1 Shevat 5770/15-16 January 2010
Torah: Exodus 6:2 - 9:35
Maftir: Numbers 28:9-15
Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-24, repeat verse 23 - Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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An Inheritance Is More Than An Heirloom
"And I will bring you to the land which I swore by My hand to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and I will give it to you as an inheritance; I the Lord." Exodus 6:8
"The Torah commanded to us by Moses is an inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob" Deuteronomy 33:4.
These are the only verses in the Torah in which the word "morashah" - "inheritance" appears. It should come as no surprise that the Land of Israel and the Torah of Moses should be considered inheritances. They are not simply important; they are the greatest gifts we Jews have received from God, apart from the Exodus itself, which put us in a position to receive those gifts. It was in the Israel that the central place of Jewish worship was built, in Jerusalem, called by the Rabbis “the navel of the world”. From there, Jews spread out with the Torah, delivering God’s word to all, acting as “a light unto the nations”.
Inheritances are wonderful. We use them to fulfill our dreams and desires, accomplishing things we might otherwise have thought to be beyond our reach. We build houses, get educations, and even establish foundations. However, the difficulty we face is that we frequently characterize unique inheritances as “heirlooms”. Heirlooms, we put on shelves, behind glass, to be admired. We say of them, “I am saving them for my children.” And what do our children do? The very same thing! But we and they never use heirlooms.
Our land and our Torah are not things to be adored from a distance. Each is an inheritance whose value actually increases with use. The more we visit and live in Israel, the more we use the land for its intended purpose as a homeland for the Jewish people, the better off the land and the Jewish people will be. The more Torah we learn, teach and follow, the more we live Torah, as an example to others, the better off the world will be.
Don't keep your inheritances locked up in a vault. Use them, enjoy them, share them - you'll be glad you did.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Burbank Temple Emanu El
Burbank, CA
http://www.btee.org
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still"
Isaiah 62:1
An Inheritance Is More Than An Heirloom
"And I will bring you to the land which I swore by My hand to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and I will give it to you as an inheritance; I the Lord." Exodus 6:8
"The Torah commanded to us by Moses is an inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob" Deuteronomy 33:4.
These are the only verses in the Torah in which the word "morashah" - "inheritance" appears. It should come as no surprise that the Land of Israel and the Torah of Moses should be considered inheritances. They are not simply important; they are the greatest gifts we Jews have received from God, apart from the Exodus itself, which put us in a position to receive those gifts. It was in the Israel that the central place of Jewish worship was built, in Jerusalem, called by the Rabbis “the navel of the world”. From there, Jews spread out with the Torah, delivering God’s word to all, acting as “a light unto the nations”.
Inheritances are wonderful. We use them to fulfill our dreams and desires, accomplishing things we might otherwise have thought to be beyond our reach. We build houses, get educations, and even establish foundations. However, the difficulty we face is that we frequently characterize unique inheritances as “heirlooms”. Heirlooms, we put on shelves, behind glass, to be admired. We say of them, “I am saving them for my children.” And what do our children do? The very same thing! But we and they never use heirlooms.
Our land and our Torah are not things to be adored from a distance. Each is an inheritance whose value actually increases with use. The more we visit and live in Israel, the more we use the land for its intended purpose as a homeland for the Jewish people, the better off the land and the Jewish people will be. The more Torah we learn, teach and follow, the more we live Torah, as an example to others, the better off the world will be.
Don't keep your inheritances locked up in a vault. Use them, enjoy them, share them - you'll be glad you did.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Burbank Temple Emanu El
Burbank, CA
http://www.btee.org
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still"
Isaiah 62:1
