May 5, 2012 13 Iyar, 5772 Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

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In his commentary to the command with which our sedra begins - 'You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy' Nahmanides makes a famous observation: The meaning is as follows: the Torah has warned us against immorality and forbidden foods, but it permits sexual relations between man and wife, and the eating of certain kinds of meat and wine. Since this is so, a person could think that it is permitted to be passionately addicted to intercourse with his wife, or many wives, and be 'among those who guzzle wine or glut themselves on meat' (Proverbs 23:20) and speak freely of all profanities, since this is not explicitly forbidden. The result is that he will become a scoundrel within the permissible realm of Torah [naval bi-reshut ha-Torah]. Therefore, after listing the specific conduct that is forbidden, the Torah continues with a general command that we practise moderation even in matters which are permitted. Nahmanides goes on to explain that this is a general feature of Jewish law: detailed examples followed by a general command. Thus in the case of ethics the Torah explicitly forbids certain kinds of conduct, such as theft, robbery, and overcharging in business. But it also contains general rules such as, 'You shall do that which is right and good' (Deut. 6: 18) - which include and going 'beyond the strict requirements of the law' and a willingness, for the sake of equity, to forego the full extent of one's legal rights. Maimonides arrives at a similar idea, though from a different source: For Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your G-d, and walk in His ways. (Deut. 28: 9) From this, he inferred (Hilkhot Deot, ch. 1) that we are commanded to develop certain traits of character - to be gracious, merciful, and holy, as G-d is gracious, merciful and holy. As his son, Rabbi Abraham, explained in one of his respons (no. 63), Maimonides holds that in addition to prescribing or forbidding specific actions, Judaism requires us to develop certain virtues - what Alexis de Tocqueville called 'habits of the heart'. The Torah is concerned not only with behaviour but also with character; not just with what we do but also the kind of person we become. The point is fundamental. To put it technically, Maimonides and Nahmanides oppose halakhic reductivism and positivism. The first, reductivism, is the idea that halakhah [Jewish law] is all there is to Judaism: the belief that if we have obeyed every law in the Shulhan Arukh, we have done all that is required of us. There is nothing else. Judaism is a set of laws, a code of conduct, a choreography of behaviour and no more. The second idea, halakhic positivism, is that Jewish law is a self-contained, self-sufficient system with no underlying logic other than obedience to the word of G-d. It has no further purposes, no ultimate aim, no rationale - at least none that can be known to us. Maimonides and Nahmanides believed otherwise. They held that there are matters of great

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Shabbat Announcements Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5772

religious significance which lie beyond the scope of precise legislation. They cannot be spelled out in terms of exact, exhaustive rules, because life does not obey exact, exhaustive rules. You can keep all the laws of kashrut, implies Nahmanides, and still be a glutton. You can drink only kosher wine and still be a drunkard. You can be faithful to the laws of marriage and still be a sensualist. He calls such a person a naval bi-reshut ha-Torah, meaning, one who is coarse, crude, self-indulgent but who justifies his conduct by claiming, perhaps sincerely, that he is a strict observer of the law. Likewise, Maimonides was concern to refute the idea that you could be an observant Jew and at the same time arrogant, insensitive, tactless, prone to anger or pride. Both believed that such people profoundly fail to understand the nature of Judaism. The law itself points to something beyond the law. Nahmanides located this in the command, 'You shall be holy'. Maimonides found it in the phrase, 'and walk in His ways'. Both, however, were convinced that there is a dimension of the moral and spiritual life that cannot be specified in the form of precise legislation. It has to do with self-restraint, moderation, gentleness, sensitivity, and the thousand other forms of emotional literacy which you cannot learn from a book of rules, but only from experience and example.

produced ethical treatises such as Bahya ibn Pakudah's Duties of the Heart (Hovot ha-Levavot) and R. Judah of Regensburg's great work of German-Jewish spirituality, The Book of the Pious (Sefer Hassidim). The tradition was continued in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the Hassidic movement in one direction, and R. Israel Salanter's Mussar movement in another. To be holy, for Nahmanides, or to walk in G-d's ways for Maimonides, is to undergo an extended process in character-formation and moral growth. In this sense, ethics is like art. There are rules for constructing a sonnet, but obeying them does not turn you into Shakespeare. It is also like leadership. There are a few basic rules, but beyond that, leaders have little in common. Halakhah defines the basic parameters of a Jewish life. It is within those parameters that the search for moral wisdom takes place. Halakhah is a necessary but not sufficient condition of a life lived in pursuit of the ideal. That is why we have such works as the Mishnah tractate Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) and why Maimonides composed his Laws of Ethical Character (Hilkhot Deot).

