September 5, 2009

Parsha Ki Tavo

September 5, 2009 5 Elul, 5769

Torah Artscroll, 1068 Hertz, 859 Haftorah Artscroll, 1201 Hertz, 874 Times Candle lighting

7:05 pm

Mincha

7:00 pm

Hashkama

8:00 am

Youth

8:30 am

Main Minyan

9:00 am

Beit Midrash

9:15 am

Gemorah Shiur

5:55 pm

Mincha

6:55 pm

Shabbat Ends

8:11 pm

Sun., and Mon.,

6:35 am

Tues., Wed., Fri.,

6:45 am

Mincha (week of September 6th)

The beginning of this week's Parsha contains "Vidui Ma'aser" [the confession of the tithes], which is said at the conclusion of bringing the tithes. The Torah describes the process of "Vidui Ma'aser": "Then you shall say before Hashem, your G-d: 'I have removed the holy things from the house, and I have also given it to the Levite, to the convert, to the orphan, and to the widow, according to whatever commandment You commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten. I have not eaten of it in my intense mourning, I did not consume it in a state of contamination, and I did not give of it for the needs of the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of Hashem, my G-d; I have acted according to everything You commanded me.'" [Devarim 26:13-14]

7:30 /8:30am

Thursday

Second Shacharit Minyan (Daily)

Rabbi Frand Thoughts on the Parsha

7:45 am 7:00 pm

Latest times for Shema/Shmoneh Esrei September 5

9:39/10:44 am

September 12

9:4110:44 am

Next Shabbat – Nitzavim Vayelech Candle lighting

6:53 pm

Mincha

6:55 pm

This is a rather strange statement to be called a "confession." Normally we think of Vidui [confession] as an enumeration of things that a person has done wrong: "For this sin...; For that sin..." However, this paragraph is called a "Confession of tithes," despite the fact that the person testifies that he has done everything properly.

The climax of this recital is the following pasuk [verse]: "Gaze down (Hashkeefa) from Your holy abode, from the heavens, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground that You gave us, as You swore to our forefathers, a Land flowing with milk and honey." [Devorim 26:15]

Ma'aser inevitably and invariably invites looking down from Heaven with the Attribute of Judgment. Whenever a Jew says to the Almighty, "I've done it all" there is bound to be Judgment. No Jew should ever make that claim! Man can never be found totally innocent before Him in Judgment. As good as we may think we are, we dare not brag about it to G-d. It is like asking for an audit! One may be the In connection with the destruction of Sdom [Bereshis most honest person in the world, 18:16], Rashi comments on the but it is never wise to ask for an audit. singular nature of the word Hashkeefa, coming from the verb VaYashkef [and he gazed Once the "vidui" has claimed such down]: "Every place where the meticulous observance and Torah uses the word fulfillment of duties, inevitably the Hashkeefa, it connotes evil -– a "hashkeefa" will be "for evil" -– if looking down from Heaven not for the fact that the merit of utilizing the Attribute of Din "Gifts to the poor" transforms the [Judgment] with the intent of Attribute of Judgment to the meeting out punishment." Attribute of Mercy. However, this pasuk (Devorim 26:15) is the exception to the rule. Here the word Hashkeefa A "Chassidishe Vort" invokes the Attribute of Mercy. "Great are gifts to the poor", The following Chassidic insight is a comments Rashi, "for their classic "Chassidishe vort". It must fulfillment enables the Attribute be prefaced with the concept that of Judgment to be transformed "one does not ask questions on to the Attribute of Mercy." homiletic expositions" (ayn meyshivin al ha'drush). This is certainly not the straightforward Rav Schwab asks a simple interpretation (pshat) of the pasuk question: Why, in fact, is the word 'Hashkeefa' used in Vidui we will be quoting, nor is it meant to be. The concept of ayn meyshivin Ma'aser? If in fact the word 'Hashkeefa' has connotations of al ha'drush means that the underlying lesson inferred from the punishment and destruction, why not formulate the prayer at pasuk is true, whether or not the the end of the Tithe Confession pasuk is coming to teach this particular lesson at its simple level using a different verb? of understanding. The "Chassidishe vort" uses the medium of pasukim The answer is that Vidui

Kiddush is sponsored by Michelle & Norman Rutta In honor of the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Rebecca

