Parshat Bechukotai

There is one aspect of

Christianity that Jews, if
we are to be honest, must
reject, and that Christians,
most notably Pope John
XXIII, have begun to
reject. It is the concept of
rejection itself, the idea
that Christianity represents
G-ds rejection of the
Jewish people, the old
Israel. This is known
technically as Supersession
or Replacement Theology,
and it is enshrined in such
phrases as the Christian
name for the Hebrew Bible,
The Old Testament. The
Old Testament means the
testament, or covenant,
once in force but no
longer. On this view, G-d
no longer wants us to
serve Him the Jewish way,
through the 613
commandments, but a new
way, through a New
Testament. His old chosen
people were the physical
descendants of Abraham.
His new chosen people are
the spiritual descendants
of Abraham, in other
words, not Jews but
Christians.

The results of this doctrine
were devastating. They
were chronicled after the
Holocaust by the French
historian and Holocaust
survivor Jules Isaac. More
recently, they have been set out
in works like Rosemary Ruethers
Faith and Fratricide, and James
Carrolls Constantines Sword.
They led to centuries of
persecution and to Jews being
treated as a pariah people.
Reading Jules Isaacs work led to
a profound metanoia or change
of heart on the part of Pope John
XXIII, and ultimately to the
Second Vatican Council (1962-
65) and the declaration Nostra
Aetate, which transformed
relations between the Catholic
Church and the Jews.

I dont want to explore the tragic
consequences of this belief here,
but rather its untenability in the
light of the sources themselves.
To our surprise, they key
statement occurs in perhaps the
darkest passage of the entire
Torah, the curses of Bechukotai.
Here in the starkest possible
terms are set out the
consequences of the choices the
people Israel makes. If they stay
faithful to G-d they will be
blessed. But if they are faithless
the results will be defeat,
devastation, destruction and
despair. The rhetoric is
relentless, the warning
unmistakable, the vision
terrifying. Yet at the very end
come these utterly unexpected
lines:

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshat Bechukotai
And yet for all that, when
they be in the land of their
enemies, I will not cast them
away, neither will I abhor
them, to destroy them
utterly, and to break my
covenant with them: for I am
the Lord their G-d. But I will
for their sakes remember the
covenant of their ancestors,
whom I brought forth out of
the land of Egypt in the sight
of the heathen, that I might
be their G-d: I am the Lord.
(Lev. 26: 44-45)

The people may be faithless
to G-d but G-d will never be
faithless to the people. He
may punish them but he will
not abandon them. He may
judge them harshly but he
will not forget their ancestors,
who followed Him, nor will he
break the covenant he made
with them. G-d does not
break His promises even if we
break ours.

The point is fundamental. The
Talmud describes a
conversation between the
Jewish exiles in Babylon and a
prophet:

Samuel said: Ten men came
and sat down before the
prophet. He told them,
Return and repent. They
answered, If a master sells
his slave, or a husband
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divorces his wife, has one a claim upon the other??Then the
Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet, Go and say to
them, Thus says the Lord, Where is your mothers certificate of
divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors
did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of
your transgressions your mother was sent away. (Isaiah 50: 1;
Sanhedrin 105a)

The Talmud places in the mouths of the exiles an argument
later repeated by Spinoza, that the very fact of exile terminated
the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people. G-d had
rescued them from Egypt and thereby become, in a strong
sense, their only sovereign, their king. But now, having allowed
them to suffer exile, He had abandoned them and they were
now under the rule of another king, the ruler of Babylon. It was
as if He had sold them to another master, or as if Israel were a
wife G-d had divorced. Having sold or divorced them, G-d could
have no further claim on them.

It is precisely this that the verse in Isaiah Where is your
mothers certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to
which of my creditors did I sell you? denies. G-d has not
divorced, sold or abandoned His people. That too is the
meaning of the promise at the end of the curses of Bechukotai:
And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies,
I will not cast them away . . . and break my covenant with
them: for I am the Lord their G-d. G-d may send his people
into exile but they remain his people, and he will bring them
back.

This too is the meaning of the great prophecy in Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by
day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who
stirs up the sea so that its waves roar the Lord Almighty is his
name: Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares
the Lord, will Israel ever cease being a nation before me. This
is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above can be
measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched
out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they
have done, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31: 35-37)

A central theme of the Torah, and of Tanakh as a whole, is the
rejection of rejection. G-d rejects humanity, saving only Noah,
when he sees the world full of violence. Yet after the Flood He
vows: Never again will I curse the ground because of humans,
even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from
childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as
I have done (Gen. 8: 21). That is the first rejection of
rejection.

