TORAH READING FOR 5 NISAN 5784 April 12-13, 2024

April 12, 2024 by templekol

SHAZOOM ONLY 6:30 PM April 12, 2024

OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” p.180

‘OSEH SHALOM BIMROMAV, hu ya’aseh shalom alëinu v’al kōl Yisraël, v’al kōl yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru: Amën.

MAY THE ONE WHO MAKES PEACE in the high heavens make peace for us, for all Israel and all who inhabit the earth, and let us say: Amen.

PARSHA

From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/tazria

Tazria (תַזְרִיעַ — Bearing Seed) – Leviticus 12:1−13:59

The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a woman at childbirth bears a male, she shall be impure seven days; she shall be impure as at the time of her condition of menstrual separation.” – Leviticus 12:1-2

SUMMARY:

God describes the rituals of purification for a woman after childbirth. (12:1-8)
God sets forth the methods for diagnosing and treating a variety of skin diseases, including tzara-at (a leprous affection), as well as those for purifying clothing. (13:1-59)

HAFTARAH

II Kings 4:42-5:19

RECOMMENDED READING

From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/tazria

Strong Voices

By: Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg

STRUGGLING WITH TORAH and REFLECTION

We will continue to meet every other Friday for Torah Study to read and discuss selections from Ketuvim, the third section of Tanach (Hebrew Bible), which follows Torah and Nevi’im. Please see the NEW Torah Study-Shazoom schedule below. NEXT week we will start studying Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs), which is found in Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally read during Pesach. Read this week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.12.1-13.59, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/II_Kings.4.42-5.19

From “The Torah / A Women’s Commentary” edited by Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D., Women of Reform Judaism/The Federation of Temple Sisterhoods and URJ Press New York 2008

תזריע Tazria – Leviticus 12:1-13:59

Contemporary Reflection – by Pauline Bebe, pp. 652-3

TO PLUNGE INTO the mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) is to plunge into fresh connections with Creation and with our spirituality.

The Rabbis derived their laws that require an immersion in the mikveh in large measure from Leviticus (see at 12:1–8, 15:16, and 11:36). They rooted the laws in a need to purify oneself ritually after certain conditions such as menstruation, male seminal emission, certain skin diseases, or contact with the dead. Removing impurities was a precondition for coming into contact with the holy, such as in approaching the sanctuary. With the destruction of the Temple, these laws remained mandatory for women and optional for men…. While traditional Jews continue to use the mikveh for “family purity,” most liberal Jews rarely enter the mikveh. When they do, they often enter the mikveh for different reasons. What might prompt liberal Jews to immerse in the mikveh’s waters?

Creation. The mikveh takes us back in time, as we immerse ourselves in the world of Creation. The root k–v–h that forms the word mikveh appears for the first time in Genesis (1:9): “Let the waters beneath the sky be collected [yikavu] in one place.” Further, in the next verse emerges the expression mikveh hamayim, the name given to the seas, where k–v–h connotes “the gathering.” This first mikveh is filled with mayim (water).

In the most archaic Hebrew script, the letter mem is a zigzagging line, drawn like waves that recall water. It is interesting to note that in many languages, the phoneme “m” is associated with “mother” (ima, umm, mutter, mère, madre, mama, etc.). The person who plunges into the ritual bath of the mikveh–entirely surrounded by water, nude, without any barriers, and without touching its sides–resembles the fetus in the mother’s womb. The immersion in the mikveh becomes a return to the sensations of the uterus, a return to our source and an act of renewal.

You cannot know who you are without knowing whence you came. This return to what happened before is sometimes a way of softening the traumas of the past, to start anew after a difficult life experience. Conversely, sometimes it is a way to celebrate something precious in one’s life or something new. The word kav means “to be strong” or “strength” in Aramaic. The return to our source reinforces us.

Spirituality. Water appears first in the second verse of the story of Creation: “God’s spirit (ruach) glided over the face of the waters” (1:2). Thus, from the very beginning, water is forever linked to the divine, to the spiritual. Spirituality in relation to water is not necessarily about “purity.” Purity was originally attached to the mission of the Temple; since the Temple exists no more, purification need not apply to contemporary immersion in the mikveh. Going to a mikveh is not only a means of washing away the past, of removing the legacy of some “sin,” but also of preparing for the future. This is how the mikveh functions when used to prepare for Shabbat and holidays or important moments in life. In this case, mikveh is practiced by both women and men.

