Shabbat Terumah morning service - 17-02-2024

shabbat shalom everybody Welcome to our service for Shabbat and would you please turn to page 15656 in the sedur the family of Israel we are one small part of the family of Israel together with all other holy communities we turn to God in whom we trust you are the righteousness our prophets proclaimed and the wisdom our rabbis sought you are the truth and Glory of our history our strength in all the changes of the world you led our ancestors to Greatness may you guide us and our children in the days that lie ahead we bow to you alone and stand upright before All Peoples by serving you we are free to serve all Humanity your righteousness unites the family of Israel scattered throughout throughout the world it speaks to us in every tongue in every place to make us the instruments of your peace the guardian of Israel never Slumbers and never sleeps May the one who makes peace and Harmony in the highest bring this peace upon us and through this People Israel to all the world and let us say amen amen and now would you please turn to page page 160 for mat Vu please stand if you're [Music] able [Music] fore [Music] May [Music] is oh hallelu [Music] he [Music] hallel please be seated and on page 162 the gift of our body blessed are you our God who heals All Flesh and performs such wonders and on the facing page [Music] blessed are you God giving New Life to our bodies each day and on page [Music] [Music] 164 [Music] El [Music] [Music] is [Music] on page 166 we should always be in a of God in private as well as in public speak the truth aloud and mean it in our heart please join me in English our living God and God of our ancestors help us to live according to your teaching and to hold fast to your commands let us not come into the power of sin or wrongdoing Temptation or disgrace let no Evil Within Us control us and keep us far from bad people and Bad Company help us hold fast to the good within us and to good deeds and bend our will and our desires to serve you give us today and everyday Grace kindness and mercy in your sight and in the sight of all who regard us and grant us your love and kindness blessed are you God inspiring your People Israel with love and kindness source of [Music] existence for in your presence are not the powerful as nothing the famous as if they had never existed the Learned as if without knowledge and the intelligent as if without insight to you most of our actions are pointless and our daily life is shallow even our superiority over the animals is nothing for everything is Trivial except the pure Soul which must one day give its account and Reckoning before the Judgment seat of your glory yet we are your people the children of your Covenant the children of Abraham whom you loved giving him your promise on Mount Mar IAH the descendants of Isaac bound as an offering on the altar the congregation of Jacob your son your special son out of your love for him and your Delight in him you changed his name to Israel and yesun blessed are you God you make your name holy before allai mades [Music] I have chosen for our study passage or passages this Shabbat morning two passages which are close to my family and close to me the first is by Jacob shavit artson who is now in his early 30s and suff suffers suffers has the condition of profound autism which is something very close to my family through our wonderful granddaughter liby and the second piece I've chosen is because it's close to me they can be found on page 523 on the subject of judging others Torah amen Hillel was a great teacher of Torah I love Hillel saying that you should never judge a person until you are in his or her shoes I have often felt judged by people who look at me and think I am because I can't speak or move the way most people can Hillel probably didn't know anyone who had autism but his teachings are very meaningful to me because I love Torah just as he did and it is very comforting to know that great Jews Like Hillel have taught about me without even knowing me I learn from him that I also need to be more patient with people and try to see their perspective before I make negative judgments about them and the second piece respect an old man who has lost his learning through no fault of his own the fragments of the tablets broken by Moses were kept in the Ark of the Covenant alongside the new ones on page 170 Isel blessed are you God you teach Torah to your People Israel and then if you're able please stand on page 171 [Music] [Music] Adon [Music] hallelu [Music] hallelu hallelu and over the page [Music] for [Music] for [Music] please be seated and now on page 74 174 have I got that right no I haven't I'm I'm looking 180 180 I beg you po page 180 um Hallelujah Psalm 150 page 180 hallelu Hallelujah hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu hallelu good [Applause] hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu hallel [Music] huel hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu and before we sing uh dorra on page 186 I just draw your attention to the remarks at the bottom of page 187 which points out that the first letters of each line of the first second and third and final verses spell the name Dunes indicating that the author is dunas Ben laat from 10th Century Fez this is the bit that I think is very important for us Shabbat offers Solace