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The Jewish Center - The Modern Orthodox Center for Jewish Life and Learning www.jewishcenter.org 212-724-2700 The Jewish Center SHABBAT BULLETIN April 25-26, 2015 Parshiot Tazriya-Metzorah 6 Iyar 5775 Erev Shabbat 7:00PM Minchah 7:26PM Candle Lighting Shabbat 7:45AM Hashkama Minyan 8:30AM Rabbi Israel Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine 9:00AM Shacharit (3 rd floor) 9:15AM Hashkama Shiur with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Sefirah- A Time for Mourning? 9:29AM Sof Zman Kriat Shema 9:30AM Young Leadership Minyan with Special Lecture by Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky, The Holy Milk-Man (5 th floor) 10:00AM Youth Groups, 2-year-olds, 3-4-year-olds and 5-6-year- olds: Geller Youth Center; 2 nd -3 rd graders, 4 th -6 th graders: 7 th floor 11:00AM Youth Department Mishnayot Class, Pirkei Avot, Chapter 1 Community Hot Kiddush (5 th floor) Advanced Leadership Luncheon: A Celebration of Israel's 67 th Birthday fea- turing David Pollock, The Current Middle East: Is There Any Good News? (The Max Stern Auditorium) With Thanks to Our Kiddush Sponsors: Lori Zeltser & Len Berman Judy & Allen Fagin in memory of Elisheva bat Binyamin Moshe and Hinda Ruth & Larry Kobrin on the occasion of the 25 th yahrzeit of Larry's father, Irving Kobrin Amy & Jed Latkin in honor of the 7 th birthday of their kids Brody & Claire Latkin 4:00PM Bikkur Cholim/Bikkur in the Home (meet at 730 Columbus Ave) 5:30PM Parent-Child Learning with Rabbi Daniel Fridman (grades 1-4 are welcome), Pirkei Avot, Chapter 2 6:00PM Shabbat Afternoon Jewish History Series: Rabbi Richard Hidary, Transmitting the Torah: Preserving an Authentic Bible and the Aleppo Codex 6:25PM Israel Friedman Daf Yomi 7:10PM Minchah, Shabbat afternoon groups Seudah Shlishit Speaker: Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro College, The Jew's Role in the Modern World 8:27PM Shabbat Concludes — DAILY SERVICES — WOMEN'S TEHILLIM GROUP Monday, April 27 at 7:15PM. Contact Joyce Weitz for more info at 212-877-1176. Sun., April 26 Daf Yomi 7:45AM Shacharit 8:30AM Minchah 7:35PM Mon., April 27 - Thur., April 30 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Minchah 7:35PM Fri., May 1 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Minchah 7:00PM Candle Lighting: 7:34PM THE JEWISH CENTER ANNUAL DINNER Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at Guastavino's Guests of Honor STEVE GRABER MARVIN FORTGANG Rabbi Dr. Leo Jung Memorial Award MARNIE & SCOTT BLACK Community Service Award DINA BURCAT HONORING MARTHA SONNENSCHEIN MEMORIAL LECTURE BY ARNA POUPKO FISHER, THE HOLY HEIGHTS OF THE HUMAN HEART: FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FAITH Shabbat, May 2 at 11:00AM Shabbat Morning Public Lecture: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: Family, Friends and Faith Shabbat Afternoon Lecture: Subversive Stories, Sanity and Surviv- al: The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic Narrative Seudah Shlishit: Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha? Arna Poupko Fisher, an internationally noted lecturer, educator and author, currently teaching at the University of Cincinnati, has dedicated her life to Jewish issues, including the challenges and opportunities of Jewish leadership and the capacity for the He- brew Bible and Jewish philosophy to inform contemporary com- munal life. MAY & SAMUEL RUDIN LECTURE FEATURING DANIEL LIBESKIND, THE SHAPING OF MEMORY FROM BERLIN TO GROUND ZERO Wednesday, May 6 at 8:00PM An international figure in architecture and urban design, the architect Daniel Libeskind is renowned for his ability to evoke cultural memory in buildings of equilibrium-defying contempora- neity. Please visit our website to register. MEMORIAL DAY LECTURE BY LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOWARD BROMBERG Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 PM Lieutenant General (R) Howard B. Bromberg was commis- sioned as an Air Defense Artillery officer in the U.S. Army. Throughout his career, he has served in Army units in the United States, Germany, Korea and Southwest Asia. For more information and to register, please visit our website. With Thanks to our Advanced Leadership Luncheon Sponsors: Janine Behrman & Alan Gover, Janine Behrman, Mildred & Alvin Hellerstein and Margie Kahn

