Shabbat Announcements, August 22, 2009

Parsha Shoftim

August 22, 2009 25 Av, 5769

Rabbi Frand Thoughts on the Parsha Torah Artscroll, 1024 Hertz, 820 Haftorah Artscroll, 1199 Hertz, 835 Times Candle lighting

7:26 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

6:15 pm

Mincha

7:15 pm

Shabbat Ends

8:32 pm

Sunday, 8/23

7:30 /8:30am

Mon., Thurs.,

6:35 am

Tues., Wed., Fri.,

6:45 am

Second Shacharit Minyan (Daily) Mincha (week of August 23rd)

7:45 am 7:15 pm

Latest times for Shema/Shmoneh Esrei August 22

9:30/10:40 am

August 29

9:32/10:41 am

Next Shabbat – KiTeitzei Candle lighting

7:15 pm

Mincha

7:00 pm

The Judge Who Will Be There in Those Days

z"tl)writes in his sefer, Sefer Shaylos U'Tshuvos Bnei Banim, a eulogy for hisgrandfather. In this piece he points out an The Torah tells us in this additional insight from theverse: week's Parsha, "And you What does it mean "...the Judge shall come to theKohanim, the Leviim, and to the Judge who will be in those that will be in those days" to days" (asheryiheyeh bayamim haHem)? The insight pointed seekguidance in legal out by Rashi could havebeen matters. Rashi is bothered derived just as well if the Torah by the expression "in wrote "...the Judge in those thosedays" and comments days"(asher bayamim haHem). "and even if he is not like What are the extra words "who the Judges who will be" (asher yiheyeh), coming precededhim, you need to to teach us? listen to him -- you have none other than the Judge Rav Henkin's grandson writes, whois there in your days." that while the phrase "go to the Rashi tells us that if you are Judges inyour time" is an an elderly Jew from Europe, instruction to us as seekers (as Rashi says), thespecific usage who remembersRabbis of of the word "asher" is an the caliber of Reb Chaim instruction to the Ozer, the Chofetz Chaim, and RebYitzchak Elchanan Judgesthemselves, regarding how they have to be. In o rder and now you feel that for a person to bean effective "today's Rabbis" do not Dayan, he has to be one who is measure upto this level of living in those times, "intouch" scholarship and piety, you with that generation. If the must nevertheless heed thecommand of the Pasuk -- Posek feels he is above you have no one else other thegeneration, he doesn't than the Judges of yourown understand the youth and the problems of thegeneration, he time. This is your can't relate to them... then he generation, these are your cannot be a Posek! A poskim, you have toaccept them with the same respect Posekmust be one "Who will be" (asher yiheyeh) -- one who and authority as was done for the poskimand shoftim of can relate to andappreciate his own generation. Only then can the previous generations. he be a Dayan. A grandson of one of the great poskim of our generation (Rav Henkin,

The Mishneh says in Avos [2:5] "Do not judge your friend until you arrivein his place". The

Shaylos U'Tshuvos Bnei Banim interprets this to mean-- don't judge your friend until you have an appreciation for the peopleyou are dealing with. He goes on t o say that even though Rav Henkinreached an elderly age and was in fact from another generation, henevertheless had an appreciation for our own generation as well andtherefore was such an effective Posek. Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev says a similar insight. The Gemara, manytimes after raising a certain problem that cannot be resolved concludeswith the word "TeYKU". "TeYKU" is actually an acronym for the expression"Tishbi Yetaretz Kushyos V'Abayos" -Tishbi (Eliyahu HaNavi) will comeand will clear up all of our doubts and questions. Reb Levi Yitzchakasks, with all due respect to Eliyahu, why is he of all the greatpersonalities of Jewish history given the task of paskening all theShaylos? What about Moshe Rabbeinu? What about Shmuel HaNavi? Reb LeviYitzchak answers, the reason Eliyahu can pasken all Shaylos is because ourRabbis tell us that "Eliyahu never died" -- he was part of the twentiethcentury! He understands the nineties; ... and the forties; ... he waspart of the 17th century; ... and the sixth century; ... he was part of itall. He never died. When a generation needs the resolution of aquestion, they have to go to the Posek that will be there with thatgeneration. Who is su ch a Posek? Eliyahu

Kiddush is sponsored by Great Neck Synagogue

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

haNavi. Cities of Refuge in Messianic Times: A Painful Reminder The Torah tells us in this week's sedra, the laws of the Cities of Refuge(Arei Miklat). If a person kills unintentionally he has to go to one ofthe Arei Miklat and he must stay there until the Kohen Gadol will die. Wehave previously learned [Devorim 4:41] of the establishment of 3 cities ofrefuge on the eastern side of the Jordan, for the two and a half tribeswho settled there. The command in this week's portion [19:1-3] isaddressed to the Jews who will be settling in Eretz Yisroel, to the west of the Jordan -- to set up another three cities of refuge over there.

