THE NCYI high holiday READER IN MEMORY OF MARK LINCOLN HABERKORN AND MYRON LEVY OF BLESSED MEMORY WE THINK OF YOU EVERY DAY. THE WASHKOWITZ, LEVY & HABERKORN FAMILIES National Council of Young Israel 50 Eisenhower Drive Suite 102 Paramus, NJ 07652 212-929-1525 ext. 104 Dear Friends, We are very excited to present you with the NCYI High Holiday booklet for the New Year 5778. The booklet contains both insightful articles and an informative and yet brief explanation of the services. It is meant to appeal to all attendees from the most learned to those attending High Holiday services for the first time. This edition has many powerful and informative articles. We very much appreciate the time and effort of our contributing Rabbis. This year we added an article before the section of the booklet explaining the services written by the prominent outreach speaker and lawyer, Harry Rothenberg. We thank Harry for his entertaining piece. This booklet is one of the many activities of the National Council of Young Israel to service our Shuls and represent our valued members. We have just completed a successful Regional Long Island event that was hosted by the Young Israel of Plainview. We are now planning a Midwest Region event, which will take place in Detroit in October and a Southern Region event that is on the planning board. The regional events are a means for us to better understand and share the needs of our branches and the potential for true partnership with the National Council of Young Israel. Of course, just like this High Holiday booklet shows our concern for all of you attending our Shuls, so we feel the same need to speak up for our fellow Jews all over the world and certainly for the State of Israel. In so doing, we were the only Jewish organization thanked by Jonathan Pollard for our efforts to have him released from prison. Currently, our Board member Susan Alter is working on an important initiative with IDF Reservists on Duty to fight the BDS move- ment on college campuses in America. Each Young Israel branch will be hearing more about this initiative throughout the year. The National Council is leading the fight to move the U.S. Embas- sy to Jerusalem and because of our concern for the protection of Jewish Holy sites in Israel we speak out at UNESCO and other groups whose efforts would erase Jewish history. We strongly support the Taylor Force Act that calls for reducing aid to the Palestinian Authority with the hope it will end their policy of rewarding terrorists for murdering Jews. We urge you, our mem- bers, to call your legislators to support this act in Washington. We would appreciate your feedback on the booklet. We have made changes each year based on many of your suggestions. My email is [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you. Please consider sending a donation to the National Council of Young Israel to enable us to continue our projects. In the back of the booklet, you will find a list of much of what we do and some of our noted accomplishments. Please specify if you would like to earmark your contribu- tion for a particular project. May the New Year be a year of great blessing, prosperity and good health for all of Klal Yisrael. K’tivah V’chatima Tova Farley Weiss Rabbi Marc S. Volk National President NCYI Executive Director NCYI 1 The National Board of Young Israel TABLE OF CONTENTS BEATRIZ ACKERMAN YOUNG ISRAEL THE AKEIDAH OF NORTH WOODMERE, NY RABBI BEREL WEIN SUSAN ALTER YOUNG ISRAEL 3 OF VACATION VILLAGE, NY JOSEPH FRAGER VOICES YOUNG ISRAEL OF JAMAICA ESTATES, NY RABBI ELAZAR MUSKIN CHANANIA GANG 5 YOUNG ISRAEL OHAV ZEDEK NORTH RIVERDALE, NY RELIGIOUS FAITH IN NEED OF DEFENSE DAVID KATZ YOUNG ISRAEL OF MEMPHIS, TN RABBI CHAIM WASSERMAN 8 BOB LEVI CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD YOUNG ISRAEL SHOMREI EMUNAH GREATER WASHINGTON, MD THE POWER OF PRAYER RABBI REUVEN FINK DAVID LOVE YOUNG ISRAEL 13 OF FOREST HILLS, NY CHARLES MILLER THE MAGNIFICENT DAY OF THE SHOFAR YOUNG ISRAEL OF WOODMERE, NY RAV DOVID LEHRFIELD RULLY MOSKOVITZ YOUNG ISRAEL OF KENDALL, FL 16 YOSEF POPLACK YOUNG ISRAEL OF THE HIGH HOLIDAYS & THE NUMBER 10 KEW GARDENS HILLS, NY RABBI DR. RICHARD WEISS DAVID SCHULTZ YOUNG ISRAEL 19 OF CENTURY CITY, CA ELIEZER SILVERMAN THE SHOFAR: KIND OF A BIG DEAL YOUNG ISRAEL OF STAMFORD, CT HARRY ROTHENBERG, ESQ. LOUIS SROKA 23 YOUNG ISRAEL OF PLAINVIEW, NY GIL STEBBINS YOUNG ISRAEL OF OAK PARK, MI YOUNG ISRAEL OVERVIEW TO PRAYER AND THE HIGH HOLIDAYS STANLEY TREITEL YOUNG ISRAEL 25-36 OF HANCOCK PARK, CA BAILA WEISS QUICK REFERENCE CARDS YOUNG ISRAEL OF NEW