Parshat Behar-Bechukotai • Shabbat Mevarchim

24 Iyar 5777 • May 19- May 20 2017

Shaul Robinson Senior Rabbi

Josh Rosenfeld Assistant Rabbi

Sherwood Goffin Senior Cantor

Yanky Lemmer Cantor

Shirley Stark President

Tamar Fix Executive Director

Hashkama Kiddush: Manny Zareh to commemorate the yahrtzeit of his beloved grandmother, Miriam Bat Moshe Chaim a”h. Main Kiddush:Gala Kiddush: (will take place on the terrace) Dr. Evan and Pauline Sehgal in honor of the upcoming marriage of Evan’s son, Marc Sehgal to Ilana Gorelick. Sponsored anonymously in appreciation of Lincoln Square Synagogue and affection for the community.

Rabbi Herschel Cohen Memorial Minyan Kiddush: Sponsored anonymously

Beginners Kiddush: sponsored in loving memory of Farokh and Shmuel Shoshani z”l and in honor of Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald.

Lois Gottesman to commemorate the yahrtzeits Seudah Shlishit: of her father, Bernard Gottesman z”l and of her maternal grandparents Esther a”h and David Davidovic z”l.

Shabbat Schedule

6:40pm Earliest Candle Lighting 7:52pm Candle Lighting

Friday Night

6:45pm Early Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary. Services led by Chazzan Yanky Yemmer and Kol Haneshama. Dr. Adena Berkowitz will be speaking following services 7:55pm Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Belfer Beit Midrash

Shabbat Morning

7:30am Pre-Hashkama Tefilla Shiur given by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob Bernstein on Praying in the Direction of Jerusalem 7:45am Hashkama Minyan in the Belfer Beit Midrash followed by shiur given by

Dr. Moshe Sokolow 8:30am Parsha Shiur given by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob Bernstein on Har Sinai or

Har Ha’Moriah: A Tale of Two Mountains 9:00am Services in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary . Davening led by Chazzan Yanky Lemmer. Sermon given by Rabbi Shaul Robinson 9:12am Latest Shema 9:15am Beginners Service led by Dr. Leonard Davidman in Rm LL201 9:45am Rabbi Herschel Cohen Memorial Minyan in the Belfer Beit Midrash. Shiur given by Rabbi Josh Rosenfeld 10:00am Youth Groups for children ages 2-12 12:15-12:40pm Kiddush Shiur in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary given by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob Bernstein on Jerusalem at the Center of Judaism

Shabbat Afternoon 6:10pm Beginners Mishna Chavura with Moshe Sheinwexler in the Belfer Beit Midrash 6:40pm Samson Raphael Hirsch Bible Class with Steve Eisenberg in Rm 206/207 6:40pm Louis & Rhoda Lazar Memorial Shiur in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary given by Professor Shai Secunda on Hashem is One: Dualism, Monotheism, and Jewish Encounters with the Zoroastrian Religion 7:40pm Mincha followed by Seudah Shlishit with a talk by Professor Shai Secunda on A Crowded Place: Reflections on Jerusalem from the Exile. 8:54pm Ma’ariv/ Shabbat Ends

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Dr. Evan and Pauline Sehgal in honor of the upcoming marriage of Evan’s son, Marc Sehgal to Ilana Gorelick. Grandparents Susan and Avery Neumark on the birth of twins, a girl and a boy, to their children Alyse and Joshua Rozenberg. Mazal Tov to great-grandfather Melvin Neumark.

Gabrielle Lubitz on the publication of a scholarly article in the American Journal of Physiology.

Rachel Lubitz for achieving Silver and Bronze medals in the Science Olympiad for three years in a row.

Yoni and Bellene Gontownik on the birth of a baby daughter, Phila Sydney.

Ann Crane, Dr. Adena Berkowitz and Rabbi Zev Brenner on the engagement of their children Sam Zakay and Lizzy Brenner. Mazel Tov to their respective siblings: Elias Zakay, and Menachem Leib, Pammy, Aderet, and Jessie Brenner.