Shabbat Announcements Parshat Shoftim 5769

Why then are 3 more cities of refuge needed in the Messianic era -- thetime of ultimate spirituality? The Baalei Mussar answer this questionwith an analogy from another apparently strange practice: the selection ofa Torah reading for mincha on Yom Kippur. One would assume that at Mincha on Yom Kippur, a person would be at hisspiritual apex of the entire year. He's been through Ma'ariv andShachris, and Mussaf. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything. He hasn'texperienced any physical pleasures of this world the entire day; he hasn'tspoken Lashon Hara the entire day; he hasn't spoken Devorim Beteilim theentire day; no bitul Torah...

We take out the Sefer Torah and what do we read to people who are almostlike Angels? The portion of forbidden sexual Next the Torah mentions [19:8-9] "And if G-d will expand relationships: Oneshouldn't commit incest, one shouldn't commit your borders ashe promised your forefathers...you will add an adultery, one shouldn't havehomosexual relationships! This is additional three citiesbeyond these three (making a total of what t he congregation needs to hear onYom Kippur at Mincha? nine)". Rashi tells us this refersto the lands of Keini, Kenizi, Should we not be speaking at this time about themost elevated and Ka dmoni (which we are destined to getonly in the days and profound matters of spirituality? of the Moshiach). This is very interesting. The prophet tells us about the days of Moshiach"for the land will be filled with knowledge of G-d like the Ocean iscovered with water" [Isaiah 11:9]. The Rambam tells us [Hilchos Melachim12:5] that the days of Moshiach will be so spiritual that people won't beinterested in their livelihoods and they won't be running after money. The only thing that will matter is trying to gain understanding of Gd. Is it not strange that in an era when people will only be interested inacquiring better understanding of Hashem, we will need any cities ofrefuge for unintentional murderers, let alone an additional three which wenever had before? Note, that the Talmud points out that the "unintentional murder" whichnecessitates going to a city of refuge is not just "an accident". (Accidents may continued to happen even in Messianic times). The Talmudstates that "unintentional murder" happens w hen people are careless abouthuman life. We see this from the Talmud's explanation of the fact thattwo and a half tribes "across the Jordan" needed the same number of AreiMiklat as nine and a half tribes "west of the Jordan". The reason theTalmud gi ves is that "in Gilaad (east of the Jordan), murder was common". Obviously we see that where murder is common "unintentional" murder isalso common! [Like today, when there are handguns in the house, childrenplay with handguns, and unintentional death is also quite common]. 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

Sally & Seymour Olshin Adult Education Program Jewish Professional Lecture Series August 19, 2009 at 8:00 pm (following Mincha at 7:35 pm) Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine “Preventing the Next Great Depression: A Jewish Law Perspective” Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine is the Samson and Halina Bitensky Professor of Economics at Yeshiva University. A Phi Beta Kappa at Brooklyn College, he earned his Ph.D. at New York University. He received semichah from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School and is the spiritual leader of Brooklyn’s Young Israel of Ave. J. A noted authority on Jewish commercial law, Professor Levine’s research specialty is the interface between economics and Halakhah, especially as it relates to public policy and modern business practices. He has published widely on these issues, including five books and numerous monographs. His books include Free Enterprise and Jewish Law (1980); Economics and Jewish Law (1987); Economic Public Policy and Jewish Law (1993); Case Studies in Jewish Business Ethics (2000); and Moral Issues of the Marketplace in Jewish Law (2005). An Associate editor of Tradition, Rabbi Levine also serves on an ad hoc basis on the Bet Din (rabbinical court) of the Rabbinical Council of America for disputes in monetary matters. Dr. Levine is a member of the World Jewish Academy of Science and the recipient of the Irving M. Bunim Prize for Jewish Scholarship. In 1982, he was respondent to Milton Friedman in the Liberty Fund symposium on the Morality of the Market.

