נא לא לדבר בשעת התפילהPLEASE NO CONVERSATION DURING SERVICES

Sunday (5/3)

Monday (5/4)

Tuesday (5/5)

Wednesday (5/6)

Thursday (5/7)

Friday (5/8)

Earliest Talit 4:52 AM 4:51 AM 4:50 AM 4:48 AM 4:47 AM 4:45 AM

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

Gedolah 1:29 PM 1:29 PM 1:29 PM 1:29 PM 1:29 PM 1:29 PM

Mincha- Maariv 7:25 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM

Shkia 7:55 PM 7:56 PM 7:57 PM 7:58 PM 7:59 PM

Tzait 8:40 PM 8:41 PM 8:42 PM 8:43 PM 8:44 PM

Rabbi Uri Goldstein President Steven Winchester

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WEEKDAY DAVENING INFORMATION

שבת פרשת אחרי-קדושיםSHABBAT PARSHAT ACHAREI-

KEDOSHIM13 IYAR- MAY 2

Haftorah is Amos 9:7-15. Pirkei Avot Chap. 3. The final time for kiddush levanah of Iyar is Sunday night, May 3, until 8:49 PM.

FRIDAY NIGHTMINCHA - 7:00 PMCANDLE LIGHTING - 7:35 PMTZAIT - 8:38 PM

SATURDAYCHUMASH SHIUR - 8:00 AMSHACHARIT YOUTH - 8:20 AMSHACHARIT MAIN - 8:45 AM LAST KRIAT SHEMA - 9:24 AM GEMARA SHIUR - 6:25 PMMINCHA - 7:25 PMSHKIA - 7:54 PM MAARIV/HAVDALAH - 8:39 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

Our gratitude to those who contributed their time and effort to the 2015 OU Communities Home and Job Relocation Fair that Ahavat Achim chaired and was co-sponsored by Darchei Noam. Thanks to all who manned the stations and helped set up our Fair Lawn booth, including Rabbi Goldstein who was present all afternoon interacting with many people wanting to learn more about the community, Special thanks to Aryeh Brenenson, Stu

Oppenheim & Jonathan Shachter for manning the stations and making sure our visitors were well fed and provided with information and balloons (Plenty of hot air - or should I say helium - to go around!) Thanks to the Steinberg family and Zaydies for providing cakes, and to those people who helped cutting up and packaging 500 pieces Saturday night, and to Andrea Riskin, Aryeh Brenenson and to the Darchei Noam members for getting the baskets ready. Hakoras Hatov to Evi Dworkis who got the brochure completed for the fair, as well as those that provided insight into the layout, design and content. Thanks to Marshal Willen of Darchei who assisted with editing and contributed to the message, and to Mitch Kempin and MJM Impressions for doing a great job with printing the brochure and the real estate flyer. Joe "Yossi" Kapon of ReMax was especially helpful and supportive in getting us information about Fair Lawn real estate. Melanie Kwestel did a tremendous job with the power point presentation that portrayed our community beautifully via her persistence and attention to detail. Thanks to Andy Solomon for consulting on this as well. Aryeh was incredible in acquiring banners, posters, our Fair "lawn", balloons, and setting up the display that was well received and did a terrific job "al regel  achas,"  OU recognized our presentation as better than ever. Thank you to Darchei Noam, Rabbi Donath,  Marshall Willen, and other members of their community for their contribution, presence at the fair and commitment, and for Rabbi Donath's arranging the cake and delivery of the food. 147 people were on the Fair Lawn list interested in our community. There is much planning that needs to be done and follow-up required with those not only on the list, but in communities throughout the NY area that need to be informed about Fair Lawn---and specifically AHAVAT ACHIM.  Don’t let the responsibility fall on a few shoulders.  We have ideas as to how to proceed and follow up with the 147 that will include mailings, phone calls, organizing a breakfast/brunch, tours of the community, shabbatonim at the sponsoring Shuls, etc. Everything is on the table and all ideas are welcome. Don’t wait to be asked to be part of an initiative that is so vital to our community.  Let’s not lose any steam! You see what can be done by a few, now imagine what can be done by many! Contact the Rabbi or Steve Winchester with a YES, you want to be part of this initiative. Finally, a big thank you to our President, Steve Winchester, without whom none of this would have been possible!