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Page 1: The Jewish Centerfiles.ctctcdn.com/56afd919001/bdf901bd-a972-40db-bdad... · 2015-04-23 · The Jewish Center - The Modern Orthodox Center for Jewish Life and Learning • 212-724-2700

The Jewish Center - The Modern Orthodox Center for Jewish Life and Learning www.jewishcenter.org • 212-724-2700

The Jewish Center S H A B B A T B U L L E T I N

April 25-26, 2015 • Parshiot Tazriya-Metzorah • 6 Iyar 5775

Erev Shabbat 7:00PM Minchah 7:26PM Candle Lighting

Shabbat 7:45AM Hashkama Minyan 8:30AM Rabbi Israel Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine 9:00AM Shacharit (3rd floor) 9:15AM Hashkama Shiur with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Sefirah- A Time for Mourning? 9:29AM Sof Zman Kriat Shema 9:30AM Young Leadership Minyan with Special Lecture by Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky, The Holy Milk-Man (5th floor) 10:00AM Youth Groups, 2-year-olds, 3-4-year-olds and 5-6-year-olds: Geller Youth Center; 2nd-3rd graders, 4th-6th graders: 7th floor 11:00AM Youth Department Mishnayot Class, Pirkei Avot, Chapter 1 Community Hot Kiddush (5th floor) Advanced Leadership Luncheon: A Celebration of Israel's 67th Birthday fea-turing David Pollock, The Current Middle East: Is There Any Good News? (The Max Stern Auditorium)

With Thanks to Our Kiddush Sponsors: Lori Zeltser & Len Berman Judy & Allen Fagin in memory of Elisheva bat Binyamin Moshe and Hinda Ruth & Larry Kobrin on the occasion of the 25th yahrzeit of Larry's father, Irving Kobrin Amy & Jed Latkin in honor of the 7th birthday of their kids Brody & Claire Latkin

4:00PM Bikkur Cholim/Bikkur in the Home (meet at 730 Columbus Ave) 5:30PM Parent-Child Learning with Rabbi Daniel Fridman (grades 1-4 are welcome), Pirkei Avot, Chapter 2 6:00PM Shabbat Afternoon Jewish History Series: Rabbi Richard Hidary, Transmitting the Torah: Preserving an Authentic Bible and the Aleppo Codex 6:25PM Israel Friedman Daf Yomi 7:10PM Minchah, Shabbat afternoon groups Seudah Shlishit Speaker: Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro College, The Jew's Role in the Modern World

8:27PM Shabbat Concludes

— DAILY SERVICES —

WOMEN'S TEHILLIM GROUP Monday, April 27 at 7:15PM. Contact Joyce Weitz for more info at 212-877-1176.

Sun., April 26 Daf Yomi 7:45AM Shacharit 8:30AM Minchah 7:35PM

Mon., April 27 - Thur., April 30 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Minchah 7:35PM

Fri., May 1 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Minchah 7:00PM Candle Lighting: 7:34PM

THE JEWISH CENTER ANNUAL DINNER Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at Guastavino's

Guests of Honor STEVE GRABER MARVIN FORTGANG

Rabbi Dr. Leo Jung Memorial Award MARNIE & SCOTT BLACK

Community Service Award DINA BURCAT

HONORING

MARTHA SONNENSCHEIN MEMORIAL LECTURE BY ARNA POUPKO FISHER, THE HOLY HEIGHTS OF THE HUMAN HEART: FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FAITH