Ilene and Lou Vynerib on the engagement of their granddaugh-ter, Yehudis Adler of Monsey NY to Tani Einzig of Edison NJ. Nitza and Michah Bloomfield on their engagement of their daughter, Ariella to Joel Hyman. Mazal Tov to her brother, Doni. Grandparents Tova & Howard Weiser on the birth of a baby girl, born to their children Rivka Weiser and Ted Rosenbaum of Silver Spring. Mazal Tov to big sister Rayut. Rabbi David and Helene Katz Freedman on the engagement of their daughter, Yoanna, to Rabbi Beny Rofeh of L.A. Mazal Tov as well to her siblings Lavey and Aliza, Baruch & Linda, & Yonatan Shai & Rachel Freedman. Grandparents Rabbi David & Helene Katz Freedman on the birth of a granddaughter, born to their children Baruch and Linda Freedman of Kew Garden Hills. Mazal tov to the entire family as listed immediately above.

MAZAL TOV

Please join Chazzan Yanky Lemmer and Kol Haneshama for a Carlebach Friday night service followed by a sushi Kiddush on the terrace. Dr. Adena Berkowitz, of Kol Haneshama, will speak following services.

Shabbat Morning davening led by Chazzan Yanky Lemmer. Sermon given by Rabbi Shaul Robinson.

Come meet our new Youth Directors, Mendel and Ariella Lazaros at the Kiddush for the Rabbi Herschel Cohen Memorial Minyan (Beit Midrash, 11:45am) where they will introduce themselves to the congregation.

We welcome Professor Shai Secunda who will be speaking before Mincha and at Seudah Shlishit. Dr Shai Secunda is the Jacob Neusner Associate Professor in the His-tory and Theology of Judaism at Bard College, where he teaches Jewish Studies and Zoroastrianism in the Religious Department. His most recent book is “The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in its Sassanian Context” (Penn) and is the founder and co-editor of the popular “Talmud Blog.”

THIS SHABBAT

LSS 53rd Annual Dinner

You can register for our annual dinner on our LSS app, online at lss.org/annualdinner or by calling the shul office.

Guests of Honor: Miriam & Michael Laufer

Young Leadership Award: Judith & Daniel Sabba

Community Service Award: Karen & Ed Stark

Sefira Reminder: Today is the 39th day of the Omer.

ECHOD

Gidi Grinstein for writing this week’s Dvar. dvar@lss.org

THANK YOU The Molad for Rosh Chodesh Sivan will be on Thursday evening 32 minutes and 12 chalakim after 8 PM. Rosh Chodesh Sivan will be on Friday.

ROSH CHODESH

Starting next Shabbat, Early Mincha /

Kabbalat Shabbat will be at 7:05pm

Shabbat, June 3 • Final Beginners Luncheon. The cost is still only $25. Please make your reservations by Thursday, June 1st. You can register online at www.lss.org/beginners or call 212-874-6100.

Sunday June 4 • Salute to Israel Parade We will be marching under the banner of United Congregations for Israel. Our assembly point will be between East 53rd St between Fifth and Madison Avenues, Group #3, behind Hillel at 1:30 pm .

June 10 • 4:00pm • Teen Oneg on the terrace. Sushi, Snacks and lots of fun! Sponsored by the Hudes family in memory of Dana Hudes.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, May 23 • 7:30pm • Yom Yerushalayim. We will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the reunifica-tion of Jerusalem with a Tefillah Chagagit, led by Chazzan Yanky Lemmer joined by the Pumpadisa band. Fol-lowing will be an address by former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Sallie Meridor and a gala dessert reception.

7:30pm • Book Club Meeting ( at the home of Gale and Steve Spira) will discuss two books: Judas by Amos Oz and A Horse Walks into A Barn by David Grossman. Judas is the first novel Amos Oz has written since A Tale of Love and Darkness and it has won several prizes. A Horse walks into a Bar is a short book about a comedian performing in front of an audience at a provincial Israel nightclub. Both books are short listed for the Man Booker International Prize. The winner will be announced June 14.