Traditional Jewish law requires that only women go to the mikveh. However, when the immersion in a mikveh is part of a couple’s sexual life, if both partners go to the mikveh, they together assert that they are taking charge of their sex life. Making a visit to the mikveh a regular part of the cycle of a couple’s sexual life does not imply a denial of sexuality, but rather a couple’s decision to set temporal boundaries to their sexuality. Jewish tradition honors sexual impulses. The Talmud (BT Yoma 69b) tells us that without passion the world would cease to exist. However, sexuality, like water, must be channeled in order for life to flourish fully. Passion is exhilarating, but it is not a permanent condition. Moreover, it may gain in intensity when limits are set, as is true with music–where the silent notes underscore the melody. So it goes with sexuality: the downtime (which could be confined to menstruation in the case of women), punctuated by the mikveh utilized by both partners, is a form of suspension–a Sabbath–of sexuality. It can leave the space necessary to discover a different face of the other, in a more disciplined tension.

In Genesis 1, God creates the world by separating the waters and then withdrawing them to make space for earth and life to appear. The Akkadian root ku’û (one of the possible antecedents of the Hebrew word kav) means “to wait for, to stretch, to underscore the tension of enduring or waiting.” Oscar Wilde said: “In this world there are only two tragedies; one is not getting what one wants, the other is getting it.” Expectation is the romantic framework of love and desire. The mikveh reintroduces the other as a friend; the lover becomes a friend again–and the friend, a lover.

The mikveh likewise reintroduces spirituality into our lives in a habitual manner. The rabbinic sages capture the power of habits in their determination that frequently occurring rituals take precedence over infrequently occurring rituals (BT Sukkah 54b, 56a; P’sachim 112a; M’gillah 29b; and elsewhere). We are called upon not to build life upon the exceptional but rather to renew the ordinary; such is perhaps one of the secrets of one’s being together with another in partnership.

When one plunges into the mikveh, the links with Creation and with our spirituality extend even further. When we remember that we are created in the image of God, mikveh becomes a reminder of the infinite within the finite, the immortal within the human, the limitless options offered to humanity. It is not surprising then that the Torah is compared to water in rabbinic literature. To immerse in water is also to plunge into the “Universe of the Torah,” the infinite source of transformation of the world.

PESACH 2024 / פֶּסַח 5784

From Hebcal https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/pesach-2024

Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread

Pesach for Hebrew Year 5784 begins in the Diaspora at sundown on Monday, 22 April 2024 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, 30 April 2024. [In Israel and for Reform Jews Pesach is seven days. See Reform Judaism/Passover https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/passover]

Passover (Hebrew: פֶּסַח Pesach) commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. [The 49-day period of Counting the ‘Ómer begins on the second night of Pesach and continues until Shavuot.]

Temple Kol Hamidbar will have an in-person Seder in Sierra Vista on Monday, April 22, the first night of Pesach. For details, please see the email sent on March 25, by Dr. Sam Caron, Congregational President. The deadline to RSVP is April 15. The suggested donation is $35 for adults and $25 for children. Make checks payable to Temple Kol Hamidbar and mail payment to the Temple address as soon as possible.

PRAYERS

From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:

FOR OUR COUNTRY p.376

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.

PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL p.552

O HEAVENLY ONE, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel which marks the dawning of hope for all who seek peace. Shield it beneath the wings of your love; spread over it the canopy of Your peace; send Your light and truth to all who lead and advise, guiding them with Your good counsel. Establish peace in the land and fullness of joy for all who dwell there. Amen.

FOR HEALING

We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; 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, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.

This coming week, 5 Nisan through 11 Nisan, we lovingly remember:

Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.

“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.

SHAZOOM ONLY

We will meet for Shazoom ONLY this evening, Friday, April 12, 2024. Please see the NEW Torah Study-Shazoom schedule below. NEXT week we will start studying the Song of Songs, which is found in the Ketuvim (Writings), and traditionally read during Pesach.

Zoom regularly updates its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this Friday evening with wine/grape juice for Kiddush and Challah for Motzi.

Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service

Time: April 12, 2024 06:30 PM Arizona

To join 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

PS – About Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) and the NEW schedule through June 2024:

From Reform Judaism

https://reformjudaism.org/podcasts/other-hand-ten-minutes-torah/other-hand-ten-minutes-torah-passover-ii-song-songs

https://reformjudaism.org/blog/passover-seder-night-love