Exodus 28:12, 29

"For a remembrance - that the Holy One Blessed Be He should see the tribes written before Him and remember their righteousness." (tzidkatam – their righteousness) Rashi to verse 12, citing Midrash Exodus Rabbah

"Memory is the source of redemption; forgetting leads to oblivion." Baal Shem Tov to verse 29.

The names of the tribes were engraved on the stones as a reminder - to whom? Rashi teaches that God needs to be reminded of the righteousness of our ancestors. Perhaps it is to remind God of our (inherent?) righteousness (as if!); we also are the Children of Israel. Does God really need to be reminded of anything - as if God could forget! Yet many of the prayers which we regularly offer do just that.

I understand the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism, as saying "no!" We are the ones who need to remember. That's why his words are at the entrance to Yad Vashem. If we believe we are righteous, we need to remember that we once were not. If we are not righteous, we must remember that we can become so - if we try. Remembering takes on redeeming qualities, because it can compel us to perform acts of righteousness. So it is imperative to remember what you once were; to be reminded of what you have the potential to become; and to do something about it, by performing acts of tzedek and tzedakah, of justice and of righteousness.

Have a wonderful Shabbat! Purim Sameach! Barukh Mordechai; Arur Haman! 

HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Abba Reuven Ben Menachem Mendel Flom, Sh’lita

Der Heileger Rebbe of Sherman Oaks - Emeritus

Rosh Yeshivah – Lower Slobbovia Bartender Academy

Slivovitz Taste Tester
משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה

From the beginning of Adar, we increase joy.

BT Ta’anit 29a

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FEEL THE LOVE!

Parashat T'rumah

Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

Haftarah: 1 Kings 5:26 - 6:13

Adar 4, 5786 / February 20-21, 2026

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Mildred Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Friday, February 20 / Adar 3. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - May her memory be a blessing.

This d'var torah is offered in memory of Leonard Foint, whose yahrzeit falls on Friday, February 20 / Adar 3. Y'hi zikhro liv'rakhah - May his memory be a blessing.

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, February 23, we'll continue our learning at BT Pesachim 105a. You can find it online at:

https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.105a.2?lang=bi 

"... רב חנניא בר שלמיא ותלמידי דרב" - "Rav Chananya bar Shelemya and students of Rav ..."

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.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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FEEL THE LOVE!
 
"And this is the offering you will take from them: gold and silver and brass."  Exodus 25:3
 
The Dubner Maggid taught: "God did not ask for these things in the sanctuary because He loves gold, Heaven forbid, but because they are precious to humans.  When a person donates something that he loves to God, it is as if he is giving his love to God....   It would have been proper to command that each person give God his love, but how can one take something spiritual, namely one's love, which is deep in the heart?  Therefore God commanded that He be given something material, and the love is given along with the object."

Replica of the menorah

I see in the Maggid's teaching an interesting interpretation of the Sh'ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).  There, we are told to love God with all the heart, along with all the soul and all the might.  Some Jewish traditions teach that "heart, soul and might" are metaphors for greed, intellect and possessions. By acquiring property through greed, whether in-born or learned, coming to understand through study what God really wants from us, and then giving away our acquisitions to that higher purpose, we do indeed give all our love to God. 

And what is that higher purpose? Since the destruction of the Temple nearly 2,000 years ago, how do we show our love for God? Simple! We give tzedakah - to people in need - the very images of God to whom we are to show and share our love.
 
Feel the love - and then spread it around!

Have a Shabbat of joy and gladness - it's Adar!

 

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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YOUR FEELINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY YOUR OWN!

Adar 27, 5786 / February 13-14, 2026

Parashat Mishpatim (Shabbat Shekalim)

Torah: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18

Maftir: Exodus 30:11-16 (Shabbat Shekalim)

Haftarah (Shabbat Shekalim): 2 Kings 12:1-17 (Ashkenazim); 2 Kings 11:17 – 12:17 (Sephardim)

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This d’var torah is offered in honor of my sister and brother-in-law, Lorrie Flom and Jay Goodman, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary this Shabbat, February 14. Happy Anniversary! Mazal tov!

