Parshat Vayishlach

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshas Vayishlach Why is Jacob the father of our people, the hero of our HAFTORAH faith? We are the congregation of Jacob, Artscroll 1141 the children of Israel. Yet Hertz 118 it was Abraham who began the Jewish journey, Isaac who was willing to be sacrificed, Joseph who saved his family in the Times years of famine, Moses who led the people out of Candle Lighting 4:11 pm Egypt and gave it its laws. It was Joshua who took Friday Mincha 4: 15 pm the people into the Promised Land, David who Hashkama 8:00 am became its greatest king, Solomon who built the Parsha Shiur 8:30 am Temple, and the prophets Main Minyan 9:00 am through the ages who became the voice of God. Beit Midrash 9:15 am The account of Jacob in the Torah seems to fall Teen Minyan 9:15 am short of these other lives, at least if we read the text Gemorah shiur 3:30 pm literally. He has tense relationships with his Mincha 4:05 pm brother Esau, his wives Shabbat Ends 5:18 pm Rachel and Leah, his father-in-law Laban, and Sunday, Dec. 2 7:30/8:30 am with his three eldest children, Reuben, Shimon and Levi. There are times Mon., Thurs. 6:35/7:45 am when he seems full of fear, Tues., Wed., Fri. 6:45/7:45 am others when he acts or at least seems to act with less than total honesty. In reply to Mincha 4:15 pm Pharaoh he says of himself, The days of my Late Maariv 8:15 pm life have been few and (Mon.-Thurs.) hard (Gen. 47: 9). This is less than we might expect Latest Times for from a hero of faith. That Shema/ Shmoneh Esrei is why so much of the 9:23/10:59 am image we have of Jacob is December 1

December 1, 2012 17 Kislev, 5773

TORAH Artscroll 170 Hertz 122

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshat Vayishlach

filtered through the lens of midrash the oral tradition preserved by the sages. In this tradition, Jacob is all good, Esau all bad. It had to be this way so argued R. Zvi Hirsch Chajes in his essay on the nature of midrashic interpretation because otherwise we would find it hard to draw from the biblical text a clear sense of right and wrong, good and bad. The Torah is an exceptionally subtle book, and subtle books tend to be misunderstood. So the oral tradition made it simpler: black and white instead of shades of grey. Yet perhaps, even without midrash, we can find an answer and the best way of so doing is to think of the idea of a journey. Judaism is about faith as a journey. It begins with the journey of Abraham and Sarah, leaving behind their land, birthplace and fathers house and travelling to an unknown destination, the land I will show you. The Jewish people is defined by another journey in a different age: the journey of Moses and the Israelites from Egypt across the desert to the Promised Land. That journey becomes a litany in the parsha of Massei: They left X and they camped in Y. They left Y and they camped in Z. To be a Jew is to move, to travel, and only rarely if ever to settle down. Moses warns the people of the danger of settling down and taking the status quo for granted, even in Israel itself: When you have children and grandchildren, and have been established in the land for a long time, you might become decadent (Deut. 4: 25). Hence the rules that Israel must always remember its past, never forget its years of slavery in Egypt, never forget on Sukkot that our ancestors once lived in temporary dwellings, never forget that it does not own the land it belongs to God and we are merely there as Gods gerim ve-toshavim, strangers and sojourners (Lev. 25: 23). Why so? Because to be a Jew means not to be fully at home in the world. To be a Jew means to live within the tension between heaven and earth, creation and revelation, the world that is and the world we are called on to make; between exile and home, and between the universality of the human condition and the particularity of Jewish identity. Jews dont stand still except when standing before God. The universe, from galaxies to subatomic particles, is in constant motion, and so is the Jewish soul. We are, we believe, an unstable

Bima Flowers are sponsored by Renee & Abe Krieger in memory of his father Nathan Krieger, zl.

December 8

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Next Shabbat Vayeishev Candle Lighting Mincha 4:10 pm 4:15 pm

Kiddush is sponsored by Great Neck Synagogue

Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Charlotte and Perry Schneider in memory of his mother Sandra Schneider.

