THE TORAH READING FOR 24 SHEVAT 5781 February 5-6, 2021
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Mazal Tov – Mazal Bueno to all those celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or significant event during the Month of February. If we were together at Temple Kol Hamidbar, we would extend a Tallit over you, recite a special prayer for you, and recite the following blessing (cf Num. 6:24-26):
- May the Eternal One bless you and protect you!
- May the Eternal One deal kindly and graciously with you!
- May the Eternal One bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!
KËIN YEHI RATZON (Let it be so!)
ְPARSHA
From ReformJudaism.org https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/yitro
Yitro (יִתְרוֹ — Jethro) – Exodus 18:1-20:23
Jethro, priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, God’s people, how the Eternal had brought Israel out from Egypt. – Exodus 18:1
SUMMARY:
- Yitro brings his daughter Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, to his son-in-law Moses. (18:1-12)
- Moses follows Yitro’s advice and appoints judges to help him lead the people. (18:13-27)
- The Children of Israel camp in front of Mount Sinai. Upon hearing the covenant, the Israelites respond, “All that God has spoken we will do.” (19:1-8)
- After three days of preparation, the Israelites encounter God at Mount Sinai. (19:9-25)
- God gives the Ten Commandments aloud directly to the people. (20:1-14)
- Frightened, the Children of Israel ask Moses to serve as an intermediary between God and them. Moses tells the people not to be afraid. (20:15-18)
HAFTARAH
Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
From Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitro_%28parsha%29
Connection to the Parashah
Both the parashah and the haftarah recount God’s revelation. Both the parashah and the haftarah describe Divine Beings as winged. Both the parashah and the haftarah report God’s presence accompanied by shaking and smoke. And both the parashah and the haftarah speak of making Israel a holy community.
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH
From Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitro_%28parsha%29
Yitro (יִתְרוֹ — Hebrew for the name “Jethro”) – Exodus 18:1-20:23
The parashah tells of Jethro’s organizational counsel to Moses and God’s revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. [It is customary for listeners to stand while the reader chants the Ten Commandments in the synagogue, as if the listeners were themselves receiving the revelation at Sinai.] The parashah is the shortest of the weekly Torah portions in the Book of Exodus.
[The Lekhah Dodi liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat service quotes both the commandment of Exodus 20:7 (Exodus 20:8 in NJPS) to “remember” the Sabbath and the commandment of Deuteronomy 5:11 (Deuteronomy 5:12 in NJPS) to “keep” or “observe” the Sabbath, saying that they “were uttered as one by our Creator.”]
In Modern Interpretation
Noting that Jewish tradition has not preserved a tradition about Mount Sinai’s location, [the 20th century Reform Rabbi Gunther] Plaut observed that had the Israelites known the location in later centuries, Jerusalem and its Temple could never have become the center of Jewish life, for Jerusalem and the Temple would have been inferior in holiness to the God’s mountain. Plaut concluded that Sinai thus became in Judaism, either by design or happenstance, a concept rather than a place.
Although Jewish tradition came to consider the words “I am the Lord your God” in Exodus 20:1 the first of the Ten Commandments, many modern scholars saw not a command, but merely a proclamation announcing the Speaker.
REFLECTION – The Ten Commandments
From Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Hebrew: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, Aseret ha’Dibrot [“the ten words”, “the ten sayings”, or “the ten matters”]) also known as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship that play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity. The text of the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: at Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21.
Scholars disagree about when the Ten Commandments were written and by whom. Modern scholarship suggests that the Ten Commandments were likely modeled on Hittite and Mesopotamian laws and treaties.
The Ten Commandments are written with room for varying interpretation, reflecting their role as a summary of fundamental principles…. [They] form the basis of Jewish law, stating God’s universal and timeless standard of right and wrong – unlike the rest of the 613 commandments in the Torah…. Jewish tradition considers the Ten Commandments the theological basis for the rest of the commandments.
The traditional Rabbinical Jewish belief is that the observance of these commandments and the other mitzvot are required solely of the Jewish people and that the laws incumbent on humanity in general are outlined in the seven Noahide laws, several of which overlap with the Ten Commandments.
ROSH CHODESH ADAR
Begins at sundown on Thursday, February 11 and ends at sundown Saturday, February 13, 2021. Adar is the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar. If a month has 30 days, then day 30 becomes Rosh Chodesh. The current month of Shevat has thirty days. Adar contains 29 days; and so Adar’s Rosh Chodesh is two days. Purim falls in Adar.
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
ROSH CHODESH – FOR THE NEW MONTH p.519
Our God and God of our ancestors, may the new month bring us goodness and blessing. May we have long life, peace, prosperity, a life exalted by love of Torah and reverence for the divine; a life in which the longings of our hearts are fulfilled for good.
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.516
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
FOR HEALING
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of brutality, abuse, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, violence, and war; for all those at home alone; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, disease, COVID-19, natural disasters, war and violence – including those who died on the assault of the US Capitol.
This week, the 24th through the 30th of Shevat, we lovingly remember:
Dorothy Cash
Friend of Temple Kol Hamidbar Member
Joseph Jacob
Holocaust Survivor, Relative of Ruben Gomez
We remember, too, those victims of the Shoah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year and have us to say “Kaddish” for them. “Zichronam liv’rachah” – May their memories be for blessing.
TORAH STUDY AND SHAZOOM
We will meet as usual at the regular times for Torah Study and Shazoom this evening, Friday, February 5, 2021.
Zoom continues updating its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this evening:
Topic: Torah Study – Yitro (triennial part) Exodus 18:1-20:23
Time: Feb 5, 2021 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Feb 5, 2021 07:30 PM Arizona
To join the Torah Study and/or Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Passcode: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat!
-Ruben