Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei-Hachodesh March 21, 2009 18 Adar, 5769

Torah
Artscroll, 516 Rabbi Frand on the Parsha
Hertz, 373
The Key To Success Is found it within their nature to scholars] and us is not their IQ
Maftir Initiative do what they were called or intelligence. The difference
Artscroll, 253 upon to do. is that they had a tremendous
Hertz, 348 drive and sense of ambition to
Parshas Vayakhel
Haftorah contains a verse The Ramban interprets the know all of Torah. That is what
Artscroll, 1218 describing the people expression asher nesa'o separates them from us!
Hertz, 1001 who came forth in the leebo, literally as "whose
Mevorchim Chodesh Nisan construction of the heart lifted him up". They That is the way it is in every
Rosh Chodesh Tabernacle: "Every man had neither the training nor endeavor in life. The people
Thursday March 26
Molad Thursday morning whose heart inspired him the skill but they had the who have the guts and
6:23:1am (asher nesa'o leebo) inspiration and daring and gumption to accomplish the
came and everyone initiative that it took to get lofty goals they set out for
Times whose spirit motivated the job done. That is all it themselves are those who
Candle lighting 6:49 pm him brought the portion took to accomplish what succeed.
of Hashem for the work needed to be accomplished.
Mincha 6:50 pm
of the Tent of Meeting, More than skill, a person Someone recently lent me a
Hashkama 8:00 am for all its labor and for the needs ambition. book about the Reichman
Minyan sacred family. In their heyday, the
Parsha Shiur 8:30 am vestments." [Shmos This Ramban is teaching us Reichmans were the biggest
35:21] that the greatest key to real estate development
Youth 8:30 am
success is not necessarily company in the history of the
Main Minyan 9:00 am The Ramban notes that the training. It is the ambition world. Many of us are aware of
Beit Midrash 9:15 am
the Mishkan was an and initiative to do the tremendous generosity of
impressive structure. something. the family – giving out millions
Gemorah Shiur 5:40 pm However, when Moshe and millions of dollars to
Mincha 6:40 pm Rabbeinu called forth the The Mirer Mashgiach, Rav Tzedaka and Torah causes.
people to come Yeruchem writes similarly: "If
Shabbat Ends 7:53 pm participate in its one looks at the great people How did they get started in the
Sunday, 7:30 am construction, he was in the world, if one looks at construction business?
March 22, 8:30 am taking a big chance. The those who have made According to the book, they
people were not trained financial fortunes – most, if had a tile business -– the
Mon., & Thurs 6:35 am
architects or builders. not all such people achieved Olympia Tile Company. They
Tues., Wed., & 6:45 am Most of these people did their greatness thanks to sold building material. One
Fri., not know the difference their tremendous drive and day, they decided they needed
Second Shacharit between a hammer and a initiative." Rav Yeruchem a bigger warehouse.
Minyan (Daily) 7:45 am screwdriver. However, further writes that the
the Ramban says that difference between the
Mincha (week of 7:00 pm They went to several different
somehow the people Rishonim [Medieval Jewish
March 22) general contractors and gave
Latest times for
Shema/Shmoneh Esrei Kiddush is
March 21 9:59/11:00 am
March 28 9:52/10:55 am sponsored by
Next Shabbat - Vayikra
Candle lighting 6:56 pm
Great Neck Synagogue
Mincha 7:00 pm
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shabbat Announcements Vayakhel-Pekudei-Hachodesh, 5769

their requirements for building a new warehouse. The

lowest bid that came back was $120,000. Mr.
Reichman thought to himself: "I bet that for $120,000 I PASSOVER IS COMING
can build a warehouse myself. I bet I can build it Help those in need!
cheaper."
Please pick up a bag
At the time, he did not know the first thing about from the shul
construction. He knew nothing about building. All he
knew was that he believed in himself and he believed And fill it with Kosher
that he could build a warehouse that would meet his for Passover foods.
needs for less than $120,000. So it was. He built it for
$70,000. He then said to himself, "You know -– this is Return it to either the Shul Office or
not a bad business." The Reichmans started building
one story warehouses. From there they moved on to Adina Moskowitz,
multi-story buildings. One thing led to another until 27 Hampshire Rd. (off Wooleys Lane)
they became the biggest real estate development
company in the world. Why? Because "nesa-o leebo". Drop off by April 1.
It was because of initiative. "I'll try it! I can do it."

When Moshe asked for volunteers to build a Mishkan,

people came forth willing to try and determined that
they would succeed. Ambition. Initiative. Gall. These
are the keys to success.

Ironically, Rav Yeruchem says, when Moshe PASSOVER

Rabbeinu –- for the best of reasons -- contained his SHMURAH MATZAH
ambition, he was punished. Rav Yeruchem is referring GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE
to the incident by the burning bush. Moshe hid his
face [Shmos 3:6]. According to Rav Yehoshua ben is again pleased to serve its membership with the sale of
Korcha in the Medrash, Moshe was not acting Hand Baked SHMURAH MATZAH
properly at that moment. Had he not hid his face then,
had he had a little more "chutzpah" and ambition at Pick-up for Matzah will be on Monday, April 6, 2009
that moment, G-d would have revealed all the secrets Between 6:30 PM & 8:30 PM
of the world to Moshe –- a desire that Moshe later
had, but was denied. All orders must be prepaid
Please make checks payable to
Such is the beauty and power of initiative and GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE
ambition.
Limited supply. Please order early.


