נא לא לדבר בשעת התפילהPLEASE NO CONVERSATION DURING SERVICES

Rabbi Ely Shestack President Aryeh Brenenson

בס”ד

"1

WEEKDAY DAVENING INFORMATION

שבת פרשת ואראSHABBAT PARSHAT VAEIRA

26 TEVET/JANUARY 13Haftorah is Ezekiel 28:25-29:21. We bless Shevat. Don’t say אב הרחמים or א-ל מלא.

FRIDAY NIGHTCANDLE LIGHTING - 4:32 PMMINCHA - 4:35 PM TZAIT - 5:35 PM

SATURDAYHASHKAMA/YOUTH - 8:20 AMCHUMASH SHIUR - 8:30 AMSHACHARIT MAIN - 9:00 AMLAST KRIAT SHEMA - 9:43 AMMINCHA - 4:20 PMSHKIA - 4:51 PM MAARIV/HAVDALAH - 5:36 PM

—————

CONGREGATION AHAVAT ACHIM18-25 SADDLE RIVER ROADFAIR LAWN, NJ 07410-5909201-797-0502WWW.AHAVATACHIM.ORG

BULLETIN INFORMATIONTO REQUEST A BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT (BY 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY) OR DEDICATE A BULLETIN FOR $36 ($54 W/PHOTO), EMAIL SEPLOTNICK@GMAIL.COM.

—————

Molad for Shevat is Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2:25 AM & 2 Chalokim. ראש חדש שבט יהיה ביום רביעי הבא אלינו

ועל כל ישראל לטובה.

Sunday (1/14)

Monday (1/15)

Tuesday (1/16)

Wednesday (1/17)

Thursday (1/18)

Friday (1/19)

Earliest Talit 6:19 AM 6:18 AM 6:18 AM 6:18 AM 6:17 AM 6:17 AM

Shacharit 8:15 AM 6:15 AM 6:25 AM 6:05 AM 6:15 AM 6:25 AM

Gedolah 12:30 PM 12:30 PM 12:30 PM 12:31 PM 12:31 PM 12:32 PM

Mincha - Maariv 4:35 PM 4:45 PM

Maariv Only 8:20 PM 8:20 PM 8:20 PM 8:20 PM

Shkia 4:52 PM 4:53 PM 4:54 PM 4:55 PM 4:56 PM

Tzait 5:37 PM 5:38 PM 5:39 PM 5:40 PM 5:41 PM

Mazel tov to Irene Komet on the birth of a granddaughter, Yocheved, to Sari & Rabbi Shlomie Gelber.

יגדלוה לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים טוביםMay they raise her to Torah, chupah and good deeds.

Men’s Club presents Jewish Migration Patterns - Part 2 (Spain & Germany), by Avraham Groll, Director of JewishGen.org. Sun., Jan. 14, 9:00 AM, with a light breakfast. RSVP to MensClub@AhavatAchim.org or call Elliot at 201-519-7951 ($5 per attendee).

Seudah Shlishit is sponsored by Barry Weinraub & Steven Plotnick in honor of their siyum on Mesechet Shevuos.

Friday night Oneg Shabbat will be at the Schwitzer home, 17-01 Prospect Avenue, 7:30 PM. Rabbi will be speaking on Graven Images, A Grave Mistake: Contemporary Issues of Avodah Zara, in loving memory of Ilana’s Mother Rivka Malka Bat Frecha & Yeish. 

Kiddush is sponsored by the Sonnenblick and Cohen families in honor of Esti's marriage to Orel and Orel's Shabbat Chatan. יעלה הזיווג יפה ויבנו בית נאמן בישראל

May the beautiful couple be elevated in the building of a faithful house of Israel.

Shirley Vann has dedicated this week’s Covenant & Conversation (used with permission of the Office of Rabbi Sacks) in memory of her beloved mother Necha bat Yitzchokע”ה.

