VOLUME 20, ISSUE 21 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 / 16 IYAR 5773
CANDLE LIGHTING: 7:23 P.M. SHABBAT ENDS: 8:35 PM (CHICAGO)
TORAH PORTION: EMOR (LEVITICUS 21:1 – 24:23)
This week’s CTN Shabbat Fax is sponsored by all of us at CTN, wishing a huge
Mazel Tov to the entire Hartman family on the occasion of Ruben’s Bar Mitzvah.
May he grow to make you and the entire Jewish People proud!
Hang in there – Shabbos is coming!
1. When you reap your land’s harvest, do not completely cut the corners of your
fields … You must leave them for the poor and the stranger … (23:22)
One of the many times the Torah teaches us about charity.
It’s interesting.
Not, ‘give a portion to the poor’.
But, ‘leave it for them’.
Because it is not yours. It’s theirs.
The Jewish approach to charity.
In Hebrew, we call it Tzedakah. From the word Tzedek. Justice.
Because Judaism teaches, that we are only custodians of our Tzedakah money.
And, if we keep it for ourselves – if we are not conscientious about giving it to the needy – it’s
more than just ‘not doing a nice thing’.
It’s doing an injustice.
§ Many Jewish communities had a beautiful tradition. A very special way of doing Tzedakah.
It was done during ‘shiva’ – the mourning period following the death of a close relative.
A very difficult time.
And the last thing the family needs then, is the added burden of financial pressures.
So the community would send a large box to the home.
In it – a significant amount of money.
No one knew how much. Because it was never counted.
And in the privacy of its home, each family had a choice.
They could either take what they needed.
Or put in what they could afford.
2. Six days you may work, but Saturday is a Sabbath … Wherever you live, it is G-d’s Sabbath. (23:3)
‘Wherever you live’.
It turned out to be an accurate description of Jewish history. Because we’ve certainly lived in
many places.
Time after time, Jews had to pick up and start again.
Sometimes, it was very difficult.
This week’s CTN Shabbat Fax is sponsored by all of us at CTN, wishing a huge
Mazel Tov to the entire Hartman family on the occasion of Ruben’s Bar Mitzvah.
May he grow to make you and the entire Jewish People proud!
Lack of opportunity. Struggle. Poverty. And worse.
At others times, things were much better.
Freedom. Acceptance. Success. And wealth.
The Torah gives us a tool. A way to deal with both.
The tool? Shabbat.
Think of the Jews of the shtetel. How tough their life was. In so many ways.
And how hard they worked – to just barely make it.
But when Shabbat came – everything changed.
They wore the best clothes they had. Made their meals a little more special.
They lit candles. Sang songs. And celebrated being Jewish.
And it worked.
Whatever their weekdays were like – on Shabbat their home was a castle.
For most of us, it’s a very different story. Thank G-d.
But Shabbat is no less meaningful. Because it has a powerful message for us as well.
It reminds us: True. Freedom and success are wonderful.
But we can get caught up in them. And lose sight of what’s really important in life.
Shabbat tells us to step back. And focus.
To get in touch with our family. Our heritage. Our priorities.
And ourselves.
Ellis Island. Today, it houses a fascinating museum. Documenting the waves of immigration
in the early 1900’s.
One of the things you’ll see in it is a copy of a note written by a child.
About his family’s journey to America.
“The most important thing my mother packed for the voyage, were her Bible, and her Sabbath
candle sticks …”
