Keeping Our Children Safe Lecture: June 13
March 31, 2011
Barry Horowitz, Coordinator of OHEL’s LI Adolescent Leadership Prog., will be here at GNS, on Monday, June 13, 8pm to speak about “Summer Vacation and Beyond: Minimizing the risks of child abuse.” Co sponsored by GNS, YIGN, NSHA, Cherry Lane Minyan and YHT.
see flyer
YOUTH END OF YEAR BASH
March 31, 2011
The End of Year Bash and Grand Raffle will take place this Saturday, June 4.
See Flyers
PURIM VIDEO
March 29, 2011
The 2011 world renowned Great Neck Synagogue Purim Video is now available on the front page of the GNS website. Broken down into two wildly entertaing parts, the video can be seen in its entirety by clicking on the arrows.
Sit back and enjoy!
Sponsorships: April 2, 2011
March 29, 2011
Kiddush is sponsored by Great Neck Synagogue
Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Lisa & Alan Adler in memory of his parents Bella & Murray Adler, z”l.
Within Our Family: April 2, 2011
March 29, 2011
Mazal Tov to Bonnie and Michael Orbach, on the engagement of their son Josh to Tzvia Rush.
Mazal Tov to Herman and Sara Davidovicz for being Guests of Honor at the annual Yeshiva Har Torah dinner on April 10, 2011.
Mazal Tov to Jonathan and Daniella Muller on the birth of a baby boy. Mazal Tov also to grandparents Philip and Tina Machnikoff.
Shabbat Announcements: April 2, 2011
March 29, 2011
Mayor Of Itamar spoke at GNS,
March 25, 2011
The entire community was invited to hear the Mayor, Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith who spoke about the brutal murder of the Fogel Family, z”l.
Friday Night Dinner with Yaakov Katz
March 24, 2011
Yaakov Katz is the military correspondent and defense analyst for The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s leading English daily and the Israel correspondent for the London-based Jane’s Defence Weekly.
His first book “Israel vs. Iran - The Shadow War” was published in Israel in March and was a national bestseller. It will be published in the US by the fall.
Mr. Katz spent January 2009 with the IDF along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, leading the paper’s coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas.
In July and August 2006, Mr. Katz covered Israel’s war against Hezbollah for The Jerusalem Post and USA Today. Mr. Katz writes extensively on the Palestinian conflict as well as the military’s stance on Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s options in face of what is being described as one of the greatest existential threat in Israeli history.
See flyer for details and reservation info.
Peace of Parsha-Shemini Dr. Laura Danoff
March 23, 2011
It is most interesting to re-examine year after year the tragic story
of Aharon’s oldest sons Nadav and Avihu in this week’s torah portion
of Shemini. The story is not only an eye opener to the dangers of
extremism but also shows what it means to have complete faith in Hashem.
Aharon suffered the loss of 2 of his sons, Nadav and Avihu through
unnatural means and yet Aharon with his unshakable faith in G-d
remained silent. The meforshim say it was a spiritual fire that
consumed the souls of Nadav and Avihu. Why did this terrible tragedy
befall Aharon’s 2 sons? The Torah says they “brought before Hashem an
alien fire that He had not commanded…” Nadav and Avihu offered incense
on unconsecrated fire, which they had not been commanded to bring.
Rashi says that it wasn’t the strange fire that caused their death but
that they entered the Holy of Holies without permission. Only Moshe
could enter the Holy of Holies and only Aharon on Yom Kippur. Nadav
and Avihu had crossed the guidelines that were established by G-d.
The Kli Yakar says Nadav and Avihu were punished because they were
drunk. This is why the Kohanim were warned not to drink any liquor
while instructing the people or while performing their duties in the
mishkan. Thus on Simchas Torah, the Kohanim duchen early before they
have Kiddush.
Other opinions say that Nadav and Avihu were unmarried and had no
children, which led to their deaths.
Another explanation is that Nadav and Avihu challenged a Torah law in
the presence of Moshe and Aharon without asking the opinion of their
teacher. Nadav and Avihu “brought before G-d a strange fire which they
had not been commanded to bring.” We learn from this if one has a
doubt about a law from the Torah, he should not decide on his own, but
take the matter to a Rav. According to Avodah Zarah “the ordinances
of the Rabbis are as authoritative as the Torah.”
Nadav and Avihu were most sincere in their desire to serve Hashem but
they desired to do so in their own way and did not conform to G-d’s
will. The Torah cannot be based on our own personal needs. The Torah
is from Hashem and therefore reflects His will and not ours.
One more interesting thought is that the fire that consumed Nadav and
Avihu came from the Holy of Holies, which contained only the Holy Ark.
The dimensions of the Ark unlike the other Temple vessels were all
fractions. According to the commentator Kli Yakar this teaches us an
important lesson in that we should always feel lacking in our
knowledge of Torah. The word midot in Hebrew means both “measurements”
and “character traits” so the fire that came from the ark with its
fractional measurements (midot) reminds us that we too are imperfect
in our refinement of character (midot) and are lacking in Torah
knowledge. Nadav and Avihu felt they had achieved the epitome of Torah
knowledge and they had reached their maximum potential.
This lesson is relevant to great leaders but is even more relevant to
us. Today, we should continue to climb the ladder and feel good about
our accomplishments but never stop growing further.
This d’var Torah is in honor of the birthday of my wonderful mother
who continues to inspire us all by never ceasing to grow
intellectually and spiritually. May she continue to strive and achieve
new goals for 120 years in good health and happiness.
Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat Announcements: March 26, 2011
March 22, 2011
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