but does not remove the bitterness and anger of an exiled people the opening call to Freedom turns to the wish for the destruction of the Nations and powers that destroyed and Enslaved the Jewish people then in A Renewed world the Wilderness will flourish people will sing God's praises and be able truly to keep Shabbat and our rabbis have modified the violence of the two verses calling for the destruction of enemies Israel's enemies asking instead for an end to their hatred and for their repent repentance thank [Music] you [Music] all [Music] la [Music] Shalom sh la la la la la la la [Music] la [Music] oh [Music] and now would you please turn to page 198 for amen am am page [Music] 200 you are [Music] called [Music] [Applause] [Music] El and now if you would turn to page 203 in the middle of the [Music] page [Music] if you are able please stand for yishak on page [Music] 204 [Music] for [Music] [Music] amen [Music] amen [Music] [Music] ad hallel [Music] please be seated blessed are you our living God Sovereign of the universe please join me who forms light yet creates Darkness who makes peace yet creates all all things Proclaim you all things honor you and all say none is Holy like God the one who gives light to all the world and those who live in it renews in goodness the work of Creation Day by Day God how great are your works you made them all in wisdom the Earth is full of your creatures you are the only Sovereign exalted from from the beginning of time who has been worshiped praised and glorified since days of old Everlasting God in your great Mercy have mercy upon us source of our strength Rock of our protection shield of our safety our true protector cause a new light to shine upon Zion and may we all be worthy soon to enjoy its brightness blessed are you God who creat the lights of the universe and on page [Music] 2 [Music] [Music] foron blessed are you God who chooses your People Israel in Love on page 212 sh Isel we continue in silence reading for to ourselves or in reflection come together in the middle of page 216 your [Music] for [Music] [Music] top of page 217 Elohim it is you who always helped our ancestors in every generation you were the shield and savior for them and their children after them happy indeed are those who hear your commands and set your teaching and your word upon their hearts it is true that you are the first and that you are the last and besides you we have no Sovereign who rescues and saves us from Egypt you delivered us Eternal Our God and redeemed us from the camp of slavery Moses and Miram and the children of Israel responded to you in song with great joy all of them [Music] saying of our heart he Lord [Music] all we [Music] GL Lord [Music] all [Music] oh [Music] she [Music] she she [Music] high [Music] oh [Music] all we prepare for the amida which begins on page 222 with Z [Music] Isel oh is is [Music] my is my [Music] to he our [Music] El [Music] [Applause] for [Music] 224 [Music] [Music] for [Music] Cades shim [Music] Amar lumu [Music] [Music] High [Music] Hallelujah Adonai hos Moses rejoiced at the gift of his Destiny for you called him a faithful servant you set a Radiance about his head when he stood before you on Mount siai bringing down in his hand the two tablets of stone on which is written the Shabbat command and so it is written in your [Music] Torah [Music] Isel [Music] the [Music] May [Music] Our God and God of our ancestors May our rest be pleasing to you make us holy by doing your commands and let us share in the work of your Torah make us content with your goodness and let our souls know the joy of your salvation purify our hearts to serve you in truth in your love and good will let us inherit your holy Shabbat and may all Israel who seek Holiness find in it their rest blessed are you God you God who makes the Shabbat holy bar Adonai [Music] l [Music] for [Music] for [Music] shal [Music] oh his [Music] to [Music] [Music] the all is [Music] is Page 234 my God keep my tongue from causing harm and my lips from telling lies let me be silent if people curse me my soul still humble and at peace with all open my heart to your teaching and give me the will to practice it may the plans and schemes of those who seek my my harm come to nothing and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you oh God my rock and my [Music] redeemer please be seated [Music] let [Music] she [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] God [Music] all she [Music] she [Music] all all [Music] the May the maker of Peace in the highest bring this peace upon us upon all Israel and upon all the [Music] world we are hallelu say shalom shalom shal is shal Shalom our God is we now turn to the Torah service which begins on page 236 and if you're able would you please [Music] stand [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for you take I [Music] the [Music] s [Music] I is the all [Music] sh Isel Adonai elohenu [Music] Adonai [Music] their [Music] the [Music] the please be seated [Music] yov [Music] the all [Music] sh [Music] shalom [Music] around [Music] than is it in place yes it is uh this morning's reading comes from Exodus chap 29 27: 1-19 can be found in the HZ shash on page 334 and the plout on page 69 you shall make the altar of of acacia wood 5 cubits long and 5 cubits wide the alar is to be square and three cubits High make its horns on