PARASHAT HASHAVUAH--WEEKLY TORAH PORTION COMMENTARY

We are pleased to be able to share our students'

divrei Torot (Torah commentaries) with our community. Last Saturday, Noah Boroditsky (son of Lisa and Alan Boroditsky) celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Schara Tzedeck.

There is a sentence in this week's Torah portion, in fact it's just a few words, but they contain a world of meaning among them.   

 

וְחֵי אָחִיךָ, עִמָּךְ    ...and your brother shall live WITH you.

 

The meaning behind these few, yet powerful words, is that while life may be good to you and your family, we must always be thinking of our brothers around us.  It is our obligation to make sure that those who are in need, are taken care of and are able to live their best life. And, when lending support to others in our community, it should not be in order to obtain rewards or to avoid punishment, but in a sincere manner because it is the right thing to do. Often we wait until we have a reason to focus on helping others, but the words ... and your brother shall live with you ... reminds us that we need to make this a priority in our lives. Make it so your brother will live with you, not beneath you, or above you, but beside you.

Read more online . . .

 

Isiah Bailey also celebrated his Bar Mitzvah last Saturday. Son of Sara and Craig Bailey, he delivered his D'Var Torah at the Community Kollel.

There is a story I would like to tell you that is connected to my Torah portion.

An old Chinese woman had two water cans which were attached to a yoke. Each day she put the yoke over her shoulders and went down to the river, filled the cans, and walked back to her modest hut. The water can on the right side of the yoke was fine and sturdy; when she arrived home it was always full. But the can on the left had a crack in it. By the time the woman arrived home, half the water was usually gone. The water can always felt inferior and less important to its partner. It was ashamed that it was cracked and wasn't pulling its weight. One day it turned to the woman and apologized for being defective. The woman smiled gently and said, "Did you think I didn't know that you had a crack, and water dripped from you? Look at the path from the river to my hut. Do you see all the beautiful flowers that are growing on the one side of the path? Those are the flowers that I planted there, that you watered every day as I walked home from the river."