Dear Friends:
I want to share with you this morning a brief summary of my introduction to the Torah reading this past Shabbat. Last week’s parasha, Matot-Masei, contains the story of Zelophehad’s daughters. Zelophehad had five daughters but no sons; in biblical law, only sons inherited their father’s estate. When he died, his daughters went to Moses and asked why the family should lose their inheritance just because their father had no sons.
Moses said that they should wait until he went to consult God. The previous occasion when Moses said to wait until he could consult God was with men who had participated in burying a corpse shortly before Pesach and therefore were precluded from joining in the Pesach sacrifice. This resulted in the institution of Pesach Sheni, a “makeup” opportunity a month later. Here, God told Moses that the daughters could inherit but if so, they had to marry within their tribe so the inheritance would not pass into the hands of a different tribe.
In both cases, strict adherence to the original laws as proclaimed by God would have resulted in an unjust situation. Since God’s Torah is intended to create a just world, unjust results cannot be tolerated, and thus God changes or modifies the laws as originally given. This should guide our contemporary approach as well; as my late friend Rabbi Clifford Librach put it, “substantial moral defect requires immediate normative correction.”
On Monday night August 12 at 8 pm, we will be hosting joint services for Tisha B’Av with five other synagogues from central and upper Montgomery County. We will be joined by clergy and congregants from B’nai Shalom of Olney, Shaare Tefila, Kol Shalom, Tikvat Israel, and Shaare Torah. We have participated in joint services for Tisha B’Av and Selichot with various combinations of these congregations for many years, but in the last few years have rarely been able to host because our building was being used by one or another of our tenants. Because this year Tisha B’Av evening is on Monday, when we do not have renters, we are able to host and return the hospitality of the other congregations. If for no other reason, it is important that we have a respectable turnout of Kehilat Shalom congregants that evening.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building. Please note that I will not be having drop-in hours this week as I prepare for my medical procedure scheduled for Friday morning. There will be no Rabbi’s Update Friday.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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