Vol. LXVIII No. 2 APRIL 2010 NISAN/IYAR 5770

CENTER LIGHT

VAN CORTLANDTJEWISH CENTER

www.vcjewishcenter.org

RABBI’S MESSAGE

PASSOVER SEDER & OUTREACH THOUGHTS

A number of years ago, when at Passover time I was planning on going out of town to do some Jewish outreach, I first stopped in for a blessing from the Bostoner Rebbe of Boro Park, Rabbi Moshe Horowitz ob’m. (He was the older brother to Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz ob’m, of Brookline, Massachusetts and Har Nof fame). Rabbi Moshe ob’m told me as follows: You should be aware that the night of Passover, is the holiest night of the year. He continued, the Seder leader generally wears a white kittel reminiscent of the High Priest, in his white raiment’s in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. Also, the custom of stealing the afikomen stems from the tradition that the night that Jacob stole the blessings was in fact Passover night. Finally, the blessing “Viyetain lecha” “May G-d bless you with the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth…”, that Jacob then received, is symbolic of our tradition that all the gates of heavenly blessing are in turn, open to all of us, annually, on Passover night. Therefore, when the haggadah says, “here the son asks”, it refers to all the children of Israel who may on this most auspicious night ask for whatever material and or spiritual needs they have. Indeed, “asking”, is a major route to our learning and growing. Thus, the famous expression, “the only silly question, is the one that is not asked.” Furthermore, the foe of growth, is being apathetic, rather than reflecting, questioning, and reevaluating which leads to one’s acquiring wisdom and discernment.

I recently came across some related insights about the 4th of the haggadah’s 4 sons, the “eino yodeah lishol”, the son that “does not know how to ask.” In, the Royal Table: A Passover Haggadah, recently published by the OU, its author doubts that this son could simply be “a foolish unintelligent youngster” for if so how would he understand anything we tell him. Rather, in “contemporary context” the author, herein quoted, would divide this category into one of three classes, in our society today:

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PASSOVER SCHEDULE

Intermediate Days – April 1 – 4

Thurs. April 1 - 6:30 am Mincha – 7:10 pmFri. April 2 – 6:30 am Mincha – 7:05 pm

Candles –7:03 pmSat. April 3 – 8:45 am Mincha – 7:00 pm

Shabbos ends - 8:07 pmSun. April 4 – 8:30 am Mincha – 7:10 pm

Candles – 7:05 pm

Monday, April 5 – 7 th day of Passover Morning services 8:45 amMincha – 7:15 pm Candles 8:09 pm or later

Tuesday, April 6 – 8 th day of Passover Morning services - 8:45 amYIZKOR services – 10:30 amMincha - 7:15 pmYom Tov ends – 8:09 pmChometz may be used after 9:45 pm

Tuesday, April 6th

HAPPYPASSOVER

HAPPY SPRING

The

Blessing over the Sabbath CandlesBoruch A-toh Ado-noi, E-lo-hei-nu MelechHo-olom A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-

sovVi-tzi-vo-nu Le-had-lik Ner Shel Sha-bos

Shabbos ends Fri. April 2 7:03 pm 8:07 pm Sun. April 4 7:05 pm Mon. April 5 8:09 pm Fri. April 9 7:11 pm 8:15 pm Fri. April 16 7:18 pm 8:22 pm Fri. April 23 7:25 pm 8:29 pm Fri. April 30 7:33 pm

SAVE THE DATE!SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2009

OUR GALA DINNER/JOURNAL

HONORINGMARCY & STUART HARRIS

VAN CORTLANDT VILLAGE NOTES

REFUAH SHLEMAH ~ Joe Chase, Abraham Erreich, Joel Garfinkel, Dorothy Nankin & Beatrice Schor

MAZEL TOV ~ Ceil & Larry Hartstein upon their son Jeremy receiving “Simcha” from Yeshiva University. Mazel Tov to Dina, Gershie, Emunah and Ariella and to brothers Matthew and Brett.

Ceil & Larry Hartstein on the birth of their granddaughter, Ariella Gila, born to Dina and Jeremy Hartstein. Mazel Tov also to uncles Matthew and Brett, big brother Gershie and big sister Emunah.

Cantor Chaim Panush and Ben-Z Panush, Esq. on the birth of their great-grandson/great-nephew, Dov Yitzchak, born to Adina and Aryeh Lemel. The grandparents are Mirim and Alan Gold. Dov is the great-grandson of Zelda Panush, of blessed memory.

Cantor Chaim Panush and Ben-Z Panush, Esq. on the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson/nephew Yitzchak Lasster on Shabbat Yayakel-Pekude (Parshat HaChodesh). Yitzchak’s parents are Bashie and Mark Laster. Yitzy is the grandson of Zelda Panush, of blessed memory.

