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Parshat Vayikra March 16, 2013 5 Nissan, 5773

The laws of sacrificesthat dominate the earlychapters of the book ofVayikra/Leviticus, areamong the hardest inthe Torah to relate to for it has been almost2000 years since theTemple was destroyedand the sacrificialsystem came to an end.But Jewish thinkers,

especially the moremystical among them,strove to understandthe inner significance ofthe sacrifices, thestatement they madeabout the relationshipbetween humanity andG-d. They were thusable to rescue theirspirit even if theirphysical enactment wasno longer possible.

Among the simplest yetmost profound was thecomment made by R.Shneor Zalman of Liadi,the first Rebbe ofLubavitch. He noticed agrammatical oddityabout the second line ofthis weeks sedra:Speak to the children ofIsrael and say to them:when one of you offersa sacrifice to the Lord,the sacrifice must be

taken from the cattle,

sheep or goats. (Lev. 1:2) Orso the verse would read if itwere constructed accordingto the normal rules ofgrammar. However, inHebrew the word order of thesentence is strange andunexpected. We wouldexpect to read: adam mikemki yakriv, when one of youoffers a sacrifice. Insteadwhat it says is adam ki

yakriv mikem, when oneoffers a sacrifice of you. Theessence of sacrifice, said R.Shneor Zalman, is that weoffer ourselves. We bring toG-d our faculties, ourenergies, our thoughts andemotions. The physical formof sacrifice an animaloffered on the altar is onlyan external manifestation ofan inner act. The realsacrifice is mikem, of you.We give G-d something of

ourselves.

Let us stay with this idea andpursue it further. In sacrifice,what do we give G-d? TheJewish mystics, among themR. Shneor Zalman, spokeabout two souls each of ushas the animal soul(nefesh ha-behamit) and theG-dly soul. On the one handwe are physical beings. Weare part of nature. We havephysical needs: food, drink,shelter. We are born, we live,

Rabbi J onathan Sacks on Parshat Vayikrawe die. As Kohelet /Ecclesiastes puts it: Mansfate is like that of theanimals; the same fateawaits them both: As onedies, so dies the other.Both have the samebreath; man has noadvantage over theanimal. Everything is amere fleeting breath.(Ecclesiastes 3: 19) Yet

we are not simply animals.We have within usimmortal longings. We canthink, speak,communicate. We can by the acts of speakingand listening reach outto others. We are the onelife form known to us inthe vast universe that canask the question Why?We can formulate ideasand be moved by highideals. We are not

governed by biologicaldrives alone. Psalm 8 is ahymn of wonder on thistheme: When I consideryour heavens, the work ofyour fingers, the moonand the stars, which youhave set in place, what isman that you are mindfulof him, the son of manthat you care for him? YetYou made him a littlelower than the angels andcrowned him with gloryand honor. You made him

Times

Candle Lighting 6:44 pm

Friday Mincha 6:45 pm

Hashkama 8:00 am

Parsha Shiur 8:30 am

Youth Minyan 8:30 am

Main Minyan 9:00 am

Beit Midrash 9:15 am

Gemorah shiur 5:40 pm

Mincha 6:40 pm

Shabbat Ends 7:52 pm

Sunday, Mar. 17 7:30/8:30 am

Mon., Thurs. 6:35/7:45 am

Tues., Wed., Fri. 6:45/7:45 am

Mincha 6:50 pm

Latest Times for

Shema/ Shmoneh Esrei

March 16 10:05/11:05 am

March 23 9:58/10:59 am

Next ShabbatTzav

Candle Lighting 6:51 pm

Mincha 6:50 pm

TORAHArtscroll 544

Hertz 409HAFTORAH

Artscroll 1165Hertz 424

KiddushIs

SponsoredBy

GreatNeck

Synagogue

Seudah Shlishit is sponsored byMalka Gad in memory of her mother

Dina Tvuz Hakimi zlCarol & Jeff Kaufman in memory of his brother

David Lawson Kaufman, zl,Mark Gersten in memory of his father,

Richard Gersten, zl,Michele & Howard Wolf

in memory of her mother Ruth Bermanand his father Julius Wolf, zl

and by Lisa & Jeff Benjaminin honor of the

Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Danielle.

