Parshat Naso

Few things in the Torah

are more revolutionary
than its conception of
leadership. Ancient
societies were
hierarchical. The masses
were poor and prone to
hunger and disease. They
were usually illiterate.
They were used by rulers
as a means to wealth and
power rather than people
with individual rights a
concept born only in the
seventeenth century. At
times they formed a
corvee, a vast conscripted
labor force, often used to
construct monumental
buildings intended to
glorify kings. At others
they were dragooned into
the army to further the
rulers imperial designs.

Rulers often had absolute
power of life and death
over their subjects. Not
only were kings and
pharaohs heads of state.
They also held the highest
religious rank, as children
of the gods or demigods
themselves. Their power
had nothing to do with the
consent of the governed.
It was seen as written into
the fabric of the universe.
Just as the sun ruled the
sky and the lion ruled the
animal realm so kings ruled
their populations. That was how
things were in nature, and
nature itself was sacrosanct.

The Torah is a sustained polemic
against this way of seeing
things. Not just kings but all of
us, regardless of color, culture,
creed or class, are in the image
and likeness of God. In the
Torah God summons his special
people, Israel, to take the first
steps to what might eventually
become a truly egalitarian
society or to put it more
precisely, a society in which
dignity kavod does not
depend on power or wealth or
an accident of birth.

Hence the concept, which we
will explore more fully in parshat
Korach, of leadership as service.
The highest title accorded to
Moses in the Torah is that he
was eved haShem, a servant of
God. His highest praise is that
he was very humble, more so
than anyone else on
earth (Num. 12: 3). To lead is
to serve. Greatness is humility.
As the book of Proverbs puts it,
A mans pride will bring him
low, but the humble in spirit will
retain honor (Prov. 29: 23).

The Torah points us in the
direction of an ideal world, but it
does not assume that we have
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Parshat Naso
reached it yet or are within
striking distance. The people
Moses led, like many of us
today, were still prone to
ambition, aspiration, vanity,
and self-esteem. They still
had the human desire for
honor, status and respect.
And Moses had to recognize
that fact. It would be a major
source of conflict in the
months and years ahead. It
is one of the primary themes
of the book of Bamidbar.

Of whom were the Israelites
jealous? Most of them did
not aspire to be Moses. He
was, after all, the man who
spoke to God and to whom
God spoke. He performed
miracles, brought plagues
against the Egyptians,
divided the Red Sea, and
gave the people water from a
rock and manna from
heaven. Few would have had
the hubris to believe they
could do any of these things.
But they did have reason to
resent the fact that religious
leadership seemed to be
confined to one tribe, Levi,
and one family within that
tribe, the Cohanim, male
descendants of Aaron. Now
that the tabernacle was to be
consecrated and the people
were about to begin the
second half of their journey,
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TORAH
Artscroll, 748
Hertz, 586

HAFTORAH
Artscroll, 1181
Hertz, 602
May 31, 2014 31 Iyar, 5774
Kiddush is
sponsored by
Jill & Ron Swartz
in honor of
the graduation of
their niece
Rochelle Swartz
from Fordham Law School
Cum Laud.
Bima Flowers are
sponsored by
Helaine & Willam Helmreich
in honor of
the recent marriage
of their daughter
Deborah
to Jonathan Halpern
of Scarsdale.
from Sinai to the Promised Land, there was a real risk of envy
and animosity.

That is a constant throughout history. We desire, said
Shakespeare, this mans gift and that mans scope.
Aeschylus said, It is in the character of very few men to
honor without envy a friend who has prospered. Goethe
warned that although Hatred is active, and envy passive
dislike; there is but one step from envy to hate. Jews should
know this in their very bones. We have often been envied, and
all too frequently that envy has turned to hate with tragic
consequences.

Leaders need to be aware of the perils of envy, especially
within the people they lead. This is one of the unifying themes
of the long and apparently disconnected parsha of Naso.

