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Parshat Tzav-Shabbat HaGadol
 
 March 31, 2012 8 Nissan, 5772
Parshas Tzav introducesthe laws of the KorbanTodah [Thanksgivingoffering] [Vayikra7:12]. Rashi explainsthat a Todah offering isbrought by "someonewho experienced apersonal miracle". Rashigives as examples of such – one who traveledon the High Seas or onewho traveled throughthe desert and safelyreached his destination,one who was thrown in jail and then released,and one who was sickand recovered.Rav Yosef ChaimSonnenfeld makes aninteresting observation.Parshas Vayikraenumerates all thesacrifices that anindividual might everbring with oneexception. For somestrange reason, the lawof Korban Todah doesnot appear in ParshasVayikra, but rather firstappears in ParshasTzav.Parshas Tzav beginswith the words:"Command Aaron andhis sons, saying: This isthe law of the Olah offering."This entire parsha isaddressed to the Kohanim.They have to know how toexecute the laws of sacrifices– how do you bring aKorban, where do you bringa Korban, when do you bringa korban, etc. In a sense,Parshas Tzav serves as amanual for Kohanim.Israelites do not need to beas familiar with the contentsof the parsha because theydo not offer the actualsacrifices. This strengthensthe question. Not only is itproblematic why the laws of the Thanksgiving offering doNOT appear in ParshasVayikra, it is also problematicwhy DO they appear in
Rabbi Frand on Parshat Tzav/Shabbat HaGadol
Parshas Tzav?Rav Sonnenfeld furtherasks about Rashi's use of the word "miracle" (nes)to describe the four eventsthat trigger therequirement to bring aKorban Todah. True, eachof these situations mightinvolve risk or danger tosome extent, but can theytruly be categorized as"miracles"? What does thismean?The truth of the matter isthat while these situationsmay not be in the samecategory as the splittingthe Red Sea or other"Open miracles" (nesgalui), they certainlyreflect Divine Providence,the Hand of G-d watchingover us and do at least fallinto the category of "hidden miracles" (nesnistar).Today, because of advances in medicine, wetake for granted that aperson can have heartbypass surgery and beback on the job a shorttime later. For severalhours, this person was notbreathing on his own, yet
Times
Candle Lighting 7:01 pmFriday Mincha 7:00 pmHashkama 8:00 amParsha Shiur 8:30 amMain Minyan 9:00 amBeit Midrash 9:15 amTeen Minyan 9:30 amMincha 6:35 pmShabbat HaGadolDrasha7:00 pmShabbat Ends 8:10 pmSundayApril 17:30/8:30 amMon., Thurs. 6:35/7:45 amTues., Wed., 6:45/7:45 amMincha 7:00 pmLatest Times forShema/Shmoneh EsreiMarch 31
9:50/10:53 am
April 7
9:43/10:48 am
Next ShabbatSheminiCandle Lighting 7:07 pmMincha 7:10 pmFriday(Pesach Eve)
6:30/7:45 am
Maariv 8:00 pm
TORAHArtscroll, 568Hertz, 429HAFTORAHArtscroll, 1220Hertz, 1005BAR MITZVAHARIEL BEN-SOREK
Kiddushis sponsored byKaren & Ethan Ben-Sorekin honor ofthe Bar Mitzvahof their sonAriel
Bima Flowers AreDonated byRabbi Esor & Rahel Ben-SorekIn Honor ofThe Bar-Mitzvah ofTheir GrandsonAriel Matityahu Ben-Sorek
MINCHA6:36 pmSHABBAT HAGADOLDRASHA7:00 pm“ GUESS WHO’S COMINGTO DINNER:HAVING A NONE JEW ATTHE SEDER”MAARIV8:00 PMSHABBAT ENDS8:10 PM
 