Shabbat, May 2 at 11:00AM

Shabbat Morning Public Lecture: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: Family, Friends and Faith Shabbat Afternoon Lecture: Subversive Stories, Sanity and Surviv-al: The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic Narrative Seudah Shlishit: Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha? Arna Poupko Fisher, an internationally noted lecturer, educator and author, currently teaching at the University of Cincinnati, has dedicated her life to Jewish issues, including the challenges and opportunities of Jewish leadership and the capacity for the He-brew Bible and Jewish philosophy to inform contemporary com-munal life.

MAY & SAMUEL RUDIN LECTURE FEATURING DANIEL LIBESKIND, THE SHAPING OF MEMORY FROM BERLIN TO GROUND ZERO

Wednesday, May 6 at 8:00PM

An international figure in architecture and urban design, the architect Daniel Libeskind is renowned for his ability to evoke cultural memory in buildings of equilibrium-defying contempora-neity. Please visit our website to register.

MEMORIAL DAY LECTURE BY LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOWARD BROMBERG Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 PM

Lieutenant General (R) Howard B. Bromberg was commis-sioned as an Air Defense Artillery officer in the U.S. Army. Throughout his career, he has served in Army units in the United States, Germany, Korea and Southwest Asia. For more information and to register, please visit our website.

With Thanks to our Advanced Leadership Luncheon Sponsors: Janine Behrman & Alan Gover, Janine Behrman, Mildred & Alvin Hellerstein

and Margie Kahn

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DAILY (except Shabbat) Israel Friedman Daf Yomi, 7:45AM

MONDAY Innovation & Conservation: Ancient Judaism & Christianity with Rabbi Ari Lamm, 8:00PM

TUESDAY Advanced Talmud Chabura with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 7:45AM

Nosh & Drash with Dr. Adena Berkowitz, 10:15AM

From Zionism to Zion: The Journey of Modern Israel with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 8:00PM (April 28 & May 5)

WEDNESDAY Advanced Talmud Chabura with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 7:45AM

Women of the Bible with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 11:00AM

Iyun Tefilah: Study of Prayer with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 6:30PM

The Next Level with Rabbi Mark Wildes, 8:00PM

THURSDAY From Supervision to Competition: Business Ethics and the Jewish Consumer with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind, 8:00PM through April 30 and then at 7:00PM

SHABBAT Rabbi Israel Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 8:30AM

Ramban on the Weekly Parsha with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 9:15AM

Parent-Child Learning with Rabbi Daniel Fridman

Youth Department Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Daniel Fridman

Israel Friedman Daf Yomi with JCU Faculty, 45 minutes before Minchah

39 Melachot with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind

JEWISH CENTER UNIVERSITY SPRING SEMESTER APRIL 13-JUNE 18

May 2: Arna Poupko Fisher, Subversive Stories, Sanity and Survival: The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic Nar-rative

May 9: Rabbi Adam Mintz, The Chevra Kaddisha Comes to America: Burial Policies in Early American Orthodoxy

May 30: Professor Jonathan Helfand, The Inscription and the Book: At the Crossroads of Modern American Jewish History

June 13: Professor Sharon Flatto, Who is a Jew?: The Case of the Marranos - the First Modern Jews

JEWISH HISTORY SERIES SHABBAT AFTERNOONS, ONE HOUR BEFORE MINCHAH

4TH ANNUAL KETER TORAH AWARDS HONORING DR. ADENA BERKOWITZ AND MICHELLE CHREIN SHABBAT, MAY 16 FOLLOWING 9AM SERVICES

In the spirit of Shavuot, which celebrates two great Jewish heroines, Naomi and Ruth, the Keter Torah Award cere-mony will immediately precede Shavuot. We look for-ward to recognizing two women in our community this year: Dr. Adena Berkowitz and Michelle Chrein.