THIS SUNDAY

SHAVUOT AT LSS! Services and Yizkor led by Rabbi Shaul Robinson and Chazzan Yanky Lemmer

Mishnah Impossible: Its not too late to participate in the 2017 LSS Mishnah Impossible Program! We need each of YOU to reach our goal of 150 participants by Shavuot. With 95 participants already signed up, we’re just over halfway to our goal with only 12 days until Shavuot. Elevate yourself in time for Shavuot, while also partaking in a beautiful mitzvah on behalf of our community. Sign up by emailing mishna@lss.org or call the shul office for more information.

Tuesday night, May 30 • 12:00am-7:00am • Special Tikun Leil Shavuot Program for the entire shul. The evening will begin at 12:00am with a panel on Jewish Ethics in the Modern Workplace featuring members of the community discussing real life dilemmas with Rabbi Robinson. The learning will continue with classes of all kinds, including for teens, given by Rabbi Shaul and Sarah Robinson, Rabbi Josh Rosenfeld and Rabbi Jacob Bernstein.

Learning Mishnah in Memory of Israeli Victims of Terror • Just as we did last year, we are offering a related, voluntary option and that is to learn in the memory of an Israeli victim of terror. The reason for the connection is that, as you know from having gone to shiva houses, it is customary to learn Mishnayot in the memory of the deceased. Here is how it works. We have a list with the names of over 1,000 Israelis, men, women, children, civilian as well as military, who were killed in terror attacks over the years. If you would like to participate in this voluntary option, we will send you the name, a brief biography, circumstances of the terror attack and photo of the victims of terror (if available). Those who participated in this program last year have told us that it enhanced the meaning of their learning. If you would like to participate in this wonderful mitzvah opportunity, email nvogel212@gmail.com and a link to the name of a victim of terror will be sent to you.

Tuesday night, May 30th • 12:00am-7:00am • Beginners All Night Shavuot Learn-A-Thon. The keynote opener will start at 12:00am and Rabbi Buchwald’s class starts at 12:45am and continues to4:45am. Topic: “The Taryag Mitzvot: A Survey of the 613 Commandments,” starting with mitzvah #451: “Shechita - Ritual Slaughter.” Refreshments will be served. No reservation necessary.

Wednesday & Thurdsay Afternoon, May 31 and June 1 • 7:00pm • Tea and Torah Time on the Terrace. Join the community for a special LSS Shavuot tradition featuring exciting and distinguished guest speakers and of course, afternoon tea and refreshments on our beautiful terrace.

Thursday June 1 • 9:00am • Women’s Tefillah Group Megillat Ruth Reading Youth Department:

Wednesday & Thursday, May 31 and June 1 • Get excited for a grand ice cream party! In accordance with the Jewish tradition of having dairy on Shavuot, we will be having ice cream in all our groups! In honor of Shavuot we are planning some nighttime learning for our older kids (ages 10-14). Is your child interested in participating? Reach out to our new Youth Directors Mendel and Ariella at youth@lss.org

Teen Department: Tuesday night, May 30th • Shavuot Learning 12:00am- Led by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob Bernstein

June 1 • 4:00pm • Teen Park Outing. Snacks, games and lots of fun! Meet at 67th and Central Park West inside the park by the benches on the left. We will then walk to Sheep Meadow by the shaded area on the right. Bring a blanket! Sponsored by the Mero family In memory of Ruth Tabak Ungar.

Thursday June 1 • Mishnah Impossible Siyum Luncheon • Join us for a Siyum luncheon in celebration of

this year's communal study of Mishnah. Adult Members:$25, Adult Non-Members:$30, Children ( 11 and under):$15. Sponsorships appreciated: Silver-$120 (includes 2 tickets) Gold- $300 (includes 4 tickets) Deadline: Thursday May 25 Did you know that you could register for our Siyum Luncheon on our app? Just download our app on your iphone or android by searching for “Lincoln Square Synagogue” in the app store, and once on the home screen click on Register Now! You can also register online at lss.org/event/siyumlunch

Elliot Tannenbum

WELCOME NEW MEMBER

Sunday

Monday , Wednesday (Yom Yerushalyim) & Thursday

Tuesday Friday (Rosh Chodesh)

