FULL OF JOY

Parashat Ki Tavo

Torah: Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8

Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22 (Sixth Haftarah of Consolation)

Elul 16, 5786 / August 28-29, 2026

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom. We're continuing to read and discuss Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Book of Genesis.  On August 31, we'll be at: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.29.1?lang=bi 

It is recommended that you also have with you a chumash with commentaries.

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SERVICES NOTE: Temple B'nai Hayim will not be holding Friday evening services this Shabbat. You are welcome to attend services in person at our sister congregation, Adat Ari El, at 7:00 pm, or streaming at:  https://adatariel.livecontrol.tv/

Temple B'nai Hayim Shabbat morning services will begin as usual at 9:00 am in person and on Zoom.

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

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FULL OF JOY

"And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and they will be filled." Deuteronomy 26:11-12

"Offering of the First Fruits" - Providence Lithograph Company

Rabbi Barukh Brofman: ‘This is a reference to Birkat Hamazon (Blessing after the Meal) - "Do not let us need the gifts of flesh and blood". For this we thank God. Specifically - "You shall rejoice in every good thing - which the Lord has given you."’

Tiferet Shlomo: ‘The Torah adds "and they will be filled" to teach us that one must give generously - otherwise there is no blessing in it.’

Most of us do not rely upon charity (tzedakah) - and we SHOULD be thankful for that. But thanking God (through Birkat Hamazon) is an empty ritual if we do not do what we can to help others be in a position of thanking God as well. As the first verse implies, God has given every good thing to everyone - so it's up to us that actually have those things to make sure that they are also distributed to those that do not yet have them. Read the verse, then, as teaching: You may rejoice only after you have distributed the tithes to those in need so that they may rejoice with you.

We learn on Yom Kippur in Unataneh Tokef that "tzedakah reduces the severity of the decree". (See also Proverbs 10:2 and BT Baba Batra 10a – “charity delivers from death”) It does not mean that our charity saves us – rather, our tzedakah reduces the severe decree (i.e., hunger and poverty) that might otherwise be suffered by others, the recipients of our gifts.

Celebrate through giving - then you and they will be filled - with joy.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim

Valley Village, CA     

 הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו כולנו יחד בברכת אחוה, ובברכת אהבה,  ובברכת שלום 

May the Merciful One bless us, all of us as one, with the blessing of brotherhood, the blessing of love, and the blessing of peace

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THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS

Parashat Ki Tetze
Elul 9, 5786 / August 21-22, 2026
Torah: Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10 (Fifth Haftarah of Consolation)

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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. NO LUNCH AND LEARN on August 24. We're continuing to read and discuss Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Book of Genesis.  On August 31, we'll be at: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.29.1?lang=bi 

It is recommended that you also have with you a chumash with commentaries.

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

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THE FORGETTING COMMANDMENTS
 
"When you reap the harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, do not return to take it; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow, in order that the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hand. When you beat your olive trees, do not go over them again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. When you harvest your vineyard, do not pick it over again; it shall be for the stranger, orphan and widow. And you will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing." Deuteronomy 24:19-22
 
In these verses, as well as in Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22 (leaving the corners of the field and fallen fruit "for the poor and for the stranger"), we are told to leave grain, olives and grapes - basic foodstuffs which are also, not coincidentally, essential for offering the basic sacrifices to God. These are the necessities of the Israelites' physical and spiritual lives. And yet, according to the Rabbis, the commandment to leave forgotten sheaves in the field is the only commandment in the Torah that, in a way, can be fulfilled unintentionally.

The Gleaners - Jean-Francois Millet, 1857

There are several rabbinic tales in which people celebrate the fact that they forgot sheaves in the field. But how can they celebrate unless they remember? It seems that what they are celebrating is that they "remembered" to forget! Sheaves on the ground? Forget about them! Olives still in the trees? Don't go back for them! Unripe grapes still on the vines? Don't do a second harvest. Forget about them!
 
This is all about overcoming human nature. When gathering in the harvest, anyone would be inclined to go back and get as much produce as possible - it was hard work to grow it, winter is coming, and who knows what the future will bring? But by remembering what it was like to have nothing, we can forget about trying to have everything.
 
These mitzvot can be fulfilled in a different way today. Please make a generous donation of food or money to SOVA, MAZON, North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry, or the local food pantry of your choice. Don’t forget!
 
Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
Valley Village, CA
".איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מכל אדם"
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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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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TO HAVE AND TO BEHOLD

Parashat Re'eh

Torah - Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
Haftarah - Isaiah 54:11 - 55:5

Av 25, 5786 / August 7-8, 2026

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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 Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Book of Genesis.  On August 10, we'll be at: 

https://www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Genesis.1.18.2?lang=bi  

It is recommended that you also have with you a chumash with commentaries.

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

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TO HAVE AND TO BEHOLD

"Behold (you - singular), I give before you (plural) a blessing and a curse." Deuteronomy 11:26





Many have wondered - why the change in number? Menachem Mendel, the Kotzker Rebbe, says the Torah was indeed given to "you all" - but that each person beholds within it only that which they are capable of seeing and only to the extent of their understanding. I would add that this implies the uniqueness of every person’s understanding of the Torah!

Hillel taught: 'Do not say, "It is impossible to understand this", for ultimately it will be understood. Do not say, "When I have leisure, I will study", for you may never have leisure.' Avot 2:5

As a people, we have the gift of the Torah. True, each of us may be limited by our ability to understand it. But that gives no excuse to refuse to learn! In the end, each of us can understand it, do it to the best of our ability and transmit our understanding to others - but only if we first take the time to behold it!

Shabbat Shalom!

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