Parshat Vayeshev November 27, 2010 20 Kislev, 5771

Rabbi Frand on Parshat Vayeshev

Yosef's Playing With His Yaakov. He is referred to as Yosef like a monarch and began to
TORAH
ARTSCROLL, 198 Hair Was Not A Juvenile the righteous (haTzadik) by virtue fix his hair. G-d commented,
HERTZ, 141
Fixation of the restraint that he exhibited in "Your father is in mourning
HAFTORAH this week's parsha. He did not lose over you, and you are playing
ARTSCROLL, 1142
HERTZ, 152 The Torah says regarding himself to temptation, despite all with your hair!"
Yosef, "v'hu naar" and “he the years that he was separated from
was a young lad” [Bereshis his family. Yosef had a sterling Yosef was already a grown
37:2]. At the beginning of character and every single action adult. What is this fixation
Times the parsha, Rashi cites the that he took was for the sake of with his hair that the Medrash
Candle Lighting 4:12 pm Medrash on these words. Heaven. How could we attribute to again accuses him of? This is
The Medrash says that him -- even at the age of 17 -- the righteous Yosef. What is
Friday Mincha 4:15 pm
Yosef acted immaturely, behavior like preening himself to really happening here?
Haskhama 8:00 am
like a young lad. He used to look handsome?
Youth 8:30 am
fix his hair and touch up his Rav Schwab (in his sefer)
Parsha Shiur 8:30 am Even if we were inclined to write
eyes so that he would look provides a very interesting
Main Minyan 9:00 am handsome. off Yosef's practice of preening insight. The Torah calls Yosef
Beit Midrash 9:15 am himself as the foolish behavior of a a 'naar' [young lad]. The
Gemorah Shiur 3:30 pm Yosef was 17 years old at teenager, behavior that he would Torah uses this term in last
the time, and this is not soon outgrow, we would still have a week's parsha (VaYishlach)
Mincha 4:05 pm
unusual behavior for a 17 problem. The Torah later in the in reference to Shechem, son
Shabbat Ends 5:19 pm
year old. But, on the other Parsha [Bereshis 39:6] says, "And of Chamor. "And the 'naar'
Sunday Nov. 28 7:30/8:30 am
hand, it is highly unusual to Yosef was beautiful of form and did not delay to carry out the
Mon, Thurs. 6:35/7:45 am beautiful of appearance" (yefei toar
be told that a person of matter (of circumcision)
Tues, Wed, Fri. 6:45/7:45 am Yosef's caliber would v'yefei mar-eh). There too, the because he desired Yaakov's
Late Maariv 8:15 pm engage in this type of Medrash Tanchuma comments that daughter." At this point in
activity. Our Sages say that once Yosef saw that he was in a time Shechem son of Chamor
Mincha Sun./Fri. 4:10 pm
Yosef was almost like a position of command (in Potiphar's was not a young lad. He was
Latest times for
Shema/Shmoneh Esrei replica of our patriarch, house) he began to eat and drink in fact one of the most

November 27 9:18/10:06 am
SEUDAH SHLISHIT
December 4 9:23/10:10 am IS SPONORED BY
ADINA & MARK ABRAHAM
Next Shabbat KIDDUSH IS IN MEMORY OF HIS MOTHER
Mikeitz
SPONSORED BY SARA MALKA
BAT YAAKOV HAKOHEN Z”L
Candle lighting 4:10 pm GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE & HIS GRANDFATHER
DAVID BEN AVRAHAM SHAMASH Z”L
Mincha 4:10 pm
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shabbat Announcements Parshat Vayeshev 5771
himself in a position of leadership in Potiphar's house, he
prestigious people in the city. So why does the pasuk refer to him
again went back to fixing his hair. Why? Again, Yosef
as a 'naar'?
thought that this was the time to act like the King, which he
knew he was destined to become. Again, he was premature.
This teaches us that the definition of a 'naar' has nothing to do with
This premature behavior, rather than any juvenile concern
one's age. Rather, 'naar' is symbolic of the impetuousness of youth.
with his hair, was the "maseh na-arus" ('immature' actions)
When people become older, they learn to take life slower and more
that the Medrash attributes to Yosef.
deliberately. They do not rush into decisions. Often, a young person
does not merely need to have something 'Now'. He must have it
'yesterday'. As we grow older, we learn that we need to think things
over and wait things out. We cannot always grab and take things SAVE THE DATE
reflexively.