Daf Yomi: 7:45am Daf Yomi: 6:15am Daf Yomi: 6:20am Daf Yomi: 6:15am

Shacharit: 7:10am & 8:30am

Shacharit: 7:00am & 7:50am

Shacharit: 7:10am & 7:50am

Shacharit: 7:00am & 7:40am

Weekly Prayer Schedule for the week of May 21, 2017 Mincha/Ma’ariv: 8:00pm

WEEKLY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Sunday

10:00am-11:30pm • Beit Midrash Program with Rabbinic Fellow, Mark Weinwarten

9:15am-10:00am • Sunday morning Responsa with Josh Rosenfeld- (canceled)

Monday

Hebrew Reading Crash Course Levels I and II given Sharona Spivack and Reva Rapps- 6:30pm-8:00pm- Rm LL201 and Rm 211 (1 class

remaining)

Conversational Hebrew given by Hai Piazesky - 7:00pm- Rm 207- Special Title: Sights and Sounds of the the Battle of Yerushalayim

which culminated in the reunification of our eternal capital. Watch original Israeli news reels from 50 years ago, when Israel’s very

survival was by no means certain, listen to and sing along the songs which were inspired by the victory. While the videos and music will

be in Hebrew there will be English subtitles.

Kaddish Class given by Rabbi Shaul Robinson - 7:00pm-7:50pm - Beit Midrash

Jewish Living Workshop given by Dassa and Bill Greenbaum - 7:30-8:30pm- Rm 208- Topic: The Mikvah and family purity. Class will

meet offsite and will meet much earlier. This is the last class.

Tuesday

The Marilyn & Sam Isler, “Studies in the Weekly Parsha” given by Rabbi Shaul Robinson - 10:30-11:30am- Rm LL202

Gemara B’Shana given by Rabbi Shaul Robinson - 6:45pm-7:50pm- Beit Midrash

Beit Midrash Night The first book of Samuel given by Ron Platzer- 8:20pm -Rm 211

Wednesday

Beit Midrash night: The Subversive Religious Poetry of Yehuda Amichai given by Sara Brzowsky 8:00pm-9:15pm - Rm 207

Thursday

Women’s Talk Time- led by School Psychologist Ruth Moser Riemer- 11:30am-12:30pm- Rm 201. Last week's discussion: What do you do for fun?

The Jacob Adler Parsha Class: Explorations in the Weekly Parsha with Rabbi Shaul Robinson 7:00pm-7:50pm- Beit Midrash

• Cholent Chabura with Rabbi Josh Rosenfeld - 8:45pm (meets off site)

Youth Department Youth Groups

Tots (ages 2-4)- Room 208/210, K-1st- Room 211, 2nd + girls- Room 206, 2nd + boys- Room 207

This Shabbat:

This Shabbat will be Aviva Bukiet's last Shabbat as our Youth Director. Thank you, Aviva, for all you have given to ensure that our Youth Department is a thriving component of LSS. For those of you wishing to give a personal thanks to Aviva, please feel free to find Aviva at this week's gala main Kiddush.

Come meet our new Youth Directors, Mendel and Ariella Lazaros at the kiddush for the Rabbi Herschel Cohen Memorial Minyan (Beit Midrash, 11:45am) where they will introduce themselves to the congregation.

This Shabbat: In this week’s Torah portion Behar-Bechukotai, we learn about Shmita, the biblical commandment to give the land and field a rest on the 7th year. This Shabbat, our children will learn the biblical source for Shmita, how Jews in different parts of the world apply this Mitzvah today, what we do to help our environment, what are the shevah minim (Seven Species of the land of Israel), and what are the Brachot for each of the sheva minim.

Lincoln Square Synagogue • 180 Amsterdam Ave. at W. 68th Street New York, NY 10023 • 212-874-6100 • www.lss.org

Parshat Behar Bechukotai by Gidi Grinstein

The Radical Reinvention of Judaism

Nearly forty percent of the laureates of the Noble Prize in economics have been Jewish. Those that hold Jewish genius as the explanation for this remarkable phenomenon are challenged by this Parsha, which should remind us that these Jews simply benefited from a head start of thirty- three centuries. In other words, our engagement with the quest to understand and optimize the workings of society, which is at the core of all great economists, is millennia old, and can be traced back to this Parsha. The societal outlook of Judaism has always been a balancing act between legitimizing wealth creation both for individuals and communities, on the one hand, and obligating the sharing of wealth in support of both individual and collective needs, on the other hand. This outlook is anchored in the view that economic disparities can destabilize society, and that wealth redistribution is essential for social cohesion.