To be conscious of the presence of G-d is to become a different sort of person from one who believes that the physical world is all there is, that there is no authority beyond mere power, and that there is no meaning to existence. There are people who are successful, clever or powerful - but there are also people who are holy, and The Talmud says (Berakhot 62a) that Rabbi Akiva followed you can tell it by their demeanour, their way of relating to R. Joshua wherever he went, to see how he behaved. One people. They seem to point to something beyond. That, of the great Jewish mystics, Rabbi Leib Saras, used to say says Nahmanides, is the challenge in those simple words that he traveled to Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezeritch, not to learn at the beginning of Kedoshim: 'Be holy'. Holiness is not biblical interpretations but to see how the Rabbi tied his just what we do but also the kind of person we become. shoelaces. The Talmud (Makkot 22b) speaks of the 'foolish' Jews of Babylon who 'stand in the presence of a Torah scroll but not in the presence of a great human being'. A great sage is a living Torah scroll. There are textbooks and there are text people. We learn rules from books. But we learn HEROES ALL virtue by finding virtuous people and seeing how they behave. Law is not the whole of Judaism. That is why the Torah contains not only law but also narrative, and why the rabbinic literature includes not only halakhah but also aggadah: stories, speculations, and ethical reflections. Along with commentaries and codes, medieval Jewry

Great Neck Synagogue Shabbat Activities Program

Dale Polakoff, Rabbi Ian Lichter, Assistant Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,zl, Rabbi Emeritus Daniel Schwechter, Rabbinic Intern Zeev Kron, Cantor Eleazer Schulman, zl, Cantor Emeritus Rabbi Sholom Jensen, Youth Director Mark Twersky, Executive Director Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, Program Director Joseph Hecht, President Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board

We never thought that it could be The land of Israel ours and free To be a homeland for the Jews Though costly was what we did lose Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, Our Nation's soldiers were each one From Europe's ovens, they first came Toward death and danger, quite the same But this would now be their homeland They offered all that would demand Without them, Jews would have no space For us to call G-d's given place We remember and recall On this day they are heroes, all The debt owed we can not pay them It's really known by just Hashem

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GNS UPCOMING EVENTS
SUNDAY BREAKFAST The Breakfast is sponsored by Shirley and Aaron Eliach in memory of his mother Chana Eliach, zL.

WITHIN OUR FAMILY

Mazal Tov to Jacqueline & Stanley Fischer on the birth of a grandson, born to their children Rachel & David Fischer. Mazal Tov to Nadine & Josh Shatzkes on the birth of a son. Mazal Tov to grandparents Karen & Robert Spitalnick and great-grandmother Gisella Steigman. Mazal Tov to Yifat & Zachary Mittleman on the birth of twins, a boy and a girl, and Mazal Tov to grandparents Rona & Myles Mittleman. Mazal Tov to Sandra & Mark Gold on the birth of a grandson born to their children Nikkie & Matan Shoshani.

Please join us on Thursday evening, May 3rd at 7:00pm in the Braun Youth Center for a final Sisterhood meeting before the summer. We look forward to seeing you there! OHEL SHABBATON THIS SHABBAT MAY 5th We thank all those who are hosting our special guests. Hosting opportunities are still available. Please see Rabbi Lichter.

SISTERHOOD MEETING

COMMUNITY UPCOMING EVENTS

PARLOR MEETING MTJ parlor meeting with Rav Reuben Feinstein at the home of Jamie & Michael Katz 25 Clover Drive, on Tuesday evening, May 8th in memory of Ben Dweck.

