Parshat Terumah February 28, 2009 4 Adar, 5769

Torah Rabbi Frand on the Parsha

Artscroll, 444 The parsha contains one of from Ponnevitz writes that maintain child-like innocence. But
Hertz, 325 the more unique artifacts Torah can be taught from the it should not be a challenge that
used in the Mishkan -– the best Rebbe in existence (the when a kid is 10 years old, he is
Haftorah Cherubim [Cherubs], which Almighty), to the best disciple in no longer a child. It is
were placed on top of the the world (Moshe Rabbeinu), unfortunately more and more the
Artscroll, Aron which housed the under the best of conditions (in case that our children have picked
1157 Luchos. The Torah states: the Holy of Holies), but the up from us and from our society,
"It is there that I shall receiver has to be child-like. In even when they are 10 and 12
Hertz, 336 arrange audience with you, order to learn Torah, we need to and 15, a cynicism that does not
and I shall speak with you maintain the child-like allow them to be considered
from atop the lid, from enthusiasm and child-like "child-like" anymore. They are no
Times between the two Cherubim innocence that will allow us to longer the innocent Cherubim and
that are on the Ark of the accept Torah and integrate it as such, the Torah they are
Candle lighting 5:26 pm Testimony, and it is all that I into our personalities. supposed to learn becomes
shall command you exceedingly difficult for them to
Mincha 5:30 pm This is a challenge because the
pertaining to the Children of accept.
older we become, the less child-
Hashkama 8:00 am Israel [Shmos 25:22].
like we are. This is a Jewish We have to try to ensure that our
Minyan We do not have an exact
quality that the prophet refers children should at least not
picture of what the
Parsha Shiur 8:30 am to: "For Israel is a young lad and become cynics, at least while they
Cherubim looked like, but
I love him" [Hoshea 11:1]. The are still children. The only way we
Youth 8:30 am we are taught that their
Almighty testifies that He can try to ensure that is if there
faces were child-like.
Main Minyan 9:00 am constantly loves Klal Yisrael are incidents in life that tend to
Imagine the scene: The
because Klal Yisrael is still like make us jaded and more cynical,
Beit Midrash 9:15 am holiest city in the world
a child. We have not become we not bequeath that attitude to
(Jerusalem), the holiest
Gemorah Shiur 4:20 pm jaded and we have not become our children. There is plenty of
place in the city (the Temple
turned-off. We are still willing to time, unfortunately, for them to
Mount), the Holy of Holies
Mincha 5:20 pm accept, like a child. become cynical on their own. We
within the Temple complex
do not need to help to make them
Shabbat Ends 6:35 pm –- this was the holiest spot This is mussar [chastisement] to
cynics.
on the face of the planet. all of us. The older we become,
Sunday, 7:30 am The Master of the Universe the more cyni cal we become. The Difference Between The
March 1, 8:30 am speaks to Moshe from Cynicism is at the opposite end Gentile and Jewish View of The
Mon., Thurs., 6:35 am above the Aron and His of the spectrum from the idea of Cherubim
Voice comes out from "Israel is a young lad and I love
The Talmud quotes in the name of
Tues., & Wed., 6:45 am between the two Cherubim! him." The pasuk [verse] in
Rav Katina that when the Jews
Fri., The Heavenly Voice comes Hoshea advises us to maintain
came up for the pilgrimage
out from between the faces our innocence and maintain our
Second Shacharit festivals, the priests would pull
of babes. purity. It is a challenge for us all.
Minyan (Daily) 7:45 am back the curtain in the Beis
What is the symbolism? But what should NOT be a HaMikdash and show them that
Mincha (week of 5:35 pm challenge for us is that at least the Cherubim (one of which had
What is the message?
March 1) our CHILDREN should still be masculine features and one of
Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, zt"l,
Late Ma’ariv 8:15 pm "child-like". It may be difficult at which had feminine features) were
one of the Roshei Yeshivas
Mon., - Thurs., age 40, at age 50, at age 60 to embracing one another. The
Latest times for Kiddush and Bima Flowers Seudah Shlishit is
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February 28 9:18/10:14 am
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Candle lighting 5:34 pm
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Mincha 5:35 pm David Gad, z”l
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100
priests would say: "See how beloved you are before the
Almighty, like the love of a male and female." [Yoma 54a]
The Gemara continues [Yoma. 54b], Reish Lakish stated
that when the Gentiles invaded and entered the Holy of
Holies, they saw the Cherubim embracing like man and wife
and they brought them out to the street and mocked. "These
Jews whose blessing is a blessing and whose curse is a
curse, look at what they occupy themselves with in their
