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Candle lighting time for Friday, February 22, 2013, 5:37 p.m.
Parashat T’tzaveh / Shabbat Zakhor
13 Adar, 5773 / February 23, 2013
Triennial Cycle III: Exodus 29:19-30:10
Humash Etz Hayim, page 513
Maftir: Deuteronomy 25:17-19, page 1135
Haftarah: I Samuel 15:2-34, page 1280
- 29:19-37) Instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons during their seven days of inauguration.
- (29:38-46) Instructions concerning the Tamid, or daily sacrifice.
- (30:1-10) Instructions concerning the fabrication of the incense altar, and its special function.
Blotting Out the Memory of Amalek
Rabbi Philip Ohriner
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (Everett Fox)
Bear-in-mind what Amalek did to you on the way, at your going-out from Egypt, how he encountered you on the way and attacked-your-tail—all the beaten-down-ones at your rear—while you (were) weary and faint, and (thus) he did not stand-in-awe of God. So it shall be: when YHWH your God gives-you-rest from all your enemies round about in the land that YHWH your God is giving you as an inheritance, to possess it, you are to blot out the name of Amalek from under the heavens; you are not to forget!
Rabbi Yosef Babad Minhat Hinukh (Lemberg, 1869)
Today we are not commanded to (blot out the name of Amalek) because Senacharib already arose and mixed up the world.
Rabbi Shalom Noah Berezovsky, Netivot Shalom, parashat Zachor, ma’amar 1.
The war waged by Amalek is not a physical one as the literal reading of the Torah might imply, for there is no mention of “murder” or “killing” in the text. Rather, the text says “he attacked your tail—all the beaten down ones at your rear…” for the war with Amalek is not a physical was and does not stem from claim or pretext against Israel. Rather, Amalek is the root of evil in the world (the sitra achra) that wages a spiritual battle against us. There is hardship in this world, but the intention of the Divine Will is to bring humanity to a Repaired World. Then, the world will be filled with the knowledge of God and the spirit of impurity will be removed. This is the purpose of humanity, to bring the time of the mashiach and the Repaired World, a world that is completely good. For this purpose, the Repaired World, God created a world of choice, that for every good there is a corresponding evil, the sitra achra, the shell (klipah) that is opposite the good. As it says in Isaiah, “I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil — I the Lord do all these things (Isaiah 45:7)”. God created in humanity the power of good, as well as the power of evil in order that this would be a world of choice where the realization of the Repaired World would only come through the uprooting of evil manifested in the shell, Amalek, the evil power within each human being. The Divine Will manifests in Israel through the power of our work to eliminate that power of evil and the spirit of impurity from the world.
Ed Feld, Shabbat Zachor
Remembering Amalek then ought to remind us that…the soul of any religious person is not able to achieve the appropriate attachment to God so long as there is impurity in the world. That is why the Torah states this as God’s war since this is not to be simply understood as a war of Israel with its enemies… Each day there is a war against Amalek — this is the inner meaning of the mitzvah — for this is our task to wipe out the evil which is in us and which takes root and spreads its poison. We can wipe it out if we absolutely oppose the tendencies to evil that are within it. We should never assent to the evil within us and the evil in the world…
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Canceled: Hamantaschen Ball
CBD Board of Directors Vacancy
Upcoming Tot, Youth and Family Services
Minyan – Sunday 9:30 am & Monday – Thursday 7:00 p.m.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, February 23: Erev Purim Megillah Reading – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 24: Family Megillah Reading – 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, February 24: Purim Carnival – 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, February 27: CBD General Board Meeting – 7:45 – 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 28: Become a Prayer Leader at CBD with Rabbi Ohriner – 7:30 – 9:00 p.m
Friday, March 1: Family Services – Kita Vav Humash Ceremony and Potluck – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2: Building Blocks of Jewish Prayer with Rabbi Orhiner – After Shabbat Kiddush Lunch (about 1:30 p.m.)
Sunday, March 3: Transportation Options for Seniors and Their Families – 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5: Membership Committee Meeting – 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 7: Hazak Event: The Japanese American Museum Tour – 10:30 a.m
Saturday, March 9: Book Discussion Group – 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 10: Hebrews at War: The Military History of ancient Jews – 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 10: RSVP Deadline for Scholar-in-Residence Erev Shabbat Dinner – click here now
March 15 – 17: Scholar-in-Residence Weekend
Saturday, March 23: Mussar Matters with Rabbi Pressman – 1:30 – 2:30
SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, April 7: Celebrating Beth David at 50: Milestones and Memories – 1:00 p.m.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Sunday, February 28: South Bay Teen Idol Semi-finals – 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 3: Live from Israel Simply Tsfa – 3:00 p.m.
Monday, March 4: Hebrew Story Time – 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 7: An Evening with Technion’s Distinguished Professor Dan Shechtman 2011 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry – 6:15 p.m.
March 2 – March 12: Jewish Music Festival
Sunday, March 17: 2013 Pillars of the Community – 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m
Tuesday, March 26: Passover Singles Seder – 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 14 – Thursday, April 18: Southern California College Tour with JCC