Shabbat Blast

Shabbat Blast 5/13: Impeding Love

Today, May 13, 2016

5 Iyar 5776

Candle Lighting: 7:45p

Maariv: 8:00p

Shabbat, May 14

Parshat Kedoshim

Nosh and Drosh 9:00

Services 9:30

Birthdays this week:

Sheryl Gordon

Natalie Gordon

Joshua Bigman

Max Broder

Max Mogel

Jennifer Pino

Dear [first_name],

“Love your neighbor as yourself (Vayikra 19:18),” says our Torah portion, Kedoshim. We all accept this as the golden rule.  Rabbi Akiva considered this verse to be the greatest principle of the Torah, but it is much more complicated than just brotherly love. The Torah must come and teach this to us, because in fact, humans have this innate desire to protect themselves and if you see a relation with another, your empathy grows to want to connect and protect them as well. We have natural inclination to gravitate to those who remind us of ourselves but sometimes seeing such connections is challenging. The Torah responds to human nature and challenges us to extend it. But there is debate over what the Torah requires of us.  Join us tomorrow as we discuss what impedes our ability to love our neighbor as ourselves and what we should really be striving for.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Bernstein