נא לא לדבר בשעת התפילהPLEASE NO CONVERSATION DURING SERVICES

Sunday (7/24)

Monday (7/25)

Tuesday (7/26)

Wednesday (7/27)

Thursday (7/28)

Friday (7/29)

Fast Begins 4:34 AM

Earliest Talit 4:42 AM 4:43 AM 4:44 AM 4:45 AM 4:46 AM 4:48 AM

Shacharit 8:00 AM 6:15 AM 6:25 AM 6:25 AM 6:15 AM 6:25 AM

Gedolah 1:40 PM 1:40 PM 1:40 PM 1:40 PM 1:40 PM 1:39 PM

Mincha - Maariv 7:50 PM 8:05 PM 8:05 PM 8:05 PM 8:05 PM 7:00 PM

Shkia 8:21 PM 8:20 PM 8:19 PM 8:18 PM 8:17 PM

Tzait/ Fast Ends (Sun) 9:06 PM 9:05 PM 9:04 PM 9:03 PM 9:02 PM

Rabbi Ely Shestack President Aryeh Brenenson

בס”ד

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WEEKDAY DAVENING INFORMATION

שבת פרשת בלקSHABBAT PARSHAT BALAK

17 TAMUZ/JULY 23Haftorah is Micah 5:6-6:8. Chapter6 of Pirkei Avot.

FRIDAY NIGHTEARLIEST CANDLES - 6:51 PMMINCHA - 7:00 PM CANDLE LIGHTING - 8:05 PMTZAIT - 9:08 PM

SATURDAYCHUMASH SHIUR - 8:00 AM SHACHARIT YOUTH - 8:20 AMSHACHARIT MAIN - 8:45 AMLAST KRIAT SHEMA - 9:24 AMMINCHA - 7:50 PMSHKIA - 8:22 PMMAARIV/HAVDALAH - 9:07 PM

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

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

Mazel Tov to Ilana & Nate Schwitzer on Erica’s marriage to Chaim Pizem. May they be zoche to build a bayit neeman b’yisroel!

Mazel Tov to Lisa & Jacob Eis on the birth of a grandson to Robert & Lindsay. לתורה חופה ומעשים טובים

Suedah Shlishit is sponsored by the Wigod and Sokoloff families in memory of Cheryl Wigodע”ה. May her neshama have an aliyah.

We regret to inform you of the passing of Gershon Dubin, beloved father of Zvi Dubin.

המקום ינחם אתכם עם שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים ולא תדעו לדאבה עוד

Sisterhood Book Club will be meeting this Shabbat, 4:00 PM, at the home of Shelly Winchester (19-18 Angelo Ter.), discussing Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. 

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.

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Kiddush InformationKiddush cleanup for the month of

July is Sonnenblick, Spier, Stock, Strich, Vann, Wechselr, Weinraub, Wigod, Winchester, Wolfson, Zarabi, Zezon, Agress, Banner, Baron Kiddush setup for this Shabbat is

Agress, Ben-Biniyamin, Shanblatt Kiddush setup for next Shabbat is

Eisman, Strich, Bernstein To sponsor a Kiddush

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

Adult Education

CHUMASH CLASS - Shabbat morning before Shacharit.

Numbers & InfoERUV UPDATE – By Email Only. To

subscribe, email fairlawneruv-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. MIKVAH – 201-796-0350. At

Shomrei Torah, weekdays 9:00 PM–10:30 PM, Motzei Shabbat from 11/4 hours after Shabbat ends for 1.5 hours. Kaylim Mikvah: Sunday 10 AM-3 PM TWITTER: @AhavatAchimFL FACEBOOK: facebook.com/

groups/ahavat.achim/

Mah JongNext Mah Jong will be July 30 at 4:00

PM at the home of Eita Latkin.

Gita Cooperwasserע”ה

Youth ProgramNo Youth Groups! Have a great

summer!

Sisterhood Book ClubSisterhood Book

Club will next read Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand. Details to come!

Upcoming EventsJuly 24 - Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg

shiur between Mincha & Maariv in memory of Cheryl Wigodע”ה Aug. 6 - Kiddush sponsored by the

Weinraubs in honor of Leron’s Auf Ruf and upcoming wedding to Allison Montal Sept. 17 - New Rebetzin Tea Nov. 6 - Mitzvah Day (10 AM - Noon) Feb. 11 - Yachad Shabbaton March 11 - Michael Riskin Bar Mitzvah

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.