the Four Corners the horns to be of one piece with it and overlay it with copper make the pales for removing its ashes as well as its scrapers basins flesh Hooks and fire pans make all its utensil of copper make for it a grating of mesh work in Copper and on the mesh make four copper rings at its Four Corners set the mesh below under the ledge of the altar so that it extends to the middle of the Altar and make poles for the altar poles of acacia wood and overlay them with copper the poles shall be insert Ed into the Rings so that the poles remain on two sides of the altar when it is carried make it Hollow of boards as you were shown on the mountain so shall they be made you shall make the enclosure of the Tabernacle on the South Side 100 cubits of hanging of hangings of fine Twisted linen for the length of the enclosure on that side with its 20 posts and their 20 sockets of copper the hooks and bands of the posts to be of silver again 100 cubits of hangings for its length along the north side and with its 20 posts and their 20 sockets of copper the hooks and bands of the post to be of silver for the width of the enclosure on the West Side 50 cubits of hangings with their 10 posts and their 10 sockets for the width of the enclosure on the front or east side 50 cubits 15 cubits of hangings on the one flank with their three posts and their three sockets 15 cubits of hanging on the other flank and their three posts and their three sockets and for the Gate of the enclosure a a screen of 20 cubits of blue purple and Crimson Yarns and fine Twisted linen done in embroidery with their four posts and their for sockets all the posts around the enclosure shall be banded with silver and their hook shall be of silver their socket shall be of copper the length of the enclosure shall be 100 cubits and the width 50 throughout and the height of 5 cubits with with hangings of fine Twisted linen the socket shall be of copper all the utensils of the Tabernacle for all its Service as well as all its pegs and all the pegs of the Court shall be of copper stand byel amen for for a closer y y benimon you can [Music] see amen amen amen [Music] Adonai amen for [Music] El amen before we go any further I will just like to say a word to on behalf of the congregation to Julia um as you probably noticed um she's not at all unfamiliar with the Hebrew language but this is actually the first time if that's right that she has read from the scroll so we and and and and I I I would hesitate to say it's the first time that one of Al haa heads has read from the scroll because because I'm probably admitting something I have a sort of feeling it's not all that common that it happens so I'm going to I'm going first of all we're going to Sayan all right so we say and we say and I'm also going to say blessed are you our living God Sovereign of the universe you have given a share of your wisdom to those in a of you thank you very much you would please [Music] stand thear is from the book of KS making the connection between the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and Solomon building his Temple um the the the haftara the traditional haftara is actually a few chapters before what I'm going to read what I'm going to read actually I'm afraid is not in the Kash uh what the Kash is describing both in the in the Sidra and in the haftara is the actual building of the mishan which is kind of the how how do you build a mishan how do you build a temple um this follows in uh the book of Kings immediately after the finishing of the mishan of of the temple and it's why what what are you going to do with this building that you have just built so so um that's what I'm going to be reading from it is from the book of Kings chap uh First Kings chter 8: 31 to 43 whenever one man commits an offense against another and the latter utters an implication to bring a curse upon him and comes with his implication before your altar in this house oh here in heaven and take action to judge your servants condemning him who is wrong and bringing down the punishment of his conduct on his head vindicating him who is in the the right by rewarding him according to his righteousness should your People Israel be routed by an enemy because they have sinned against you and then turn back to you and acknowledge your name and they offer prayer and supplication to you in this house oh ha in heaven and pardon the sin of your People Israel and restore them to the land that you gave to their fathers should the heavens be shut up and there be no rain because they have sinned against you and then they pray towards the place and acknowledge your name and repent of their sin when you answer them oh here in heaven and pardon the sin of your servants your People Israel after you have shown them the proper way in which they are to walk and send down the rain upon the land which you gave to your people as their Heritage so too if there is a famine in the land if there is pestilence blight milu Locus or caterpillars or if an enemy oppresses them in any of the settlements of the land in any plague in any disease in any prayer or supplication offered by any person among all your people Israel each of whom knows his own Affliction when he spreads his palms towards this house oh here in your heavenly Abode and pardon and take action render to each man according to his ways as you know