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Shavout May 30, 2009 7 Sivan 5769
of our faith: There is no “
masechet emunah
.” One of the only major  passages in which chazal speak about our beliefs is the Mishna inSanhedrin which says “
kol yisrael  yesh lahem cheleck leolam haba
”“all Jews have a share in the worldto come” and the gemara whichexpands upon that phrase telling uswhat beliefs in Judaism are soheretical that they cause a person toforgo that share in the world tocome.This paucity of discussion on the topic of 
emunah
 (faith) has led certain scholars tosay that the belief component inJudaism is not so important. Weare a practice based religion and aslong as you keep the Torah and itsmitzvoth, it doesn’t matter so muchwhat you believe or whether you believe.Rabbi Sacks UTTERLYrejects that premise. He says that belief,
emunah
, is critical inJudaism and that discussion of faithis not at ALL absent from thewords of chazal: It is contained inthe siddur. If you want to see theJewish philosophy of faith look atthe siddur. The tenets of our faithare not recorded as halachicdiscourse because faith is not abouthaving an intellectual discussionand it is not about laws, it issomething that must beexperienced. The siddur was finelycrafted by chazal with the intent of conveying to us via our experience,our words, and our songs the mostessential Jewish beliefs.The greatest evidence of this is the fact that even after thetenets of our belief were formulatedin a formal structure they stillremained unknown to the majority of  people until they were translated in to prayer format and included in thesiddur. The Rambam boiled down theessentials of Jewish belief in to 13
 Ikkarim
, 13 principles which heoutlines in various places. Peopleonly started to become familiar withthem when they were summarized into a poem called “
Yigdal 
” sung duringdavening and in to the “
 Ani Maamin
”statements that some people say after 
 shacharit 
.Sometimes chazal pick certain phrases or words to beincluded in the siddur in order toteach us about a central belief. For example: There was a strongheretical belief in Gnosticism, or Dualism, around in the time of thesecond
beit hamikdash
and beyond.People who questioned the existenceof G-d were often bothered by theexistence of good and evil: Howcould G-d be good if there is evil inthe world? Their solution was to saythat there are 2 forces in the world,good and evil,
 shtey reshuyot 
as thegemara refers to it. These 2 forceswere most well known by the names“light and darkness” (as seen in theDead Sea Scrolls).Chazal, of course, firmlyrejected the dualistic philosophy andwished to strengthen that rejectionand emphasize our belief inmonotheism. The very first line of our 
tefilla betzibur 
, our public prayers
This inspiring article about tefillah is sponsored by Diane and David Rein inhonor of Diane’s mother, Helene M. Fink z”l.
Issue # 43 – Chief RabbiJonathan Sacks on Prayer This past week Iattended a
 shiur 
at YU given by Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sackswho is the Chief Rabbi of England. Rabbi Sacks iseloquent, deep, and such anaccomplished scholar in
limudei kodesh
and
limudeichol 
that it is truly a delight tohear him or read his materials.On Thursday morning in YUin the middle of the exam period when people arestressed and very busy probably 300 students andmost of the Roshei Yeshivawere packed in to the
beismedrash
to hear him speak.His topic was prayer in honor of the recent release of the newKoren Siddur with his Englishtranslation and commentary.I thought it would befitting to share with you someof what he said. All of thethoughts contained in today’sarticle are Rabbi Sacks’s butany error in transmission is myown.Rabbi Sacks saidhow surprising it is that there isno tractate of the gemara that isdedicated to the fundamentals
GNS TEFILLA DIGEST: A Weekly Discussion about the Fundamentals of Jewish Prayer 
By Rabbi Brahm Weinberg – Rabbinic Intern
 
TimesThursday, May 28Prepare Eiruv TavshilinCandle lighting 7:59 pmMincha 8:10 pmMaariv 8:50 pmFriday, May 29Main shul 9:00 amBeit Midrash 9:15 amMincha 8:10 pmCandle lighting 8:00 pmShabbat, May 30Hashkama 8:00 amMain Minyan 8:45 amBeit Midrash 9:00 amMegilat Rut read this morningGemorah Shiur 6:50 pmPirkei Avot 7:05 pmMincha 7:50 pmShabbat andYom Tov end9:08 pmSunday 7:30 am8:30 amMon., Thurs. 6:35 amTues, Wed, Fri 6:45 amSecondShacharitMinyan (Daily)7:45 amMincha (week of May 31)8:10 pmLatest times for Shema/Shmoneh EsreiMay 30 9:09/10:23 amJune 5 9:08/10:23 am Next Shabbat - NasoCandle lighting 8:05 pmMincha 7:00 pmYizkor is said today
KiddushIs sponsored by Great neck synagogue
 
at
 shacharit 
was designed to do this. Public prayer in themornings begins with
barchu
. The very first line after 
barchu
is“…
 yotzer or uvore choshech oseh shalom uvoreh et hakol 
” “…creator of light and darkness who makes peace and createseverything.” (This is really an adaptation of the pasuk in Isaiah47:7). This line in the siddur is meant to teach us the fundamental belief that G-d is One and that He alone creates both the good andthe evil, the light and the dark and decides when it is fitting tocarry out each one.Sometimes it is not the words of the prayers that teachus about faith but the structure of the siddur itself.The Rambam’s 13 principles of faith can really be splitup in to 3 essential categories: The first group of principlesspeaks about our belief in G-d as the creator. The second groupspeaks about our belief in the revelation which is about G-d as Hecommunicates with the world. The last group speaks aboutredemption and justice in the world.If you think about the three blessings surrounding
kriat  shma
at
 shacharit 
you see that these three essential categories of  belief in G-d are represented. The first blessing “
 yotzer or 
” isabout creation, the second “
ahava raba
” is about Torah(halachically this blessing can actually fulfill the requirement of reciting
birchot hatorah
because it is a blessing which speaksabout how fortunate we are that G-d bestowed the Torah upon usand how much we want to succeed in learning it and fulfilling itsmitzvoth), and the third blessing which connects the
 shma
to the
amidah
, “
 gaal yisrael 
” is about redemption.The three
amidah’s
of Shabbat (excluding
mussaf 
whichis in a different category) also come to teach us these 3 basictenets of our belief:
Maariv
is about the story of creation,
Shachait 
is about revelation, about the experience of Sinai andabout Moshe receiving the Torah, and
Mincha
is about theredemption when G-d and humanity will be unified which we geta taste of through Shabbat.Even the overall structure of our daily
 shacharit 
prayersreflect Chazal’s desire to teach us to experience these three facetsof our faith.
 Pesuke Dezimra
which starts off our daveningcontains passages from
Tehillim
which are about G-d’s power anddominion and grandeur (i.e. creation
 