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On Monday, February 16, we'll continue our learning at BT Pesachim 103b6. You can find it online at:

https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.103b.6?lang=bi  

".... ,כי מטא לאבדולי" - "When it was time for havdalah, ..."

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com

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Monday, February 16, is Presidents Day - don't forget to fly Old Glory!

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

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YOUR FEELINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY YOUR OWN!

"And you shall not mistreat a stranger (ger, which can also mean a foreigner or a convert), nor shall you oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Exodus 22:20

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 23:9

The Alter of Slabodka (Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, founder of the Slabodka Yeshiva (b. Lithuania 1849 – d. Jerusalem 1927), teaches the following on Exodus 23:9:

"Please do not explain this according to the simple meaning, that we are not permitted to oppress a stranger because we, too, had been strangers and had been oppressed, and thus know the taste of oppression. Rather, the reason is that a person is required to feel and participate in the joy and distress of his fellow, as if these had affected him personally. (my emphasis) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18) - exactly as yourself. A person's relationship to others is not complete unless he feels their joys and sorrows with them, without any differentiation." (from Itturei Torah)

"Cities of Refuge" (Providence Lithograph Company, 1901)

It seems like nothing is ever simple with rabbis! For the Alter of Slabodka, merely not oppressing the Other is not enough! Yes, we Jews know oppression - but we need to have the greatest empathy for the Other, for the oppressed, in their joy, in their sorrow, and, I would suggest, in their day to day lives. This, he believes, is the only way to have a completely loving relationship with another. 

 

This is a tough, some might say impossible order to follow. But consider how this deep, deep sharing/experiencing of emotions with the Other will create within us and within them the Truth - that they are indeed "exactly as yourself". 

Shabbat Shalom!

 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

!משנכנס אדר, מרבין בשמחה

With the beginning of Adar, we increase joy! (BT Ta'anit 29a)

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SAME AS IT EVER WAS

Parashat Yitro

Torah Reading: Exodus 18:1 - 20:23 (some chumashim use different verse numberings)

Haftarah Reading: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, 9:5-6 (Ashkenazim); Isaiah 6:1-13 (Sephardim)

Shevat 20, 5786 / February 6-7, 2026

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my aunt, Shirley Schack, whose yahrzeit falls on Thursday, Shevat 25/February 12. 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. On Monday, February 9, we'll continue our learning at BT Pesachim 102a. You can find it online at:

https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.102a.7?lang=bi 

"... תנו רבנן בני חבורה שהיו מסובין" - "The Sages taught: members of a group who were reclining ..."

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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:

https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/shavua-tov-black-moses/ 

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

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SAME AS IT EVER WAS

"In the third month, when the Children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai." Exodus 19:1

Rashi: "What is the meaning of 'the same day'? That the words of the Torah should be as fresh to you as if they had been given today."

We learn in the Zohar that when reciting Shirat Hayam (the Song at the Sea), which is read from the Torah on Parashat Beshalach (we read it last week) and on the seventh day of Passover, and in the siddur every morning, that we should rise and sing it with great joy, as if we ourselves were standing at the shore, witnessing the great miracle. Similarly, when Aseret Hadibrot (The Ten Statements [aka Commandments]) are read from the Torah, as we will be doing this Shabbat, we rise and listen with great intensity, as if standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai, hearing them for the very first time.

This is explained in Miginzeinu Ha'atik (“From Our Ancient Genizahs”, quoted in Itturei Torah). "You should not say that the Torah was given in the wilderness nearly 3,000 years ago, and it was only appropriate for that time and the conditions which existed then - 'The same day' - as if they had been given today - the laws of the Torah and our traditions are eternal, and they are relevant in every place and at every time."