Wednesday, May 9, 8:00 pm GUEST SPEAKER Ambassador Efraim HaLevy, former Director of the Mossad, in honor of the publication of Israel's Silent Defender: An Inside Look at Sixty Years of Israeli Intelligence. Co-sponsored by GNS Men's Club & Jewish Political Education Foundation. Refreshments will be served. To pre-order books, please contact the synagogue office. Monday, May 14, 7:30pm GNS FILM SERIES - "A Matter of Size (2009)," An entertaining comedy, winner of 3 Israeli Film Academy Awards. Followed by discussion with Dean Movshovitz, Director of Film and Media, Office for Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York. Clearview Squire Cinemas, 115 Middle Neck Road. $15/person in advance, $20/ person at the door. RSVP to Great Neck Arts Center: 516-829-2570

SAVE-THE DATE
The North Shore Hebrew Academy's Annual Journal Dinner will take place on Tuesday, May 22nd Rosh Chodesh Sivan at CITI FIELD honoring Sarit & Shlomo Elias and Kathy & Arnie Flatow. Those wishing to place an ad or make a reservation, please call the NSHA Business Office at (516) 487-8687 ext 2.

SAVE THE DATE ISRAEL BONDS

Israel Bond Dessert Reception for the unique community of Great Neck, honoring our local synagogue presidents at Temple Israel on May 23rd at 7:30 pm. A LIFE SAVING MITZVAH Rabbi Block from Roslyn has asked us to publicize that a member of their community is in need of a kidney transplant and is looking for that special type of person who would literally give the gift of life by donating one of their kidneys. The potential donor must have type B or O blood. If you have any interest at all in this life saving mitzvah, please contact Rabbi Block at razleeners@aol.com.

The 2nd Annual GN Sisters Project will take place on Wed., May 16th at 10:00am at Temple Israel. Please join us to help prepare Shabbat Boxes for all Jewish patients at North Shore University Hospital followed by a luncheon and guest speaker, Rabbi Daniel Coleman. We look forward to seeing you there! We welcome you to be a sponsor for $18. Kindly rsvp to the synagogue office 487-6100.

COMBINED SISTERHOODS OF GREAT NECK EVENT

GNS MENS CLUB UPCOMING EVENTS

Wed & Thur., June 6 & 7, 7.00 pm: The annual Defensive Driving Course will be held at GNS. Participate to reduce any points on your license and save on auto insurance. Sun June 10, 8.00 am to 1.00 pm: Our semi-annual Blood Drive. Donating blood is a mitzvah which helps save lives. Sun July 1, 9.00 am: We are going Fishing again. The whole family can join in this enjoyable morning at sea.

SISTERHOOD BOOK SALE

The Sisterhood Gift Shop is selling Two Rings: A Story of Love and War which is the Holocaust memoir by our member Millie Werber. If you are interested in purchasing this book, please contact Diane Rein at drein@verizon.net.

WANTED DRIVERS
Who needs a mitzva? The Hunger Initiative is looking for two drivers, each will be responsible for a one stop food delivery on a Sunday morning, once every six weeks. Please contact Mark Twersky in the Synagogue office.

COMMUNITY UPCOMING EVENTS

AFMDA PARLOR MEETING Please hold Wednesday, May 2nd for a dessert reception commemorating the second Yahrzeit of our beloved Dr. Lewis Gordonson, zl at the home of Mrs. Rita Gordonson. Special briefing by Ori Shacham, Deputy Director, Magen David Adom, Israels sole Knesset-mandated medical response service.

Y A H R Z E I T

Saturday, 13 Iyar Abigail Epstein for Ruth Ostrin Janet Greenhut for William Lipson Mildred Shinnar for Aaron Green Sunday, 14 Iyar Mildred Shinnar for Morris Rosenbach Monday, 15 Iyar Kathy Flatow for Imre David Tuesday, 16 Iyar Helene Bayme for Rhea Asher Sigmund Horowitz for Carol Horowitz Elana Roshan for Shoshana bat Avraham Steven Zuckerman for Philip J. Zuckerman Wednesday, 17 Iyar Aaron J. Eliach for Chana Eliach Murray Frank for Pearl Gold Stuart Kaufman for Florence Kaufman Thursday, 18 Iyar Emile Heskel Kattan for Edward Kattan Karen Shein for Philip Weitman Friday, 19 Iyar Susan Castle for Avraham Dobkowski Louisa Prawer for Ruben Fuchs Carl Rosenberg for Blanche Rosenberg Edward Weiss for Bertha Weiss Peter Weiss for Bertha Weiss