Torah Tidbits and Haftarah Highlights

Torah Tidbits and Haftarah Highlights

By Rabbi Steven Silberman

(All page numbers refer to Etz Hayim)

August 5 - Parshat Va’etchanan –

pp. 1005 - 1021

This parsha contains not only the Ten Great

Words, but also the Shema. Did you know

this reading also contains two other shemas?

Look at page 1006 and 1015. How are these

two shemas different from our regular

shema?

Haftarat Va’etchanan –

pp. 1033 - 1036

This haftarah is speaking directly to each

reader. Responding to the loss of freedom and

safety and the conquest by Babylon, this

speech teaches that someday a voice will ring

out for all to hear. What is the goal of this

voice (p. 1033, v3)?

August 12 – Parshat – Ekev –

pp. 1037 - 1042

Did you know there are seven famous crops

associated with the land of Israel? Could you

name them? Glance at p. 1040, verse 8. Now

you can impress your friends with your

knowledge of Torah trivia.

Haftarat Ekev – pp. 1056 – 1059

Imagine that a king would be your baby

sitter? How would you feel if you had a queen

as a nanny? Isaiah is teaching the people of

Israel that they are so important that royalty

would be eager to serve them. This haftara

comes on the heels of Tisha B’Av.

August 19 - Parshat Re’eh –

pp. 1061 - 1067

Intrinsically Judaism is democratic. People

make choices. What do you notice about the

first sentence of this parsha?

Haftarat Re’eh – pp. 1085 - 1087

This is the third haftara of consolation. On p.

1086, we are taught that we would have

plenty of food and water without any worries.

In a tangible way Israel is being reassured

that life will improve on the heels of the

destruction of its government and its state.

August 26 - Parshat Shoftim -

pp. 1088 - 1094

What is the opening of this week’s parshat?

Moses is still the leader. He has sons and

grandsons. What do you notice about the first

verse? Does this surprise you?

Haftarat Shoftim –

pp. 1108 - 1111

This is the fourth haftara of consolation -

read after Tisha B’Av. Who is the author

compared to the other haftara of consolation?

What do you notice?

A MESSAGE FROM OUR RABBI

Manette and I just returned from a tour

of historic Poland. Throughout Poland,

medieval sites and modern experiences are

interwoven. Walk through a marketplace

first established in Jewish neighborhoods

in the 1400s, and today you can buy goods

from modern merchants in the very same

plazas.

On the day we toured Majdanek

concentration camp we confronted the

greatest examples of cruelty and barbarism

ever known -- nightmarish in scope. With

lumps in our throats, we walked along,

seeing the restored camp and hearing of

unbelievably vicious and sadistic behavior

perpetrated by the Nazis against our own.

The evil was world-ending. Our group

departed. Lost in quiet thought our bus

drove away from Majdanek. An hour later

the right side of the tour bus called out:

“Look, a beautiful rainbow!’

Its colors were bright and vivid and it

was complete. Literally, we saw its

beginning and ending points. We all called

out so enthusiastically ‘pull over’ that our

driver reluctantly obliged although the

narrow road afforded little opportunity for

stopping.

We nearly jumped off the bus – happy

to see something beautiful. On the heels of

Majdanek we experienced the rainbow and

recited the blessing "Blessed are you God,

our God, who remembers the covenant

with the world and keeps His Divine

word.” The words and the promise of life’s

continuation after the flood of Noah

resonated loudly with us after exiting a

concentration camp. We drove away from

that spontaneous roadside stop and the

rainbow accompanied us along our trip,

escorting us to the city of Lublin and

testifying to the potential for beauty to be

present in our world. May we continue to

see rainbows, bless God over them and

share our own energies with others like

us– working to eliminate cruelty from our

beautiful world.