"2

Kiddush InformationIf you are around when the Rabbi

says “על המחיה”, your assistance in clean up would be appreciated. Kiddush setup for this Shabbat:

Lewis, Racenstein, Strich Kiddush setup for next Shabbat:

Dworkis, Spier, Gabor To sponsor a Kiddush

($1000/$613/$318 plus scotch) send an email to gplotnick@aol.com.

Adult Education

CHUMASH CLASS - Shabbat morning before Shacharit. GEMARA SHIUR - Winter Hiatus. DAYTIME TORAH VOYAGES -

Thursdays at 2:00 PM. FUNDAMENTALS OF JEWISH

THOUGHT - After Kiddush. PEREK ON THE LAWN, Pirkei

Avot Periodic Shiur.

Community EventsStarting Jan. 21 – Communication:

Its Art and Soul (JLI six-week course), contrasting Jewish thought with scientific discovery to unearth the essence of communication. Presented by Rabbi Bergstein (qualifies for psychologist continuing education credits).  ANSHEI LUBAVITCH, Sundays, 7:30 to 9:00 PM. For more info, email RabbiBergstein@FLChabad.com, or call him at 201-362-2712. Jan. 27 – Tu B’Shvat Cooking

Demonstration, with Chef Meir Levy (classically trained at Johnson & Wales University). DARCHEI NOAM, Sat. night, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM. $30 per person. For info, click here: Chef Levy. Feb. 10 – Whiskey Tasting.

SHOMREI TORAH, Sat. night, 8:00 PM For info, click here: Whiskey.

Gita Cooperwasserע”ה

Youth Program

Please contact Melanie at mkwestel@gmail.com and volunteer to host Chad (our Youth Director) for shabbat and/or meals. Youth groups begin at 10:15 AM. Tot

Shabbat in the playroom. Parents, ensure that your children are

in groups or with you at all times. NO FOOD DURING GROUPS!

Ahavat Achim Future EventsJan. 14 - Men’s Club Breakfast, 9:00 AM Jan. 23 - Homeless Shelter Volunteers

Needed, 6:15 PM - 9:00 PM. RSVP to eligreenbaum@yahoo.com Jan. 31- Board Meeting (Tentative) Feb. 2 - Oneg Shabbat at Sonnenblicks’. Feb. 4 - Hot Cocoa benefit. Feb. 10 - Yachad Shabbaton Feb. 21 - Board Meeting (Tentative) Mar. 17 - Kiddush sponsored by Agress

family in honor of Josh's Aufruf and upcoming marriage to Bronia Goldman Mar. 21- Board Meeting (Tentative) Apr. 25 - Board Meeting (Tentative) May 23 - Board Meeting (Tentative)

Answers to Points To Ponder (3rd) Hashem begins commanding Moshe and Aharon, making them servant rather than

agents. Moshe and Aharon immediate take to the role (v.6) (4th) The plague continuted for 7 more days, while Paroah could mimic the plague, he

couldn't make things better for his people (6th) To know that God is in the land and that there is none other like Him. (7th) That the land of Egypt too belongs to Hashem

Points To Ponder (Answers Below) (3rd aliyah) Hashem develops a new relationship paradigm with Moshe and Aharon in

this aliyah - how does the nature of the relationship change?  (4th aliyah) What happens after Paroah's necromancers repeat the plague of the blood? (6th aliyah) What reason for the 10 plagues bookends this aliyah? (7th aliyah) What reason is given in this aliyah?

Welcome to Gemma & Ari White, and their children Asher, Yoav Nadiv and Leora, who are visiting our community for Shabbat.

WILL YOU BE ON THIS YEAR’S SPONSOR LIST? The Yachad/Yavneh Academy Shabbaton is Feb. 9/10. Please sponsor to defray our costs and support Yachad at the following levels: Platinum-$180, Gold-$118, Silver-$72 & Bronze-$36. Email Steve at seplotnick@gmail.com to sponsor. Contact Lori at

garfmom@gmail.com if you can provide transportation for Yachad children to host homes (need to be at the shul at 4:00 PM Friday night). Email Betsy at estavels@aol.com or Sara at saralevine06@gmail.com to offer housing for our guests. SPONSORS SO FAR: Platinum: Plotnick

Rock Farmers Market is having a hot cocoa sale for the benefit of the Jewish National Fund, and in honor of Tu B’Shvat, at the shul from 10 AM - Noon, on Feb 4. Be on the lookout for more info.