The Three Weeks (From the Ezras Torah Luach)

The period between the Seventeenth of Tamuz until after Tisha B'Av is called "בין המצרים" — “between the straits” (based upon the verse in Lamentations 1:3) because of the multiple tragedies that have occurred to the Jewish people throughout the ages during these three weeks. Among the worst of the tragedies are the destruction of both Holy Temples, the end of Jewish Sovereignty for almost 2,000 years, and the exile from Eretz Yisroel. The custom is for us to manifest some signs of mourning during this period. Therefore, we do not make weddings or take haircuts during these three weeks. Because it is a time of national catastrophe, we do not make the Bracha שהחיינו (so as to avoid the Bracha שהחיינו we do not eat a new fruit [unless that fruit would be unobtainable afterward] or purchase an expensive article of clothing that would require the Bracha שהחיינו, during these three weeks [the custom is to make the Bracha on Shabbat].

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 rjsafier@optonline.net for details.

Yahrzeit Plaques Memorialize a loved one and receive written notice of upcoming yahrzeit every year. In addition, your loved one’s name will be mentioned during the public Yizkor we recite on Yom Kippur and in the Bulletin. Plaques are $300 for members and $350 for non-members. For more information, contact Sophie Infield at 791-5518.

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) / $500 paid in advance for non-members, plus the cost of any additional clean up (plus a $150 security 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 Winchester at sewinchester58@gmail.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

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Please join us for a Memorial Shiur commemorating the 13th Yahrzeit of Cheryl Wigodע”ה this Sunday between Mincha (7:50 PM) and Maariv, the 17th of Tammuz, featuring Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg discussing “Rebuilding Hashem's Home with Love and Jewish Unity,” a discussion on Ahavat Yisrael, Achdut and Jewish solidarity! See the flyer for more details.

MISCELLANEOUS

Rabbi’s Office Hours Coming soon!

Become a Member of Ahavat AchimPlease contact President Aryeh at abrenenson@gmail.com for details on membership.

Bikkur Cholim/Chesed Committee If someone needs a visit/assistance, contact Sara Levine at saralevine06@gmail.com or Mary Lisa Katter at kenkatter541@gmail.com. Speak to Sara to join the committee and offer assistance in the manner that’s most conducive to your schedule.

Personal AnnouncementsVarious life cycle events related to members are announced in the shul’s weekly bulletin (e.g., births, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and deaths), and the bulletin acknowledges travel to/from Israel for study. We also welcome new members and those who’ve moved into the community and express interest in our shul. Other personal announcements generally are not appropriate for inclusion in the bulletin, except as part of the bulletin’s dedication (a $36 cost - $54 with photo). Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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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.

The 17th of Tammuz (From OU.org) The 17th day in the Jewish month of Tammuz, Jews the world over fast and lament to commemorate the many calamities that have befallen our people on this ominous day. The purpose of such fasts in the Jewish calendar is, according to Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov's Book of Our Heritage, "to awaken hearts towards repentance through recalling our forefathers' misdeeds; misdeeds which led to calamities..."

Going all the way back to Biblical times, Moses descended Mount Sinai on this day and, upon seeing the Golden Calf broke the first set of Tablets carrying the Ten Commandments (Shemot 32:19, Mishna Taanit 28b).

In the First Temple Era: The priests in the First Temple stopped offering the daily sacrifice on this day (Taanit 28b) due to the shortage of sheep during the siege and the next year 3184 (586 BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were breached after many months of siege by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces.

In Melachim II 21:7 we find that King Menashe, one of the worst of the Jewish kings, had an idol placed in the Holy Sanctuary of the Temple, according to tradition on this date. The Talmud, in Masechet Taanit 28b, says that in the time of the Roman persecution, Apostomos, captain of the occupation forces, did the same, and publicly burned the Torah - both acts considered open blasphemy and desecration. These were followed by Titus and Rome breaching the walls of Jerusalem in 3760 (70 CE) and Pope Gregory IX ordering the confiscation of all manuscripts of the Talmud in 4999 (1239).

In later years this day continued to be a dark one for Jews. In 1391, more than 4,000 Jews were killed in Toledo and Jaen, Spain and in 4319 (1559) the Jewish Quarter of Prague was burned and looted. The Kovno ghetto was liquidated on this day in 5704 (1944) and in 5730 (1970) Libya ordered the confiscation of Jewish property.

Other interesting occurrences on this day include Noach sending out the first dove to see if the Flood waters had receded, (Bereishit 8:8) in 1650 (2100 BCE); Moshe Rabbeinu destroying the golden calf, (Shemot 32:20, Seder Olam 6, Taanit 30b - Rashi) and then ascending back up Har Sinai for the second time where he spent the next forty days pleading for forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf, (Shemot 33:11, Rashi).

