Shabbat Blast

Shabbat Blast!

TOT SHABBAT AT LITTLE GYM IS CANCELED. Watch here for a new date in the fall!

Dear [first_name],

These words are inspired by a Dvar Torah written by Rabbi Bradley Artson in his book, “Bedside Torah” and I delivered this message to our ritual committee this past week.

Moshe is securing new leadership for the people of Israel and is addressing God in Parashat Pinhas. There are many names that Moshe could use to refer to God: El, Elohim, Adonai…, but in our parasha, Moshe refers to God as “The source of the breaths of all flesh. A midrash in Bamidbar Rabbah notices that the word that Moshe uses is Ruhot (breaths), in the plural, rather than ruah (breath) in the singular. It’s an awkward way of saying it, so why does Moshe use this language?

The Midrash says that every individual has a unique character. There are many “ruhot,” “breaths,” in the world, not just one for everyone. And God therefore appears differently, “for the spirit of each individual being.” This one word sparks the Midrash to say “King of the Universe, the mind of every individual is revealed and known to you. The minds of your children are not like each other. Now that I am taking leave of them, appoint over them, I pray, a leader who will bear with each one of them as their temperament requires.” Find a leader that sees the individuality in each person.

There is a beracha that you say when seeing a crowd of over 600,000 Jews. “Praised are you adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, wise in Secrets.” The new leader of the Israelites must see that within a group, each person has their own mind, and their own own strengths.

When you see such a large group of people, you might think of everyone as one big unit, and forget the individuality of each person, assuming things about everyone because they are one people, one ethnicity, one religion. This beracha reminds you to see the uniqueness of each person, see that they have a depth of hidden treasures inside of them and that we and our leadership should approach everyone with curiosity and the respect given to a holy vessel of God.

Moshe saw this as a quality of leadership worthy of the Israelites. May we seek this out in our leadership and in ourselves.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Bernstein

Erev Shabat – July 29, 2016

Candle Lighting: 7:59 pm

Maariv: 8:00pm

Shabbat, July 30

Parshat Pinchas

Nosh and Drosh 9:00

Services 9:45

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7/23/16-7/30/16

Birthdays:

Howard Belgrod

Estra Skolnick

Anniversaries:

Leslie & Eileen Scherer

SUPPLIES FOR SUCCESS!!!!

We are collecting new school supplies for this project that can be brought to Congregation Beth Ohr and placed in the box outside of the office.

Deadline is August 10