26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100

in Chumash -– sometimes with inappropriate punctuation -to teach us moral lessons that are true and eternal, irrespective of the source of that teaching. The pasuk in the Tochacha states: "Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness, and goodness of heart, when everything was abundant". [Devorim 28:47] This pasuk appears well into the body of the long and harsh litany of curses presented in the Tochacha. This is a mind-boggling pasuk. All of these many bitter curses can apparently come, not merely for not doing the mitzvos, but for not doing them with JOY (b'simcha). The Chassidic insight into the pasuk is based on a pasuk in Tehillim [38:10]: "My Master, before You are all my desires and my sighing is not hidden from you." There is no fooling the Master of the Universe. He sees into our hearts. Dovid HaMelech tells the Almighty, "Hashem you know exactly what I am thinking. I am not going to deny it. My desires, my urges, my impulses are all laid out before You. But, Master of the Universe, neither is my sighing hidden from You either." In other words, I may sin because of my inner impulses and my evil inclination, but when I do those sins it is with pain, regret, and feelings of guilt. With this understanding we can return to the "Chassidic repunctuation" of the pasuk in the Tochacha: The punishments are coming: "Because you did not serve Hashem" -– meaning you stumbled and you did all kinds of sins and forbidden actions. But what really bothers the Almighty is that these sins were committed -– not with sighing and groaning -– but "amid gladness and goodness of heart". There was not guilt or remorse. The sins were committed as unadulterated pleasures. When sin is devoid of any type of remorse, then the Tochacha follows. A "Chassidishe Story" Finally I would like to share a true Chassidic story involving the Klausenberger Rebbe, zt"l. This is an incident that happened shortly after World War II. The Klausenberger Rebbe made it out of the concentration camps. He gathered together a small community of followers who also survived the Holocaust and from this small group, he eventually rebuilt the whole community. We are all familiar with the near universal custom that when Great Neck Synagogue Shabbat Activities Program

Dale Polakoff, Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, Assistant Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,z”l, Rabbi Emeritus Zeev Kron, Cantor Eleazer Schulman, z”l, Cantor Emeritus Mark Twersky, Executive Director Howard Silberstein, President Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board

Shabbat Announcements Parshat KiTavo 5769

the Torah reader reads the Tochacha in both Parshas Bechukosai and Ki Savo, he reads it in a subdued tone. We rush through it, as it were, and do not interrupt to give extra aliyos within those sections. We read it in hushed tones, as if to say: "If we read it quietly maybe it won't happen." It was Parshas Ki Savo in the late 1940s and the Klausenberger Rebbe was in New York with his small minyan of followers. When the Baal Koreh began the Tochacha, he began it in a low voice, as is the custom in Israel. The Klausenberger Rebbe banged on his shtender [lectern] and said "louder!" The Baal Koreh thought that he was reading so low that no one could hear, so he raised his voice a bit. Again the Rebbe banged and said "louder!" By the third time this scenario was repeated, the Baal Koreh got the message. The Rebbe did not want him to read the Tochacha in low tones or even in regular tones, but at the top of his lungs. The Baal Koreh came to the Rebbe after the minyan and asked for an explanation. The Rebbe responded: "This can be read quietly when you are afraid that it might happen and you don't know what is going to happen to you once it happens. We, however, have already lived through this and we are still here. This is now something that we are proud of. This happened to us and we are still in shul on Shabbos. We are still reading the Torah each week! The Tochacha is now our badge of honor. It will no longer be read silently. It will be read completely out loud! We can say 'We were there. It happened to us and we have remained Jews of integrity (ehrlicher yidden).'"

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK Did you know that over 16,500 tons of building material are thrown out every day in New York City? These materials are clogging our landfills, releasing carbon into the atmosphere, and creating a need for more materials to be manufactured.

Build It Green! NYC, is New York City's only nonprofit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials. Their warehouse Has everything from panel doors to high end refrigerators and shutters to movie props all on sale at half or below their new prices. Their mission is to keep these materials out of the landfill, while offering deep discounts on their resale. Salvaged materials have been taken from a variety of buildings about to be demolished or remodeled in New York City. Surplus materials have been donated by building suppliers and contractors interested in protecting the environment and reducing their waste. And many materials have been donated by someone just like you! Thinking of replacing things around your house? Consider their usefulness to someone else. Build it Green! will even demolish your kitchen for free if you qualify, and give you up to $5000 in a tax deductible receipt. Visit the store at: 3-17 26th Ave, Astoria, NY 11102 on Tuesday -Friday: 10am - 6pm or go to their

Let’s Bring the Sweetness of Rosh Hashana to Those Less Fortunate than Ourselves! We are kicking off the second annual Great Neck Synagogue “Pass it Forward” program, designed as part of The Hunger Initiative. The goal of the program is provide needy families with food for Yom Tov and, as developed, this program presents each of us with an opportunity to help. Last year was a resounding success; the community provided almost 500 meals to those in need. We have volunteers deliver prepared food donated by the community to needy families and food pantries for distribution to those who would otherwise not have a Rosh Hashana meal. The identity of donors and recipients are anonymous, consistent with Maimonides principles of Tzedakah. This is how you can make a difference:

If you have a kosher kitchen (which means separate pots, dishes and utensils for meat and dairy and, of course, use only certified Kosher ingredients), please make doubles of something while preparing your Yom Tov meal. You can make anything – fish, chicken vegetables, meat, and dessert – or everything! (Please do not use nuts or nut oils). Then, pack your prepared food in containers which will serve 6- 8 people and deliver it to Cindy Hodkin, 18 Birchwood Lane on Wednesday September 16, 2009 between the hours of 4 and 7 pm. (NO DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 7pm) All food MUST be delivered either cold or frozen and well wrapped or packaged either in containers or well wrapped foil pans. (Please do not bring food in zip loc bags). (If you wish to start cooking soup and freezing it to donate to us, containers for the soup will be available in the synagogue office). Please attach a label to your food donation indicated what it is, i.e. chicken, kugel, etc. If you do not have a kosher kitchen or are not cooking for Yom Tov, you can purchase food and deliver it to 18 Birchwood Lane on Wednesday Sept 16th, between 4-7 pm. Please call or e-mail Cindy Hodkin at [email protected] or 516 482-7771 or 516 317-9632(cell) (before 9pm please!) When you have an idea of what you are going to prepare or buy and how many people it will serve. This is important in order to enable us to determine how many recipients we can feed. If the two previous options are not feasible, you can make a donation to the Hunger Initiative Program which will be utilized to implement this program and provide food to the hungry. Any amount will help a lot! If you would like to volunteer on WEDNESDAY, SEPT 16TH, please contact Cindy Hodkin. We need drivers to deliver food, help packing, organizing, you name it between the hours of 4-8 pm; an hour or two would be much appreciated. We welcome the participation of volunteers of all ages; including high school and middle school students (community service hours will be earned!)

We have food safety guidelines available in the Great Neck Synagogue office or on the GNS website. Please feel free to call with any questions. Thank you for your cooperation and hoping we all participate in this Mitzvah! Cindy Hodkin Chair Of Pass It Forward Margery Libin, Nechama Liss- Levinson Chairs, GNS Hunger Initiative

ANNOUNCEMENTS YOM KIPPUR APPEAL The Great Neck Synagogue will be starting its Yom Kippur Appeal shortly. Volunteers will be contacting you for your pledges. Please respond generously as you have in previous years. The Yom Kippur appeal is our main fundraiser of the year and your help is needed. Thank you. HIGH HOLIDAYS Please return your seating forms and your outstanding balances to the shul office ASAP to assure seating for the holidays. THANK YOU VERY MUCH We thank the following families for being sponsors of the Summer Learning Program: Lorraine & Harold Domnitch, Alisa & Michael Hoenig, Barbara & Gedale Horowitz Phyllis & Arthur Kirsch, Tina & Philip Machnikoff, Ruth & Milton Mitzner, Sonia & Sam Movsas, Hadassah & Jack Wachstock ANNUAL YOUTH GROUP LEADERS MEETING Rabbi Jensen would like to invite all present and potential High School Youth Group Leaders at GNS on Tuesday, September 8th at 5pm, 8th graders are welcome. BIGDEI SHABBOS Rabbi Steve Moskowitz is collecting men’s and boys’ gently worn suits, and button down shirts on hangers to donate to the needy, Please drop them off in the GNS coat room. Rabbi Moskowitz will be making weekly deliveries to Brooklyn until Rosh Hashana.

WITHIN OUR FAMILY Mazal Tov to Cheryl & Lawrence Sneag on the engagement of their son Darryl to Jennifer Wertman, from Brooklyn, NY. Mazal Tov to Helene & Mark Gersten on the birth of their granddaughter born to their children Eliezer (Larry) & Batsheva Gersten in Israel, joining siblings Esti & Tova. Mazal Tov to Sydelle & Israel Slochowsky on the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter Rebecca, daughter of Michelle & Benjamin Hering. Mazal Tov to Michelle & Norman Rutta on the Bat Mitzvah for their daughter Rebecca. Mazal Tov to Alina & Lev Dynkin on the Bat Mitavah for their daughter Rachel. Mazal Tov to Gloria Faizakoff on the engagement of her son Daniel to Debra Dickstein, daughter of Sharon & Alan Dickstein of Middletown NY.

EIRUV EMERGENCY Once a year, we ask each family in the community for a suggested donation of $100 to help us continue to maintain the Eiruv. It is necessary for all of the families living within the Eiruv to send in this taxdeductible contribution for the continued upkeep of our Eiruv. You can either send your check made out to the “Eiruv Association of Great Neck” to our synagogue office or to the following address: Eiruv Association of Great Neck, c/o Ronald Malen, 24 Old Pond Road, Great Neck, NY 11023.

