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Home , 39 Melachot, Beth din, Shabbat candles

The Jewish Center BULLETIN

DECEMBER 12, 2015 • PARSHAT MIKETZ , S HABBAT AND CHANUKAH • 30 K ISLEV 5776 Mazal Tov to the Kaplan family on the occasion of Einav’s Bat Mitzvah

EREV SHABBAT CHANUKAH V WELCOME TO OUR COMMUNITY SCHOLAR 4:11PM Candle lighting DR. E RICA BROWN 4:15PM Minchah (3 rd floor) 7:30-9:00PM Community Chanukah Oneg WHO IS JOINING US THIS SHABBAT Teen Chanukah Lounge : Have the Hellenists Won? Dr.Jekyll and Hyde SHABBAT Sunday Morning 9:30am ROSH CHODESH AND CHANUKAH VI When Yaakov Met Pharaoh: Genesis 47 as a Metaphor 7:30AM Hashkama (The Max and Marion Grill Beit ) for Exile and Redemption Please note earlier time. 8:30AM Rabbi Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine YACHAD SHABBTON 9:00AM Shacharit (3 rd floor) 9:15AM Hashkama with Rabbi Noach Goldstein (Lower Level) SHABBAT , DECEMBER 18 9:15AM Young Leadership Minyan (The Max Stern Auditorium) The JC is proud to partner with Manhattan Day 9:30AM Sof Zman Kriat Shema School and the Orthodox Union as they host their 10:00AM Youth Groups, Under age 3, 3-4-year-olds and 5-6-year-olds: annual Yachad . Participants will join us Geller Youth Center; 2 nd -3rd graders, 4 th -6th graders: 7 th floor Special Chanukah Programs in Youth Groups for Kabbalat Shabbat followed by a com- Community (The Max Stern Auditorium) munal Shabbat Dinner. Sponsorship and hospitality opportunities available. For WITH THANKS TO OUR KIDDUSH SPONSORS : more information and to involved, Chaviva, Andrew, Barak & Vered Kaplan, in honor of their contact [email protected]. daughter/sister Einav's Bat Mitzvah Gail Propp in commemoration of the Yahrzeit of her father, Oscar Dane THE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE HAS BEEN EXTENDED ! Cecile & Irving Skydell in memory of his mother, Henya Dinah bas Yaakov Chaim Join Today • It’s Where You Belong Meira & Tobi Tugendhaft in memory of Regina Tugendhaft Shira Zeif in memory of her beloved grandmother, Nelly Ekstein Join by December 15 and save 20% on dues 12:20PM Early Minchah (The Max and Marion Grill Beit Midrash) Discount includes a 14-month membership. 2:45PM Bikkur Cholim/Bikkur in the Home (meet at 730 Columbus Avenue) 4:00PM Minchah (3 rd floor), Shabbat afternoon groups (5 th floor) To apply for membership, visit our website or Israel Friedman pick up a form in the lobby. with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind Seudah Shlishit Youth Speaker: Mordechai Schwarz Questions? Email our Membership Committee Seudah Shlishit Speaker: Dr. Erica Brown: Have the Hellenists Won? co-chairs Naomi Goldman and Ron Shapiro at Dr. Jekyll and Rabbi Hyde [email protected]. With Thanks to Our Seudah Shlishit Sponsors: Saul Finkelstein, Anne Friedman and family in commemoration of the SIXTH ANNUAL TEEN VS . C LERGY yahrzeit of Saul's father, Bernard Finkelstein Kathy & Milton Parnass In commemoration of the yahrtzeit of Milton's BASKETBALL GAME father, Gedaliah Dovid Parnass SATURDAY NIGHT , D ECEMBER 19 AT 7:00PM Meira & Tobi Tugendhaft in memory of Regina Tugendhaft 5:11PM Shabbat concludes Please join our growing list of sponsors: Musical Sharon & Clifford Brandeis DAILY SERVICES Lori Zeltser& Len Berman Sun., Dec. 13 Mon., Dec. 11 - Wolf & Andrew Borodach Chanukah Thurs., Dec. 17 Fri., Dec. 18 Leslie & Jeffrey Lang Daf Yomi 7:45AM Chanukah Ends on Shacharit 7/8AM R. Yosie & Rachel Levine Shach 8:30AM Monday Daf Yomi 7:45AM & Stuart Milstein Minchah 4:15PM Shacharit 7/8AM Candle lighting Abby & Marc Posner Daf Yomi 7:45AM 4:12PM Barbara & Guy Reiss Minchah 4:15PM Minchah 4:20PM Rachel & Daniel WOMEN'S TEHILLIM GROUP • Monday, December 21 at 7:15PM. Contact Joyce Weitz for more information at 212-877-1176. See the insert for more information . The Jewish Center - The Modern Orthodox Center for Jewish Life and Learning 131 W. 86 th Street, New York, NY 10024 • www.jewishcenter.org • 212-724-2700 MAY AND SAMUEL RUDIN LECTURE FEATURING HARVARD PROFESSOR NIALL FERGUSON