his heart to be for you alone know the hearts of all men so that they may rever you all the days that they live on the land that you gave to our fathers or if a foreigner who is not of your People Israel comes from a distant land for the sake of your name for they shall hear about your great name and your Mighty hand and your outstretched arm when he comes to pray towards this house oh here in your heavenly Abode and Grant all that the Foreigner asks you for thus all the people of the earth will come will know your name and rever you as does your People Israel and they will recognize that your name is attached to this house that I have [Music] built [Music] okay would you please stand the prayers of the community oh God who Dominion is Everlasting we ask you to bless His Majesty King Charles and to guide the government of this country help us to be good citizens working together for justice and peace at home and abroad bless the ho this holy community and all holy communities and support the life and work of all who labor for their welfare Our God and God of our ancestors we ask your blessing on the state of Israel and all who live there give wisdom and understanding to its leaders and friendship and compassion to the people so that there may be lasting peace on its borders and in its homes soon may your promise be fulfilled for Torah shall come out of Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem we ask you to listen to our prayers and look on us kindly supporting those who are troubled consoling the bered sending relief to those in pain and worry and anxiety as you bless bless our fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob and our mothers Sarah Rebecca Rachel and Leia bless our own congregation and all other congregations gathered in prayer and everyone who responds to the needs of the community may such be the Divine will and let us say amen amen God Our Redeemer who set us free from the slavery of Egypt we turn to you to release all hostages and captives all who are enslaved to others we pray now in particular for those people taken hostage on October the 7th and on reflection would like to add all those who are held in abeyance by terrorists in the land of Gaza may you be with them at this time of trial give wisdom and strength to those who are who work for their release and bring about a speedy end to this suffering may you support the families and friends who can only watch and wait in fear and anxiety help us know what we too can do when prayers are not enough and we sayon El [Music] blessed are you our living God Sovereign of the universe whose Commandments make us holy and who commands us concerning the freeing of captives amen after the hallelu the processionary hymn will be uh from Psalm 63 which You may wish to turn to on page which I had here a moment ago 643 [Music] 643 [Music] is hallelu hallelu and on page 643 from Psalm [Music] 63 [Music] the [Music] come [Music] come come on come [Music] on [Music] Bo [Music] y [Music] [Music] y [Music] Al [Music] shall [Music] you got the outside yes I do traditionally the first tractate of the talmud that a boy and it would be a boy would be given to study even at the age of eight was bsia the Middle Gate it's part of an ancient tractate called nikin or damages and it concerns business dealings between people it's civil law and is concerned with the finding of lost objects misrepresentation of merchandise monetary fraud prohibitions on charging interest and permission Grant Ed to a worker to eat from the produce with which he is working at First Sight we might wonder just why this tractate was chosen to initiate the youngster into the study of talwood it shouldn't strike us as quite so unexpected if we recall that our tradition teaches that there is an essential uh there's no essential distinction between matters between a person and the [Music] Creator and those between one person and another in other words the study of Judaism is the study of the laws and principles governing our Behavior to each other which in a sense is also part of an important part of our relationship with the divine well I learned this myself when I purchased and studied the first of Rabbi Adin steinel's translations into modern Hebrew and English and his commentaries of talmood the first volume published apart from a sort of handbook on terms was bsia and I've consulted his introduction to that volume in preparation of this sermon the first chapter which opens the volume babsia is called after the opening words of the mishna passage which is subsequently studied in the Gamora or discussion so together mishna plus gamorra equals talud and the chapter is called sh two are holding very literally the mishna reads two are holding onto a garment sh this one says I found it mat and this one says I found it this one says all of it is mine Kula and this one says all of it is mine kou this one shall swear that he does not have less than half of it and this one shall swear that he does not have less than half of it and they shall divide it I wonder if I can convey just how much discovering this passage and learning of its being the introduction to talmudic study has over time seized my imagination again and again and drawn me into what I can only call what has become my love of Judaism on the face of it it's hardly the candidate for the greatest spiritual