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES

Please Attend & Guarantee our

MinyanimMorning Services:

Saturday 8:45Sunday 8:30Monday & Thursday 6:50Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 7:00Thurs. & Friday, April 1 & 2- Passover 1 & 2 6:30Mon. & Tues, April 5 & 6- Passover 7 & 8 8:45Wed. &Thurs., April 14 & 15 –

Rosh Chodesh Iyar 6:30

Evening Services:

Sunday thru Thursday Friday April 1 7:10 7:05April 4 7:10April 5 – 8 7:15 7:15 April 11 - 15 7:25 7:20April 18 - 22 7:30 7:30April 25 - 29 7:40 7:35

THE CENTER LIGHTVAN CORTLANDT JEWISH CENTER

Van Cortlandt Village3880 Sedgwick Ave.

Bronx, NY 10463Phone (718) 884-6105 Fax (718) 884-6106

www.vcjewishcenter.org

Affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Jewish

Congregations of America

Rabbi David Borenstein Rabbi Jacob Sodden President Robert GillmanVice Presidents Phillip Friedman

Howard LeventhalTreasurer Stuart HarrisSecretary Marc FriedmanSisterhood President Helen WegsmanOffice Manager Roberta SeidnerOffice Assistant Claire Haime

Rabbi’s Message continued: “First are the unconcerned, the morally apathetic and drowsy. They are the slumberers whose spiritual sensitivities have suffered a slow strangulation, and whose aspirations for a more sublime existence and a loftier life have been lulled into an insufferable silence.”

“Then there are the embarrassed, those who are shy and do not ask for fear that their questions will reveal their ignorance. In my own experience, I meet such people often-men and women who are highly intelligent, who feel intuitively that Judaism has something very real to offer them but are apprehensive about entering an Orthodox synagogue. They are afraid they will be overwhelmed, not knowing when to stand or sit, or when to pray silently or aloud. They are afraid to risk the embarrassment of asking,”

“Then there are the assimilated who no longer know how to formulate the Jewish questions. No, they are not at all fools, some of them are exceedingly brilliant people of great insight, but they lack the background with which to ask the most elementary Jewish question. Yet this group, as well as the others, contain countless souls who yearn and grope and long for a touch of divinity, for some hint of Jewish purpose in their lives for the gentle tug of Torah, for a holy tremor of the nearness of G-d. These are the ‘fourth sons’ of our generation. We must never treat them with contempt, for they are precious and sacred souls.”

In the haggadah’s reply to this son it tell us the approach to take is “aht pesach lo”. Some of the commentaries point out that it is written in a feminine form, hinting that perhaps through a gentle, loving and nurturing manner you can at least begin to guide them, and eventually in this manner ultimately teach them “Aleph through Tuff,” (the Hebrew letters that comprise the word “aht”), or A through Z.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson, zt”l once expressed a similar sentiment, to the earlier quoted publication, somewhat differently. He commented that although we mention four sons at the seder table, there is actually a 5th son who is not even present at our seders, representative of all of the assimilated Jews. They are so far from Judaism that they are not even aware of Passover or what it symbolizes, the birth of our nation. Unfortunately, this is a large percentage of our people.

In the beginning of the Torah portion of Bishalach, the verse tells us “Vachamushim alu Bnei Yisroel Mimitzraim” meaning according to Midrash, “One fifth of the children of Israel left Egypt” or as much as 80% were not redeemed. We dare not repeat this tragic error again today, through a spiritual holocaust of ignorance of our incredibly beautiful heritage, leading to intermarriage and assimilation.

At the Seder table we drink 4 cups of wine, corresponding to the 4 expressions of G-d’s promise to the Jewish nation, “and

(continued)

Rabbi’s Message continued:I will take you out” “and I will save you” “and I will redeem you” “and I will take you.” However, there is a 5th expression, “and I will bring you.” This, we are told corresponds to the cup of Elijah the prophet who will tell us if we are to drink it. He is also the one who will return the hearts of the father’s to their sons and the hearts of the son’s to their fathers.

The Talmud teaches, in the month of Nissan we were redeemed and will again be redeemed. May Eliyahu, who will announce and herald in the coming of the Messiah, appear soon, to help “bring” all the estranged Jews back to our people, our land and our father in Heaven. Each and every one of us by reaching out to our unaffiliated Jewish brethren and sisters can bring them home to their rightful family, the people of Israel. May we merit eating the Paschal sacrifice together in the rebuilt Jerusalem, “lishanah habaah BiYirushalayim Habinuyah.”

Good Yom Tov to one and all. Rabbi David Borenstein

EDUCATION & YOUTH COMMITTEE

We had a really great Shabbos Across America. All of our Shabbos Across Americas were really good, but this one was superior. Thanks to Rabbi David Borenstein for getting Jeremy Gaisin to lead the davening in the shul and in the singing in the Social Hall that made Shabbos fantastic! He did a Carlbach service which had really lively singing and dancing both in the shul and at the dinner. It made me feel like I was davening Kabbolos Shabbos at the Kotel. To say it was great, is an understatement.

