From The Rabbis
From The Rabbis
Timely messages from our Rabbis, Nancy and David.
As we begin this New Year, 5770, we celebrate the opportunity to begin once more our weekly communication with you. “From the Rabbis” is one of the links by which Torah, Jewish life, and Beth Shalom connect our hearts and minds with yours.
For some time we have wanted to communicate with you through a weekly email message. This message, titled “From the Rabbis” will highlight teachings from the Torah and other rabbinic texts, along with suggestions on applying these teachings to your everyday life. And this week, the first week of the Jewish month of Kislev, is the ideal moment to begin.
In Parashat Vayeishev, we learn about Joseph and how he irritated his ten older brothers. They became so angry with him that they ended up throwing him deep into a pit and eventually selling him off as a slave to a band of Ishmaelites. What did Joseph do that was so terrible? The Torah tells us about three things that bothered his brothers: 1) He used to tattle on them to their father, 2) He told his family about his dreams where he would be king and they would bow down to him, and 3) The very fact that he told them his dream revealed that he truly intended to actualize the message and rule over them.
Parasha Vayigash
Our teacher Rabbi Larry Kushner and his wife Karen will be visiting soon on Shabbat evening, January 9 th, at our 7:30 p.m. service. We can't wait for them to meet you and you to meet them. Of Rabbi Kushner's many books on mysticism, Chassidism and narratives of the soul, one of the teachings we value deeply is in his book, Honey from the Rock:
Entrances to holiness are everywhere
The possibility of ascent is all the time.
Even in the unlikely times and through unlikely places.
There is no place on earth without the Presence.
(from Numbers Rabba 12.4)
People learning about Judaism often ask us what are the most essential values to being a Jew. Along with monotheism, Sabbath, freedom and lifelong learning, they are often surprised to learn that a core value is memory. More specifically, we remind ourselves over and over that we come from less-than noble origins; in fact, that we were once slaves in Egypt.
Parashat Bamidbar is about entering wilderness. The wilderness is where we place our feet when making a journey toward the Promised Land. The wilderness is unknown; it can be frightening; and at the same time it can be reassuring to be heading in the right direction. As a wandering people, we understand that the desert is exactly where we have to be to reach the places promised to us by G-d.
As we are about to celebrate the season of the giving of our Torah, we might ask why we received it in the wilderness, at Mt. Sinai, rather than somewhere in the land that was destined to be ours? Many of the laws relate to the land itself, like the sabbatical year and leaving the corners of the fields to the poor, so why not announce the practices in the Holy Land?
This week's parasha, Behar/Bechukotai, is incredibly in sync with our economic times. Four times in parashat Behar we read the words ve-chi yamuch, “and if your brother [or sister] should be reduced to poverty.” What does the Torah teach us about how the Israelites are to care for those experiencing financial troubles? What is the community's responsibility when family members or others in the community fall onto hard times, risk losing their land and property, and are struggling to keep themselves and their families alive?
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