SAM AHARONOFF MEMORIAL SHIVTEI TORAH CAMPAIGN The Siyum will take place on Sun., Nov. 22nd, the Yahrzeit weekend of Sam Aharonoff z”l. All proceeds will support the Sam Aharonoff Memorial Scholarship Fund to help offset tuition costs for dozens of needy students. CHOLENT Stock up on a bag or two of Rabbi Moskowitz’s cholent for your Yom To participate in the campaign or for more info: www.shivteitorah.org, or call Arnie Flatow 487-8687 ext 2. Tov guests! $50 a pot, goes to Tomchei Shabbos. Credit in this world and the next! SHIVA CHAIRS There are a number of shiva chairs missing. If there are any that remained FEEDING THE HUNGRY in your home by accident after a shiva please get them back to the To help feed those who have no food for Shabbat, a cooler will be set synagogue. Thank you. up on Fridays only, between 11 am and 1 pm outside the front door of the home of Morris & Cindy Hodkin, 18 Birchwood Lane, Great GNS TALMUD TORAH SCHEDULE FALL 2009-2010 Neck, 11024. Please put your well wrapped food in the cooler between Grades 2-3 on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 4:30-5:30pm. these hours ONLY. This food will be picked up and delivered to those Grades 4-5 on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30pm. areas where it will be needed. Grades 6-8 Tuesdays, from 6:30-7:30pm and Sunday, from 10:30-11:30am. GREAT NECK SCHOLARS KOLLEL High School students on Tuesdays, from 7:30-8:30pm. The second year of the Scholars Kollel has begun. Davening at 7:45am Please call the synagogue office to register at 487-6100. followed by classes that begin at 8:30 am. To enroll please see Steve 6-8th Grade, and 9-12th Grade classes, and monthly lecture series Zuckerman. on Jewish Philosophy for HS students given by Rabbi Steve Moskowitz, USHERS WANTED 2-5th grade classes taught by Volunteers are needed to assist as ushers on Shabbat and on the High Joseph Shore. Holidays. Please contact Richard Lillien or call the shul office to help out. SCOPE Volunteers are needed to solicit advertisers for SCOPE. Please contact Diane Rein or Andy Allen. NEW YEAR CARDS 5770 Sisterhood now has a new line of Rosh Hashanah cards available. The sample book is now in the shul office and available online at gns.org. For more info contact Vivian Kron 498-9191 or [email protected]. GNS MEN’S CLUB The Annual Sukkah Luncheon will be held on the 2nd day of Sukkot, Sunday, October 4th, in the Synagogue’s Sukkah. A guest speaker (tba), a delicious lunch, and counselors to supervise the children will be provided. The charge is $36 per adult, $18 for children ages 6-16, and no charge for kids under 5. Contact Al Leiderman482-0628, Dave Wagner 487-9795, Hilly Milun 504-0320. IMPORTANT SISTERHOOD ELECTIONS MEETING On Tuesday evening, October 13th at 8:00pm in the Braun Youth Center the Sisterhood will be having its bi-annual election of officers and trustees. We strongly encourage everyone to attend this meeting and nominate yourself or someone else for a position. Also please join us and help plan the activities for the upcoming year. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv vs New York Knicks at MSG Sun. Oct 18th, at 1pm. All proceeds are donated to Migdal Ohr. Mid-court tickets at $105 each. Tickets are now available on a first come basis. For tickets call Steve Blumner 487-3859, Hilly Milun 504-0320, or Paul Brody 466-5412

Y A H R Z E I T

Saturday, 16 Elul Stuart Kaufman for Aaron Schwartz Al Leiderman for Hyman Plotkin Michael Litvin for Elik Litvin Sunday, 17 Elul Claire Behar for Bella Winston Marilyn Freedman for Ivan Cohen Leo Mindick for Gertrude Mindick Monday, 18 Elul Sonia Movsas for Alex Serlin Judith Weinstein for Estelle Sandler Tuesday, 19 Elul Miriam Bader for Seymour Bader Jerome Goodman for Sol Goodman Blossom Kutcher for Miriam Chaney William Liss-Levinson for Aaron Levinson Wednesday, 20 Elul Joyce Dacher for Howard Wolfman Sidney Halitzer for Phil Hall Steven Mayer for Lina Mayer Thursday, 21 Elul Ernest Herman for Constance Herman Henry Katz for Louis Suskin Gladys Moslin for Ruth Kimmel Gisela Steigman for David Ehrlich Friday, 22 Elul Howard Silberstein for Max Silberstein Florence Spira for Birdie Samson