Insight but on reflection how much it unfolds and indeed how much it illuminates our parasha this Shabbat let's consider another candidate for the first lesson in Judaism love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord yeah that should be good shouldn't it the Golden Rule as taught in Torah but also the Golden Rule as taught in just about every other wisdom tradition of the ancient modern world as it happens including the stoic philosophers who didn't believe in God there is the great moral and spiritual lesson though the inspiration to goodliness and godliness yes but if it is indeed that why do we even need to be taught it why do we ever forget it why do we find it so hard in practice in reality in the tless of life to keep that Holiness commandment why well because of where Bia sh begins we find ourselves holding things that others claim we find ourselves in competition or in rivalry with others over what we hold to be our just rights over what belongs to us and not to them and the 8-year-old boy or girl come to that who's invited to read those simple statements of mishar understands exactly what is going on what child hasn't said that toy is mine you can't have it and the other one said I saw it first it points to what makes the Commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves necessary the fact that our common experience is one of competition for resources for ownership for taking hold of things or claiming territory because that is what's conveyed by that verb take hold grasp take possession of property or in the case of real estate occupy a house or land the life of the spirit is not some ethereal thing but it is rooted in our material being our needs our Ambitions our aspirations all of which may be Sanctified may be um well-lived or else they may indeed bring us into conflict with our neighbors who become our Rivals a threat to us our enemies when their needs their material claims in the world limit or seem to encroach on ours the missioner opens with two people genuinely laying claim to the same talit or cloak and we can imagine it was laid down at the edge of a field say where they're working during the daytime and at the end of the day tired they both go to reclaim their talit their their their cloak but now there is only one there one probably the other one was taken away by mistake by somebody else and now they both think it's theirs the one that's left the Garra goes on to offer a possible solution to this problem if certain conditions are met and it amounts effectively to sharing or dividing the Garment neither party will get all they claim but through compromise each will gain some satisfaction but seizing holding taking possession is not seen as of itself necessarily conferring a right of ownership it's not about who grabs it first we could can discuss in this sorry we can discern in this an appreciation of the principles involved in what we call ownership that apply well beyond the question of one particular garment because property rights indeed the right to personal property is commonly thought of as a Cornerstone of citizens freedoms and when that is severely curtailed in a society it's usually a totalitarian one if we now consider our portion TOA and at the same time remember that there should be no significant distinction between what we should strive for in our relations to other people and what we should strive for in relations to the Divine then we can see how our entitlement to ownership may bring us into conflict or a conflict of interests with God just as it might indeed often does with other people how does that arise it arises when we consider that the world when we fail to consider that the world and that all that is in it that from which we all have um and need for for which all we have and all we need for our survival in our prosperity when we forget that this is in reality given us the heavens and the earth and the Seas and all that is in them are the Lords that is the creation which the makes that which we did not ourselves make but which was made put in place before us the world is given us and in that sense we own it but it is a shared ownership we are granted the benefit of it the fruits of nature its raw materials but we might think we have been entrusted with a lifetimes lease and a shared lease and like much of what we feel We Own It commits us to responsibilities and is bound up by law in contracts concerning how we use and dispose of that property I may own my car but there are certain things I'm not allowed to do with it sadly the portion Tuma is named after the bringing of gifts very especially to make and embellish the Tabernacle the mishan as a focal point for the presence of God God and listening to it again this morning I was thinking that's that's an awful lot of wonderful material that has suddenly become available to the children of Israel in the desert after fleeing from um from Egypt in other words a lot of good things came out with them there is a question as to whether we took it by force or whether it was given to us and it's quite an interesting discussion terms in the Torah and quite honestly it refuses to reveal whether we took or whether we were given all the goods that we took out of Egypt anyway there it is uh it's a focal point this bishan for the presence of God but the gifts the people are to bring