Order Form

Name__________________________________________

Address________________________________________
Great Neck Synagogue Telephone (Home)_______________________________
Shabbat Activities Program

(Bus.)__________________________________________
Dale Polakoff, Rabbi
Shalom Axelrod, Assistant Rabbi
___lb. Shmurah Matzah @ 18.50 per lb.___
Brahm Weinberg, Rabbinic Intern
Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,z”l, Rabbi Emeritus
Zeev Kron, Cantor Total Cost___________________
Eleazer Schulman, z”l, Cantor Emeritus
Mark Twersky, Executive Director CHECK MUST BE INCLUDED WITH ORDER
Howard Silberstein, President
Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board
 Thursday March 26, 7:45 pm
Rebuilding The Temple
The Blueprint of the Dead Sea Scrolls
(an illustrated lecture)
given by
Lawrence H. Schiffman,
Professor and Chairman Skirball Department of
Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University.
The Dead Sea sectarians expected that in
the war that would usher in the
messianic era they would be victorious
and rebuild the Jerusalem Temple
according to their ideal blueprint,
conducting its sacrificial ritual in a state
of perfection and purity. To this end,
they drew on a detailed architectural
plan for a gargantuan Temple that had
been designed by a priestly author earlier
in the Hellenistic period. We will follow
the Dead Sea sect in its failed quest to
rebuild the Temple and, along the way,
discover secrets of both the real Temple
and the imagined sanctuary of the Dead
Sea Scrolls.
March 21st 9 PM
Sally and Seymour Olshin Adult
Ed Program
AMHASEFER
Presents
Summa Metaphysica II:
God and Good
By: David Birnbaum
Am Hasefer is pleased to present a
discussion of the long anticipated
publication of the second volume of
David Birnbaum's
Summa Metaphysica series.
In critically acclaimed Volume I, God
and Evil (Ktav, 1989), the critics said
"Birnbaum comes as close as
possible to solving the awesome
dilemma of evil in a world created by
a just God." Birnbaum writes of "God
and Good," "This is a highly intuitive
work attempting to advance our
speculative conjecture about the
cosmos but fully comporting to our
knowledge of the spectrum of vari-
ous realities, across the sciences, both
physical and social. The work is
written within a Jewish context, but
its motifs are universal. If the
construct proposed herein proves to
stand the test of time, mainstream
Jewish philosophy and theology will
comport to its contours and other
belief systems will find ways to
accommodate its assertions.
The presentation is in memory of
Dr. Seymour Olshin.
Daniel Khalil, who wrote the forward
and commentary, will speak, with
David Birnbaum responding to
questions after Khalil's presentation.
The evening will take place at the
Fischer (Stan & Jacquie) home,
65 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck,
on Saturday, March 21, at 9 PM.
See www.SummaM.org
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
RABBI REISMAN SATURDAY NIGHT TELECAST
Weinstein Torah & Technology Center Sat., 9:30pm www.gnstorah.org
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
Sunday Breakfast is sponsored by Lisa & Michael Aryeh in memory
of Morris Schultz, z”l.
THANK YOU
The GNS Hunger Initiative wishes to thank everyone for their food
donations on Purim. We delivered over 30 bags of groceries to a local
food pantry. Yasher Koach to all!
UPCOMING MEN’S CLUB EVENTS
March 17th, 8pm– 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 18th 8pm- 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.
March 22nd 10am– The annual Rabbi Dialogue, at Temple Israel.
May 6th 8pm– Talk by Michael Tuchfeld, Commentator and
correspondent Israel TV2 News—The Knesset Channel 99,
co-sponsored by JPEF, publisher of the Jewish Political Chronicle.
CHOFETZ CHAIM GLOBAL TORAH EVENT
“The Inner Meaning of the Birkas Hachamah” to be shown at GNS, on
Sunday, March 22. at 5:30pm. This year on Erev Pesach, Klal Yisrael
will recite the blessing of Birkas HaChamah, the blessing on the sun,
which is recited only once every 28 years. Rabbi Avraham Chaim
Feuer and Rabbi Paysach Krohn, will provide deep, and inspiring
insights into the inner meaning of the Bracha.
GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE SISTERHOOD MEETING
On Wed. evening, March 18th at 8pm, there will be a meeting in the
Braun Youth Center to plan upcoming Sisterhood events. We welcome
everyone to attend and join in our efforts!
AM HASEFER
Sally & Seymour Olshin Adult Ed Program presents a discussion of
VOLUME II 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.