This idea that they might be irrelevant is often applied to any number of Torah laws, such as kashruth, Shabbat, and tefillin. And yet, one never hears anyone say that "honor your father and mother" or "you shall not murder" have gone out of fashion. Not to mention loving and caring for the stranger, which appears at least 36 times in the Torah. (Although, to be honest, in some quarters, even those commandments seem to be regarded as optional.) Why is that?  The discussion often turns on notions of personal freedom, the needs of society, and the desire not to stand out - and sometimes, sheer cruelty.

I would suggest that the whole of Jewish law and tradition is a complete, unitary system, subject to debate and changes in circumstances (like the destruction of the Temple), but never irrelevancy. God gives the Torah to the Jews for a very specific reason - "You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:6) We Jews are here, and we receive the Torah, specifically to minister to the world by acting in accordance with its teachings, and to sanctify ourselves and others through that ministry.

Stand up at Sinai! The Torah, which is your blueprint and your job description, is being given, and it hasn't changed!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus

Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent"

BT Yevamot 87b

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GOD PROVIDES, PROVIDED YOU PROVIDE

Shevat 13, 5786 / January 30-31, 2026

Parashat Beshallach

Torah: Exodus 13:17-17:16 (Shabbat Shirah)

Haftarah: Judges 4:4-5:31 (Ashkenazim); Judges 5:1-5:31 (Sephardim)

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On February 2, which is also Tu B'shevat, we'll be at BT Pesachim 101a, as we continue preparing for Passover (yes, I know it's not for many weeks yet!)

"... אֲמַר לְהוּ רַב עָנָן בַּר תַּחְלִיפָא" - "Rav Anan bar Taḥalifa said to them ..."

On-line at: https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.101a.4?lang=bi 

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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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GOD PROVIDES, PROVIDED YOU PROVIDE  

"The Lord will fight (y'lachem) for you, and you will hold your peace (tacharishun)." Exodus 14:14 

The commentary P'ninei Hatorah uses word play to understand this text. "God will arrange your food, your bread (lechem, punning on y'lachem), provided that 'you will hold your peace' – that you not quarrel among yourselves, because 'a single argument drives away one hundred livelihoods". 

Rebbe Meir of Premishlan goes one better. "It is true that God will provide bread - provided it is your obligation to work and to plow (l'charosh, punning on tacharishun)." (Both comments appear in Itturei Torah) 

Tu B'Shevat - the Seven Species of Eretz Yisrael - Wheat, Barley, Grapes, Figs, Pomegranates, Olives, and Dates

Our teachers have simple but important messages. First, God provides us with sustenance, a livelihood, a way to earn our bread - provided we don't destroy each other’s livelihoods through petty disputes. To me, this means even more - that which God creates, we have the power to destroy. Second, God helps those who help themselves (God also helps those who are unable to help themselves - through us as God's agents). God creates grain, but we must sow, work, harvest, grind and bake before it becomes bread. We are certainly able, if not obligated, to beautify and improve upon God's handiwork in order to make use of it - even as we are commanded not to destroy any of God's world - and that includes people, created in the image of God.

This coming Monday, February 2, we will observe Tu Bish'vat to remind us - we are the ones who have the power to improve the world - or to destroy it. 

Shabbat Shalom! Tu B'shevat Sameach!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

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CHOLESTEROL OF THE SOUL

Parashat Va’era

Tevet 28, 5786 / January 16-17, 2026

Torah Reading : Exodus 6:2 - 9:35

Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21

Mevarkhim Hachodesh

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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved mother, Annabelle Flom, whose yahrzeit falls this Thursday, Shevat 4 (January 22). We still hear the music. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - Her memory is a blessing.

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Monday, January 19 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Now more than ever we must remember his lessons and put them into action. Raise your flag, read or listen to Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech: 

https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety 

and then, take the sort of action that would make him proud. God knows we need it.

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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. NOTE: NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON JANUARY 19. 