and they're asked to give are what belong to God and were given to the people the gold silver and jewels brought out of Egypt and which are not for personal use these essentially were given to God and then transferred to us the model of Tuma is a reminder that we should not forget that what we have has been given us and that we must also ourselves remember to give to bestow gifts or blessings showing recognition of the Divine source of our lives and participating ourselves in the Divine by giving by sharing at the root of the word is not in fact the idea of giving handing over it's not the opposite of a for example but the idea of raising up it suggests the act of raising something up to present it to someone as a gift or to God in a sacrifice but it also so suggests a reciprocal or reflexive action in raising up a gift we are ourselves raised up metaphorically lifted above the material transactions of ownership to participate in what is kadosh Holy transcending our animal nature and our animal needs and bestowing blessing so when we think of ownership of property as an essential condition of a person's Freedom as a citizen our tradition comes to teach us that that freedom allows us it is the freedom to choose it allows us the choice as to how we use what we have whether as a blessing or not unlike some other Traditions Judaism sees ownership and prosperity and wealth not as obstacles to spiritual growth but as opportunities to do good and in true humility to learn to sh share and to support others who may be in need thank you um a kohu um no we're going to go P straight to page 310 to alenu please [Music] [Music] for go [Music] El [Music] on page 313 please say with me therefore almighty God we put our hope in you soon let us witness the glory of your power when the worship of material things shall pass away from the earth and Prejudice and Superstition shall at last be cut off when the world will be set right by the rule of God and all Humanity shall speak out in your name and all the wicked of the Earth shall turn to you then all who inhabit this world shall meet in understanding and shall know that we are all Partners in the repairing of your world for yours alone is the true Kingdom and only the glory of your rule endures forever and so it is written in your Torah the Eternal shall rule forever and ever and so it is pro prophesied the Eternal shall be Sovereign over all the Earth on that day the Eternal shall be one and known as [Music] [Applause] one are we are we opening the ark yes we remember with affection those of our loved ones who are no longer with us and we extend our sympathy to all those who are in mourning or who remember a yach site at this time we recall with sadness all those members and family of our community who have passed away in the last month and we think of Ruth Marin wife of Marcel mother of Daniel Anita and Helena and their partners and half sister of Miriam grandmother of Sam Rebecca Adam and Hannah know me and Aiden and of Walter half stepfather of Michael and Diane cousin of Eileen and of Aubrey silverston brother of Robert Silverstone and we call to mind especially on this Shabbat those whose yard site has fallen during the past week Mary Rubenstein grandmother of Patrick Bower Julia kleene mother of NY Glazer Israel hesen father of Shirley Gordon Harry Davis father of Raymond Davis Dy James sister of Alice Samson margerie hurn mother of Leslie gelbart Michael Johnson brother of Susan Abrahams Ralph libson father of relle libson Claire Sheridan daughter of Ellen Sheridan kit zahavi mother of mik adelstein Keith fredman father of Michael fredman Gideon beera father of Deborah Sharp Robert bath son of Thomas and Muriel B Anne B mother of Thomas B and Rudy Lon father of Gillian Salem there's souls are now at peace their Memory Remains alive in our hearts the memory of the righteous shall be as a blessing and in their memory may we find consolation as we give praise to God in the words of the Kadesh [Music] [Music] sh imen May the maker of Peace in the highest bring this peace upon us upon all Israel and upon all the world and we say amen amen are there maybe announcements yes um I'll make a couple of announcements later at kiddish but I just got the thank you which I give out most sincerely first of all to Rabbi Tony for leading a very beautiful service and a very thought provoking sermon to our choir introducing us also to some new Melodies today it was very nice thank you very much um to our Tech Team Andrew and we had a full compliment of security this morning which was wonderful Angela Melissa Emma and Camila must be ladies day today thank you very much shabbat shalom page 320 Adon [Music] Lam [Music] [Music] go [Music] the [Music] bled with theold [Music] blessing Shalom may God bless you and keep you may God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you may God's face turn towards you and give you his gift of Shalom of peace and integrity Shabbat sh

Channel: Wimbledon Synagogue

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Keywords: Reform Judaism, Shacharit, Wimbledon Synagogue, Adrian Schell, Synagogue, Sabbath, Shabbat, Jewish Service, Jewish, Rabbi, UK, Kabbalat Shabbat, London, Torah service

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Length: 111min 10sec (6670 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 18 2024