SUPPORT YOUR SHUL

Donate a Sefer, etc. The shul has Siddurim & Machzorim ($36) and Chumashim ($54) available to be donated.  Please contact Jeff Safier at robynsafier@gmail.com for details.

Yahrzeit Plaques Memorialize a loved one with a plaque for $300 for members and $450 for non-members. We will also endeavor to send you written notice of an upcoming yahrzeit, mention your loved one’s name during the public Yizkor and list the yahrzeit in the Bulletin once a year. For more information, email Larry at lardavbern@gmail.com.

ScripScrip is available from Men’s Club. Email David at dmgarfunkel@gmail.com. Pay using Paypal (treasurer@ahavatachim.org) or use Discover, MasterCard or Visa - email treasurer@ahavatachim.org for details.

MishebayrachIf you’ve made a Mishebayrach you’ve pledged to give Tzedakah on behalf of those for whom you asked Hashem's blessing. Contributions to the shul are appropriate and can be made via Paypal to treasurer@ahavatachim.org, or via MasterCard, Visa or Discover by sending info to Steve Winchester (contact him at treasurer@ahavatachim.org). If by check indicate on its face “Aliyah Donation.”

David Schwitzerע”ה Social HallPlease contact Ben Lang at bmmnpl@aol.com to book the David Schwitzerע”ה Social Hall for an event or special occasion. $250 per simcha (members)/$325 for Associates/$400 paid in advance for non-members, plus the cost of any additional clean up (plus a $150 security/cleaning deposit refunded when the social hall is returned in the condition it started in). Private caterers must be approved in advance by the Rabbi.

Sisterhood & Men’s Club Please contact Elliot Greene at egreene@acm.org to join the Men’s Club. To join Sisterhood, please contact Shelly at sewinchester58@gmail.com or Renee at reneeafreund@yahoo.com.

Honoraria Contributions to acquire honoraria in memory or honor of a loved one are welcome. The available Honoraria list will be provided upon request by contacting Steven Plotnick at seplotnick@gmail.com.

Mitzvah CardsWant mitzvah cards, contact Eita Latkin at 791-8940 or parentsof3@aol.com. Cost is $3 per card. Also can be ordered in bulk - ten cards for $25, which you send out yourself privately.

SUPPORT YOUR SHUL

"3

IN SHEVAT WE REMEMBER . . .

NAME HEBREW DATECANDLE EVENING

OF DEDICATOR RELATIONSHIP

Rebecca Malka 6 January 21 Ilana Schwitzer Mother

Leonard Garfinkel 11 January 26 Shelly Winchester Brother

Gloria Bader 18 February 2 Seth Bader Mother

Leo Banner 19 February 3 Burton Banner Father

Herman Levine 20 February 4 Kenny & Mark Levine Father

Herman Levine 20 February 4 Naomi Levine Husband

William Brody 21 February 5 Ron Sokoloff Grandfather

Esther Rozenfeld 21 February 5 Zehava Baron Mother

Isidore Irving Freilich 23 February 7 Eita Latkin Father

Leon Srebnick 23 February 7 Sophie Infield Friend

Frieda Staub Cohen 25 February 9 Gloria Epstein Mother

Goldi Smedresman 27 February 11 Steve Smedresman Grandmother

Jonas Zuckerberg 28 February 12 Sophie Infield Father

Rabbi Hyman Agress 29 February 13 Stephen Agress Father

MISCELLANEOUS

Ahavat Achim Membership/HospitalityContact Arnie at aspier@verizon.net for membership details. For Shabbat hospitality contact Melanie at mkwestel@gmail.com.