Bima Flowersare sponsored by

Sima & IsaacKohannim

in honor ofthe Bat Mitzvah of

their daughterAriella

and by Lisa & JeffBenjamin

in honor ofthe Bat Mitzvah of

their daughterDanielle.

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ruler over the works of your hands; you puteverything under his feet . . .Physically, we arealmost nothing; spiritually, we are brushed by thewings of eternity. We have a G-dly soul. The natureof sacrifice, understood psychologically, is now clear.What we offer G-d is (not just an animal but) thenefesh ha-behamit, the animal soul within us.

The verse uses three words for the animals to be

sacrificed: behemah (animal), bakar (cattle) and tzon(flock). Each represents an animal-like feature of thehuman personality. Behemah is animal instinct itself.The word refers to domesticated animals. It does notimply the savage instincts of the predator. What itmeans is something more tame. Animals spend theirtime searching for food. Their lives are bounded bythe struggle to survive. To sacrifice the animal withinus is to be moved by something more than meresurvival.

Wittgenstein, when asked what was the task ofphilosophy, answered To show the fly the way out ofthe fly-bottle. The fly, trapped in the bottle, bangs

its head against the glass, trying to find a way out.The one thing it fails to do is to look up. The G-dlysoul within us is the force that makes us look up,beyond the physical world, beyond mere survival, insearch of meaning, purpose, goal.The word bakar, cattle, in Hebrew reminds us of theword boker, dawn, literally to break through, asthe first rays of sunlight break through the darknessof night. Cattle, stampeding, break through barriers.Unless constrained by fences, cattle are norespecters of boundaries. To sacrifice the bakar is tolearn to recognize and respect boundaries betweenholy and profane, pure and impure, permitted andforbidden. Barriers of the mind can sometimes bestronger than walls.

Finally tzon, flocks, represents the herd instinct thepowerful drive to move in a given direction becauseothers are doing likewise. The great figures ofJudaism Abraham, Moses, the prophets weredistinguished precisely by their ability to stand apartfrom the herd; to be different, to challenge the idols

26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shabbat Announcements Parshat Vayikra 5773

Great Neck Synagogue

Shabbat Activities Program

Dale Polakoff, RabbiIan Lichter, Assistant Rabbi

Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,zl, Rabbi EmeritusZeev Kron, Cantor

Eleazer Schulman, zl, Cantor EmeritusRabbi Sholom Jensen, Youth Director

Zehava & Michael Atlas, Youth DirectorsMark Twersky, Executive Director

Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, Program DirectorDr. Scott Danoff, President

Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board

of the age, to refuse to capitulate to the intellectualfashions of the moment. That ultimately is the meaning ofholiness in Judaism. Kadosh, the holy, is something setapart, different, separate, distinctive. Jews were the onlypeople in history consistently to refuse to assimilate to thedominant culture or convert to the dominant faith.The noun korban, sacrifice, and the verb le-hakriv, tooffer something as a sacrifice actually mean that which

is brought close and the act of bringing close. The keyelement is not so much giving something up (the usualmeaning of sacrifice) but rather bringing something closeto G-d. Le-hakriv is to bring the animal element to betransformed through the Divine fire that once burned onthe altar, and still burns at the heart of prayer if we trulyseek closeness to G-d.

By one of the great ironies of history, this ancient ideahas become suddenly contemporary. Darwinism, thedecoding of the human genome, and scientific materialism(the idea that the material is all there is) have led to thewidespread conclusion that we are animals, nothing more,nothing less. We share 98 per cent of our genes with the

primates. We are, as Desmond Morris used to put it, thenaked ape. Homo sapiens exist by mere accident. We arethe result of a random series of genetic mutations whojust happened to be more adapted to survival than otherspecies. The nefesh ha-behamit, the animal soul, is allthere is. The refutation of this idea and it is one of themost absurdly reductive ever held by intelligent minds lies in the very act of sacrifice itself as the mysticsunderstood it. We can redirect our animal instincts. Wecan rise above mere survival. We are capable of honoringboundaries. We can step outside our environment. We cantranscend the behemah, the bakar and the tzon. Noanimal is capable of self-transformation; but we are.Poetry, music, love, wonder the things that have no

survival value but which speak to our deepest sense ofbeing all tell us that we are not mere animals,assemblages of selfish genes. By bringing that which isanimal within us close to G-d, we allow the material to besuffused with the spiritual and we become somethingelse: no longer slaves of nature but servants of the livingG-d.