26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shaabbat Announcements Parshat Bechukotai 5774
Then comes the series of sibling rivalries. The covenant
passes through Isaac not Ishmael, Jacob not Esau. But G-d
hears Hagars and Ishmaels tears. Implicitly he hears Esaus
also, for He later commands, Do not hate an Edomite [i.e. a
descendant of Esau] because he is your brother (Deut 23:
7). Finally G-d brings it about that Levi, one of the children
Jacob curses on his deathbed, Cursed be their anger, so
fierce, and their fury, so cruel (Gen. 49: 6), becomes the
father of Israels spiritual leaders, Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
From now on all Israel are chosen. That is the second
rejection of rejection.

Even when Israel suffer exile and find themselves in the land
of their enemies they are still the children of G-ds covenant,
which He will not break because G-d does not abandon His
people. They may be faithless to Him. He will not be faithless
to them. That is the third rejection of rejection, stated in our
parsha, reiterated by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, axiomatic
to our faith in a G-d who keeps His promises.

Thus the claim on which Replacement or Supersession
theology is based that G-d rejects His people because they
rejected Him is unthinkable in terms of Abrahamic
monotheism. G-d keeps His word even if others break theirs.
G-d does not, will not, abandon His people. The covenant
with Abraham, given content at Mount Sinai, and renewed at
every critical juncture in Israels history since, is still in force,
undiminished, unqualified, unbreakable.

The Old Testament is not old. G-ds covenant with the Jewish
people is still alive, still strong. Acknowledgement of this fact
has transformed the relationship between Christians and
Jews and helped wipe away many centuries of tears.
Great Neck Synagogue
Shabbat Activities Program
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck , NY 11023
Dale Polakoff, Rabbi
Ian Lichter, Assistant Rabbi
Dr. Ephraim Wolf ,zl, Rabbi Emeritus
Zeev Kron, Cantor
Eleazer Schulman, zl, Cantor Emeritus
Rabbi Sholom Jensen, Youth Director
Zehava & Dr. Michael Atlas, Youth Directors
Mark Twersky, Executive Director
Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, Program Director
Dr. Scott Danoff, President
Harold Domnitch, Chairman of the Board
Dena Block, Yoetzet Halacha 516-320-9818

Great Neck Synagogue
Mens Club

4
th
ANNUAL FISHING TRIP
On the CAPT. PETE from Freeport, NY
(30 minutes from GN)
Sunday, JUNE 29, 2014
The boat will be departing at 9:00 am with the
return to dock at 1 pm.
Light Breakfast and Deli Lunch
All Welcome Bring the whole family
$50 per person, $40 for children 6 to 11
(no children under 6)
1 per family =First 6 kids under 12 FREE
with paying adult
FREE GIFT INCLUDED ON TRIP!
ANNOUNCEMENTS






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In The Community



Saturday, 17 Iyyar
Aaron J. Eliach for Chana Eliach
Murray Frank for Pearl Gold
Sunday, 18 Iyyar
Emile Heskel Kattan for Edward Kattan
Karen Shein for Philip Weitman
Monday, 19 Iyyar
Susan Castle for Avraham Dobkowski
Louise Prawer for Ruben Fuchs
Carl Rosenberg for Blanche Rosenberg
Edward Weiss for Bertha Weiss
Peter Weiss for Bertha Weiss
Tuesday, 20 Iyyar
Ellen Siegel for Avraham Givner
Wednesday, 21 Iyyar
Sheila Bachman for Allan Bachman
Helene Bayme for Maurice Asher
Thursday, 22 Iyyar
Ebrahim Gabbaizadeh for Yoseph Gabbaizadeh
Mojdeh Hevdat for Manouchehr Shaulian
Ira Lubin for Esther Alberts
Ester Noy for Abraham Nir
Paul Wein for Melvin Wein
Friday, 23 Iyyar
Jacqueline Fischer for Menachim Mendel Salomon
Ebrahim Gabbaizadeh for Auma bat Elazar Gabbaizadeh