26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 combination of dust of the earth and breath of God, and this calls on us constantly to make decisions, choices, that will make us grow to be as big as our ideals, or, if we choose wrongly, make us shrivel into small, petulant creatures obsessed by trivia. Life as a journey means striving each day to be greater than we were the day before, individually and collectively. If the concept of a journey is a central metaphor of Jewish life, what in this regard is the difference between Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Abrahams life is framed by two journeys both of which use the phrase Lech lecha, undertake a journey, once in Genesis 12 when he was told to leave his land and fathers house, the other in Gen. 22:2 at the binding of Isaac when he was told, Take your son, the only one you love Isaac and go [lech lecha] to the region of Moriah. What is so moving about Abraham is that he goes, immediately and without question, despite the fact that both journeys are wrenching in human terms. In the first he has to leave his father. In the second he has to let go of his son. He has to say goodbye to the past and risk saying farewell to the future. Abraham is pure faith. He loves God and trusts Him absolutely. Not everyone can achieve that kind of faith. It is almost superhuman.

Shabbat Announcements Parshat Vayishlach 5773 name, Israel, which may mean, one who has wrestled with God and man or one who has become a prince [sar] before God. What is fascinating is that Jacobs meetings with angels are described by the same verb p-g-, (Gen. 28: 11, and 32: 2) which means a chance encounter, as if they took Jacob by surprise, which clearly they did. Jacobs most spiritual moments are ones he did not plan. He was thinking of other things, about what he was leaving behind and what lay ahead of him. He was, as it were, surprised by God. Jacob is someone with whom we can identify. Not everyone can aspire to the loving faith and total trust of an Abraham, or to the seclusion of an Isaac. But Jacob is someone we understand. We can feel his fear, understand his pain at the tensions in his family, and sympathize with his deep longing for a life of quietude and peace (the sages say about the opening words of next weeks parsha that Jacob longed to live at peace, but was immediately thrust into the troubles of Joseph).

The point is not just that Jacob is the most human of the patriarchs but rather that at the depths of his despair he is lifted to the greatest heights of spirituality. He is the man who encounters angels. He is the person surprised by God. He is the one who, at the very moments he feels most alone, discovers that he is not alone, that God is with him, that he is accompanied Isaac is the opposite. It is as if Abraham, knowing the by angels. Jacobs message defines Jewish existence. It is our emotional sacrifices he has had to make, knowing too the destiny to travel. We are the restless people. Rare and brief have trauma Isaac must have felt at the binding, seeks to protect been our interludes of peace. But at the dark of night we have his son as far as lies within his power. He makes sure that Isaac does not leave the Holy Land (see Gen. 24: 6 that is found ourselves lifted by a force of faith we did not know we had, why Abraham does not let him travel to find a wife). Isaacs surrounded by angels we did not know were there. If we walk in the way of Jacob, we too may find ourselves surprised by God. one journey (to the land of the Philistines, in Gen. 26) is limited and local. Isaacs life is a brief respite from the nomadic existence Abraham and Jacob both experience. GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE Jacob is different again. What makes him unique is that he has his most intense encounters with God they are the most dramatic in the whole book of Genesis in the midst of the journey, alone, at night, far from home, fleeing from one danger to the next, from Esau to Laban on the outward journey, from Laban to Esau on his homecoming. In the midst of the first he has the blazing epiphany of the ladder stretching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending, moving him to say on waking, God is truly in this place but I did not know it . . . This must be Gods house and this the gate to heaven (28: 16-17). None of the other patriarchs, not even Moses, has a vision quite like this. On the second, in our parsha, he has the haunting, enigmatic wrestling match with the man/angel/God, which leaves him limping but permanently transformed the only person in the Torah to receive from God an entirely new

Shabbat Dinner & Guest Speakers Series

CHIEF RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS

United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth Friday, November 30 Congregational Shabbat Dinner Univeralism & Particularism: The Future for Judaism Saturday, December 1 Sermon following Shabbat Morning Services

Great Neck Synagogue Shabbat Activities Program

Dale Polakoff, Rabbi Ian Lichter, Assistant Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,zl, Rabbi Emeritus Zeev Kron, Cantor Eleazer Schulman, zl, Cantor Emeritus Rabbi Sholom Jensen, Youth Director Zehava & Michael Atlas, Youth Directors Mark Twersky, Executive Director Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, Program Director Dr. Scott Danoff, President Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board