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

May is Dworkis, Eis, Eisman, Finkelstien, Fontaine, Freund, Gabor, Garfunkel, Goldgur, Goldstein Kiddush setup for this Shabbat is

Fontaine, Goldstein, Stern Kiddush setup for next Shabbat is

Halpern, Infield, Stock To sponsor a Kiddush

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

Adult Education

GEMARAH SHIUR - Rabbi's Shabbat afternoon gemarah shiur takes place one hour before Mincha. CHUMASH CLASS - Gerry

Halpern’s Class - Shabbat morning before Shacharit.

Numbers & InfoERUV UPDATE – 201-797-0502 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/

Gita Cooperwasserע”ה

Youth ProgramThis Shabbat the

youth leaders are: Helene Brenenson

(Floater), Serena Freund & Oren Oppenheim (Beit Midrash - Aleph), and Ben Shanblatt & Hannah Levine (Purple Room - Group Bet). May 24 - Shavuot ice cream party,

4:00 PM, Bernstein’s, 13-03 Tanis Pl.

Upcoming EventsMay 5 - Board Meeting May 9 - Shimshon Goldstein Bar Mitzvah May 13 - Norpac Mission to Washington May 16 - Eli Schachter Bar Mitzvah May 23 - Suedah Shlishit sponsored by

Eli Zezon in memory of שלמה בן אליהוע”ה May 25 - Kiddush is sponsored by the

Schwitzers in honor of their son Dr. Jonathan’s graduation from Mt. Sinai Ichan School of Medicine and acceptance to Georgetown’s plastic surgery residency program June 6 - Matthew Levine Bar Mitzvah June 6 - Suedah Shlishit sponsored by Eli

Zezon in memory of ברוך מפציר בן שמואלע”ה June 20 - Kiddush sponsored by the

Schwitzers in honor of Jason’s Aufruf and upcoming wedding to Alicia Cohen July 18 - Kiddush sponsored by the Kor

family in honor of the upcoming marriage of Rachel to Yoni Edelman July 25 - Ben Greenbaum Bar Mitzvah Aug. 1 - Kiddush in honor of Andrew

Wigod’s Aufruf, and upcoming wedding to Kira Batist Oct. 3 - Hadassah & Hadar Schachter

B'Not Mitzvah Feb. 13 - Ben Wechsler Bar Mitzvah

Pack 613Apr. 26 - Den Meeting May 3 - Den Meeting May 10 - Den Meeting May 17 - NJ Kinus May 31 - Final Den

Meeting

The SisterhoodGet your Mitzvah cards! Contact

Eita Latkin at parentsof3@aol.com to have an acknowledgement of a Simcha, a refuah

shelayma or to extend condolences.

Friday Evening, May 1

Saturday Evening, May 2

Sunday Evening, May 3

Monday Evening, May 4

Tuesday Evening, May 5

Wednesday Evening, May 6

Thursday Evening, May 7

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The Scapegoat: Shame and Guilt Acharei Mot - Kedoshim - 25 April 2015 / 6 Iyar 5775

The strangest and most dramatic element of the service on Yom Kippur, set out in Acharei Mot (Lev. 16: 7-22), was the ritual of the two goats, one offered as a sacrifice, the other sent away into the desert “to Azazel.” They were to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from one another: they were chosen to be as similar as possible in size and appearance. They were brought before the High Priest and lots were drawn, one bearing the words “To the Lord,” the other, “To Azazel.” The one on which the lot “To the Lord” fell was offered as a sacrifice. Over the other the High Priest confessed the sins of the nation and it was then taken away into the desert hills outside Jerusalem where it plunged to its death. Tradition tells us that a red thread would be attached to its horns, half of which was removed before the animal was sent away. If the rite had been effective, the red thread would turn to white. Much is puzzling about the ritual. First, what is the meaning of “to Azazel,” to which the second goat was sent? It appears nowhere else in Scripture. Three major theories emerged as to its meaning. According to the sages and Rashi it meant “a steep, rocky or hard place,” in other words a description of its destination. According to the Torah the goat was sent “to a desolate area” (el eretz gezerah, Lev. 16: 22). According to the sages it was taken to a steep ravine where it fell to its death. That, according to the first explanation, is the meaning of Azazel. The second, suggested cryptically by Ibn Ezra and explicitly by Nahmanides, is that Azazel was the name of a spirit or demon, one of the fallen angels referred to in Genesis 6:2, similar to the goat-spirit called Pan in Greek mythology, Faunus in Latin. This is a difficult idea, which is why Ibn Ezra alluded to it, as he did in similar cases, by way of a riddle, a puzzle, that only the wise would be able to decipher. He writes: “I will reveal to you part of the secret by hint: when you reach thirty-three you will know it.” Nahmanides reveals the secret. Thirty three verses later