PASSOVERiscoming!!

GreatNeckSynagogueHungerInitiativewillbereachingoutonce

againtoprovidePassoverstaplesandSederfoodforindividualsand

familiesinneed.

Ourinitiativeis scheduledtotakeplaceonTuesday,March19,2013

inthecoatroomlobbyattheShul.

DRIVERSareneededtoassistusindeliveries

(aswellasnondrivercompanionsforeachcar),

aswellaspackersonMarch19thfrom125pm.

Monetary contributionswouldbegreatlyappreciated.

PleasedelivercheckstoShul,

markthemHungerInitiativePesach,andmakethecheckpayableto

GreatNeckSynagogue.Mayweallbeblessedwiththeprivilegeto

enjoythePassoverfestivalinfreedom.

PleasecontactCindyHodkinatkoshercookinggn@gmail.comto

volunteer,orcallher@4827771from9amto9pm.

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GNSPassoverFoodChesedCollection2013:GotMatza??

PleasedropoffPassovercanned&boxedfooditems

todonatetoTomcheiShabbos!!

PleasedonatePassoverPackagedFood

bydroppingitoffatthe

Askowitzhome

at

6Cove

Lane

Sun.&Mon.:March17&18

attheKirschhomeat9HartleyRoad.

Tues.&Wed.:March12,13&19.

andattheHirschfeldhomeat34WooleysLane.

Dropoff Thurs.Fri.:March,14&15

Youcanalsodropmatzaoffattheshul.

Pleaseleaveallfoodinshoppingorgarbagebags

atthegaragedoor.

PleaseDoNotbringitemsinGlasscontainers.

ThankyouforbeingapartofthisspecialMitzvah!

ChometzChesed

Collection

2013

:

DontthrowoutyourChometz!

PleasedonateyourChometznow!!!

PleasedropoffyourChometzintheboxinthegarage

atRabbi/RebbetzinLichtershomeat76BershireRoad.TheirgarageislocatedonMargoStreet.

Youcandropoffeverydayallday intheirgarage

throughMarch19!

COMMUNITY SHABBAT LUNCHEONSaturday, March 16

FeaturingAIPAC President MICHAEL KASSEN

AndELIAV BENJAMIN Counselor for Political Affairs,

Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.

Reservations Required ~ Limited Seating$30/adult | $20/teen | $10/child | $100 family max.RSVP: 516.487.6100 or mtwersky@gns.orgReservations Deadline: Wednesday, March 13

SUPPORT OUR SHABBAT LUNCHEON SERIES

UPGRADE TO A SPONSORSHIPIsrael Advocate Sponsors ~ $1,000

includes family luncheon reservations, includingtwo seats at the Speakers Table, and a place on

the GNS delegation to the 2014 AIPAC PolicyConference in Washington, D.C. (a $600 value)For more sponsorship options, please contact thesynagogue office.All sponsors will receive a copy of Power, Faith &Fantasy: America in the Middle East by Michael Oren,Ambassador of Israel to the United States.

SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS$1800 Diamond Sponsor (Limit 6)Family reservations for all Shabbat Dinners & Luncheons for 12months, including 2 seats at the speakers table.The opportunity to host guest speakers for Shabbat or for Shabbatmeals.VIP reserved seating for all guest speakers, and autographed booksor memorabilia.$1000 Platinum SponsorFamily reservations for all Shabbat Dinners & Luncheons for 12months.VIP reserved seating for all guest speakers, and an autographedbooks or memorabilia.$540 Gold SponsorFamily reservations for all Shabbat Dinners & Luncheons for 6months.