In celebration of Chanukah, The Jewish Center hosted a special May and Samuel Rudin Lecture featuring Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson, author of Kissinger, The Idealist . His subject, From Refu- gee to the White House: Henry Kissinger and the “American Jewish Journey” spoke to the amazing American Jewish journey and the complex narrative of Kissinger as a historian, politician and Jew. A small number of copies are still available through The Jewish Center office at the discounted price of $20. Please contact the office for more information.

JC D ELEGATION AT THE AIPAC P OLICY CONFERENCE March 20-22 in Washington, DC The AIPAC Policy Conference is the pro-Israel community's preeminent annual gathering. The event attracts more than RABBI JUNG FUND APPEAL 16,000 community and student activists from all 50 states, and more than half of the Senate, a third of the House of Represent- Thank you to everyone who has al- atives and countless Israeli and American policymakers and ready responded so generously to thought leaders. Over three jam-packed days, Policy Confer- our recent Rabbi Jung Fund appeal. ence participants choose from hundreds of informative sessions If you have not yet contributed or and participate in the pro-Israel community's largest and most redeemed your pledge, you may do important advocacy conference. Tickets with The JC so online or through our office by discount cost $399 per person. Register before December 31 making a check out to the Rabbi Dr. to lock in this deal. Please visit our website to purchase your Leo Jung Memorial Fund. tickets. Only 16 tickets left.

JEWISH CENTER UNIVERSITY FALL • SEMESTER RUNS THROUGH DECEMBER 18 For more information visit our website or contact Rabbi Dovid Zirkind at [email protected] DAILY (except Shabbat) WEDNESDAY SHABBAT Israel Friedman Daf Yomi with Women of the Bible with Rabbi Rabbi Israel Silverstein rotating JCU Faculty, 7:45AM Yosie Levine, 11:00AM Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 8:30AM MONDAY Parshah/ Round Table Timing is Everything: Studies in with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 7:15- Hashkama Shiur with rotating Mesechet Kedushin with 8:00PM JCU Faculty, 9:15AM Rabbi Dovid Zirkind, 8:00PM Advanced Chabura with Israel Friedman Daf Yomi with TUESDAY Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 8:00PM rotating JCU Faculty Nosh and Drash with Dr. Adena The Next Level with Rabbi Mark 39 Melachot with Rabbi Dovid Berkowitz, 10:15-11:30AM Wildes, 8:00PM Zirkind Jewish History: in a Parent-Child Learning with Christian Empire with Rabbi Ari th rotating JCU Faculty. Check the Lamm, 7:15PM (7 floor) bulletin for dates and times

David, King of Israel Sadye and Henry Bayer Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine will resume on Dec. 15 at 8:00PM

To sponsor Kiddush or Seudah Shlishit or a JC event, please contact at [email protected] UPCOMING EVENTS SPECIAL COMMUNITY CHANUKAH ONEG COMMUNITY SHABBAT , D ECEMBER 11 (7:30-9:00 PM ON THE 4TH FLOOR ) ANNOUNCEMENTS Join us for a community oneg featuring divrei from our and a musical performance by Cantor Chaim Berson. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

A C ONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION COURSE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OF AMERICA , DOES JEW- MAZAL TOV ISH LAW HAVE A PROBLEM WITH FEMALE WITNESSES ? [H INT : N O] WITH MICHAEL AVI HELFAND , P H.D. Chaviva & Andrew Kaplan THURSDAY , D ECEMBER 17 FROM 8:00PM-9:30PM on their Daughter Einav's Bat This class is worth 1.5 ethics credits and costs $75. To register, please visit our website. Mitzvah, to siblings Barak and Vered, and Bomoma Lily SEUDAH SHLISHIT WITH RABBI PERRI ROSENTHAL Kaplan. Mazal Tov as well SHABBAT , D ECEMBER 18 to Safta Eudice Greenfield Topic: Understanding the Challenges of Ba'alei Teshuva and their families from Skokie, IL.

Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal is a long time Jewish educator with more than 20 years in the Day School Judy Marbach on the Bat Sector. He was the lead guitarist for Shlock Rock for many years. Rabbi Rosenthal currently serves Mitzvah of her granddaugh- as the Senior Director at Manhattan Jewish Experience ter, Lily Oberstein.

PERFORMANCE BY THREE UPPER WEST SIDE CANTORS Daniel Mael on his recent THURSDAY , D ECEMBER 24 AT 8:30PM AT THE JEWISH CENTER engagement to Isabel Don’t miss this performance by Cantor Zevi Muller of West Side Institutional, Cantor Chaim David Tsesarsky. Berson of The Jewish Center and Cantor Yanky Lemmer of Lincoln Square . Light snacks, sushi, wine and drinks will be served. Visit our website to register. Tickets cost $40 in advance and Gladys & Dr. Robert Richter $50 at the door. Visit our website to register and direct questions to [email protected]. on the birth of a greatgrand- son, born to their grandchil- NEW MEMBERS KIDDUSH dren Atara & Sander Gross. Shabbat, January 9 following services Our Officers and would love to get to know our new members better. All those who joined Marilyn Rothschild on the in 2015 are invited to join for this Kiddush. We hope you will take advantage of this wonderful birth of her granddaughter opportunity to meet one another as we embark on the journey of strengthening our community to- Maya Tova, parents of gether. Benjamin & Limor Rothschild.

JEWISH CENTER BOOK CLUB MEETING : THE BETRAYERS BY DAVID BEZMOZGIS Rabbi Mark & Jill Wildes on Sunday, January 10 at 7:30PM at the home of Dinah & Andy Mendes at 262 Central Park West the occasion of Yehuda's The Betrayers , David Bezmozgis’ prize-winning (National Jewish Book award 2015), is a page- Bar Mitzvah turner novel about an ex-Soviet Israeli politician who confronts the man who betrayed him to the KGB. Esther Nussbaum will lead the discussion for this meeting. The conversation generates stimu- THANK YOU TO CSS lating and lively back-and-forth and is followed by refreshments. We welcome new participants. If We would like to once again thank CSS and our dedicated you have questions please email [email protected] CSS members for providing SAVE THE DATE : S HABBAT OF SONG FEATURING SIX 13 the security for our SHABBAT , J ANUARY 15-16 synagogue this week. Be a part of this spirited Shabbat which will include lively services, a community Shabbat dinner, THANK YOU TO OUR and musical Havdalah. USHERS Thank you to our ushers Joan Kagan and Darrin Litsky. YOUTH DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS & U PDATES For more information contact Jenn & Gaby Minsky at [email protected]. PLUS LIGHT PROJECT To partner in Tobi Kahn's Plus TEEN MINYAN AND HOT KIDDUSH Light project, visit http:// TEEN GIRLS LOUNGE WITH ERICA BROWN SHABBAT , J ANUARY 9TH AT 9:30AM www.jccmanhattan.org/ SHABBAT , D ECEMBER 11 All teens and their friends are welcome to join. pluslight/ 3rd floor (vestibule) at 7:30PM Davening will be led by JC teens with guidance from Rabbi Ari Lamm. Following the service, teens MUSICAL HAVDALAH will enjoy an amazing hot Kiddush and sushi. For SHABBAT , D ECEMBER 11 more information or to sponsor the Kiddush, contact Gaby. CLERGY VS . T EEN BASKETBALL GAME WORLD'S LARGEST JEWISH SATURDAY NIGHT , D ECEMBER 19 LASER TAG BOOK SALE, COMPLETELY RUN Come and cheer on your favorite rabbis as they SATURDAY NIGHT , J ANUARY 9, 6:30PM - Ages 7 and BY UNIVERSITY STU- are challenged by our youth players! Sponsorship up/8:00PM - Teens DENTS FOR JUST 4 WEEKS A opportunities available. Teens interested in playing This sport will keep kids active and YEAR. WILL TAKE PLACE FROM should contact Gaby. See the insert for more infor- engaged while promoting positive game play and FEBRUARY 7-28 mation. teamwork. For prices, sponsorship information and to register, visit our website.