on, the Torah commands: “They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols [seirim] after whom they go astray” (Lev. 17: 7).

Azazel, on this reading, is the name of a demon or hostile force, sometimes called Satan or Samael. The Israelites were categorically forbidden to worship such a force. Indeed the belief that there are powers at work in the universe distinct from, or even hostile to, God, is incompatible with Judaic monotheism. Nonetheless, some sages did believe that there were negative forces that were part of the heavenly retinue, like Satan, who brought accusations against humans or tempted them into sin. The goat sent into the wilderness to Azazel was a way of conciliating or propitiating such forces so that the prayers of Israel could rise to heaven without, as it were, any dissenting voices. This way of understanding the rite is similar to the saying on the part of the sages that we blow shofar in a double cycle on Rosh Hashanah “to confuse Satan.” 1

The third interpretation and the simplest is that Azazel is a compound noun meaning “the

goat [ez] that was sent away [azal].” This led to the addition of a new word to the English language. In 1530 William Tyndale produced the first English translation of the Hebrew Bible, an act then illegal and for which he paid with his life. Seeking to translate Azazel into English, he called it “the escapegoat,” i.e. the goat that was sent away and released. In the course of time the first letter was dropped, and the word “scapegoat” was born.

The real question though is: what was the ritual actually about? It was unique. Sin and guilt offerings are familiar features of the Torah and a normal part of the service of the Temple. The service of Yom Kippur was different in one salient respect. In every other case the sin was confessed over the animal that was sacrificed. On Yom Kippur, the High Priest confessed the sins of the people over the animal that was not sacrificed, the scapegoat that was sent away, “carrying on it all their iniquities” (Lev. 16: 21-22). The simplest and most compelling answer was given by Maimonides in The Guide for the Perplexed:

There is no doubt that sins cannot be carried like a burden, and taken off the shoulder of one being to be laid on that of another being. But these ceremonies are of a symbolic character, and serve to impress people with a certain idea, and to induce them to repent – as if to say, we have freed ourselves of our previous deeds, have cast them behind our backs, and removed them from us as far as possible. 2

Expiation demands a ritual, some dramatic representation of the removal of sin and the wiping-clean of the past. That is clear. Yet Maimonides does not explain why Yom Kippur demanded a rite not used on other days of the year when sin or guilt offerings were brought. Why was the first goat, the one of which the lot “To the Lord” fell and which was offered as a sin offering (Lev. 16: 9) not sufficient?

The answer lies in the dual character of the day. The Torah states:

Rosh Hashanah 16b.1

The Guide for the Perplexed, III: 46.2

“The real question though is: what was the

ritual actually about.”

This shall be an eternal law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must fast and not do any work … This is because on this day you shall have all your sins atoned [yechaper], so that you will be cleansed [le-taher]. Before God you will be cleansed of all your sins. (Lev. 16: 29-30)

Two quite distinct processes were involved on Yom Kippur. First there was kapparah, atonement. This is the normal function of a sin offering. Second, there was teharah, purification, something normally done in a different context altogether, namely the removal of tumah, ritual defilement, which could arise from a number of different causes, among them contact with a dead body, skin disease, or nocturnal discharge. Atonement has to do with guilt. Purification has to do with contamination or pollution. These are usually two separate worlds. On Yom Kippur they 3

were brought together. Why?