Sponsors in formation: Dinner Sponsors Dov & Ada Berkowitz Harold & Lorraine Domnitch Tom & Debbi Furst Sol & Talia Goldwyn Leslie & Irene Kahn Avram & Addi Markowitz Rabbi & Ellen Polakoff David & Sherrie Rogelberg Howard & Michele Wolf Shabbat Sponsors Hal & Debbie Chadow Eliot & Erica Heisler Michael & Alisa Hoenig David & Diane Rein Stanley & Raina Silverstein Nate & Rebecca Weisel

COMETOTHE GREATNECKSISTERHOOD CHANUKAHBOUTIQUE WEDNESDAY,NOV28 59PM 26OldMillRoad,GreatNeck Featuring WINETASTING JEWELRY FURS Judaica,Clothing,CostumeJewelry,Tableware,Gour metOils, Handbags,andAccessories Andpresenting NechamaLissLevinson Authorof WhentheHurricaneCame Signingherbookfrom79PM

Great Neck Synagogue 61st Anniversary Dinner Sunday, December 16, 2012

2012 JOURNAL CONTRACT

YES! Please place my message in the GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUES 61st DINNER JOURNAL. Enclosed is my check in the amount of $________________ for the space indicated. Name____________________________ Address__________________________ City_________ State___________Zip___

Youareinvitedtothe GreatNeckSynagogue AnnualChaiSisterhoodDinner Featuringourguestspeaker RachelleWeisberger AuthorofBiblicalBeauty RESCHEDULEDDATE Tuesday,December18h,6PM, atColbeh,GreatNeck Members$40,Nonmembers$45 SponsorshipsavailableGold($72)Silver($36) Bronze($18) PleaseRSVPbyNovember1stto JudyLillien5164876845 [email protected]

Gold Page $10,000* Silver Page 7,500* Bronze page 5,000* Twice Chai 3,600* Parchment 2,500* Chai 1,800* Full Page 1,000* Half Page 550* Quarter Page 250 Listing 100 *Includes two reservations to dinner Cost of Dinner $550 per couple Please make check payable to: Great Neck Synagogue 26 Old Mill Road Great Neck, NY 11023

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GreatNeckSynagogue YouthChanukahLuncheon andGrandRaffle willtakeplaceon Saturday,December8,2012. Bringallyourtickets (withyournameonthem) andgetreadyforagreatday. Noreservationsrequired. 1st8thgrades,boysandgirls.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
RAFFLE PRIZES WANTED We are now collecting raffle prizes for the GNS Annual Dinner SUNDAY BREAKFAST scheduled for Sun., Dec. 16. We strongly encourage you to Is sponsored by Renee & Abe Krieger in memory of his father donate credit card points for prizes that can include airline tickets Nathan Krieger, zl. and hotel accommodations. We are also looking for prizes such as timeshare vacation places, beautiful jewelry, fur, electronics, judaica, gift certificates, internship opportunities, theatre and sports tickets, camp discounts, as well as other prize donations that you GNS MENS CLUB UPCOMING EVENTS might have. Please submit donations to Mark Twersky at Wed., Dec. 5 at 7:30 PM: Dr. Mildred Pollner, president of Cinema Verite International, will present a 30 minute documentary [email protected]. which she directed, Brave Children of Israel, and will speak on TWO VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO CLEAN TORAH SILVER Global Jihad. Dr. Pollner is an accomplished filmmaker, former Ira Lubin would like the opportunity to teach two volunteer professor at Columbia University and has lectured worldwide. members how to polish and clean the Torah silver. The Torah silver The documentary has been acclaimed at film festivals in Europe needs to be cleaned twice a year before Pesach and Rosh and Israel. Hashanah. If you would like to volunteer for this special mitzvah, please contact Mark at [email protected]. SISTERHOOD ANNOUNCEMENTS Thank you very much to Barry Fox of Barry Fox Financials who gave a talk about aid and grants available to college students last Monday evening. This event, co-sponsored with the Men's club, was very informative.