Bikkur Cholim/Chesed Committee If someone needs a visit/assistance, contact Sara at saralevine06@gmail.com or Mary Lisa at kenkatter541@gmail.com.

Personal AnnouncementsVarious life cycle events related to members are announced in the bulletin (e.g., births, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and deaths, as well as travel to/from Israel to study). We also welcome new members. Other personal announcements are not appropriate except as part of the bulletin’s dedication (a $36 cost - $54 with photo).

Numbers & InfoERUV – To subscribe for updates, email

fairlawneruv-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Check status at www.fairlawneruv.com or call 201-254-9190. MIKVAH – 201-796-0350. At Shomrei

Torah, 9 PM–10:30 PM, Motzei Shabbat from 1¼ hours after Shabbat ends for 1½ hours. Kaylim Mikvah: Sun. 10 AM-3 PM TWITTER: AhavatAchimFL FACEBOOK: facebook.com/groups/

ahavat.achim/ INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/

ahavatachimfl/?hl=en FLICKR: flickr.com/photos/

ahavatachim/albums

Shul CalendarTo add events to the shul calendar

email Larry at lardavbern@gmail.com

"4

Shirley Vann has dedicated this week’s Covenant & Conversation (used with permission of the Office of Rabbi Sacks) in memory of her beloved mother Necha bat Yitzchokע”ה.

You can help Ahavat Achim's finances and it won't cost you a cent! Just make your regular Amazon purchases via this link: https://smile.amazon.com/. After a one-time set up designating Congregation Ahavat Achim of Fair Lawn as your preferred charity, nothing more for you to do except make your regular Amazon purchases. • Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Ahavat Achim. • AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.

Jewish Federation Super Sunday is Jan. 28. Volunteer, donate or just “ a n s w e r t h e call”. Go online at: www.jfnnj.org/supersunday, or contact Laurie S i e g e l a t 201-820-3956 or e m a i l h e r a t lauries@jfnnj.org.

בס״ד

CONGREGATION AHAVAT ACHIM’S

ONEG SHABBAT LECTURE SERIES

Has Been Changed to Friday, January 12th At the home of Ilana & Nate Schwitzer

17-01 Prospect Avenue At 7:30 PM

This Oneg will be in Loving memory of Ilana’s Mother

Rivka Malka Bat Frecha & Yeish

Please join us for an enjoyable evening of learning with Rabbi Ely Shestack, friends, and

refreshments.

The next Oneg of will be February 2nd. At the home of Betsy & Marty Sonnenblick

The Men’s Club of Ahavat Achim proudly presents:

Jewish Migration Patterns – Part 2 (Spain and Germany)

by Avraham Groll,

Director of JewishGen.Org

ThispresentationwillexplorethepatternsofJewishmigrationbetweenthe8thand14thcenturies,asmajorJewishcentersemergedinSpain,Germany,France,andItaly.SpainandGermanywillbeusedascasestudiestounderstandtheconditionswithintheJewishcommunity,settingthestagefortheeventualshifttowardEasternEurope.

Bothmenandwomenarewelcometoattend. Date: Sunday, January 14, 2018 Time: 9:00 am Place: Congregation Ahavat Achim 18-25 Saddle River Road Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 Food: A light breakfast will be served. Cost: FREE if reservation made by January 10th $5.00 for all others RSVP: By Email: MensClub@AhavatAchim.org By Phone: 201-519-7951 We encourage you to pay your Men’s Club dues if you haven’t done so already ($36 or $25 if you purchase $200 worth of scrip).

Freewill: Use It or Lose It Va’era 2018 / 5778

In parshat Va’era we read for the first time, not of Pharaoh hardening his heart but of God doing so: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,” said God to Moses, “and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 7:3). And so indeed we find in the sixth plague, boils (Ex. 9:12), the eighth, locusts (Ex. 10:1, 20), and the tenth, the firstborn (Ex. 11:10). In each case the hardening is attributed to God.

