Shiva Notice
May 28, 2010
Great Neck Synagogue extends its condolences to Mel Klapper on the loss of his brother in Israel.
Shiva will be observed at the Klapper home, 8 Old Pond Road, Great Neck, NY 11023. Davenning will be tonight at 8 pm, tomorrow morning at 6:45 am and Sunday and Monday morning at 8:30 am. Tuesday and Wednesday morning at 6:45 am, and Sunday through Tuesday evening at 8:05 pm.
To assist with the meals for the shiva, please contact Sharon Goldwyn at 917 287 7334
May the family be granted comfort and consolation among those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.
Shiva Notice
May 26, 2010
Great Neck Synagogue notes with sorrow the passing of
Bernard Horowitz, beloved father our member Jackie Nissan.
The funeral took place in Florida on May 24th.
Jackie will return to Great Neck to continue to sit Shiva on Friday morning, May 28th, until Sunday morning, May 30th, at 30 Bluebird Lane, Great Neck, NY 11023.
Jackie can be reached in Florida at (516) 523-1486.
To assist in providing food for the family during Shiva, please contact Karen Zalta, 482-0394; Janet Lenchner, 902-3510; Michelle Bressler (917) 842-4468.
May the family be granted comfort and consolation with all those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.
Within Our Family
May 24, 2010
Mazal Tov to Ellie & David Werber on the birth of a granddaughter born to their children Tovah and Josh Marmer.
Mazal Tov to Susan & Steven Mayer on the birth of a granddaughter, Kayla Faye, born to their children Debbie & Mark Klinger.
Mazal Tov to Helene & Josh Peyser on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Rebecca.
Sponsorships: May 29, 2010
May 24, 2010
Kiddush is sponsored by Great Neck Synagogue.
Seudah Shlishit is sposored by Hedva & Edmund Kessler in memory of his mother Lillie Kessler, z”l.
Sunday Breakfast is sponsored by Janice & Michael Raitzin in memory of his father Reuven Raitzin, z”l.
Shiva Notice
May 24, 2010
Great Neck Synagogue notes with sorrow the passing of our member Lewis Gordonson, beloved husband of Rita.
The funeral will took place on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 2:00 pm at Riverside Nassau North Chapel in Great Neck.
Shiva, ending publicly on Friday afternoon, May 28, will be observed at the Gordonson home, 85 Emerson Drive, Great Neck, NY 11023. Services will be held there mornings at 6:45 am and evenings at 8:00 pm.
May the family be comforted among those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.
BAHA’ALOSECHA by Dr Mark Gersten
May 24, 2010
There are so many words of mussar (ethical lessons) learned from just the first few lines of this week’s sedrah that it behooves us to address a few.
1)Ahron is upset that his tribe was not represented with the others in donating to the Tabernacle at the end of last week’s sedrah. HASHEM reassures Ahron that his contribution to the sanctuary will far surpass the other leaders and their tribes. Ahron’s contribution will be to prepare and light the candelabra in the sanctuary every day.
MUSSAR. Great contributions done once have their importance. However a recurrent contribution (such as Ahron’s) which serves HASHEM frequently, far surpasses the “one shot deal” of the heads of the tribes. Moreover, the light Ahron would prepare represents the Torah that he and the Cohanim would teach daily to the people. (some say the light represents the Chanukah candles which will continue to be lit yearly and even in the days of the Moshiach)
2)Ahron is praised in preparing and cleaning out the menorah each day “as HASHEM had told him”. Ahron is praised for not deviating ,whatsoever ,from the way he was told to clean out the old oil and wicks each day.
MUSSAR: Intellectual people often look for shortcuts to save time. Ahron cleaned and prepared the candelabra exactly as HASHEM had told him. There were reasons and ramifications why HASHEM requested that it be done that special way. If one looks for and implements his own self serving method instead of doing what HASHEM commands, part of the intended effect of what HASHEM requires can be lost forever.