we take his recovery for granted! Despite our growingaccustomed to the "miraculous", it nevertheless remainsmiraculous.The obligation to offer thanksgiving to the Almighty iseven to offer it upon experiencing a so-called "naturalmiracle". The Talmud tells us [Brachos 7b] that whenLeah had her fourth child and called him Yehuda saying,"This time I will thank the Almighty" (hapa'am ODEH esHashem) [Bereshis 29:35], it was the first time in thehistory of the world that someone expressed gratitude tothe Almighty.This statement puzzles many commentaries – do we notfind other places where people expressed gratitude priorto Leah? Was Noach's offering of sacrifices to G-d uponexiting the Ark not a form of thanksgiving to Him? Theanswer is that until Leah, the people who broughtsacrifices or expressed thanks to the Almighty wereexpressing thanks for OPEN miracles. Leah was the firstto express thanks to Him for even a HIDDEN miracle.When Noach and his family were the only people savedwhile the whole planet was destroyed, the obviousmiracle demanded thanksgiving to the Almighty.However, when one has a baby, it is all too easy to takethe attitude "I did it myself". What is more natural thanhaving a baby?Leah said, "No. It is a big deal!" The fact that a womanbecomes pregnant and has a normal pregnancy and anormal delivery is a very big deal. It requires anexpression of thanksgiving to the One who made it allpossible.A young man who had been married one year had ababy girl. The man asked Rav Eliezer Schach, his RoshYeshiva, whether he should make a Kiddush to celebratethe occasion. Rav Schach said, "Suppose you weremarried for 8 years and your wife was unable toconceive all that time, and then she became pregnantand you had a baby girl. Would you make a Kiddushthen? Of course you would. Now that Hashem saved youfrom 7 years of anguish and frustration, should you notcertainly make a Kiddush expressing your gratitude?" Itis not just a miracle when a woman has a child after
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shaabbat Announcements Parshat Tzav-Shabbat HaGadol 5772
many years of childlessness. It is a miracle even whenshe has a baby after just one year of marriage.This is what Leah taught us. A natural miracle is amiracle nevertheless. This is the idea expressed byRashi when he calls the four types of people who bringa Todah offering, people who have experiencedmiracles. It is the Nes of seeing the Hand of G-d inevery act of nature.This, Rav Sonnenfeld says, explains why the KorbanTodah is located in Parshas Tzav and not in ParshasVayikra. If there is a group of people who need aspecial exhortation regarding "natural miracles" it isthe Kohanim. The Mishna in Avos [5:5] says that therewere miracles every single day in the Beis HaMikdash.Flies never came to the slaughtered animals. The windnever deflected the smoke arising from the Altar. Theylived with miracles. When someone lives with miracleson a daily basis, then the occurrence of a nes is justanother day at the office. People get used to themiracles. That is life. We can become so accustomedto miracles that we no longer appreciate them.There is a Yiddish expression that conveys the conceptthat "In a place where there is a printing press, peoplestep on shaimos [Torah texts, etc.]". Outside theprinting press, when someone sees shaimos on thefloor, he rushes to pick it up and kiss it. However, if the printer would stop to pick up shaimos from thefloor every time he saw it, he would not get anythingdone.The same thing is true with "common place miracles"– having a baby, recovering from an illness, passingthrough the desert, and so on. We can become jadedand forget that we are experiencing "miracles".This is why the laws of Korban Todah are located inParshas Tzav. We all need to be reminded of the truththat G-d's Providence must be recognized as Divineintervention – i.e. a miracle - even when it occursfrequently. However, the Kohanim who witnessmiracles on a daily basis, have a special need for thisreminder. Therefore, Korban Todah is located inParshas Tzav, which is directed specifically to theKohanim.
Great Neck SynagogueShabbat Activities Program
 
Dale Polakoff, RabbiIan Lichter, Assistant RabbiDr. Ephraim Wolf ,z”l, Rabbi EmeritusDaniel Schwechter, Rabbinic InternZeev Kron, CantorEleazer Schulman, z”l, Cantor EmeritusRabbi Sholom Jensen, Youth DirectorMark Twersky, Executive DirectorRabbi Avraham Bronstein, Program DirectorJoseph Hecht, PresidentHarold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board
PASSOVER CLASSES
Pre-Passover Night of Learning - Tuesday evening,March 27
th
 
Rabbi Dale Polakoff
- Contemporary Halachot7:45 – 8:20 pm
Rabbi Ian Lichter –
Insights on the Hagadah8:30 – 9:00 pm
 
 
BURN BABY BURN 
 Due to liability concerns and on the advice of the FireDepartment, we will no longer behosting a communal chometz burning on erev Pesach.The safest way to burn your chometz is by using yourbarbeque grill. There will also be no garbage disposalat the synagogue that morning and all members areencouraged to dispose of their garbage in the normalway and place the garbage cans by the street beforePesach begins, disclaiming any ownership of that gar-bage. The parking lot will be closedfollowing services on erev Pesach morning.
ORDER
 
NOW
 
LIMITED
 
SUPPLY
 
LEFT
 
GREAT
 
NECK
 
SYNAGOGUE
 
is
 
again
 
pleased
 
to
 
serve
 
its
 
membership
 
with
 
the
 
sale
 
of 
 
Hand
 
Baked
 
SHMURAH
 
MATZAH.
 
Pick
‐
up
 
for
 
Matzah
 
will
 
be
 
on
 
Wednesday,
 
APRIL
 
4,
 
2012
 
Between
 
6:30
 
pm
 
&
 
8:30
 
pm
 
All
 
orders
 
must
 
be
 
prepaid.
 
Please
 
make
 
checks
 
payable
 
to
 
GREAT
 
NECK
 
SYNAGOGUE.
 
All
 
orders
 
must
 
be
 
received
 
before
 
March
 
30,
 
2012
 
Order
 
Form
 
Name__________________________________
 
Address_________________________________
 
Telephone
 
(Home)________Bus.)________
 
 _____lb.
 
Shmurah
 
Matzah
 
@
 
$22.00
 
per
 
lb.________
 
Total
 
Cost______
 
Check
 
must
 
be
 
included
 
with
 
order.
 
On
 
Shabbat
 
morning,
 
March
 
31
 
we
 
are
 
privileged
 
to
 
have
 
Congressman
 
Peter
 
King
 
(R
‐
NY)
 
giving
 
a
 
Shabbat
 
morning
 
address
 
following
 
davening
 
in
 
the
 
Main
 
Sanctuary.
 
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