GREAT NECK
Shechem may have been an older person. He may have been a
respected individual, but he still acted like a 'naar' because he
SYNAGOGUE
rushed into the agreement proposed by Shimeon and Levi without
thinking it through. That is the definition of a 'naar'. 59TH ANNUAL
DINNER
Our Sages say that Yosef was the King of his brothers. Yosef
foresaw this in his dreams. He envisioned that they would bow
GUESTS OF HONOR
down to him and that he would be the King. One of the laws of
monarchy is that the King has to be physically prominent. "A King
in his glory your eyes shall behold..."[Isaiah 33:17]. The Talmud SHARON GOLDWYN
states [Sanhedrin 22b] that a King must groom his hair daily. He AND
represents the people and he must have the type of handsome MICHAEL & MINDY
appearance that people can respect. LEVENTHAL
When our Sages say that Yosef acted as a 'naar,' they mean that his
mistake was that he already saw himself as being the monarch at
BONEH HABAYIT AWARD
age 17. It was not an adolescent fixation with hair. The problem PHYLLIS WEINBERG
was that he saw himself as the ruler of his brothers before the
proper time for that relationship to develop. This, too, is the SATURDAY EVENING,
meaning of the Medrash later in the parsha. When Yosef saw JANUARY 15TH, 2011
Great Neck Synagogue
Shabbat Activities Program

Dale Polakoff, Rabbi

Ian Lichter, Assistant Rabbi
Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,z”l, Rabbi Emeritus
Michael Bleicher, Daniel Schwechter, Rabbinic Interns
Zeev Kron, Cantor
Eleazer Schulman, z”l, Cantor Emeritus
Mark Twersky, Executive Director
Joseph Hecht, President
Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board
 TICKETS
Family Ticket $36 (reserved by Nov. 30)
$40 at the door
Single Ticket $18
Elementary & High School Students $10

For preferred seating prices please see Rabbi Lichter.