Thurs., March 26th 7:45pm An illustrated lecture with Larry H.
Schiffman, Professor and Chairman of the Skirball Dept. of Hebrew
and Judaic Studies at NYU. Rebuilding the Temple: The Blueprint of the
Dead Sea Scrolls.
SISTERHOOD EVENT
Tuesday, March 24th at 8pm, Morah Susan Lieberman will give a
Pre-Pesach shiur for women entitled “Nissan - Its Significance as the
First Month of the Year.” Cost is $5/person. It will be held at the home
of Margery & Barry Libin, 19 Shore Park Road.
SHOP DELIGHT DISCOUNT CARDS
The Sisterhood of GNS is selling VIP Shop Delight Cards for $10. The
VIP cards give you 5% off every $100 you spend at Shop Delight, no
expiration date. Contact Diane Rein at drein@verizon.net
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.
SAVE THE DATE GREAT NECK LADIES NIGHT OUT
The 57th Annual Combined Sisterhoods will be held at Temple Beth El,
Thurs. April 30th at 6pm. With award winning author Beth J. Harpaz,
as our guest speaker, delicious hors d’oeuvres and desserts by
Lederman Caterers, a boutique, and raffle prizes! We are proud to
participate in this community event, and encourage you to become an
event sponsor for $36. Reservations are required! RSVP at 487-6100
or email drein@verizon.net. We are collecting toiletry items to donate
to victims of domestic violence in conjunction with the UJA. Please drop
off donations in the synagogue office by April 24th.
DRIVERS NEEDED
Drivers are needed to deliver food for Tomchei Shabbos on
Wednesday evenings. A once a month commitment is needed. Call
Jeff Bilfeld at 509-0396. Earn chesed hours for school.
WITHIN OUR FAMILY
Mazal Tov to Vicki & Barry Maher on the birth of a granddaughter
born to their children Cheryl & Myles Maher.
Mazal Tov to Hedva & Edmond Kessler on the engagement of their
son Alan to Gillian Dinstein.
THANK YOU
Drs. Laura & Scott Danoff and family would like to thank the entire community for
their outpouring of support during Stephanie’s challenging time at North Shore
Hospital this past week and a half. It was encouraging to hear of all the tehillim that
was read on her behalf around the area and in Israel. We would like to especially
thank Dr. Ada Hass Berkowitz, Dr. Edwin Rosman, Dr. Rona Waldenberg
Askowitz, Dr. Michael Nimaroff, Dr. Dana Lustbader, Dr. Jessica Jacob,
and Dr. Bruce Decter for their professionalism and friendship.
AN EYEWITNESS REPORT: ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK
Please join Young Israel of Great Neck, Great Neck Synagogue, and UJA-Federation of
New York, for a Dessert Reception, Thursday, March 19, 7:30pm at the home of
Sandra & Mark Gold, 7 Beech Lane. Guest Speaker, Dr. Michael Frogel, Chief of
General Pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital, Coordinator, Emergency Medical
Volunteers for Israel.
ART EXHIBIT
Joe Lemonik son of Celia & Jack Lemonik will be showing his artwork in an exhibit
entitled Driven to Abstraction opening March 22nd, at Great Neck Arts Center, 113
Middle Neck Road.
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. For more
info contact Devorah at 516-721-2851.
The family of the late Sam Aharonoff, z”l, would like to express its appreciation
for all the kindness and sympathy that was shown to them during Sam’s illness
and following his untimely passing. The entire community is to be commended for
the dignified way they treated the family during their time of deep sorrow.
Ellen Rifken, Yehuda Singer, and family would like to thank Rabbi Polakoff
and the entire community for their caring and helpful support, sympathy , and
kindness following the death of their mother, Marge Singer, “Aunt Marge”.
Saturday, 25 Adar
Madeline Belonsky for Raymond Belonsky
Paul Brody for Rose Goldsmith
Jack Lipsky for Corinne Lipsky
Mark Twersky for David Twersky
Sunday, 26 Adar
Charles Berger for William Berger
Elena Berkowitz for Florita Fridman
Y Mali Meisel for Robert Meisel
Annie Mendelson for Robert Meisel
A Mr. & Mrs. Morton Silver for Carl Silver
Monday, 27 Adar
H Alan Adler for Murray Adler
R Alan Adler for Bella Adler
Leslie Kahn for Sam Krawchuk
Z Hilda Schulman for Cantor Leibel Trainer
Aaron Seligson for Hyman Seligson
E Lawrence Sneag for Esther Sneag
I Tuesday, 28 Adar
Joan Katz for Frank Sadinoff
T Llewllyn Lillien for Frances Engelhard
Richard Lillien for Frances Engelhard
Yaffa Lukash for Lou Schwartz
Wednesday, 29 Adar
Nadine Eckstein for Lila Gittleman
Sidney Halitzer for Frieda Sugarman
Hilda Schulman for Cantor Eleazer Schulman
Frederick Shaw for Selma Shaw
Thursday, 1 Nisan
Edwin Frederick for Charles Frederick
Henry Katz for Erna Katz
Friday, 2 Nisan
Jacqueline Hott for Louis Hott
Al Leiderman for Anna Leiderman