We also have some really good up and coming events in the future:

1) Holocaust Memorial Night – Monday evening, April 12th at 8:00 pm. Our guest speaker is Elly Gross. She is a survivor of Auschwitz, she was liberated in 1945 by the U.S. Army. She has published 8 books. 4 in English, 3 in Rumanian, and 1 in Spanish. She returned to Rumania in 2005 to witness the opening of the Northern Transylvania Holocaust Museum in her home town. She has spoken to crowds up to 1,000 people. Thank you Rabbi Borenstein for getting Elly Gross as our speaker.

2) We have more contestants for our Holocaust high school essay contest and the 3 winners will read their essays at this event.

3) Yom Ha’Atzmaut – Israel Independence Day – Sunday, April 18th. Aryeh Stavsky who did a great job at our Chanukah Party, will be back. Admission is free. Come and enjoy the night in order to celebrate Israel’s 62nd birthday. Aryeh had the place jumping on Chanukah and he promises to do the same at Yom Ha’Atzmaut.

4) Israel Independence Shabbos Lunch – Shabbos, April 14th - details will be sent out shortly.

Neil Harrow, ChairmanEducation & Youth Committee

5

Yahrzeits

APRIL 2010

SISTERHOOD NEWS

The next Sisterhood meeting will take place on

Sunday, April 18th at 10:30 am.

Coffee & Cake will be served

At this meeting we will discuss the end-of-year luncheon being held on Sunday, May 2nd at 1:00 here at Van Cortlandt Jewish Center.

Looking forward to seeing you at the April 18th meeting.

We wish everyone a happy & healthy Pesach.

Helen WegsmanSisterhood President

OUR ANNUAL DINNER JOURNAL

SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2010

This year’s well deserving honorees are Marcy & Stu Harris.

Journal ad forms will be mailed out after Passover. We urge everyone to take out an ad and to think about businesses or others from whom you can ask for an ad.

This is our biggest fundraiser. Attending our dinner is great; it shows support for our honorees and our synagogue. But we do not raise money from the dinner itself. It is the journal ads which will bring in the monies we so desperately need to make repairs in our building.

Please give as much as you can and reach out to others to do the same.

April Nisan

1 Rose Buchhalter 171 Jennie Oltchick 171 Fanny Friedman 171 Rose Hecht 171 Bessie Jacobson 171 Samuel Miller 172 Esther Rosenthal 182 Pesel Antzis 184 Marsha Shapiro Baltz 205 Jack Jablonka 215 Sadie Lowy 216 Herbert Leonard Kestin 226 Morris Leal 227 Natalie Grumet 238 William Weinstein 249 Frank Stern 259 Milton Pushkin 2510 Anna Genshaft 2610 Soroh Tobe Listenberg 2610 Esther Morganstern 2610 Frieda Feldman 2611 Yaakov Goldfarb 2711 Sheine Esther Weitzman 2711 Boruch & Chava Weitzman 2711 Samuel Hirsch Weitzman 2711 Hinda Sultan 2711 Anna Blassman 2711 Anna Zylberberg 2714 Paul Sherman 3014 Louis Cooper 30

Iyar15 Babca Feiga Rudich 116 Seymour Schwarz 216 Jennie Goldberg 216 Marcus Mamber 216 Anna Meropol 217 Moshe Nissim Eskenazi 317 Isidore Haar 317 Lisa Melter 317 Rivkah Begun 317 Molly Rosenthal 317 Ralph Spiro 318 Louis Szalavitz 418 Nathan Rosberg 418 Minnie Backelman 418 Anna Cooper 4

April Iyar

19 Naomi Kaplan 519 Jennie Gerber 519 Bertha Karowitz 520 Jacob Pakewitz 620 Barbara Berger 621 Anna Zegman 721 Shirley Esther Goldstein 722 Lena F. Winokur 823 Bessie Orenge 923 Ida Goldstein 923 Ilse Dreifus 924 Joseph Gill 1024 Hyman Louis Vozick 1025 Rose Leiken 1125 Samuel Bersin 1125 David Schnur 1126 Max Kaufman 1227 Mazalto Eskenazi 1327 Minnie Nathan 1328 Florence Portnoy 1428 Nat Slotopolsky 1428 David Rosenberg 1429 Clara Carin 1529 Blanche Zuckerman 1529 Jacob Cohen 1529 Rose Walzer 1529 Sol Rosenbloom 1530 Max Axelrod 1630 Anna Rimland 1630 Irwin Wedeen 16

Remember to

We thank all those who make donations

to theVan Cortlandt Jewish Center throughout the year. We are

most appreciative.