To advertise or list an announcement in The Jewish Center Bulletin, please contact us at [email protected]

Rabbi Ari Lamm, Resident Scholar Clergy & Staff Maccabean Exceptionalism Yosie Levine Rabbi

The (BQ 6.6) indicates that Chanukah is such Seleucid persecution of – in particular, religious Dovid Zirkind a thoroughly public holiday that although citizens coercion – as the cause for the Maccabean uprising. Assistant Rabbi

would normally be discouraged from bringing fire into But note Millar’s conclusion: “It is best to confess, Chaim David Berson common spaces – and be held responsible for any dam- however, that there seems no way of reaching an un- Cantor

age that might result – Chanukah is an exception. derstanding of how Antiochus came to take a step so Daniel Fridman While throughout the rest of the year, some unsuspect- profoundly at variance with the normal assumptions of Resident Scholar

ing camel driver colliding with a flame placed in the government in his time.” Ari Lamm local market could rightly claim to have had the right Resident Scholar

of way, on Chanukah, the Mishnah reasons that our Indeed, we can imagine that Jews on the eve of the Erica Brown unfortunate driver should have anticipated that even the Maccabean Revolt must have watched with horrified Community Scholar

main thoroughfares would be filled with candles. incomprehension as their once stable political world crumbled around them. After all, in a wide, wild world, Noach Goldstein This particular mishnah is concerned with the laws of the Hellenistic kingdoms found little that they couldn’t William Fischman Rabbinic Intern and therefore confines itself to determining accommodate. For a long time, this included Jews. But what responsibilities the public has towards those who with the onset of the persecutions under Antiochus IV, Aaron Strum Executive Director celebrate Chanukah. But moving beyond the realm of Jews must have wondered despairingly why they were civil law, it seems to me that the Mishnah encourages all of a sudden the exceptions that historians now rec- Eliane Dreyfuss us to ask in response: what responsibilities do we who ognize they were. Needless to say the consequences of Glassman Director of celebrate Chanukah have towards the public? this disconnect between a culture’s customary tolera- Programming One of the curious things about the Maccabean Revolt tion and its vindictiveness in one particular instance and Communications against Seleucid rule – the holiday’s central narrative – had terrible, bloody consequences. And while the Jews is how inexplicable the whole thing has seemed to his- would win a great victory over the Seleucids (which we Jenn & Gaby Minsky Youth Directors torians. Speaking for a long tradition of scholarship, justly celebrate), that victory would be short-lived, as

Oxford professor Fergus Millar wrote in 1978, “What the society that those Jews then built quickly proceeded OFFICERS happened under Antiochus Epiphanes was…both an to devour itself from the inside. Avi Schwartz exception to an undeniable general pattern and a break President

with the established relations between the Seleucid Much like our ancestors, we too live in a society that Andrew Borodach kings and .” That is, the various Hellenistic prides itself on its aspirations to tolerance and First Vice President

regimes had built reputations for tolerance both of reli- kindheartedness towards others. But as Chanukah Andrew Kaplan gious and ethnic diversity generally, and for the Jews in teaches us all too well, this toleration is not to be taken Vice President

particular. Earlier (and some later) scholars had taken for granted. So, to return to my initial question: what Mark Segall this as a cue to downplay Seleucid persecution under responsibilities do we who celebrate Chanukah have Vice President Antiochus IV and point to other explanations – some towards the public? It seems to me that our responsibil- Rose Lynn Sherr more fanciful than others – for the revolt. Millar, how- ity is quite simply to do our level best to guarantee that Vice President ever, argued (persuasively in my view) that, as a matter that American tolerance and openness continues to Michael Jacobs of methodology, we are stuck with the evidence that we remain available to all. Assistant have. And that evidence overwhelmingly pointed to Vice President

Yaron Kinar Treasurer A special Hakarat Hatov to the “Jewish Center Family” for their friendship, Len Berman Assistant Treasurer support, and loyalty during our Wife, Mother, and Sister’s struggle for the last four months. Miri Lipsky Secretary