WITHIN OUR FAMILY
SAVE THE NEW DATE:
The NSHA Annual Journal Dinner celebrating its 59th year will take
place on Mon. evening, May 19th at Citi Field honoring Stephanie
& Ruvane Vilinsky, Hannah K. Flamenbaum & Charles W. Segal
and Sassoun Sassouni. Those who wish to place an ad, make a
reservation or serve on the dinner committee, please contact
Arnie Flatow at aflatow@nsha.org or call the Business
Office at 487-868 ext 2.
SAVE THE DATE
The annual North Shore Mikvah Association fundraising shiur for women
will take place at the home of Marla and Micah Lemonik - 9 Myrtle
Drive - On Tues., May 13th at 7:30 pm. The shiur will be given by
Rebbetzin Abby Lerner and is entitled, They Said What? The Surprising
Rabbinic Attitudes Towards Intimacy. Light refreshments will be served
and orchids from "Blooming Flowers" will be for sale with proceeds to
benefit the mikvah. Suggested Donation - $36.00, Sponsorships - $100,
Gold Sponsor - $180.00 The shiur will be in memory of Hadassah Ben
Tzvi - if you would like to donate money to help her family, please send a
check to the GNS Chessed Fund earmarked for the Ben Tzvi family. For
more information - please email NSMikvah@gmail.com.

MENS CLUB
TUE., JUNE 10, & WED., JUNE 11, at 7:00pm: The Mens Club
annual Defensive Driving Course will be presented by AARP. The cost
is $20 for AARP members and $25 for non-members. Take the course
every 3 years to save $ on your car insurance premiums and reduce
any points you may have. Please contact Jerry Siegelman
516-712-7538 jerrysiegelman@hotmail.com.

SUN., JUNE 29 THE FOURTH ANNUAL FISHING TRIP
On Captain Pete from Freeport. $50.00 per adults, $40.00 per children
6-11. (first 6 children free1 per family) For more information contact
Steve Blumner 639-8941 Mark Friedman 482-1062 or Hilly
Milun 448-4890
Mazal Tov to Viviane & Arnold Breitbart on the upcoming
marriage of their son Morris to Ruby Gardner daughter of
Maure & David Gardner.
Mazal Tov to Rivka & Carl Rosenberg on the upcoming mar-
riage of their son Benjamin to Abbie Pearlstein daughter of
Leah & Joseph Perlstein to Rosenberg.
Mazal Tov to Rabbi Yaacov & Abby Lerner on the birth of a
grandson, born to their children Sefi & Jonathan Hefter.

MAY CHESED COLLECTION
Our May collection of sports equipment will be for Camp Simcha.
Please drop off Monday-Friday only at the home of Hedva & Edmund
Kessler , 9 Vista Drive, Great Neck.
There will be a box at the front door.
GNS HUNGER INITIATIVE THANKS
Tremendous thanks to the GNS Hunger Initiative and the PASS IT FOR-
WARD Passover Program, who organized and delivered Passover foods
to over 75 families in need , including elderly people living alone,
and large families facing illness or unemployment. Particular thanks to
Michelle Berman, Cindy Hodkin, Nechama Liss-Levinson, Celia &
Jack Lemonik and Rabbi Jensens students from the NSHA.
Thanks to all volunteers and those who donated funds for the project.
An excerpt from a letter we received from one of the recipients
says it all: Dear Friends, There are no words to express my deep
thanks for the outstanding gift of Passover Holiday meals.
I could never have been able to continue celebrating this very
special holiday as in the past without your generosity. I sin-
cerely wish all of you and your congregation a happy, healthy
and sweet holiday.
SHAARE ZEDEK MEDICAL CENTER LUNCHEON
The National Womens Division of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in
Jerusalem luncheon will take place on Wednesday, May 14th at
11:15AM at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. One of the Guests of Honor
is Zelda Berger. For further information, please call (212) 764-8118.
MTJ PARLOR MEETING
The GN Friends of MTJ annual reception will take place on
May 20, 2014 at 8PM at the home of Davita and Marc Yehaskel.
Congratulations to Rabbi Sean Jensen who will receive the Commu-
nity Service Award. Please attend.
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
Breakfast is sponsored by Shirley & Aaron Elich in memory of his
mother Chana bat Harav Moshe Ben Tzion, z"l.
LAG BAOMER BONFIRE TISCH
Lag Ba'omer is this Saturday night. We will be having a Lag Ba'omer
Bonfire Tisch with singing and food, begining at 10:30 pm at the home
of Joseph and Debbie Shor, 20 Brook Lane. Feel free to park in the
Great Neck Synagogue parking lot and walk over as parking is limited
on Book Lane.
GREAT NECK MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
Monday, May 26, 2014 at 9:15 am
We are looking for shul members of all ages to join us as we march
behind our shuls banner. To make our presentation even more
exciting, those with convertibles, classic cars or motorcycles and
scooters are encouraged to join with us as well. There will be T-Shirts
and Flags for all. Sponsored by the Men's Club and Sisterhood. Any
questions, please feel free to contact Alan Steinberg, our parade
Chair at Orlyalan@aol.com.