Autographed books or memorabilia.$360 Silver SponsorFamily reservations for 2 Shabbat Dinners or Luncheons, and auto-graphed books or memorabilia..$180 Bronze SponsorFamily reservation for Shabbat Dinner or Luncheon, plus auto-graphed book or memorabilia.Please consider the level of sponsorship that is right for you, andcontact Mark Twersky with your commitment at the synagogue of-

fice: (516) 587-6100 or mtwersky@gns.org

GreatNeckSynagogue

26OldMillRoad

Sunday,March17

JoinusasRabbiDalePolakoff,

RabbisMeirandTaraFeldmanand

RabbiHowardSteckerengageinanenjoyable,

stimulatingandprovocativedebateonJewish

issuesandcurrenttopicsofinterest.

Cosponsoredby:

GreatNeckSynagogueMensClub

TempleBethElBrotherhood

TempleIsraelMensClub

COMPLIMENTARYBREAKFAST

AT9:15

AM

THEDIALOGUEBEGINSAT10:00AM

AllInvited Dontmissit!

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

YAHRZEIT

WITHIN OUR FAMILY

Saturday, 5 NissanLorraine Domnitch for Sidney Spiesel

Jaques Fouladi for Azam FouladiMark Gersten for Richard B. Gersten

Mindy Hercman for Bernard M. GrosserJeffrey Kaufman for Martin Kaufman

Yonni Mrejen for Jacob MrejenRoselin Wagner for Miriam Seider

Howard Wolf for Julius WolfMichele Wolf for Ruth Berman

Sunday, 6 NissanAlina Dynkin for Reuven Chernyavsky

Pearl Ginsburg for David GinsburgDonald Heisler for Rae Heisler

Gedale Horowitz for Florence HorowitzSamuel Levitt for Benjamin Levitt

Amir Mardkha for Nassrollah MardkhaMonday, 7 Nissan

Joyce Swartz for Seymour ZeffTuesday 8 Nissan

Joan Braun for Rose ShwartzRonald Braun for Renee Braun

Mark J. Bunim for for Gladys BunimMalka Gad for Tvuz Hakimi

Amy Goldberg-Reiss for Joseph GoldbergBenjamin Greszes for Moises GreszesNechama Liss-Levinson for Morris Liss

Wednesday, 9 NissanElie Cohen for Michael Cohen

Jack Cohen for Bessie PorestkySamuel Levitt for Sadie LedermanSheila Bachman for Mildred LewittIraj Kashani for Yousef Kashani

Friday, 11 NissanPaul Brody for Harvey Brody

Laura Danoff for Ernest HermanLev Dynkin for Meishe Ber Shifman

Semyon Dynkin for Meishe Ber ShifmanSharon Goldwyn for Belle GoldwynPhyllis Jadidian for Diana Shapiro

Steven Zuckerman for Evelyn Zuckerman

GNS UPCOMING EVENTS

MENS CLUB UPCOMING EVENTS:Sun. March 17, 9:00 am: The annual Rabbis Dialogue at GNS.

Sun. April 7: Semi annual Blood Drive.

Sun., April 14 10:00am: A world renown activist against IslamicFundamentalism author of "Stop the Islamization of America" PamelaGeller will be talking at our Sunday morning breakfast. She is a

sought-after personality and appears regularly on TV and radio.All welcome.

May 27: The Mens Club has arranged for tickets for the Yankeesv Mets at Citi Field Monday Night (Memorial day). Tickets will be in the$50 - $60 price range. If you are interested please contactJack Lipsky. jlipsky.lipsk01@insuremail.net

Sun. June 30: Annual Fishing Trip.

June Tba: The Defensive Driving course held over two evenings.

Mazal Tov to Lisa & Jeff Benjamin in honor of theBat Mitzvah of their daughter Danielle. Mazal Tov tograndparents Rivka & Carl Rosenberg.Mazal Tov to Sima & Isaac Kohannim on the Bat Mitzvah oftheir daughter Ariella.Mazal Tov to Lauren & Seth Silberstein on the birth of

a daughter. Mazal Tov also to siblings Ayla, Lili andgrand-parents Florin & Howard Silberstein.Mazal Tov to Phyllis & Arthur Kirsch on the birth of theirgranddaughter Zehava Beila born to their childrenAlison & David Kirsch.Mazal Tov to Mindy & Charles Hercman on the birth of agrandson born to their children Rachel & Bradley Hercman.