PAPILSKY & GROSSMAN FAMILIES Phone Numbers Ilana Gadish DOWNLOAD THE JC A PP Yoetzet Halacha Visit our website for more 646-598-1080 [email protected]

Jewish Center 212-724-2700 x555

UWS Mikvah 212-579-2011

JOIN ONE OF OUR MAILING LISTS Did you know that many of our committees 212-230-1000

have listserves? Would you like to join one of Status them? If so, either email the committee chairs or 212-724-2700 x4 visit our website’s homepage or join a mailing list. THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF CHANUKAH: A BRIEF OVERVIEW RABBI DOVID ZIRKIND

Chanukah commemorates the spiritual and military victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks and Hellenized Jews. It begins on the eve of the 25 th of , corresponding (this year) to Sunday night , December 6, 2015 through Monday night, December 14, 2015 . The following is a list of important laws to help fulfill the beautiful mitzvot of Chanukah in the optimal manner.

LIGHTING THE MENORAH 1. Ideally, every member of the household, including younger children capable of understanding the concept of Chanukah, should light his or her own menorah. Married women may fulfill their obligation to light through their husbands, but may also light the menorah individually. 2. Those sleeping at the home of another over Chanukah should furnish their own Menorah and candles/oil. In the event that they cannot do so, they may join in the kindling done by the household members and should contribute a small amount of money to become a partner in the lighting. 3. Often, people are invited out for a Chanukah party, wedding or similar event into the evening hours. If they plan on returning home later in the evening, they should light at home even if the hour is late. A visitor away from home should light in the place where he is sleeping, even if all his or her meals are eaten elsewhere and even if one will arrive home late. 4. The menorah should be lit at tzeit hakochavim (nightfall) and should continue burning for 30 minutes. Tzeit hakochavim is approximately 42 minutes following sunset - for the week of Chanukah in New York City, at about 5:15PM. Ideally, one should not become involved in any activity within a reasonable amount of time before sunset, including eating, and it is preferable to daven Maariv before this time as well. 5. If one has to leave the house, it is permitted to extinguish the candles after they have burnt for half an hour after tzeit hakochavim . Upon returning, there is no need to rekindle the lights though it certainly is permitted to do so. If the flames die out before the proper amount of time has elapsed, they should be rekindled without any additional blessing. 6. In the event that one is unable to light at the optimal time, candles may be lit later, even if one arrives home after eve- ryone has gone to sleep. There is no need to wake anyone up for candle lighting. 7. Shalom bayit is a paramount value in Halacha, and therefore it is permissible (and even encouraged) to delay lighting Chanukah candles until one’s spouse arrives at home even if that will not take place at the halachically optimal time. 8. Traveling during Chanukah can present issues regarding lighting Chanukah candles, depending on when the travel takes place and for how long, to where and whether anyone is still at home. Each situation is unique, so if this applies to you, please contact the JC Clergy and we look forward to discussing it with you further.

THE CANDLES AND THE BLESSINGS 1. All oils and candles are permitted for use in the Menorah; however it is preferable to light with olive oil, ideally with wicks made of cotton or linen. New wicks are not needed every night. If one is using store-bought olive oil, one should declare explicitly that it is not being used solely for Chanukah candles. Oil left over in the receptacles after the Menorah has been lit for the requisite amount of time may be thrown out, or used the next night. 2. The candle holders or oil receptacles should be positioned in one level and on a straight line. The lights are placed in the menorah from right to left before kindling and are lit from left to right. 3. Menorot may be kindled anywhere inside one’s home. Optimally, they should face outside, or should be in one’s doorway (inside or outside) opposite the . Care should be taken in the placement of the Menorah, as it is forbidden to move it once it is lit. Safety should also be a paramount concern when it comes to candle lighting, so the menorah should not be placed on or near anything flammable, precarious or otherwise dangerous.

EREV SHABBAT 1. On Erev Shabbat, there should be sufficient oil or candle-length, enough that the menorah can burn 30 minutes after nightfall. Because Shabbat is accepted when are lit, one must light the Menorah before the Shabbat candles. 2. On Motzei Shabbat in shul, the Menorah is lit followed by Havdalah. In one’s home, Havdalah is recited first, followed by lighting the Chanukah candles.

PRAYERS Al Hanissim, is inserted in both the Shemoneh Esrai and ; in the event that it is/ על הנסים The prayer of .1 omitted, one need not repeat either prayer.