3)Ahron the COHEN GADOL ,himself cleaned out and prepared the lights each day
MUSSAR: Ahron realized that no task is too menial in the service of HASHEM even for him, the Cohen Gadol.
4) The sedrah begins by telling us to raise up a fire not merely to light it.
MUSSAR: As we mentioned the light of the candelabra represents the light of Torah.
Rav Moshe Feinstein derived from this that when passing Torah to the next generation it is not enough merely to transfer it. One must raise it up that is to say teach it so that the knowledge the next generation gleans will surpass the knowledge of the current generation. From this vision of raise up, Rav Moshe states that no teacher or parent will ever begrudge a student or son who surpasses him in knowledge.
5)If one looks in the Rambam he sees that Ahron’s job was actually to prepare the oil and wicks for lighting, not to light them. Even a non-Cohen can light the Candelabra
MUSSAR Most people look at the end result represented by the light and not the preparation that goes into it. HASHEM wants us to realize that the end result depends so much on the preparation. Although for example our Rabbis and teachers instruct our children to learn, our role in preparing them to be inclined to learn from those teachers is paramount to the overall success.
A SECOND CHANCE
Korban Pesach Sheni (a Pascal Lamb brought a month later) is discussed in our Sedrah. This law is the only case of TASHLUMIN (a correcting restitution) in the Torah. If one misses eating the Pascal Lamb in the appointed time of Passover due to being far away from Temple or being ritually impure he was given a second chance a month later to eat from the Pascal Lamb. This law homiletically gives us hope. At some time in our lives, all of us have hoped for a second chance. It may have been for something as simple a correcting a bad first impression. It may have been as devastating as a first marriage ending in a bitter divorce. It is reassuring that sometimes HASHEM does give us a second chance. However, note well, if one misses that opportunity to bring the Korban Pesach that next month, no matter how good the excuse, there IS NO THIRD CHANCE. In our lives when HASHEM does give us our opportunity we must take it, fulfill it and not squander it
Written in memory of Henya bas Yitzchok
Parshas Naso 5770 Purity of the Camp:S. Rabinowitz, MD
May 18, 2010
B”H
In Parshas Naso, in BaMidbar chapter 5, HaShem instructs Moshe to issue the following orders:
Rashi (1040-1105) tells us that these instructions were given to Moshe Rabbeinu on the day the Mishkan/Tabernacle was erected, which was the first of Nisan in the second year after leaving Egypt. Even though the intervening chapters of BaMidbar are dated one month later, on the first of Iyar, the commentaries tell us that impurity could never have been permitted within the camp, not even for that first month. Rashi quotes the Gemara Gittin 60a, which informs us that eight decrees were issued on the day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, and none of them appears together with the account of the inauguration.
Or HaChayim (Morocco 1696-Jerusalem 1743) states that these rules were announced immediately after the Levi’im were assigned their tasks, and told to remain outside the areas reserved for Cohanim. This is a logical place to tell Israelites, for example, that they could not enter their usual domain if they had tzara’as.
Rabbi Sorotzkin says that these commandments took effect as soon as the Mishkan was erected, but the Torah waited to record them until the structure of the camp was explained, so that we could understand the message. The camp consisted of three concentric zones, like a bull’s-eye. The Mishkan occupied the center zone. The Levites, who served in the Mishkan, were in the next surrounding zone. The Israelites, organized by their tribes, lived in the outer zone. One who had the skin affliction called tzara’as was quarantined outside of all three camps. One who was impure because of contact with a corpse was sent out of the inner camp, but could remain in the Levite and Israelite camps. Indeed, Moshe brought the coffin of Joseph into the Levite encampment. One who had an emission was permitted to remain in the Israelite camp, but not in the two inner areas. Details are provided in Gemara Pesachim 66b-68a. Were these restrictions in force during times when the Mishkan was dismantled and the nation was traveling? Rabbi Eliezer said “No,” but the Rabbanim said “Yes” (Gemara Menachos 95a-b).