If you would like to acknowledge the women of our synagogue, and our honorees, please visit www.jewishcenter.org. Your donation will contribute towards honoring these women, as well as to support the work of The Jewish Center. Your name will be published in the program which will be distributed at the presentation.

Keter Torah Sponsor - $180 Rimon Sponsor - $72

SEUDAH SHLISHIT SERIES

Shabbat, May 2: Arna Poupko Fisher, Above and Beyond: Raising the Ethical Bar

Shabbat, May 16: Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO JOINED US!

Thank you to all those who joined us for the annual Hanno Mott Lecture on Jewish Ethics featuring Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinestein, Professor Robert George, Professor Avi Helfand and Professor Alan Dershowitz. For those who missed the lecture, an audio record-ing will be availa-ble on our website shortly.

Over 650 young professionals came together to honor Yom HaZika-ron and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut this past Wednesday. The evening began with a meaning tekes to remember the soldiers who have fallen for the state of Israel, con-tinued with tefilah chagigit and ended with a concert featuring Soulfarm.

The event was organized through the JCC’s Upper West Side Cele-brates Israel program and was run by local shuls, spearheaded by The Jewish Center.

Nosh and Drash Challah Baking Class

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MAZAL TOV Sherry & Mark Fessel on the birth of twin grandsons born to their children Julie & Alex Fenigstein. Mazal tov to grandpar-ents Cecile & Irving Skydell and Judith Golzman

Susan & Avery Neumark on the engage-ment of their son, Samuel, to Liz Uretsky. Mazal tov to grandparents Debby & Melvin Neumark

CONDOLENCES We regret to inform you of the passing of Ruth Gibber, mother of our member, Elliot Gibber. Shivah will be observed through Friday morning at 9AM at the home of Phyliss Victor, 961 East 18th Street (between Avenue I & J), Brooklyn, NY. Shivah will resume Saturday night through Monday morning in North Miami Beach at 1110 NE 177th Terrace. Elliot may be reached at 908 456 0923.

THANK YOU TO OUR USHERS Thank you to Jay Worenklein and Aliza Herzberg Brodie who are our ushers this Shabbat.

THANK YOU TO CSS We would like to once again thank CSS and our dedicated CSS members for providing the security for our synagogue this week.

THE ANNUAL WEST SIDE MIKVAH FUNDRAISER Tuesday, May 5 at 7:30PM at 535 West End Avenue

The Rebbetzins of the Upper West Side cordially invite the women of the community to celebrate and support The West Side Mikvah. Guest speaker: Reb-betzin Rivkah Slonim, Total Immersion: An Honest Look at the Place of Mikvah in Our Lives. Register and learn more at www.westsidemikvahfundrasier.com.

FIRE SAFETY FOR UPPER WEST SIDE JEWISH COMMUNITY - Q&A SESSION WITH AN FDNY REPRESENTATIVE Monday, April 27 at 8:00PM at Lincoln Square Synagogue (180 Amsterdam Ave.) The Fire Safety Education Department will address a variety of issues concerning how to safely use hot plates and the stove top on Shabbat and Yom Tov. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.lss.org.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

UPPER WEST SIDE CELEBRATES ISRAEL Sunday, April 26 throughout the day Join the Upper West Side's spectacular annual celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut. Syna-gogues, schools, and Jewish organizations are coming together to sponsor events through-out the neighborhood celebrating the rich and complex culture, history, and people of Israel. For a list of events please visit www.uwsisrael.org.

BOOK CLUB MEETING Sunday, May 10 at 7:30PM at the home of Maureen & Laszlo Marcus This year the Book Club theme is Holy Land: Spotlight on Israel. We conclude our book club series with Yossi Klein Halevi’s Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided A Nation. This book is an account of seven para-troopers who participated in the reunification of Jerusalem in the ’67 war and the unfold-ing of their lives and ideology in the decades that followed. For more information and to RSVP email [email protected].