Hence the problem that troubled the sages and later commentators: if God was the cause and Pharaoh merely His passive vehicle, what was his sin? He had no choice, therefore no responsibility, therefore no culpability. The commentators give a broad range of answers. One: Pharaoh’s loss of freewill during the last five plagues was a punishment for his obstinacy in the first five, where he acted freely. Two: the relevant 1

verb, ch-z-k, does not mean “to harden” but “to strengthen.” God was not taking away Pharaoh’s freewill but, to the contrary, preserving it in the face of the overwhelming disasters that were hitting Egypt. Three: God is 2

a partner in all human action, but we only usually attribute an act to God if it seems inexplicable in ordinary human terms. Pharaoh acted freely throughout, but it was only during the last five plagues that his behaviour was so strange that it was attributed to God. 3

Note how reluctant the commentators were to take the text at face value – rightly so because freewill is one of the fundamental beliefs of Judaism. Maimonides explains why: If we had no free will there would be, he says, no point to the commands and prohibitions, since we would behave as we were predestined to,

This is roughly the position of Maimonides, who argues that after the first five refusals, God “closed the door of repentance” to 1

Pharaoh. See Hilkhot Teshuvah 5:2-3, 6:1-3.

This is the view of Sforno to Ex. 7:3.2

This is the view of Samuel David Luzzatto to Ex. 7:3.3

�Freedom: Use it or Lose it ! Va’era 57781

regardless of what the law is. Nor would there be any justice in reward or punishment since neither the righteous nor the wrongdoer is free to be other than what they are. 4

So the problem is an ancient one. But it has become much more salient in modern times because of 5

the sheer accumulation of challenges to the belief in human freedom. Marx said history is formed by the play of economic forces. Freud argued that we are what we are because of unconscious drives. Neo-Darwinians say that however we rationalise our behaviour, we do what we do because people who behaved this way in the past survived to hand on their genes to future generations. Most recently, neuroscientists have shown, using fMRI scans, that in some cases our brain registers a decision up to seven seconds before we are consciously aware of it. 6

All of this is interesting and important, but contemporary secularists usually fail to see what the ancient sages knew: that if we genuinely lack freewill, our entire sense of what it is to be human will crumble into dust. There is a glaring contradiction at the heart of our culture. On the one hand, secularists believe that nothing should constrain our freedom to choose to do whatever we want to do, or be whatever we want to be, so long as we do not harm others. Their supreme value is autonomous choice. On the other hand, secularists tell us that human freedom does not exist. Why then should we invoke freedom-to-choose as a value if it is, according to science, an illusion?

If hard determinism is true, there is no reason to honour liberty or create a free society. To the contrary: we should embrace Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where children are conceived and hatched in laboratories, and adults programmed to stay happy by a regime of drugs and pleasure. We should implement the scenario of Anthony Burgess’s The Clockwork Orange, in which criminals are reformed by brain surgery or conditioning. If freedom does not exist, why be bothered by the addictive nature of computer games and social media? Why prefer genuine reality to virtual reality? It was Nietzsche who rightly observed that the greater our scientific achievements, the lower our view of the human person. No longer the image of God, we have become mere incarnated algorithms.

The truth is that the more we understand about the human brain, the better able we are to describe what free action really is. At present, scientists distinguish between the amygdala, the most primitive part of the brain, conditioned to sensitise us to potential danger; the limbic system, sometimes called the “social brain,” which is responsible for much of our emotional life; and the prefrontal cortex, which is analytical and capable of dispassionately weighing the consequences of alternative choices. The tensions 7

Maimonides, Hilkhot Teshuvah, 5:4.4

It was raised by Aristotle also.5

See https://www.nature.com/news/2008/080411/full/news.2008.751.html.6

The amygdala and the limbic system are what the Zohar and other Jewish mystical texts call the nefesh ha-behamit, the “animal 7

soul” within us.

�Freedom: Use it or Lose it ! Va’era 57782

“If we genuinely lack freewill, our entire sense of

what it is to be human will crumble into dust.”

between these three form the arena within which personal freedom is won or lost.