The Mishna in Ta'anit 4:8 associates the 17th of Tammuz as the "Fast of the Fourth Month" mentioned by the prophet Zechariah. According to this Mishna, the 17th of Tammuz will be transformed in the messianic era in a day that"shall be joy to the House of Judah" full of "gladness and cheerful feasts".

The fast of the 17th of Tammuz is observed from the break of dawn until night (as defined by halacha), one of four Jewish fasts to be observed in this manner - 3 Tishrei, 10 Tevet, 13 Adar and 17 of Tammuz. Expecting or nursing mothers and those who are ill are expected to observe the fast but with lenience, refraining from meat, luxurious food and hard liquor. Minors that are old enough to understand, though exempt from fasting, should also be fed only simple foods as a manner of education. Unlike the two Jewish fast days Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av, washing and wearing leather are permitted on this day. Special prayers (vayechal and anenu) are added to the morning and afternoon prayers. Ashkenazim add the latter only in the afternoon service (mincha). This day is the beginning of the Three Weeks, an annual period of mourning over the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem.

What Makes God Laugh

Balak 2016 / 5776

There is an old saying that what makes God laugh is seeing our plans for the future. However, if 1

Tanakh is our guide, what makes God laugh is human delusions of grandeur. From the vantage point of heaven, the ultimate absurdity is when humans start thinking of themselves as godlike.

There are several pointed examples in the Torah. One whose full import has only recently become clear occurs in the story of the Tower of Babel. Men gather together in the plain of Shinar and decide to build a city and a tower “that will reach to heaven.” As it happens, we have archeological confirmation of this fact. Several Mesopotamian ziggurats, including the temple of Marduk in Babylon, have been found with inscriptions saying that they reach heaven. 2

The idea was that tall buildings – man-made mountains – allowed humans to climb to the dwelling place of the gods and thus communicate with them. The Mesopotamian city states were among the first places of civilisation, itself one of the turning points in the history of human life on earth. Before the birth of agriculture, the ancients lived in fear of nature: of predators, of other tribes and bands, and of the vicissitudes of heat and cold, drought and flood. Their fate depended on matters beyond their control.

Only with the spread of domesticated animals and agriculture did people gather in towns, then cities, then empires. A tipping point occurred in the balance of power between nature and

The John Lennon version is: “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”1

The tower of Babel is referred to in the Enuma Elish as “Esagila,” which means “the house of the lifting up of the head.” 2

Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar both repaired this building, inscriptions to which say that they “raised high the head” of the tower “to rival the heavens.” Nahum Sarna, Understanding Genesis, 73.

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culture. For the first time humans were not confined to adapting to their environment. They could adapt their environment to suit them. At this point they – especially the rulers – began to see themselves as gods, demigods, or people with the power to influence the gods.

The most conspicuous symbol of this was buildings on a monumental scale: the ziggurats of Babylon and other Mesopotamian cities, and the pyramids of Egypt. Built on the flat land of the Tigris-Euphrates valley and the Nile delta, they towered over their surroundings. The great pyramid of Giza, built even before the birth of Abraham, was so monumental that it remained the tallest man-made structure on earth for four thousand years.

The fact that these were artificial mountains built by human hands suggested to their builders that humans had acquired godlike powers. They had constructed a stairway to heaven. Hence the significance of the phrase in the Torah’s account of the tower, “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.” This is God laughing. On earth, humans thought they had reached the sky, but to God the building was so infinitesimal, so microscopic that he had to come down even to see it. Only with the invention of flight do we now know how small the tallest building looks when you are looking down from a mere 30,000 feet.

To end their hubris God simply “confused their language”. They no longer understood one another. The entire project was turned into French farce. We can visualise the scene. A foreman calls for a brick and is handed a hammer. He tells a worker to go right and he turns left. The project foundered in a welter of incomprehension. Men thought they could climb to heaven but in the end they could not even understand what the person next to them was saying. The unfinished tower became a symbol of the inevitable failure of vaunting ambition. The builders achieved what they sought but not in the way they intended. They wanted to “make a name for themselves” and they succeeded, but instead of becoming a byword for man’s ability to reach the sky, Babel became babble, an emblem of confusion. Hubris became nemesis.