In it we see Moshe confronting three potential sources of
envy. The first lay within the tribe of Levi. They had reason to
resent the fact that priesthood had gone to just one man and
his descendants, Aaron, Moses brother. The second had to do
with individuals who were neither of the tribe of Levi nor of
the family of Aaron but who felt that they had the right to be
holy in the sense of having a special, intense relationship with
God in the way that the Cohanim had. The third had to do
with the leadership of the other tribes who might have felt left
out of the service of the Tabernacle. We see Moses dealing
sequentially with all these potential dangers.

First he gives each Levitical clan a special role in carrying the
vessels, furnishings and framework of the Tabernacle
whenever the people journeyed from place to place. The most
sacred objects were to be carried by the clan of Kohath. The
Gershonites were to carry the cloths, coverings and drapes.
The Merarites were to carry the planks, bars, posts and
sockets that made up the Tabernacles framework. Each clan
was, in other words, to have a special role in place in the
solemn procession as the House of God was carried through
the desert.

Next he deals with individuals who aspire to a higher level of
holiness. This, it seems, is the underlying logic of the nazirite,
the individual who vows to set himself apart for the Lord
(Numbers 6:2). He was not to drink wine or any other grape
product; he was not to have his hair cut; and he was not
defile himself through contact with the dead. Becoming a
Nazarite was, it seems, a way of temporarily assuming the
kind of set-apartness associated with the priesthood, a
voluntary extra degree of holiness. Lastly, he turns to the
leadership of the tribes. The highly repetitive chapter 7 of our
26 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023 (516) 487-6100 Shaabbat Announcements Parshat Naso 5774
parsha itemizes the offerings of each of the tribes on the
occasion of the dedication of the altar. Their offerings were
identical, and the Torah could have abbreviated its account
by describing the gifts brought by one tribe and stating that
each of the other tribes did likewise. Yet the sheer
repetition has the effect of emphasizing the fact that each
tribe had its moment of glory. Each, by giving to the house
of God, acquired its own share of honor.

These episodes are not the whole of Naso but enough of it
to signal something that every leader and every group
needs to take seriously. Even when people accept in
principle the equal dignity of all, and even when they see
leadership as service, the old dysfunctional passions die
hard. People still resent the success of others. They still feel
that honor has gone to others when it should have gone to
them. Rabbi Elazar Ha-Kappar said: Envy, lust and the
pursuit of honor drive a person out of the world.

The fact that these are destructive emotions does not stop
some people perhaps most of us feeling them from time
to time, and nothing does more to put at risk the harmony
of the group.

That is one reason why a leader must be humble. He or she
should feel none of these things. But a leader must also be
aware that not everyone is humble. Every Moses has a
Korach, every Julius Caesar a Cassius, every Duncan a
Macbeth, every Othello an Iago. In many groups there is a
potential trouble-maker driven by a sense of injury to his
self-esteem. These are often a leaders deadliest enemies
and they can do great damage to the group.

There is no way of eliminating the danger entirely, but
Moses in this weeks parsha tells us how to behave. Honor
everyone equally. Pay special attention to potentially
disaffected groups. Make each feel valued. Give everyone a
moment in the limelight if only in a ceremonial way. Set a
personal example of humility. Make it clear to all that
leadership is service, not a form of status. Find ways in
which those with a particular passion can express it, and
ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute. There is
no failsafe way to avoid the politics of envy but there are
ways of minimizing it, and our parsha is an object lesson in
how to do so.