Patterns of behaviour are shaped by neural pathways connecting different parts of the brain, but not all of them are good for us. So, for instance, we might turn to drugs or binge eating or thrill-seeking to distract us from some of the unhappy chemicals – fears and anxieties, for instance – that are also part of the architecture of the brain. The more often we do so, the more myelin gets wrapped around the pathway, and the more rapid and instinctive the behaviour. So the more often we behave in certain ways, the harder it is to break the habit and create a new and different pathway. To do so requires the acquisition of new habits, acted on consistently for an extended period of time. Current scientific thinking suggests that a minimum of 66 days is needed to form a new habit. 8

So we now have a scientific way of explaining the hardening taking place in Pharaoh’s heart. Having established a pattern of response to the first five plagues, he would find it progressively more difficult at every level – neuro-scientifically, psychologically and politically – to change. The same is true of every bad habit and political decision. Almost all our structures, mental and social, tend to reinforce previous patterns of behaviour. So our freedom diminishes every time we fail to exercise it.

If so, then today’s parsha and contemporary science tell the same story: that freedom is not a given, nor is it an absolute. We have to work for it. We acquire it slowly in stages, and we can lose it, as Pharaoh lost his, and as drug addicts, workaholics, and people addicted to computer games lose theirs. In one of the most famous opening lines in all literature, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote, at the beginning of The Social Contract, that “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” In fact, the opposite is true. Our early character is determined partly by DNA – the genetic heritage of our parents and theirs – partly by our home and upbringing, partly by our friends , and partly by the surrounding culture. We are not born free. We have to 9

work hard to achieve freedom.

That takes rituals, whose repeated performance creates new neural pathways and new rapid-response behaviour. It requires a certain calibrated distance from the surrounding culture, if we are not to be swept away by social fads and fashions that seem liberating now but destructive in retrospect. It needs a mental mindset that pauses before any significant action and asks, “Should I do this? May I do this? What rules of conduct should I bring to bear?” It involves an internalised narrative of identity, so that we can ask of any course of action, “Is this who I am and what I stand for?”

It is no accident that the elements listed in the previous paragraph are all prominent features of Judaism, which turns out to be an ongoing seminar in willpower and impulse control. Now that we are

One easily accessible recent book on the subject is Loretta Graziano Breunin, Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost 8

Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels, Adams Media, 2016.

See Judith Harris, The Nurture Assumption, Free Press, 2009.9

�Freedom: Use it or Lose it ! Va’era 57783

“We are not born free. We have to work hard to

achieve freedom.”

beginning to understand the plasticity of the brain, we know at least a little of the neuroscience that lies behind the ability to overcome bad habits and addictions. Keeping Shabbat, for example, has the power to liberate us and our children from smartphone addiction and all that goes with it. The religion whose first festival, Pesach, celebrates collective freedom, gives us, in its rituals, the skills we need for personal freedom.

Freedom is less a gift than an achievement. Even a Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the ancient world, could lose it. Even a nation of slaves could, with the help of God, acquire it. Never take freedom for granted. It needs a hundred small acts of self-control daily, which is what halakhah, Jewish law, is all about.

Freedom is a muscle that needs to be exercised: use it or lose it. That is a life-transforming idea.

Shabbat shalom,

�Freedom: Use it or Lose it ! Va’era 57784

LIFE-CHANGING IDEAS IN SEFER SHEMOT

• SHEMOT: When you learn to listen to views different from your own, realising that they are not threatening but enlarging, then you have discovered the life-changing idea of argument for the sake of heaven.

• VA’ERA: Freedom is a muscle that needs to be exercised: use it or lose it.

LIFE-CHANGING IDEA #14

Freedom is a muscle that needs to be exercised: use it or lose it.

THE POLITICS OF HOPE

Entitled 'The Politics of Hope', this new whiteboard animation video from Rabbi Sacks looks at the rise of the ‘politics of anger’ in the West today and explores whether it might be possible to create a different kind of politics: the ‘politics of hope’. Go to www.rabbisacks.org/the-politics-of-hope/ to see the first in a series of six videos being released this year.