The Drazin and Wagner commentary on Onkelos cites the Bechor Shor (12th century France) to tell us that the community needed to remove not only the ritually impure, but also any form of robbery and immorality. They bring the commentary of Chizkuni (13th century France), based on Sifrei, to show that the terms “male” and “female,” rather than “man” and “woman,” mean that people of any age could be quarantined.
Baal haTurim (born in Germany in about 1269, died in Spain in about 1343) informs us that the word “yitamu (defile)” appears only twice in the Tanach, once here, and once in Yechezkel 43:7, where it says, “The House of Israel will no longer defile My holy Name.” The similarity of expressions indicates that those who would defile their camps would also defile His Name, as it says in VaYikra 20:3, “In order to defile My Sanctuary (Rashi says this refers to the Assembly of Israel) and to desecrate My holy Name.” The Midrash explains this to mean that idolatry and laxity in observance of the laws of spiritual purity cause the Shechina to depart from the camps of Israel, thus removing the Divine protection, exposing the people to their enemies and making them vulnerable to exile from their land. Baal haTurim also relates the three conditions mentioned in our parsha to the penalties assessed after the first sin: the snake with Tzara’as, the woman with a flow, and mankind with death. Rav Hirsch notes that some religions glorified death, but ours equates death with impurity and exalts life. The Shela”h haKadosh (Prague about 1565-Tiberias 1630) says that the person who came into contact with a dead person had not done anything wrong, but an ideal human being would never die, so the contact served as a reminder of one’s own mortality, a reminder to seek closeness to HaShem.
Alshich (Turkey 1508-1593 Tzfas) says that the Israelites, the vast majority of the nation, might have been saddened by the thought that they were excluded from the Shechina; that the Shechina rested only among the Cohanim and the Levi’im who worked in the Mishkan. The announcement that those with tzara’as were excluded from all three camps informed the people that the Shechina dwelled with all of them.
Ma’ayanah shel Torah quotes Binah l’Ittim by Rabbi Ovadiah Figu (Italy 1579-1647), which asks the question, “Why does verse four start by saying that the children of Israel did so, and end by repeating that the children of Israel did exactly what HaShem told Moshe?” He answers that the skin condition called tzara’as is caused by sins such as pride, vicious gossip, and envy. He says that the sight of people being banished from the camp to contemplate their sins, and the association of this exclusion with those for social illnesses and death, would serve as a sobering reminder to people of their origin in a drop and their destination in the dust. Pirkei Avos 3:1 tells us that such thoughts would keep people far from sin. The verse therefore repeated the phrase “children of Israel” to tell us that they not only put the appropriate people out of the camp, but they also fulfilled the spirit of the commandment by avoiding sin. BaMidbar Rabbah adds that those who stayed in the camp and those who went out were equally willing to obey the commandment, without any discord.
Within Our Family: May 22, 2010
May 17, 2010
Mazal Tov to Shulamit & Mousa Soleimani on the recent marriage of their daughter Talia to Liron David.
Mazal Tov to Betsy Lieberman on the birth of a grandson born to her children Jeremy and Ruchie Lieberman.
Mazal Tov to Andrew Allen who was honored at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research for his work with Team Fox.
Sponsorships: May 22, 2010
May 17, 2010
KIDDUSH & BIMA FLOWERS FOR SHAVUOT AND SHABBAT ARE SPONSORED BY GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE
Sunday Breakfast is sponsored by Elizabeth Katzwer, Carol Karbowitz and Lynn Steinberg in memory of Jacob Katzwer, z”l.
Shavout Dessert
May 17, 2010
Weight watchers cheesecake recipe made and tried from Judy Lillien
servings | 12
estimated POINTS values per serving | 3
course | Desserts
| Ingredients |
16 oz. 1% cottage cheese
8 oz. Neufatchel cream cheese
8 oz. fat free sour cream
1 cup Splenda
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
| Instructions |
Mix all ingredients in blender in order given starting with cottage cheese and ending with flour. Mix well. Grease a 10 inch deep dish pie plate with spray butter and pour in cheese mix. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. No crust but you wouldn’t know it.
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