ROCHELLE, NY 37-40 FARLEY WEISS NATIONAL PRESIDENT YOUNG ISRAEL BOCA RATON, FL YOUNG ISRAEL INFO BOOKLET AND YOUNG ISRAEL PHOENIX, AZ 41-44 2 aspires to be. Rosh HaShanah is the time us towards this goal and achievement in for renewed commitment to our higher the service of G-d and humans. In the and nobler aspirations, to dismiss sounds of the shofar do we hear our own pettiness and selfishness and direct struggles with ourselves to improve and ourselves to the fulfillment of Torah and ascend. This struggle is an eternal one but Jewish values in our lives and our society. so are its rewards and benefits. The shofar therefore I extend to all of you, my serves as our call to beloved friends at Beit arouse our better self. Knesset HaNassi and those The rabbis phrased it around the world as well thusly: “Let one always who have stood by me in arouse one’s better my difficult moment and nature to do battle aided me with your The akeidah against one’s evil friendship and concern, my The Sacrifice Guarantees desires.” Passivity in heartfelt blessings for the our Jewish Future attempting to improve New Year. May it bring us our nature and health and prosperity, behavior is doomed to being a failed longevity and harmony. May G-d bless RaBBi Berel Wein tactic. Rosh HaShanah demands from us Israel, His people and land, with peace Rabbi at Beit Knesset Hanassi - young israel Rechavia enthusiasm in the cause of G-d and Torah and redemption . and a willingness to struggle with ourselves – the hardest struggle that we will ever encounter is with ourselves – in order to arouse our better nature and aspire to moral greatness and holy behavior. The shofar is The centerpiece of our Rosh HaShanah to protect our Jewishness and project it proactive. Its sounds are observance, prayers, and sounding of the into future generations. The tests need not penetrating and turbulent. shofar is the remembrance of the akeidah – be ones of physical life and death. They are It demands and does not the binding of Yitzchak to the altar and usually more complicated and subtle than soothe. It is the byproduct Avraham’s apparent willingness to that. Overcoming one’s own weaknesses of the akeidah. But our rabbis sacrifice him as worship to G-d. The and desires, swimming against the current have taught us that our akeidah has followed us throughout our of the prevailing value system of much of prayers on Rosh HaShanah long history. There have been millions of modern society and being steadfast in our ascend heavenward through akeidot in Jewish history and most of them faith and behavior against all comers and the medium of the shofar. ended in the death of the victim and not in events – these are the terms of our own Only by aspiring to be better him or her being spared. Yet it is the utter akeidah . The price of easy Judaism is and stronger and more devotion and tenacity of Israel to do G-d’s assimilation and forfeiture of one’s Jewish can we hope to have will no matter what the cost that has Jewish future. Rosh HaShanah is good standing before the sustained us throughout our long and uncompromising in its demands upon us. heavenly court on the Day of difficult journey through time. Rosh The Baal Shem Tov stressed that a person Judgment. The sounds of HaShanah therefore serves to remind us of is judged not only by what a person is at the shofar therefore goad the price that may be demanded yet of us that moment but also by what a person 3 the akeidah aspires to be. Rosh HaShanah is the time us towards this goal and achievement in for renewed commitment to our higher the service of G-d and humans. In the and nobler aspirations, to dismiss sounds of the shofar do we hear our own pettiness and selfishness and direct struggles with ourselves to improve and ourselves to the fulfillment of Torah and ascend. This struggle is an eternal one but Jewish values in our lives and our society. so are its rewards and benefits. The shofar therefore I extend to all of you, my serves as our call to In the sounds of the beloved friends at Beit arouse our better self. Knesset HaNassi and those The rabbis phrased it shofar do we hear around the world as well thusly: “Let one always who have stood by me in arouse one’s better our own struggles my difficult moment and nature to do battle aided me with your against one’s evil with ourselves to friendship and concern, my desires.” Passivity in heartfelt blessings for the attempting to improve improve and ascend New Year. May it bring us our nature and health and prosperity, behavior is doomed to being a failed longevity and harmony.