LINCOLN AND THE JEWS - A GUIDED TOUR WITH RABBI YOSIE LEVINE Wednesday, May 13 at 11:00AM As we commemorate the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's passing this spring, join Rabbi Levine for a special tour of this limited-run exhibit at the NY Historical Society. The exhibition explores the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and his Jewish contempo-raries. For more information and to register, email [email protected].

SISTERHOOD ANNUAL BRUNCH Sunday, May 17 at 10:30AM Spice up your life at Sisterhood’s spring brunch. Join us at the home of Rachel Wolf for a presentation by Lior Lev Sercarz of La Boite a Epice. The Israeli-born Sercarz, who trained as a chef in France, creates personalized spice blends for A-list clients including the chefs at the French bread company Poilane and New York’s Le Bernardin. Enjoy learning to take home cooking to the next level. For more information email [email protected].

YOUNG LEADERSHIP PRE-SHAVUOT DINNER Friday, May 22 Kick off the three-day chag with this annual Young Leadership sell-out event. Visit our website for more information and to register. Please email [email protected] with any questions or to get involved.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING June 1 at 8:15PM Stay tuned for details.

CHILDREN, JOIN US FOR ADON OLAM Children ages 2-6 are encouraged to come up during the Cantor’s recitation of Kiddush and then sing Adon Olam together.

ART CONTEST: WHAT ISRAEL MEANS TO ME Entry Date: May 3 Winners announced: May 17 JC youth of all ages are invited to take part in a contest that focuses on what Israel means to them. Paint, draw, photograph or sculpt something that tells us about your relationship with Israel, and submit it on Yom Ha'atzmaut. Entries will be judged by world renowned artist Tobi Kahn and pho-tographer Shulamit Seidler-Feller. The art-work should be signed on the back, as to allow for blind judging. The winner will be

declared on Yom Yerushalayim, and the three top entries will be displayed on the 7th floor. The top entry will also receive a large Israeli flag and two books exploring Israel's past and present. Questions? Email [email protected]

DINNER WITH OUR SOLDIERS IN HONOR OF MEMORIAL DAY Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00PM Prior to The JC Memorial day lecture, we invite our youth to join US Color Guards and Soldiers for dinner and a short Q&A. To register, sponsor and for more information please contact Yitz.

WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' MEGILLAT RUTH READING Monday, May 25 at 6:00PM

YOUTH DEPARTMENT

To sponsor Kiddush or Seudah Shlishit or a JC event, please contact Aaron at [email protected]

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Yosie Levine Rabbi

Dovid Zirkind Assistant Rabbi

Chaim David Berson Cantor

Daniel Fridman Resident Scholar

Erica Brown Community Scholar

Ari Lamm William Fischman Resident Rabbinic

Scholar

Aaron Strum Executive Director

Eliane Glassman Director of

Programming and Communications

Yitzchak Sprung Youth Director

OFFICERS Avi Schwartz

President

Andrew Borodach First Vice President

Andrew Kaplan Vice President

Mark Segall Vice President

Rose Lynn Sherr Vice President

Michael Jacobs Assistant

Vice President

Yaron Kinar Treasurer

Len Berman Assistant Treasurer

Miri Lipsky Secretary

Lisa Septimus Yoetzet Halacha 917-382-9008

Chevra Kadisha 212-724-2700

UWS Mikvah 212-579-2011

Hatzalah 212-230-1000

Eruv Status 212-724-2700

Clergy & Staff

Phone Numbers

For This You Have Been Create: A Tribute to my Rebbe, HaGaon Aharon Lichtenstein, zt’l Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Resident Scholar