Clearly creating and having wealth and living a life of comfort is a legitimate Jewish quest and activity, ascetic tendencies notwithstanding. Throughout history, Jews were encouraged to seek income, open businesses and travel distances for trade. Han-dling and dealing with money was allowed, regulated and encouraged. The Bible details the affluence of Abraham, Isaac and Ja-cob, Joseph, and King Solomon among others. Rabban Gamliel II in the first century and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi in the third century were wealthy, as were the exilarchs in Babylon. In modern days, some heads of orthodox courts are rich, as well. This acceptance of material wealth exists in Judaism notwithstanding and alongside outlooks that associate purity with financial modesty and encourage freedom from material wants beyond essential needs.

Meanwhile, Judaism establishes, as religious duties, obligations and standards for redistribution of wealth within the community. In total, the obligations toward the poor are very significant, especially considering the agricultural nature of ancient society: leaving for the poor the edge of one’s field (pe’ah), in addition to anything that was dropped (leket) (Leviticus 19:9 & 23:22) or left behind (shi’checha) (Deuteronomy 24:19). In addition, one must donate a tenth of the income to charity (me’a’ser ani) (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12-13) two out of every seven years. Furthermore, Jewish holy days emphasize the collective and individual responsibility toward the poor and needy in the community and beyond.

Most dramatically, in this chapter, the Torah establishes the radical obligation to cancel debts every fifty years at the Yovel and to return land to its original owners (Leviticus 25:10). This law, which was later put in abeyance by Hillel, is designed to effectively reboot the distribution of wealth, preventing the amassing of huge estates by a few individuals. Suffice it to mention that societies, which failed to regulate the sharing of prosperity, as well as to cap its concentration in the hands of a few, did so at their own peril. Multiple revolutions in history – such as in France and Russia – were caused by such social injustices, led to massive bloodshed and to the physical displacement and even elimination of entire economic elites. They were often followed by so-called ‘agrarian revolutions,’ which usually meant the allocation of land from the wealthy few landowners to the poor masses. Remarkably, in this Parsha, Judaism offers a preemptive remedy to this dynamic.

In modern day terms, the Jewish social and economic outlook would probably qualify as ‘compassionate capitalism’ usually endorsed by social-democratic parties. It embodies the understanding that financial success of individuals based on entrepreneurship and trade is a necessary yet insufficient condition for collective prosperity. Society must also account for the rights of employees, workers, customers and even the environment! It also reflects a deep societal insight that a vast gap of income between the poor masses and the rich few breeds disunity. It therefore encourages wealth creation, yet sets high expectations for and regulates its re-distribution.

With such a heritage and extensive societal knowledge, it should not come as a surprise that Jews became leaders not only in all academic disciplines related to the works of society, such as economics, but also of entire ideologies and movements ranging from communism and socialism to capitalism. The many-centuries-long exploration of ways to ensure collective and individual wealth creation in a manner that is ethical and socially responsible cultivated nuanced observation of the forces that drive markets and societies. Our sages needed to blend the emerging reality driven by technological and political change, with the interpretation of old texts in order to allow societal adaptation in accordance with the halacha. Think about the legal questions that emerged from the need to send financial notes, to travel on steam boats or to engage in on-line trading.

When new fields of academic research related to society, such as economics, psychology and sociology, emerged in the late nineteenth century, Jews already had a three-millennia head start. Therefore, Jewish contribution in these fields has been unmatched on a proportional basis. Hence, our outstanding representation among winners of the Nobel Prize in the field of economics. Jews were endowed with the mission to be a blessing to the families of the earth. In other words, we were blessed with the burden of offering leadership to and in humanity. The sages, beginning with Moses, understood that such a mission could only be realized if Jews permanently quest to establish a model society as a collective effort of every individual, household and community. They also understood that a key testament to the qualities of a society is the way it regulates the creation, usage and distribution of wealth. And the root of that millennia-old quest emanates from the Parshiot of the book of Leviticus such as Parshat Be’har.