To reserve your tickets
please call the synagogue
office 516-487-6100
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
THANK YOU
Thanks to everyone who made our collection of medical equip-
ment and supplies so extraordinarily successful. Due to your
efforts and thoughtfulness, we were able to collect and ship
dozens of walkers, canes, crutches and commodes, and hundreds
of diapers and other supplies to places in need in Haiti, Africa, and
Israel. We were even able to make a connection for a hospital
bed to be shipped to Israel. Thanks to Dario and Eliezer for their
help. Thanks to our friends at www.afyafoundation.org and
www.yadsarah.org and to high school senior Danielle Polland for
her inspiration and help. If you still have supplies at home
that you would like to donate, contact Nechama at
lisslev@verizon.net , or call at 773-3572.
PS: Also, We are amazed and grateful to announce that we
cannot accept any additional volunteers for this Thanksgiving;
however, we are still accepting donations for meals.
Yasher Koach to EVERYONE!!!
WOMEN’S TUESDAY LEARNING
Women’s Tuesday learning is starting Tuesdays at 10 am in
The Braun Youth Center. Amit Yaghoubi will be teaching the
Shemoneh Esrei from start to finish with commentaries. Please sign
up for 5 weeks in the shul office for $50.00. You may also attend
individual classes at a cost of $12.00 per class.
COMBINED SISTERHOOD MEETING
Please join the Combined Sisterhood meeting on Monday morning,
December 13th at 10:00am at Temple Israel (Blue Room) to start
planning the Annual Combined Sisterhood Event which is being
hosted by Temple Israel this year. We welcome your ideas and
help!
SISTERHOOD MEETING
Please join us on Wednesday evening, December 15th at 8:00 pm
in the Braun Youth center to discuss and plan upcoming Sister-
hood Events! We welcome your participation!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
The Sisterhood of Great Neck Synagogue would like to thank co-
chairs Susan Sheena and Ina Greszes for organizing a wonderful,
fun and inspiring Shalom Bayit lecture and delicious dinner at
Colbeh this week where approximately 100 people greatly en-
joyed listening to Rabbi Polakoff and Rabbi Lichter speak about
Shalom Bayit. Their words of Torah were dedicated in memory of
Judy Sokol z”l. Thank you also to Vivian Kron for all her time and
help with this event.
YOUTH NEWS
Saturday, Dec. 4, will be the annual Chanukah Bash
Luncheon. Please bring your signed Raffle tickets with you for
the Grand raffle.
DOS YIDDISH VORT celebrates Chanukah on Wednesday,
Dec. 1, at 1:30. Enjoy a potpourri of Yiddish melodies with Judy
Hirsch, a Chanukah mayse and sufganiot. All welcome. For more
information, call Roz Wagner at 516 487-9795.
HUNGER INITIATIVE Regular Food drop off’s continue Friday’s
at 18 Birchwood Lane. Drop off hours are between 10 am and
1 pm. Kindly place your food in the cooler. Also, soup containers
are available in the Shul office for those wishing to make soup for
the Hunger Initiative for Friday delivery to 18 Birchwood Lane. For
those wishing to provide food on Sundays, call Jackie Nissan
482-2697.
If you have any Chanukah goodies such as jelly donuts, latkes,
extra baked goods or applesauce that you wish to donate, please
place them next to the cooler on Friday, Dec. 3. Thank you.
Chanukah Sameach!
COAT DRIVE
Coat Drive on Monday evening Deccember 13th, 6-8 pm.
Gently used coats and wedding gowns.
Within Our Family
Mazal Tov to Carol & David Goddard on the upcoming mar-
riage of their son Jonathan to Lisa Forer daughter of Melanie
& Martin Forer of Sydney, Australia.
Mazal Tov to Janet & Iraj Kashani on the engagement of
their son Robert to Esther Lalezar.
Mazal Tov to Mindy & Charles Hercman on the upcoming
marriage of their son Bradley to Rachel Haar.
LUNCH & LEARN FOR WOMEN ONLY
Wednesday, Dec. 8, from noon to 1pm at the home of Dr. Laura
Danoff, 4 Vista Drive, GN Estates. There will be a lecture “For
the Woman on the Go with a Desire to Know”, How the parsha of
the week will influence one’s life. RSVP by Dec. 3 to open-
wyd613@aol.com.
SNOW BIRDS
Please notify the synagogue office BEFORE you leave Great
Neck so we can change our records and forward your mail.
SOLES4SOULS SHOE DRIVE
Did you know that over 300 million children worldwide are with-
out shoes? Join us in helping Soles4Souls, a non-profit charity
that collects new and gently-used shoes for distribution to people
in over 125 countries that have experienced natural disasters or
extreme poverty. Your extra pair of shoes could be someone’s
first. From now until December 5, bring your new or gently-used
shoes, sandals, sneakers or boots to the Soles4Souls bin outside
the synagogue office (please be sure to attach each pair
together). Questions? Please contact Jordan Rosman
(jrosman@nshahs.org) or Micah Spielman
(mspielman@nshahs.org), or visit the Soles4Souls website
Saturday, 20 Kislev
Debbie Furst for Dora Kaminer
Raymond Sandler for Abraham Sandler
Rose Weiss for Kalman Fajg
Sunday, 21 Kislev
Martin Brownstein for Samuel Brownstein
Pearl Ginsburg for Isaiah Ginsburg
David Greenwald for Samuel Greenwald
Norman Seif for Mayer Seif
Monday, 22 Kislev
Y Mahin Aryeh for Morad Aryeh
A Lloyd Bayme for Rachel Bayme
Hillel Milun for Reuben Milun
H Fred Pomerantz for David Pomerantz
R Irvin Spira for Abraham Spira
Z Tuesday, 23 Kislev
Al Leiderman for Leo Leiderman
E Karen Wydra for Evelyn Stein
I Wednesday, 24 Kislev
T Henry Dicker for Blanche Dicker
Susan Goldman for Malia Ring
Ernest Herman for Ray Herman
Michal Malen for Emanuel Hoschander
Thursday, 25 Kislev
Ebrahim Gabbaizadeh for Yehudit Chaya
Friday, 26 Kislev
Mahin Aryeh for Marilyn Schwadron
Eliezer Noy for Yosef Zargaryan