 
On January 26, we'll continue our learning about Passover at BT Pesachim 99b,  - "... עֶרֶב פְּסָחִים סָמוּךְ לַמִּנְחָה" - "On the eve of Passover, adjacent to mincha time ...

The link to our reading is at: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.99b?lang=bi 

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

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CHOLESTEROL OF THE SOUL

 

“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, ...” Exodus 7:3

 

The notion that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart raises great difficulty. What does this say about free will? Rabbi Yochanan asks, “Doesn’t this provide heretics with ground for arguing that he had no means of repenting?” If God caused Pharaoh to refuse to let the Israelites go, if he foreclosed Pharaoh from repentance, if everything is preordained, then how can anyone be held accountable for their actions? To paraphrase Abraham, how can God, the judge of all the world, then claim to be acting justly?

"Moses Speaks to Pharaoh" - James Tissot, ca 1896-1902

For the first five plagues, “Pharaoh’s heart hardened” - he chose to act as he did. But for the last five plagues, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. In the Midrash, Resh Lakish (Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish) says, “Let the mouths of the heretics be stopped up. ‘If to scorners, He will scorn.’ (Proverbs 3:34) When God warns a man once, twice, even three times, and still he does not repent, then God closes his heart against repentance so that He should exact vengeance from him for his sins.” Still, why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart at all? Or does God really do that?

 

Interestingly, in the Talmud, Resh Lakish gives a different and more satisfying answer. He says, “What is the meaning of ‘If to scorners, he will scorn; and to the meek he gives favor’? If he tries to defile himself, he is given an opening; if he tries to purify himself, he is helped.” Note the lower case here. Not God, but man. If we turn to scorners, we will scorn. If we turn to the meek, we give ourselves favor. 

We always have the choice to open our hearts and souls or harden them to the cries of others. If we choose evil, God passively leaves openings, which we can choose to enter - or not. If we choose time and again to harden our souls, it becomes more and more difficult for us to change our ways. But the difficult is not impossible. Because, says Resh Lakish, if we choose goodness, God affirmatively helps us. 

 

Unclog the arteries of your soul, and heed the cries of those in need.

 

Shabbat Shalom v'Chodesh Tov.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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GOD HAPPENS!

Parashat Sh’mot

Torah: Exodus 1:1 - 6:1

Haftarah: Isaiah 27:6 - 28:13; 29:22-23 (Ashkenazim); Jeremiah 1:1 - 2:3 (Sephardim)

Tevet 21, 5786 / January 9-10, 2026

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On January 12, we'll be at BT Pesachim 2a, as we begin preparing for Passover (yes, I know it's not for 12 weeks yet!)

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GOD HAPPENS!

"... You shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, happened upon us. And now, please let us go on a three-day journey in the desert and we shall sacrifice to the Lord, our God.'" Exodus 3:18

A traditional take (Rashi and Sforno) on this verse is that the Israelites are telling Pharaoh that this was not something that they had asked for or intended - after all, Pharaoh hates them enough as it is! Sforno adds that the Israelites are saying, "It's His will, He commanded us, what can we do?" And yet, one has to wonder - perhaps the Israelites did cause God to "happen" upon them.

At the end of chapter 2 of Exodus, the Israelites groaned because of their slavery and cried out. Their cries reached God, Who "remembered" the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They turned to God and their outcry caused God to respond. One might say, then, that one can bring God into the world, cause God to "happen", by praying, or by crying out, or by searching for God.

Moses at the Burning Bush (Domenico Fetti, ca. 16-1615-1617)

On the other hand, perhaps Moses made God happen through his own actions. Moses acted righteously on several occasions before God chose him to save the Israelites - he struck down the Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, he saved Tzipporah and her sisters from the shepherds at the well, and he stopped to consider the burning bush. He was not seeking God, but he caused God to happen by acting justly, by defending the downtrodden, and by acknowledging a miracle.

We can cry out to God, we can pray to God, we can search for God, we can act in a Godly way - God comes into our lives, God happens, if we make God happen.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B'nai Hayim

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

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