R. Yochanan b. Zakkai received the tradition from Hillel and Shammai. He was wont to say, if you have studied Torah a great deal, do not congratu-late yourself, for it is to this purpose you have been created.’ Attempting, in any sense, to express my-self after the passing Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt’l, immediately stimulates a feeling of dialectical tension. On the one hand, producing divrei hesped in a forum which will largely be read on Shabbat, is not only generally unacceptable, but would be a profound and specific disservice to the legacy of a man whose life was consecrated, in the literal sense of the term, to fidelity to the halakhic sys-tem, and all which that entailed. On the other hand, given that Rav Lichtenstein’s spiritual depth, religious passion, exquisite personal sensitivity and refinement, vast Torah knowledge, massive gen-eral erudition, ethical rigor, personal discipline and integrity, indefatigable work ethic, limitless capacity for gratitude, command of language, and above all, singular humility, are not merely frighteningly beyond my own, but more to the point, beyond what I can truly comprehend, the possibility that anything which I write could begin to approach the halakhic definition of hesped seems, to put things generously, remote. If our shared concern is one of hesped on Shabbat, it seems we have very little to worry about indeed. Humbly, haltingly, and stimulated by my own per-sonal debt of gratitude, I will try to proffer a few meager words of appreciation to the man who was my spiritual lodestar from my earliest youth, as he was to so many others. Rabban Yochanan b. Zakkai seems, to me, an instructive comparison, even though being placed in the same sentence as this giant of our mesorah would induce a reflexive, and immediate, combination of mortification and revulsion on the part of Morenu V’Rabbenu. The Talmud testifies that R. Yochanan b. Zakkai was first into the Beit Midrash everyday, and the last one to leave and turn off the lights. He studied every single one of the chadrei ha-Torah, deeply, incisively, creatively, and beyond, addressing himself to the broader world of chochmah, of wisdom. Rav Aharon was

the greatest masmid any of us ever saw, both with respect to the time he put in to learning, and the intensity with which he worked in the Beit Midrash, yet his general erudition surpassed even his closest peers in Torah learning by a difference of kind, and not one of degree. Moreover, the Talmud describes R. Yochanan b. Zakkai as the model of solicitous kindness, taking care to greet everyone before they acknowledged him, Jew and gentile alike, and holding the door for his students as they entered the Beit Midrash. Rav Aharon was the greatest champion of tzelem elokim that I ever saw or heard, both in principle and in practice, and he was the most devoted rebbe, who took Chazal’s comparison between a teacher and a father with extreme seriousness. Furthermore, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai was obviously, and deeply, engaged in the critical issues facing the Jewish people in his generation. For R. Yochanan b. Zakkai, this was of course the cataclysm of the destruction of the temple, whilst for Rav Aharon, it was the attempt to spiritually and physically rebuild from the cataclysm of the Shoah, and both the challenges and opportunities which statehood presented. Unlike the overwhelm-ing majority, if not all, of the Talmidei Chachamim who could be considered of his stature, who were, at best, apathetic, to these ongoing transfor-mations, if not outright hostile, Rav Aharon ad-dressed these national challenges, engaged in public discourse, and tried to help us chart a course forward. Even more to the point, though, it was not merely that Rav Aharon engaged the is-sues of the day, as R. Yochanan b. Zakkai surely did, but his basic approach was precisely that of R. Yochanan b. Zakkai, namely, ,תן לי יבנה וחכמיה‘give me Yavneh and her wise men’. Rav Aharon passionately felt that the single most important way to address the challenges at the national lev-el was to cultivate a deep and abiding ethic of serious Talmud Torah, sophisticated, nuanced, Tal-mud Torah, and to seek to inspire the entire Jewish people to a love of Torah. He, like his rebbe muvhak, and father-in- law, was unfavorably dis-posed towards laws of religious coercion, and deeply skeptical of its prospects. As far as the