Holy of Holies." They debased Klal Yisrael and ridiculed
them for this perceived impropriety. This, Chazal interpret, is
the meaning of the pasuk: "All who once respected her,
disparage her, for they have seen her disgrace (ervasah,
literally 'her nakedness')" [Eicha 1:8].
[The Rishonim in tractate Yoma ask a very interesting
question: The Cherubim were not always embracing. They
were only embracing when the Jews "did the Will of the
Almighty". Their embrace mirrored how G-d felt toward His
people. When He loved them, they embraced; when G-d
was angry with His people, they were separate. The
Rishonim ask that when the Gentiles came into the Beis
HaMikdash to destroy it, the last thing we would expect to
find was the Cherubim embracing. They should have not
even have been looking at one another! Why were they
apparently mirroring G-d's Love for us at that moment?
The Rishonim answer -- at that point the destruction
(Churban) had happened already. G-d's Wrath was already
spent. The Temple had already been destroyed. "Now let's
make up." Thus, even while the walls were still burning, the
Cherubim were embracing again. They were back in love.]
Why, in fact, do we have in our Holy of Holies the image of
a husband and a wife engaging in an embrace? This is
something that the Gentiles could not understand. They
mocked it. They used it to make us a laughing-stock.
How do WE understand this? The interpretation is that the
Cherubim are like the famous Rorschach inkblot test.
Psychologists and psychiatrists take blotches of ink that
come out in random form and ask patients to tell them what
they see. What a person "sees" says everything about what
he is, where his thoughts are, where his values are, where
his mind is.
The Cherubim were Rorschach tests. They were a man and
a woman embracing in a loving and adoring fashion. What
is that? Is that pure or impure? Is it holy or profane? The
answer is -– it is all in the eyes of the beholder. A Gentile
looks at that and has impure thoughts. There is only one
thing that happens when a man and a woman are in such
an embrace and it is very far from being holy. Therefore, to
the Gentiles it was the biggest demonstration of an
incongruity. "How incongruous!" they mocked, "to have such
Great Neck Synagogue
Shabbat Activities Program
Dale Polakoff, Rabbi
Shalom Axelrod, Assistant Rabbi
Brahm Weinberg, Rabbinic Intern
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
Shabbat Announcements, Terumah 5769
imagery in the Holy of Holies."
But to Klal Yisrael, the embrace between a husband and wife
does not have to be impure and profane. It can be the holiest of
acts. The mitzvah of onah (having conjugal relations with one's
wife) of a Torah scholar is specifically on the night of the
Sabbath, the holiest day of the week. If one would ask an
untutored mind "On the holiest day of the week in what activities
should a Talmid Chochom engage?" the secular or non-Jewish
perspective would be that marital relations would be the last
thing one should do on such a day.
This is the difference between Jews and the nations of the
world who destroyed our Beis HaMikdash. To us, the embrace
of the Cherubim represented exactly what the Holy of Holies is
all about -– holy intimacy. This is what Kedusha [holiness] is all
about: There is no aspect of human existence that can't be
elevated a nd can't be made holy. This is symbolic of everything
else in life.
Rabbi Akiva states: "All Biblical writings are holy, but the Songs
of Songs (portraying the love of a male for a female) is holy of
holies." [Yalkut Shimoni] The unlettered person reads Shir
HaShirim with a snicker. The sensual descriptions seem far
from holy writings. Rabbi Akiva states that not only is it holy, it is
holy of holies. It symbolizes our relationship with the Almighty.
Holiness or lack of it is all in the eyes of the beholder.
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are several important provisions anyone
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$500 Home Tax Credits For Energy
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efficiency improvements made in 2009 (but not for
improvements made in 2008) if you installed
new insulation, energy-efficient windows or an energy-
efficient furnace, boiler or air conditioner. Your overall
tax credit is capped at $500 and applies to equipment,
not labor. Also note these important limits, which cap
the amount of home tax credits you can claim
for any particular project:
* Windows: $200
* Exterior doors, roofing or insulation: $500
* Most heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning improvements: $300
* Furnaces or hot water heaters: $150
$2,000 Home Energy Tax Credits for Solar Power- The
bill extends for another eight years a tax credit that
covers 30% of the cost of new photovoltaic solar
power systems on homes.
$7,500 Energy Tax Credits for
Plug-in Hybrid Cars
 PURIM SCHEDULE