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). 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 pleges. 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. SUNDAY BREAKFAST Sunday Breakfast is sponsored by Vera Bernstein in memory of her parents Caroline & Jacob Lefkowitz z”l. FEEDING THE HUNGRY To help feed those who have no food for Shabbat, a cooler will be set 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 Neck, 11024. Please put your well wrapped food in the cooler between these hours ONLY. This food will be picked up and delivered to those areas where it will be needed. PASS IT FORWARD The committee would like to thank the Lillien Family for donating containers for the food drive. A limited number of quart soup containers will be available in the synagogue office next week for those preparing soup for the Rosh Hashanah Pass It Forward Program

WITHIN OUR FAMILY Mazal Tov to Susan & Steven Mayer on their son Richard getting his Smicha. Mazal Tov to Ruth Shalit and Moshe Apelbaum on the birth of their grandson, born to their children Ofira & Nir Shalit. Mazal Tov to Brenda & Edward Parver on the birth of their grandson, born to their children Aliza & Andrew Parver. Mazal Tov to Risa Pulver on her appointment as the new Chair of Long Island Women’s Philanthropy for UJA Federation of NY. SAT TRAINING August, 6pm-7:30pm at GNS given by David Rabinowitz. Mondays: Math, Tuesdays: Verbal, Wednesdays: Writing, Thursdays: Misc. review of material from the previous three days. For more info call 998-6621.

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.

GREAT NECK SCHOLARS KOLLEL The second year of the Scholars Kollel has begun. Davening at 7:45am SAM AHARONOFF MEMORIAL SHIVTEI TORAH CAMPAIGN followed by classes that begin at 8:30 am. To enroll please see Steve The Siyum will take place on Sun., Nov. 22nd, the Yahrzeit weekend of Zuckerman. Sam Aharonoff z”l. All proceeds will support the Sam Aharonoff Memorial Scholarship Fund to help offset tuition costs for dozens of needy students. USHERS WANTED Volunteers are needed to assist as ushers on Shabbat and on the High To participate in the campaign or for more info: www.shivteitorah.org, or Holidays. Please contact Richard Lillien or call the shul office to help call Arnie Flatow 487-8687 ext 2. out. GNS TALMUD TORAH SCHEDULE FALL 2009-2010 THANK YOU VERY MUCH Rabbi Sean & Aksana Jensen would like to thank the entire Grades 2-3 on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 4:30-5:30pm. community for sharing their simcha and for all the beautiful Grades 4-5 on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30pm. gifts, and good wishes. The simcha was truly enhanced by being Grades 6-8 Tuesdays, from 6:30-7:30pm and able to celebrate with all of you and especially with the students, Sunday, from 10:30-11:30am. past, present, and future. We are looking forward to celebrating High School students on Tuesdays, from 7:30-8:30pm. many more future simcha’s and smachot! Please call the synagogue office to register at 487-6100. 6-8th Grade, and 9-12th Grade classes, and monthly lecture series SCOPE on Jewish Philosophy for HS students given by Volunteers are needed to solicit advertisers for SCOPE. Please contact Rabbi Steve Moskowitz, Diane Rein or Andy Allen. 2-5th grade classes taught by Joseph Shore. 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 Saturday, 2 Elul come basis. For tickets call Steve Blumner 487-3859, Hilly Milun Nechama Liss-Levinson for Gertrude Liss 504-0320, or Paul Brody 466-5412 Frederick Lukash for Leslie Lukash Ellen Siegel for Mel Crair NEW YEAR CARDS 5770 Sunday, 3 Elul Sisterhood now has a new line of Rosh Hashanah cards available. 15% Adeline Markowitz for Marcia Perlman discount on all orders placed before August 21st. The sample book is Reuel Shinnar for Ilse Gutman now in the shul office and available online at gns.org. For more info Monday, 4 Elul contact Vivian Kron 498-9191 or [email protected]. Anita Beretz for Erna Levy Reichenberg Faye Berke for Sadie Berke Elana Flax for Morris Matzkin Gisele Katz for Fay Gastwirth Cheryl Sneag for Morris Matzkin Tuesday, 5 Elul Sandra Gold for Nita Barak Ronit Livne for Izhak Deutsch Wednesday, 6 Elul Grace Oster for Michael Horowitz Marlene Rutkin for Morris Fishman Chava Shalmon for Esther Grinszpan Reuel Shinnar for Edith Halpern Thursday, 7 Elul Vera Bernstein for Jacob Lefkowitz Belle Brotleit for Moshe Koussevitzky Edward Jutkowitz for Bernice Jutkowitz Lillian & Al Leiderman for Robert Leiderman Friday, 8 Elul Rita Gordonson for Dora Gershkowitz Alan Kestenbaum for Rebecca Zahler Stanley Lupkin for David Lupkin Jack Wachstock for Judith Wachstock

Great Neck Synagogue Summer Learning Program

Jewish Professional Lecture Series

August 19, 2009 at 8:00 pm (following Mincha at 7:35 pm) Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine “Preventing the Next Great Depression: A Jewish Law Perspective” To sponsor please call the Synagogue office

Y A H R Z E I T