SHMURA MATZAHOrders for Shmura Matzah from Charedim Bakery in Brooklyn will beavailable this year for $25.50 per one pound box. Please send yourorders with check enclosed to Great Neck Synagogue. There is alimited supply this year so please order early. Pickup will be onMarch 21, between 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.

SISTERHOOD UPCOMING EVENTSPlease Remember!! - We have a Sisterhood meeting thisWednesday evening, March 13 at 7 PM to discuss all upcomingevents.The Sisterhood is happy to offer our third annual Pesach Wine Sale,courtesy of Lakeville Wines. There is a huge selection of wines, andMark Glicksman (of Lakeville Wines) is available to offer any advice youmay need concerning your selections (516-352-1100). Please be sureto tell him that you are a member of GNS. If you would like an orderform, please contact Vivian Kron at vivian@vikron.com or pick-up apaper copy from the office. This sale is open to everyone so pleaseconsider the Sisterhood when you are making your purchases!

SAVE THE DATEJoin us April 10th at 8:00 PM for a * "SPRING AWAKENING:** to a leaner, healthier, pain free, & allergy free you"*

with Claudine Sarraf-Amirian Lac, Mstom. Licensed Acupuncturist,Herbalist. Reiki healer and health coach. This interactive workshop willinclude ancient secrets and modern solutions (including foods, qi gong,herbs, acupuncture and more) to attaining optimum health and healingfor the season.

RABBI POLAKOFFS 25th ANNIVERSARY SHABBAT CELEBRATION

Save the Date and Join us for a Special Shabbat to celebrateRabbi Dale Polakoff's 25th year at the GNS on Shabbat,April 19-20th 2013. All Minyanim will be davening together;there will be a Siyum Mishnayot, Kiddush, Luncheon/Program anda Festive Seudat Shlishit Program concluding with Havdalah. Pleasesend your Tributes, Stories, Memories and Photos of Rabbi Polakofffrom the past 25 years to Mark Twersky at mtwersky@gns.org Toparticipate in the Siyum please go to: http://www.gns.org/archives/7342 Sponsorships available to enhance this special 25thAnniversary Celebration: $100, $180, $360, $500, $1000, $1800. AllSponsors will be listed in the Program. To join the committee or toparticipate with a Tribute, Photo, Siyum, or Seudat Shlishit please call:Sharon Goldwyn 917-287-7334, Cindy Liebmann 516-680-6420.

GNS FEB. MEDICAL SUPPLIES CHESED COLLECTION THANK YOUWe thank all of you who contributed to the GNS February MedicalSupplies Chesed Collection. A Special Thank you to Nechama & BillyLiss-Levinson for all their hard work and perseverance to coordinatethis monthly collection. A great deal of supplies were donated and willbenefit the AFYA Foundation, a philanthropy which collects usedmedical goods and ships them to medical clinics and hospitals indeveloping countries in Africa and Central America.

Elie Cohen and family would like to thank Rabbi Polakoff, Rabbi Lichter and

Cantor Kron and the entire community for the outpouring of support following

the loss of his brother Seth Cohen,zl.

YOUTH SNACKSDavid & Diane Rein aresponsoring the youth snacks in honor of theirdaughter, Sophia's 10th birthday.

DRIVERS NEEDED FOR TOMCHEI SHABBOSDrivers needed to deliver Passover packages on Sunday, Mar.17,9-12am.The address 3323 Union St. Flushing ,NY 11354.Phone 718-6700-700.

SUNDAY BREAKFASTBreakfast is sponsored by Yonni & Jennifer Mrejen and Drs. Karen& Eric Shakin in memory ofYaakov ben Messouda Mrejen, zl.

SAVE THE DATE - A North Shore Mikvah Association shiur for women

given by Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky entitled, Rosh Chodesh: A Time ofRenewal and Rejuvenation, will take place on April 9th at the home of

Talia and Sol Goldwyn- 22 Vista Drive at 7:30 PM. Lightrefreshments will be served. Suggested donation - $36.00 Sponsorships$100.00 Partnerships $180.00. For more information, pleaseemail NSMikvah@gmail.com.