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goal of attracting broader appeal, he was every bit a stu-dent of his namesake, a lover of peace, and a pursue of peace, a lover of all people, who yearned to draw them closer, from a position of love, to the Torah. For R. Yochanan b. Zakkai, though, focus on the national issues of the day did not eclipse, or blind him, to the needs of individuals. In the very same breath that he asked Vespasian for Yavneh, as well as the preservation of the Davidic line, thus preserving Judaism’s eschatological aspirations intact, he asked for a qualified physician for R. Zakok, who had been fasting for the aversion of a catastro-phe. In his final breath, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai told his stu-dents to always keep in mind the future redemption, and, in the same sentence, to remove the vessels from the home, lest his death cause the smallest financial loss through contami-nation of earthen vessels which cannot be purified. Rav Aharon too, like his illustrious forbearer, could see the entire canvass, ‘ steadily and whole’, as Rav Lichtenstein so often quoted in the name of Matthew Arnold regarding Sopho-cles, and would never lose sight of the smallest personal concerns or anxieties. As he perceived of himself, in Milton’s phrase, ‘as ever in his great taskmaster’s eye, it was more than appropriate that his transcendence, his greatness, his When my .עניוות was inextricably linked to his גדלותfather dropped a pencil in shiur, and was simply too afraid to pick it up, lest he interrupt Rav Lichtenstein in midstream, Rav Lichtenstein walked over and put it back on my father’s desk, with a gentle smile, without interrupting his presenta-tion. When I accompanied my father, about two years ago, to ask Rav Lichtenstein an extremely sensitive, and deeply personal, halakhic dilemma, his response was an object les-son in the highest degree of personal care, intellectual hu-mility, and deep love for his talmidim. When I took leave of Yeshivat Har Etzion on the day before Tisha b’Av in and went to thank Rav Aharon for everything, heתשס׳ב, turned the conversation around and expressed concern for my future development in learning. As indicated in the mishnah above, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai was a mekabel of the mesorah, he was able to re-ceive. More impressively, he managed to receive from indi-viduals who had profoundly different personal styles, Hillel and Shammai. Rav Aharon was a mekabel as well, deeply rooted in his mesorah, in the world of the Lithuanian yeshi-vot from which he emerged, in the world of Rav Hutner, Rav Ahron Soloveichik, and, at a different plane, his father in law, and rebbe muvhak, the Rav. Likewise, he was remark-able in his ability to absorb from different sorts of people, to see that which each person had to offer, people even more different in approach than Hillel and Shammai. Most of his students, myself included, became acquainted with Milton, F.H. Bradley, Cardinal Newman, Milton, Professors Bush and Trilling, only through him. And, even if we knew, at some level, Shakespeare independently, how many of us had so deeply applied the message of King Lear, to our personal observance of kibbud av v’em in the way in which Rav Lichtenstein did? And, unlike many in the Centrist Or-

thodox world, whose frustration with the ideological commit-ments of Chareidi giants prevented them from properly appreciating their erudition and personal piety, Rav Aharon simply, and unapologetically, revered Rav Shlomo Zalman, Rav Aharon Kotler, and Rav Moshe Feinstein. Indeed, Rav Aharon was the wise man, par excellance, who learned from every person. Yet, in the final analysis, it is the triple clause in the mishnah above which will remain my framework for ongoing appreciation of my childhood hero, and my adult role mod-el: ‘if you have learned a great deal of Torah, do not con-gratulate yourself, for it is to this end that you have been created .׳Rav Aharon, quantitatively and qualitatively, in breadth and reaching to bottomless depths, learned a great deal of Torah. Yet, he was the most self-effacing person, Jewish or non-Jewish, that I will ever meet. Self-congratulation was not part of his moral universe. Echoing his beloved Ramban’s perspective about the prohibition for a king to be arrogant, that while it is prohibited for any person to be arrogant, the Torah localizes the prohibition to its discussion of monarchy for the king is at greatest risk due to his elevation station, Rav Lichtenstein had more to be smug about than anyone who I will ever meet, and was, nonetheless, the most modest person I have, and likely, will ever meet. When R. Yochanan b. Zakkai was on his death-bed, he wept, and expressed deep concern to his bewil-dered Talmidim that he was not worthy of a portion in the World to Come. They cried out to him, ‘light of Israel, the great hammer, the strong pillar’, how can you be so uncer-tain? R. Yochanan b. Zakkai’s lack of self-righteousness was the strongest indicator of his righteousness, and his capacity for self doubt the greatest testimony to his wisdom. And, so it was with Rav Aharon. This modesty was not merely an achievement of character, nor the direct result of a result of a lifetime of immersion in Rambam’s Mishneh Torah in which extreme humility is mandated, which it certainly was, but more im-portantly, it was reflective of a deep ideological commit-ment encompassed in the third and final clause of the triad in the mishnah above, ‘for it is to this purpose that you have been created’. Rav Aharon believed, in every cell of his body, with every fiber of his being, with every drop of his blood, sweat, and tears, that man was created to serve His Creator. As such, if he had achieved a great deal of Torah, and he did, and so much more, there was nothing, in his mind, for him to boast about. He was merely, as he said so often, manning ‘his station and its duties’. For those of us who saw him, albeit across a yawn-ing chasm, we have inexpressible gratitude to Yotzer Ha-Adam. Rav Yochanan b. Zakkai said, ‘praised is one who was raised in Torah, and whose toil was in Torah, who gen-erates nachat ruach for his Creator, who is raised with a good name, and who departs this world with a good name.’ May our memories of this giant, whose toil was in Torah, who came of age with a sterling reputation, and who left this world with an angelic one, stimulate us toward the work to which he dedicated his every breath.