TAANIT ESTHER Monday, March 9, 2009

Fast begins at 5:55 am and ends at 7:28 pm
It is proper to wait until after Megilah reading before breaking the fast
Shacharit 6:20 am/ 7:45 am (with selichot)
Earliest time for Tallis/Tefillin is 6:20 am
Mincha at 6:25 pm

PURIM EVENING Monday night, March 9, 2009

Please note that there will be three concurrent Megilah readings
1) Maariv & Megilah at 7:25 pm in Main Shul
we will be using a microphone in the Main Shul this year
2) Maariv & Megilah at 7:25 pm in Beit Midrash
3) Maariv & Megilah at 7:25 pm in Mender Auditorium (Gym)
2nd Megilah at 8:30 pm in Mender Auditorium
Youth Purim program at 8:30 pm in Youth Center
Purim Extravaganza at 9:30 pm in Main Ballroom
Purim Tisch 11:00 pm

PURIM DAY Tuesday, March 10, 2009

1st shacharit at 6:05 am in Main Shul
earliest time for talis and tefillin is 6:18 am
2nd shacharit at 7:45 am in Main Shul
Megilah reading approximately 25 minutes after start of minyan
Women’s Tefilah Megilah reading 8:30 am sharp in Beit Midrash
Early Mincha 1:35 pm
Regular Mincha 6:45 pm
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
RABBI REISMAN SATURDAY NIGHT TELECAST
In the Weinstein Torah & Technology Center Sat., 8pm www.gnstorah.org
GNS PARSHA DISCUSSION GROUP
GNS has created a google group where members can post their
questions about the parsha and participate in a discussion with the
Rabbis and other members about the weekly Torah reading. In order
to join the group, send an email to rabbigns@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE
The Sisterhood is proud to present a “Shabbat Kitchen” lecture by
Ruchie Axelrod, Tues. Feb. 24th at 8pm, at the home of Jessica
Shusterman, 14 Essex Road. Thank you to Lisa Stein for organizing
this event. Mark your calendars!
PURIM GIFT CARDS
Gift Cards for Purim are being sold through the Synagogue office,
$5.00 per card. Call 487-6100 to place your order.
DOS YIDDUSH VORT MEETING
Dos Yiddush Vort celebrates Purim with the story of “A Fahrblondgete
Shalach Manot”. Wed., March 4th at 1:30pm in the Chalfin Room.
Enjoy a schmaychel, a glayzele tay, and some hamentaschen. All
welcome! For more info call Roz Wagner 487-9795.
SHOP DELIGHT DISCOUNT CARDS
The Sisterhood of GNS is selling VIP Shop Delight Cards for $10. The
VIP cards give you 5% off all purchases at Shop Delight, and do not
have an expiration date. Contact Diane Rein at drein@verizon.net
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
The Sisterhood of GNS would like to thank Farla Frumkin, Cindy
Ludwig, and Sara Feldschreiber for organizing an amazing Couples
Night Out at Cue Bar. It was hugely successful and everyone had a
FYI
wonderful time enjoying the delicious food, music, and pool games!
North Shore Towers will be showing the Holocaust movie “Defiance.”
UPCOMING MEN’S CLUB EVENTS
March 17– Talk by Dr. Stu Greenstein (Professor of Surgery, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine) on the “Medical and Halachic side of
Kidney Transplants” with donors and recipients in attendance.
March 22– The annual Rabbi Dialogue, held at Temple Israel.
March 26- Avi Hoffman, actor-writer-comedian celebrates Jewish
culture in “A Mensch and his Musical” Tickets $36 in advance, email
gnsmensclub@optonline.net to reserve, or call 487-6100, checks made
out to GNS Men’s Club.
May 6– Talk by Michael Tuchfeld, Commentator and correspondent
Israel TV2 News—The Knesset Channel 99, co-sponsored by JPEF,
publisher of the Jewish Political Chronicle.
HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR COOKBOOK FOR SALE
The Sisterhood Gift Shop is now selling the Holocaust Survivor
Cookbook for $30. It includes 250 kosher family recipes, and 129
amazing and miraculous stories of courage, survival, and hope.
AM HASEFER
Sally & Seymour Olshin Adult Ed Program is pleased to present a
discussion of the second volume of David Birnbaum’s Summa
Metaphysica series, “Summa Metaphysica II: God and Good” at the
Fischer home, 65 Bayview Ave. on Sat., March 21st at 9pm.
AMIT NEEDS DELIVERY PEOPLE
This year’s AMIT Mishloach Manot project has been a wonderful
