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President's message Achrei Mot, 4/30/22

Dear friends,

This week's parsha, Achrei Mot, goes into the details of the Yom Kippur service. HaRav Kook, in his book Olat Re’iyah, notes the difference between the chatatsacrifice that is brought on festivals and the one brought on Yom Kippur. The chatat sacrifice is a sin offering and is generally brought when one accidentally hurts or causes damage to another.

The usual sacrifice is a goat but on Yom Kippur it is a goat and an ox. Rav Kook explains that while both the goat and the ox symbolize power, the goat is destructive in nature, overgrazing and eating the roots of plants, while the ox is constructive, used in cultivating and building. Usually we bring a goat because most damage and hurt is caused by destruction (property damage, etc).

But on Yom Kippur we acknowledge that, even when we build––our property, our business, our life––we run the risk of inadvertently hurting others in the process. This is what we have to be acutely aware of, not just on Yom Kippur but throughout the year. All of our actions have repercussions, and achieving success for ourselves truly occurs if we don’t hurt others in the process. 

• • • 

The success of our Shul involves being involved. As the weather gets nicer, I hope that everyone feels comfortable attending our minyanim in person.

My thanks go to the handful of members who have already paid their dues. If you are not yet one of them, you can pay by credit card via the shul website 
(BnaiAvraham.org) or send or drop off your dues check to 117 Remsen Street. It's much easier to run CBA when the dues are paid in the beginning of the year. (From the earliest days of the synagogue, our dues were payable at the beginning of the year, not at the High Holidays.)

The other major fundraiser for CBA, our annual gala “dinner," will take place on June 14. There will be an in-person component and we are considering many ideas, for the best opportunity to bring people together. As soon as the details are in place, I'll let everyone know.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat Shalom,

Steven Inker

Mon, April 28 2025 30 Nisan 5785