The second example was Egypt during the early plagues. Moses and Aaron turned the water of the Nile into blood, and filled Egypt with frogs. We then read that the Egyptian magicians did likewise to show that they had the same power. So concerned were they to show that they could do what the Hebrews could do, that they entirely failed to realise that they were making things worse, not better. The real skill would have been to turn blood back into water, and make frogs not appear but disappear.

We hear the Divine laughter especially in the third plague: lice. For the first time, the magicians tried and failed to replicate the effect. Defeated, they turned to Pharaoh and said, “It is the finger of God.” The humour comes when we remember that for the Egyptians the symbol of power was monumental architecture: pyramids, temples, palaces and

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“For the Egyptians the symbol of power was monumental

architecture. God showed them His power by way of the tiniest

of insects, painful yet almost invisible to the eye.”

statues on a massive scale. God showed them His power by way of the tiniest of insects, painful yet almost invisible to the eye. Again hubris became nemesis. When people think they are big, God shows them they are small – and vice versa. It is those who think themselves small – supremely so Moses, the humblest of men – who are truly great.

This explains the otherwise curious episode of Bilam’s talking donkey. This is not a fanciful tale, nor simply a miracle. It arose because of the way the people of Moab and Midian thought of Bilam – and perhaps, by extension, the way he thought of himself. Balak the Moabite king, together with the leaders of the Midianites, sent a delegation to Bilam asking him to curse the Israelites: “Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me … for I know that whom you bless is blessed, and whom you curse is cursed.”

This is a pagan understanding of the holy man: the shaman, the magus, the wonder-worker, the person with access to supernatural powers. The Torah’s view is precisely the opposite. It is God who blesses and curses, not human beings. “I will bless those who bless you and those who curse you I will curse,” God said to Abraham. “They shall place my name on the children of Israel and I will bless them,” he said about the priests. The idea that you can hire a holy man to curse someone essentially presupposes that God can be bribed.

The narrative is admittedly obscure. God tells Bilam not to go. Balak sends a second delegation with a more tempting offer. This time God tells Bilam to go with them but say only what he instructs him to say. The next morning Bilam sets out to go with the Moabites, but the text now states that God was “angry” with him for going. That is when the episode of the donkey takes place.

The donkey sees an angel barring the way. It turns aside into a field but Bilam hits it and forces it back to the path. The angel is still barring the way and the donkey veers into a wall, crushing Bilam’s foot. Bilam hits it again, but finally it lies down and refuses to move. That is when the donkey begins to speak. Bilam then looks up and sees the angel, who had been hitherto invisible to him.

Why did God first tell Bilam not to go, then that he should go, and then was angry when he went? Evidently God could read his mind and knew that Bilam did really want to curse the Israelites. We know this because later, after the attempt to curse the Israelites failed, Bilam succeeded in causing them harm, advising the Midianites to get their women to seduce the Israelite men, thus provoking the anger of God (Num. 31:16). Bilam was no friend of the Israelites.

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“When people think they are big, God shows them they are small – and vice

versa. It is those who think themselves small who are truly great.”

But the story of the talking donkey is another instance of Divine laughter. Here was a man reputed to be a maestro of supernatural forces. People thought he had the power to bless or curse whomever he chose. God, the Torah tells us, is not like that at all. He had two messages, one for the Moabites and Midianites, another for Bilam himself.

He showed the Moabites and Midianites that Israel is not cursed but blessed. The more you attempt to curse them the more they will be blessed and you yourself will be cursed. That is as true today as it was then. There are movements throughout the world to curse the state and people of Israel. The greater the malice of Israel’s enemies, the stronger Israel becomes, and the more disasters its enemies bring upon their own people.

God had a different message for Bilam himself, and it was very blunt. If you think you can control God, then, says God, I will show you that I can turn a donkey into a prophet and a prophet into a donkey. Your animal will see angels to which you yourself are blind. Bilam was forced to admit:

How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

Hubris always eventually becomes nemesis. In a world in which rulers engaged in endless projects of self-aggrandisement, Israel alone produced a literature in which they attributed their successes to God and their failures to themselves. Far from making them weak, this made them extraordinarily strong.

So it is with us as individuals. I have mentioned before a beloved friend, no longer alive, about whom it was said that “he took God so seriously that he didn’t need to take himself seriously at all.” Pagan prophets like Bilam had not yet learned the lesson we must all one day learn: that what matters is not that God does what we want, but that we do what He wants. God laughs at those who think they have godlike powers. The opposite is true. The smaller we see ourselves, the greater we become.

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“God laughs at those who think they have godlike powers. The

opposite is true. The smaller we see ourselves, the greater we become.”