success. Be a part of a community wide tzedakah project and help
deliver baskets on Purim, March 10th. Please contact Sara Shapiro
at 829-4390 or ilovered@optonline.net if you would like to help.
GMACH
Due to space limitations, we are now only accepting donations of
Wedding Gowns in excellent condition, vintage or new, so we can help
others less fortunate to make this special time in their life easier and
even more joyful! For more information please contact Cindy Gold at
482-9064 or chanarjc@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE
The 57th Annual Combined Sisterhood of Great Neck Ladies Night
Out will be held at Temple Beth El on Thurs., April 30th at 6pm.
Delicious hors d’oeuvres, a boutique, an exciting program, raffle prizes,
and wonderful desserts, catered by Shop Delight. The Sisterhood of
GNS is proud to participate in this community event. There is no
charge for our paid-up Sisterhood members but we encourage you to
be an event sponsor for $36. Reservations are required. Please call the
synagogue office 487-6100 or email drein@verizon.net for further info.
In conjunction with UJA for this event, we will be collecting personal
care and toiletry items to donate to families in need.
WITHIN OUR FAMILY
Mazal Tov to Bonnie & Elliot Diamond on the birth of their grandson,
born to their children Melissa & Ethan Feinberg.
Mazal Tov to Judy & Abe Soleimani on the upcoming marriage of
their daughter Elana to David Aminoff.
PARLOR MEETING
Join us for a Pre-Purim Brunch on March 8th, 10 am, at the home of
Harriet & David Schimel. Meet a modern-day Esther,” Nitsana
Darshan-Leitner, founder of Israel Law Center (Shurat HaDin), which
fights (and often wins) against terrorist organizations in the courts.
Contact: Robert Spitalnick 466-2252 or David Schimel 487-2189.
SAVE THE DATE
Drora & Paul Brody have been selected as the Eretz Yisrael Awardees
at the 7th Annual Journal Dinner of Manhigut Yehudit (New Jewish
Leadership) to be held on Sushan Purim, Wed. March 11th, at the
Sands of Atlantic Beach. For more info please call 516-295-3222.
SAVE THE DATE
The NSHA Annual Scholarship Dinner, celebrating its 54th year, is on Sun.
March 22nd at 5pm at the Woodbury Jewish Center honoring “our
children.” To RSVP and contribute to the schools’ scholarship fund please
call Mr. Arnie Flatow, Executive Director at 487-8687 ext 133.
DOCUMENTARY
Devorah Wang Etzion has produced a documentary film on the life of
her father, Samuel H. Wang, z”l a jewish activist, philanthropist, and
successful businessman, that will be shown on Sunday, March 22nd,
11am light brunch the screening to follow at 12pm at the North Shore
Towers Cinema. RSVP by March 11th to Devorah at 516-721-2851.
GIVE OLD MAGAZINES A NEW LIFE
Please drop off your current used magazines to the Synagogue office to be
donated to NSUH.
The Loewenstein and the Adamsky families would like to thank the
community for their thoughts and prayers during their difficult time.
Saturday, 4 Adar
Donna Hecht for David Gad
Burton Mandelbaum for Pauline Mandelbaum
Milton Mitzner for Anne Shapiro
Sunday, 5 Adar
Rose Baim for Nathan Diamond
Brenda Parver for Ida Altman
Ruth Wachtenheim for William Wachtenheim
Shellie Zuckerman for Aaron Feinerman
Monday, 6 Adar
Y Melvin Breite for Stanley Breite
Hannah Kleinberg for Kenneth Kleinberg
A Ina Lax for Ethel Schoenfeld
H Shirley Spiegelman for Israel Shankman
Shirley Spiegelman for Sadie Finklelstein
R Phyllis Weinberg for Sadye Herschkowitz
Gerda Weissfeld for max Weissfeld
Z Tuesday, 7 Adar
E Gilbert Aronowitz for Fannie Aronowitz
Ian Gavronsky for Jack Gavronsky
I Ruth Klapper for Aryeh Menachem
Sam Movsas for Yehuda Leib Movsas
T Shirley Spiegelman for Rose Pedowitz
Wednesday, 8 Adar
Norman Fisher for Henry Fisher
Elizabeth Katzwer for Isaac Katzwer
Naeema Pomerantz for Rachamim Soleimani
Moosa Soleimani for Rahamim Soleimani
Thursday, 9 Adar
Faye Berke for Lawrence Jacobs
Sylvia Goldman for Charles Rutenberg
Kenneth Magida for Frieda Magida
Milton Mitzner for Morris Mitzner
Friday, 10 Adar
Martin Brownstein for Florence Brownstein
Ruth Shalit-Apelbaum for Simcha Shevili