GNS UPCOMING EVENTS

COMMUNITY UPCOMING EVENTS

RAISING MONEY FOR ALYN HOSPITAL Team GN will once again cycle in Israel to help raise money for the Alyn Hospital, which specializes in rehabilitating children who are the victims of terrorist attacks, congenital diseases, developmental defects and other debilitating disorders. This year a group of 11 This Wednesday night is our annual Chanukah Bazaar!! We are from GN, including Milt Mitzner and Drs. Laura and Scott Danoff fully booked!!!!! I even have some vendors sharing tables. There from GNS, will either volunteer to help or ride over 300 miles in the will be lots of great stuff sold - WINE TASTING, furs, fine and costume jewelry (Shema Or is coming!!) clothing, gourmet cooking Negev to show their support for this most worthy cause. If you oils, tablecloths, leather pocketbooks, everything you can possibly would like to help by making a contribution, please send a check made out to Friends of Alyn Hospital to Dr. Scott Danoff at think of! This is a great option for purchasing gift for the kids, or 49-33 Little Neck Pkwy, Little Neck, NY 11362." for anyone. Pick up a signed copy of Nechama Liss-levinson's book "When the Hurricaine Came" from 7-9 PM. Every Vendor CHAI LIFELINE is donating a raffle prize - so you are sure to win something! GNS member Donny Steinberg, will be running in the ING Miami Please come! half Marathon on Jan., 27, 2013, to raise money for Chai Lifeline. Chai Lifeline is an international organization that provides yearSAVE THE DATE round emotional, social, and financial support to more than 3,000 Our Sisterhood Dinner will be held on December 18th, 6 pm at children with cancer and their families every year. Donny will be Colbeh. Our speaker, Rachelle Weisberger, author of Biblical raising money and dedicating his run in memory of his grandfather, Beauty will give a great talk on seamlessly integrating biblical, Philip Steinberg, who died of cancer. Donations can be made online historical and cultural perspectives with practical advice and at Donny4TeamLifeline.tk or by sending a check made payable to specific tips on a variety of subjects, and will offer enlightening Chai Lifeline and sent to Donny Steinberg, 2 Sands Court, Great guidance on skin care, sun care, makeup, hair care, fragrance, Neck, N.Y. 11023. jewelry, healthy aging, motherhood and leadership. Please send in your reservations ASAP. Sponsorships are available - Gold for $72, Silver for $36 and Bronze for $18. We have some great raffle Saturday, 17 Kislev prizes to offer as well as an amazing goody bag to all attendees. Please order your New Kosher Cuisine Cookbook by Helen Nash! For the discounted price of $35, you get a great cookbook, and support the sisterhood. Please send in your checks, made out to Great Neck Sisterhood, by December 1st. Writopia Long Island is setting up creative writing workshops that run 90 minutes per session for children ages 8 to 18. Sisterhood is delighted to announce that Writopia is offering GNS members a 10% discount off the fee. The fee is $500 for 10 sessions. Location TBA. If you are interested, please contact Donna Sheeler at [email protected]. Our gift card program is up and running. You can purchase many different gift cards for national retailers through Gift Cards for Good and support the Sisterhood efforts to help those in need. These gift cards can be used by yourself, or given as gifts to co-workers, etc. Please contact Sharon Noy at [email protected] . Thanks to all the amazing and dedicated bakers and all those who purchased pies for the 1st Annual GNS needed funds were raised for Sharasheret's program to help young Jewish women and their families facing ovarian cancer. Almost 90 pies were purchased, including 30 pies donated to families in need.
Eliezer Noy for Ahron ben Yitzchak Risa Pulver for Bernie Shapiro Sunday, 18 Kislev Pearl Ginsburg for Irving Helfman Gedale Horowitz for Abraham Horowitz Rita Silverman for Harris Schwartz Monday, 19 Kislev Gail Mizrahi for Rosalind Sussman Morris Nasser for Tova Djemal Israel Rosenzweig for Jacob Bladow Ellen Siegel for Mamie Bluestein Tuesday, 20 Kislev Debbie Furst for Dora Kaminer Raymond Sandler for Abraham Sandler Rose Weiss for Kalman Fajg Wednesday, 21 Kislev Martin Brownstein for Samuel Brownstein Pearl Ginsburg for Isaiah Ginsburg David Greenwald for Samuel Greenwald Norman Seif for Mayer Seif Thursday, 22 Kislev Mahin Aryeh for Morad Aryeh Lloyd Bayme for Rachel Bayme Hillel Milun for Reuben Milun Fred Pomerantz for David Pomerantz Irvin Spira for Abraham Spira Friday, 23 Kislev Marcelle Fischler for Charles Sussman Al Leiderman for Leo Leiderman Edward Weiss for Joseph Weiss Peter Weiss for Joseph Weiss

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