We owe to anthropologists like Ruth Benedict the distinction between shame cultures 4

and guilt cultures. Shame is a social phenomenon. It is what we feel when our wrongdoing is exposed to others. It may even be something we feel when we merely imagine other people knowing or seeing what we have done. Shame is the feeling of being found out, and our first instinct is to hide. That is what Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden after they had eaten the forbidden fruit. They were ashamed of their nakedness and they hid.

Guilt is a personal phenomenon. It has nothing to do with what others might say if they knew what we have done, and everything to do with what we say to ourselves. Guilt is the voice of conscience, and it is inescapable. You may be able to avoid shame by hiding or not being found out, but you cannot avoid guilt. Guilt is self-knowledge.

There is another difference, which explains why Judaism is overwhelmingly a guilt rather than a shame culture. Shame attaches to the person. Guilt attaches to the act. It is almost impossible to remove shame once you have been publicly disgraced. It is like an indelible stain on your skin. Shakespeare has Lady Macbeth say, after her crime, “Will these hands ne’er be clean?” In shame cultures, wrongdoers tend either to go into exile, where no one knows their past, or to commit suicide. Playwrights have them die.

Guilt makes a clear distinction between the act of wrongdoing and the person of the wrongdoer. The act was wrong, but the agent remains, in principle, intact. That is why guilt can be removed, “atoned for,” by confession, remorse and restitution. “Hate not the sinner but the sin,” is the basic axiom of a guilt culture.

Normally sin and guilt offerings, as their names imply, are about guilt. They atone. But Yom Kippur deals not only with our sins as individuals. It also confronts our sins as a community bound by mutual responsibility. It deals, in other words, with the social as well as the personal dimension of wrongdoing. Yom Kippur is about shame as well as guilt. Hence there has to be purification (the removal of the stain) as well as atonement.

There were exceptions. A leper – or more precisely someone suffering from the skin disease known in the torah as tsara’at – had to 3

bring a guilt offering [asham] in addition to undergoing rites of purification (Lev. 14: 12-20).

Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, London, Secker & Warburg, 1947.4

“Guilt is a personal phenomenon. It has

nothing to do with what others might

say if they knew what we have done,

and everything to do with what we say to

ourselves.”

The psychology of shame is quite different to that of guilt. We can discharge guilt by achieving forgiveness – and forgiveness can only be granted by the object of our wrongdoing, which is why Yom Kippur only atones for sins against God. Even God cannot – logically cannot – forgive sins committed against our fellow humans until they themselves have forgiven us.

Shame cannot be removed by forgiveness. The victim of our crime may have forgiven us, but we still feel defiled by the knowledge that our name has been disgraced, our reputation harmed, our standing damaged. We still feel the stigma, the dishonour, the degradation. That is why an immensely powerful and dramatic ceremony had to take place during which people could feel and symbolically see their sins carried away to the desert, to no-man’s-land. A similar ceremony took place when a leper was cleansed. The priest took two birds, killed one, and released the other to fly away across the open fields (Lev. 14: 4-7). Again the act was one of cleansing, not atoning, and had to do with shame, not guilt.

Judaism is a religion of hope, and its great rituals of repentance and atonement are part of that hope. We are not condemned to live endlessly with the mistakes and errors of our past. That is the great difference between a guilt culture and a shame culture. But Judaism also acknowledges the existence of shame. Hence the elaborate ritual of the scapegoat that seemed to carry away the tumah, the defilement that is the mark of shame. It could only be done on Yom Kippur because that was the one day of the year in which everyone shared at least vicariously in the process of confession, repentance, atonement and purification. When a whole society confesses its guilt, individuals can be redeemed from shame.

“Judaism is a religion of hope, and its great rituals of repentance

and atonement are part of that hope.”

Leviticus: The Book of Holiness

Rabbi Sacks’ new book on sefer Vayikra. Available at Koren Publishers, online or at

your local Jewish bookstore.

Not In God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence Rabbi Sacks’ new book on confronting violence in the name of God is published in the UK on 18th June and later this year in the US. Please visit Amazon to pre-order your copy.