) (The exception to this isreally the section of “
vayevarech david 
” and “
az yashir 
” which R.Saadia Gaon already notes do not really fit well in the overalltheme of “
 pesuke dezimra
”). We then move to the recitation of 
 shma
and the
amidah
which is about our conversation with G-d(i.e. revelation) (G-d speaking to us through the
 shma
and usspeaking to G-d through the
amidah
). Finally, the last section of the prayers is represented by the passage of “
uva lezion goel 
”which is about redemption.This only begins to scratch the surface of what RabbiSacks spoke about this week and what he spoke about only beginsto scratch the surface of what is contained in his new commentaryon the siddur.
2
 
6 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shabbat Announcements Shavout, 5769
Thought to Ponder The Mishna in Avot says that the world stands on 3 pillars:“
Torah, Avodah
(Prayer) and
Gemillut Chassadim
.” In EasternEurope before World War II there were plenty of very pious Jews whowere held in high regard even though they could not be great Torahscholars and could not be involved as much in Chessed. These Jewswere known as “
 siddur yiddin
” – A Jew who knew much about belief,about G-d, and about being pious because they experienced it through prayer and through the siddur which is Chazal’s version of “
masechet amunah
.”
 
Great Neck SynagogueShabbat Activities Program
 
Dale Polakoff, RabbiShalom Axelrod, Assistant RabbiBrahm Weinberg, Rabbinic InternDr. Ephraim Wolf ,z”l, Rabbi EmeritusZeev Kron, CantorEleazer Schulman, z”l, Cantor EmeritusMark Twersky, Executive DirectorHoward Silberstein, PresidentHarold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board
Great Neck SynagogueAnnual Family LuncheonIn Memory of Sharon Sokol Heisler z’lSaturday, June 20, 2009Guest Speaker: Gary Rosenblatt
Editor and publisher of The Jewish Week of New York 
Beautiful Catered Lunch by Prestige$50 per person$20 per child(No charge for children under 4)Youth Program Luncheon taking place sametime for first through eighth grade.For reservations please call or e-mailMark Twersky at 487-6100or email to: mtwersky@gns.orgNAME____________________________________ No. of reservations_________________ Seating Requests:1 __________________________________ 2 __________________________________ 3 __________________________________ 4 __________________________________ Amount enclosed__________________ For 
more information please call:Debbie Hollander 829-2013
 
 
GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE GRADUATION & CONGREGATIONAL KIDDUSHGREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE GRADUATION & CONGREGATIONAL KIDDUSHGREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE GRADUATION & CONGREGATIONAL KIDDUSHGREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE GRADUATION & CONGREGATIONAL KIDDUSHSATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009CELEBRATE ALL OF YOUR SMACHOT WITH USBIRTHS, BAR & BAT MITZVAH, GRADUATIONS, WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARIESBIRTHDAYS, OR COMMEMORATE A LOVED ONES YAHRZEITTO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CALL THE SYNAGOGUE OFFICEOR SEND YOUR INFORMATION TOMTWERSKY@GNS.ORG COST IS $100 PER FAMILY COST IS $100 PER FAMILY COST IS $100 PER FAMILY COST IS $100 PER FAMILY 
Shavuot – 5769
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Community Tikun Leyl Shavuot (held this year at GNS) 
11:30 pm – 12:30 am
A History of Rabbinic Politics in Megillat Rut
Rabbi Dale Polakoff 
(Ballroom)
 
12:40 am – 1:40 am
Learning Torah or Doing Mitzvot: Which Is More Important?
Rabbi Yaacov Lerner 
(Ballroom)
1:40 am— 2:00 am
Brief Break and Refreshments (Gym)Following the break there will be a choice of 2 shiurim each hour 
2:00 am – 2:50 am
Shiur #1 Reigning in Those Rabbis: The Latitude and Limits of Rabbinic Leadership
Rabbi Shmuel Ismach
(Ballroom)Shiur #2 Conversion and Revelation: An Examination of Geirus and Matan Torah
Rabbi Shalom Axelrod
(Beit Midrash)
3:00 am—3:50 am
Shiur #1 Eliahu: Navi, Miracle Worker, Rider of Fiery Chariots: Is That All He Does?
Dr. Ephraim Weinblatt
(Ballroom)Shiur #2 G-d Will Provide: The Contemporary Kollel Controversy
Rabbi Brahm Weinberg
(Beit Midrash)
4:00 am—4:50 am
Shiur #1 Megillat Rut and Halachik Consequences
Dr. Avi Goldberg
(Ballroom)Shiur #2 Eilu V’eilu Divrei Elokim Chayim: Can Everybody Be Right?
Daniel Schwechter 
(Beit Midrash)
4:55 am
 – Davenning
5:26am
- Netz (Sunrise)Youth learning throughout the night in the Youth Center 
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