Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on July 25, 2017

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

10 hours ago

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Wish a sweet Rosh Hashanah to family and friends with a delicious gift of honey. This festive 8-ounce jar of kosher honey arrives at its destination in a gift box with yo...

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

4 days ago

WEEKLY DEVAR TORAH

The Women Who "Fix" Sefer Bemidbar (Numbers) Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, Coordinator, Torah Sparks, the Conservative Yeshiva, Jerusalem

Sefer Bemidbar (the Book of Numbers) ends with a little incident, limiting somewhat the right of women to marry. It seems technical at first but indeed is a most fitting close for this difficult book. Last week (but two Parshas ago) the daughters of Zelophehad claim rights to the land in Canaan that would have been their father's, to perpetuate his name and legacy. Moses consulted with God ad hoc, and God responded favorably: "Zelophehad's daughters speak well (ken banot Zelophehad dovrot), give their father's share to them" (Num 27:1-7). A nice victory for the women, who up to now had no hereditary rights.

But as often happens with corrective legislation, solving one problem generates another. The leaders of Zelophehad's tribe, Menasheh, complain to Moshe that should Zelophehad's daughters marry "out of the tribe," literally, that land will be taken from the tribe of Menasheh to the tribe of the husband/s, distorting the distribution of the land to the tribes to be done by lottery.

There are interesting parallels in the two situations. When Zelophehad's daughters raised their claim originally, Moshe, flummoxed, brought the question to God for guidance, as he had with the blasphemer, Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover), and the Shabbat stick-gatherer, whom, coincidentally, the Midrash identifies as Zelophehad. In our parashah Moshe "instructs the [people] at the Lord's bidding (al pi Hashem)." Whether al pi Hashem means a formal consultation, as Moshe had previously had, is not clear, but the result is significant. It is Moshe who speaks here, but the words are familiar: "The Josephites [Menasheh's leaders] speak well (ken...dovrim)." Moshe recognizes their claim in the same language God had used to recognize that of Zelophehad's daughters. A compromise is reached - women inheriting the family land may marry only within their tribe. The daughters of Zelophehad "did as the Lord commanded, marrying cousins, thus keeping their father's land in the tribe of Menasheh" (vs. 10-12). As in our own time, progress on women's rights takes time and has its ups and downs. The removal of this limit on the woman's right to marry and still inherit will come in Rabbinic times and be commemorated in several weeks, on Tu B'Av (the 15th of Av). The Talmud (Taanit 30b) says that on that day, amongst other things, "permission was granted to the tribes to inter-marry." The removal of tribal barriers to marriage is actually a critical moment in Jewish history. The Sages have pushed the "tipping point" towards "Jewish peoplehood," not unlike the transition of the United States from a confederation of relatively independent colonies in 1776 to a more centrally governed union in 1789.

It's fitting that Sefer Bemidbar ends noting that Zelophehad's daughters "did as the Lord commanded Moses" (36:10). It sounds casual but it is not. The trip through Bemidbar, the book and the desert, has been difficult. It began with 10 chapters of getting the tribes in order and the camp arranged to enter the Land and fulfill the Divine plan, but then everything went wrong. Complaints, lack of faith and even rebellion left the children of Israel in the desert 39 years longer than the original Divine plan. Avivah Zornberg says that the turning point, for good, came with the claim of banot Zelophehad. God recognized their courage and integrity, ken banot Zelophehad dovrot, "they are right." And they are right here, too, restoring the order in the camp with which the book had begun. They have enabled tikun, correction. Through them the children of Israel, and indeed the Torah, are back on course. ... See MoreSee Less

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

4 days ago

SHABBAT SERVICES

SERVICE/CANDLE-LIGHTING SCHEDULE:

Friday, July 21, 2017 7:00 pm-Shabbat B'Yachad Services in the Perez Chapel.

Light Shabbat Candles at 7:54 pm.

Saturday, July 22, 2017 9:30 am-Services for Shabbat in the Perez Chapel.

Shabbat ends at: 8:50 pm. ... See MoreSee Less

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

1 week ago

DO A MITZVAH TODAY!

Join the Social Action Volunteers as they collect NEW or GENTLY USED backpacks for the students at Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach.

Look for the bins located in the lobby of the Administration Building or in the Lobby outside Perez Chapel to drop off your donations by August 16th.

On behalf of the students, we thank you in advance for your generosity! ... See MoreSee Less

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

1 week ago

We are excited to share with you the New Look and New Programs for Beth Torah's Adult Education! Visit the new section for Adult Education at http://www.btbrc.org/adult-education/ to find real-time information on the programs, the calendar of events, etc. We hope you join us! ... See MoreSee Less

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

2 weeks ago

From our Members Reflections On a Visit to Nuremberg Eduardo Comella

The day was cloudy in Nuremberg, as was in the rest of the Bavaria last May. Few people walked the streets, and the ones that did, did so in silence. Some looked at me as if to say... "Don't ask me anything because that must not be spoken of". How ironic (I thought) that the Nazi regime's emblematic places in the city, are still preserved intact. Might it be due to the Nuremberg Germans not wanting to forget their shameful and despicable history?.

Might it be caused by some in the town still harbor the serpent's egg in their wombs?

I have to believe... I want to believe... that it is due to the former.

After a 15 minutes ride from central train station, I arrived at the "Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally Grounds", where one (whose evil name need not be repeated), spewed his hateful propaganda between 1932 and 1936.

I had to visit that somber and heinous place because I had a mission to fulfill.

When I arrived, the nearly 11 square kilometers of the Plaza was empty.

I walked alone until I stood just below the podium where the nameless riled his arduous fanatics. (It seemed to me that the sky became even cloudier)

After a few reflective minutes, I garnered all the collective insults that I had mustered and dedicated them all to him. It was after that when I started to fulfill my self-imposed mission.

I put my hands on my forehead covering my eyes and, with all the strength that I could illicit, and with an angry and excited voice, I yelled and recited:

"Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Ehad"

Suddenly, my prayer bounced off the white walls ahead of me, and an unexpected echo forced me to look back...

It was then that I saw six million Jews praying the Shema with me.

Suddenly it began to rain... I realized then that was humanity crying.

Yes... it was raining in Nuremberg... but inside me, the Sun was shining. ... See MoreSee Less

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