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Rabbi Sherman’s Weekly Torah Commentary – March 25-26 , 2022 (23 Adar II 5782)

 March 25-26, 2022                                                                          Shabbat Shemini
23 Adar II 5782                                                                                Shabbat Parah

                                                                                                         Shabbat Mevarkhim haChodesh

Sometimes words cannot adequately express a feeling in a particular moment.

This week, our Torah offers us a model for silence. The parsha begins with the ordination of Aaron and his four sons. Then the two youngest sons, Nadav and Avihu, offer a sacrifice that results in fiery terror: “Fire came forth from the Eternal and consumed them; thus, they died” (Leviticus 10:1-2). Aaron stands before the burnt bodies of his sons, and he is silent. Aaron’s silence is a profoundly deep and personal response that resonates with our own life experiences.

Rabbi Zoe Klein writes: “There are moments in which words can only cheapen. Silence and empty space can create things of beauty. Music is not only notes; it is silences… Aaron’s silence is the ingredient of all art.”

When have you experienced a silence that was more powerful than words?

 

Shabbat Parah

This is the third of four special Shabbatot leading up to Passover. It falls on the Shabbat preceding the new month of Nisan. The special Torah reading tells the story of the parah adumah (red heifer). In the days of the Temple, the priest would use the ashes of the red heifer to purify people who were in a ritually impure state, which would have prevented them from being eligible to eat of the Passover sacrifice.

 

Shabbat Mevarkhim HaChodesh
This Shabbat we bless the new month of Nisan, which will begin Friday night and Saturday.

 

Please join in this week’s Shabbat celebrations; services on Channel 1960 or in the Synagogue

Friday at 5:15 PM             Shabbat Blessings in the Dining Room

Friday at 6:30 PM             Shabbat Evening Service

Saturday at 10:00 AM      Shabbat Morning Service followed by Blessings in the Dining Room

 

 

Candle lighting time for the city of Mission Viejo: Friday evening at 6:48 PM

Shabbat ends Saturday evening at 7:44 PM

 

Shabbat Shalom                                                                                               Rabbi Sherman