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
GreatNeckSynagogueAnnualMeeting
Wednesday,May28,2014,8:30pm

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ANNOUNCEMENTS





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Saturday, 2 Sivan
Rita Litvin for Tsilya Marianovsky
Sunday, 3 Sivan
Adam Hutt for Frances Hutt
Glenn Ludwig for Bertha Siegal
Monday, 4 Sivan
Trudy Lorber for Nathan Winter
Karen Wydra for Henry Stein-Wallach
Tuesday, 5 Sivan
Marc Gottlieb for Bernhard Gottlieb
Edward Mazur for Rose Mazur
Osnass Shein for Isaac Charchat
Pamela Shrock for Isaac David Shubitz
Fay Smith for Ruth Brafman
Robert Spitalnick for Oscar Spitalnick
Wednesday, 6 Sivan
Rita Gordonson for Lewis C. Gordonson
Roselin Wagner for Fannie Tarnofsky
Thursday, 7 Sivan
Michelle Berman for Sara bat Moshe Aharon
Sanford Brand for Aron Brand
Leslie Kahn for Sally Krawchuk
Friday, 8 Sivan
Murrray Frank for Mayer Frank
Roselin Wagner for Anna Seider
Jerrald Weinstein for Abraham Weinstein

WITHIN OUR FAMILY
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

SUN. JULY 20. 10:15 am: Join us on a bus trip to the
JEWISH MUSEUM on Fifth Ave, where we will tour the
Permanent Exhibit (recently updated) with a docent and view
the two special exhibits, The Art of Mel Bochner and Other
Primary Structures. The cost will be $50 per person, [$45
for paid-up Men's Club members-Limit 2 per member] which
includes the bus, entrance fees and docent fee. 10% discount
for lunch at the Museum cafe. Family and friends are
welcome. Please respond early. Call Hilly Milun 504-0320
or Mark Friedman 384-5491

Mazal Tov to Helaine & William Helmreich on the
upcoming marriage of their daughter, Deborah to Dr.
Josh Halpern, son of Dr. Allan & Dr. Judy Halpern of
Scarsdale, NY.
Mazal Tov to Mehri & Asher Davoudpour on the birth
of a granddaughter, born to their children Leah & David
Davoudpour.
Mazal Tov to Irene & Paul Marcus on the engagement
of their daughter Gabriela to Jonathan Schwartz son
of Hendel & Eric Schwartz of Los Angeles.
Mazal Tov to Randi & Michael Barenholtz on the
upcoming marriage of their son Eric to Adena Stern.

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.
ANNUAL MEETING/YOM YERUSHALAYIM
Please join us on Wednesday, May 28
th
at 8:30pm for
the Great Neck Synagogue Annual Meeting as we induct new
members, elect new officers, pay tribute to departed mem-
bers, present the Jack Shaw Service Award to Steven
Blumner and David Rein. A short film commemorating
Yom Yerushalayim will be shown. Light dinner will be served.
We look forward to seeing you there!
COMMUNITY NEWS
SAVE THE DATE
On Monday, June 9th, One Israel Fund will be holding their 20th
Anniversary Dinner. Sarita & Ben Greszes will be among the
honorees that evening. For more information please contact
dinner@oneisraelfund.org or call 516-239-9202.
ROSH CHODESH SIVAN CHALLAH BAKE
On Thursday, May 29th @10 am in the home of Dahlia
Abraham-Klein. In the Torah, Shavuot is described as an
agricultural festival. Our ancestors were required to bring
Shtei HaLechem, two loaves of wheat bread to the Holy
Temple. To RSVP or for more info, please email:
dahliaklein@verizon.net
REFUAH SHLEIMA IN OUR COMMUNITY
In an effort to allow the community to reach out to our members
who have had any medical issues that have precluded their coming
to GNS, we will include a corner in the Shabbat Announcements for
any names to be distributed to the congregation. Of course, those
who wish to keep any news confidential can continue to do so,
without being included. Please inform us of anyone who should be
included in this section of the announcements. This section in our
newsletter is to let people know that we are thinking of them even
if they cannot be in Shul at this time and to encourage people to
call, email or visit when appropriate. Names for a mishabayrach
should continue to be given in Shul at time of davening and will not
be listed in this section.
COMMUNITY NEWS
SALUTE TO ISRAEL PARADE
This Sunday June 1, is the Salute To Israel Parade on Fifth
Avenue in NYC. Please show your support for the State of
Israel by being counted as a supporter of Israel.