Continued from page 4 of the Shabbat Bulletin

For This You Have Been Create: A Tribute to my Rebbe, HaGaon Aharon Lichtenstein, zt’l Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Resident Scholar

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Please join us next Shabbat for three special presentations. Shabbat Morning Public Lecture: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: The Holy Heights of the Human Heart: Family, Friends and FaithFamily, Friends and FaithFamily, Friends and FaithFamily, Friends and Faith This year’s Martha Sonnenschein Memorial Lecture will discuss "Identity Agents"*, an article authored by Drs. Elli Schachter and Jonathan J. Ventura, of Bar Ilan University. Their study addresses the com-plexities of transmitting "identity" as it pertains to values and religious life; but also helps us understand relationships of all sorts and the essential building blocks of relating to others with meaning and authenticity. It is a wonderful and moving read and unearths some very interesting Cndings. *copies are available on our website and in the shul lobby. Shabbat Afternoon Lecture:

Subversive Stories, Sanity and Survival: Subversive Stories, Sanity and Survival: Subversive Stories, Sanity and Survival: Subversive Stories, Sanity and Survival: The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic The Transformative Power of the Biblical and Rabbinic NarrativeNarrativeNarrativeNarrative "The Eicha Problem"*, by Dara Horn, acclaimed novelist and Professor of Literature at Harvard University, will be addressed during the pre- Mincha lecture, "Staying Whole Through Thinking Holy: The Redemptive Power of Personal and Communal Narrative". Dr. Horn's playful and provocative essay, published in a festschrift in honor of Dr. Ruth Wisse, the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Litera-ture at Harvard University is both a commentary and critique of Professor Wisse's thesis on historical responses to Jewish suNering, and will provide good fodder for our discussion on the power of narrative in constructing Jewish responses to both tragedy and triumph. *copies are available on our website and in the shul lobby.

Seudah Shlishit:

Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha?Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha?Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha?Is there an Ethic Beyond Halacha?

The Jewish Center Presents the

Martha Sonnenschein Memorial Lecture Featuring

Arna Poupko FischerArna Poupko FischerArna Poupko FischerArna Poupko Fischer Shabbat, May 2

The Jewish Center The Jewish Center The Jewish Center The Jewish Center 111133331111 WWWW.... 88886666tttthhhh SSSSttttrrrreeeeeeeetttt • www.jewishcetner.org • 212-724-2700

Arna Poupko Fisher, an internationally noted lecturer, educator and author, currently teaching at the University of Cincinnati, has dedicated her life to Jewish issues, including the challenges and opportunities of Jewish leadership and the capacity for the Hebrew Bible and Jewish philosophy to inform contemporary communal life.