Israel Store-ey-Parshat VaYakhel 2011

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 25^th 2011 -Volume I, Issue 21–21^st  of Adar 5771

Parshat  Va’Yakhel

Israel Store-y

Being raised in America one gets used to a certain type of shopping experience Stores are there to serve you. Wal-Mart’s has its greeters with their little smiley stickers that cheerfully welcome you their store. The customer service desks are exactly that. There are refund policies. Soecial loyalty programs. It’s nice. We take it for granted. At least until you make Aliyah….

 Here in Israel the laws of the Shuk reign supreme. There are no prices on items. It’s not about how much it costs but how much you can pay. Convenience stores are generally inconvenient, opening and closing at their own whims and hours. Supermarkets expect you to bag your own items, pay for your shopping cart and buy what you need quick and get out of the way very fast, so that someone else can move along the line. Perhaps most frustrating to many is the tease you get when you call a company’s customer service line and are delighted to hear “Press 3 for English”, only to find out that it is really just a ploy to push you to the end of the line and delay your being answered another 10 minutes. Only then to be connected to an Israeli that doesn’t speak a word of English- although she could ask her friend who speaks Russian to help out.

But on the other hand, and of course you knew I would ask you to look at the other hand there are many special things that you experience here in your shopping that you don’t get other places as well. Most stores will extend you credit if you are a little.short. They’ll watch your kids while you run out for a second. Many times you can be lucky enough to catch a Minyan in your grocery store. It’s nice to see the man behind the counter learning a Jewish book, playing Jewish music or just even talking our ancient language.

Even more touching though, is that more often than not if they see you purchasing something they’ll recommend you buy a cheaper alternative or one on sale that may even be of a better quality. Many times I was even told don’t buy it today wait until tomorrow the prices are going down. It’s funny, how Israelis respond to you in this way. They aren’t –God forbid trying to offer you customer service- it’s just that their natural instinct of seeing you pay more than you should or being put in a bind for a silly reason overcomes their natural shuk instinct to take advantage of you. Whereas in America in general there is a concept of maintaining customer loyalty with good service excellent refund policies, and in general a helpful demeanor, here in Israel there is no long term vision or agenda about getting you to become a repeat customer; they feel that they’re doing you a favor selling to you in the first place. Rather the help and perks you get are more of a sincere family nature;  they are more about one Jew helping another.

I read a story this week that really encapsulates this attitude. There was an  older Yerushalmi carpenter who struggled daily to build bookcases for a living in a neighborhood where people barely had money to put food on their tables. One day an older American retiree came into his shop and asked him if he would build him a living room shelving unit that was comparable to the nice ones that he used to have in America. After taking the elaborate order for this rather ostentatious unit the carpenter asked who he was purchasing it for. When the American informed him that he had recently moved to Israel and wanted to retire and live his last years here in Israel similarly to the way he did in the States. The carpenter refused to build it for him. Though he was desperate for the business, he couldn’t bring himself to complete the order.

He explained to the would-be customer,

 

 “If a young couple comes to me and asks for a strong, sturdy, beautiful piece of furniture, I look at them and think that this young, happy couple is just starting out, with many years ahead of them. I am thus more than happy to build them the stuff of their dreams. But you are already older. You should know by now how temporary life is. How can you build yourself furniture like what you’re describing to me?”

  

Customer service? Not so much. An incredible shopping and learning experience that you can’t get anywhere else? Definitely.

This story sheds light on perhaps the greatest lesson of this weeks Torah portion. We have spent so many weeks discussing the building of the Mishkan. Yet once again the Torah recounts for us in full detail the donations of all the particular materials that each Jew gave to the building campaign. What is perhaps most remarkable is that this building is only meant to be a temporary structure. It should have lasted for a mere few weeks until the Jews arrived in Israel and built their permanent Temple. Yet the outpouring of money and donations was unparalleled to any other campaign since then, The Torah tells us that there was enough money and even extra. Does it make sense that for such a temporary structure, there should be such a huge campaign? Even more perplexing is that this Mishkan was meant to be atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. Can it be that by merely donating money to the “synagogue coffers” the Jews can rectify perhaps the most grievous sin of all of Jewish history? How does one thing fix the sin of the other?

  

The answer is that it was precisely the process of donating as much as they could for a temporary dwelling, that they were able to begin the process of undoing the roots of the problem of the Golden Calf. The Calf was created because the Jewish people took a long look at their future. How will we make it in the Wilderness without Moshe our guide and our leader? Who will provide for us? What will become of us down the road? We need a long term plan and the Golden Calf was created to provide and fill that role. What Hashem was telling the Jewish people was, don’t worry about the big picture. Rather you put your all into doing the right thing for the here and now. Build me a home that is temporary, with all youcan and I will reside in it. You need not fear or worry about what will come tomorrow. Your jobs is to make sure that everything is being done right and to the utmost for today.

Interestingly enough, that “temporary” Mishkan and its vessels lasted longer than each of the Batei Mikdash Temples. The Tabernacle was with them their entire sojourn in the Wilderness. It was in Gilo, Shiloh and rebuilt in Nov and Givon and lasted about 480 years. The temporary merited longevity. The building that was donated with a mindset of doing the right thing in the here and now ended up being the place that they called the home of Hashem for the longest period of time.

The lessons of that campaign 3000 years ago still ring true for us today. Are we focused on long term projects at the expense of missing out on opportunities to do chesed and achieve spiritual goals today? Are we too focused on our “permanent” homes in our temporary existence and forgetting our eternal lives and our connection to the transcendent? Maybe we spend too much time checking out prices and finding the best deals and worrying about how we’re being treated. The Israeli shopper is certainly not looking for the “shopping experience”.  They are more focused on the living experience. Maybe it is because the people here feel life and time are more fragile and precious. Perhaps it is the lessons engrained so long ago in psyche of that temporary Mishkan. We all have our “Golden Calf” weaknesses fears and projects that hold us back. That may be preventing us from contributing, from growing  or from becoming as great as we could be. May Hashem give us the wisdom and strength of faith to let us move beyond them and create an Eternal life..

 Have a special Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

\
NEOT KEDUMIM-  AN INCREDIBLE BIBLICAL BOTANICAL WONDERLAND RIGHT IN BETWEEN JERUSALEM AND TEL AVIV. FOUNDED BY NOGA HAREUVEINI IN THE 60’STHE VISION WAS TO CREATE A PLACE WHERE JEWS CAN CONNECT AND LEARN ABOUT THEIR HERITAGE FROM THE LAND ITSELF. THE 2400 DUNAM PARK HAS HUNDREDS OF PLANTS TREES AND FLOWERS ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR BIBLICAL SOURCES. THERE IS ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS, BIBLICAL THRESHING PLANTING BAKING EXPERIENCES. THERE ARE ALSO WILDLIFE AND SHEPHERDING AVAILABLE FOR FAMILIES THAT WANT TO FEEL WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN THE TIMES OF OUR ANCESTORS.

   

THERE ARE SPECIAL BAR MITZVAH TOURS AND A WONDERFUL WEDDING HALL THERE AS WELL THAT IS USUALLY QUITE BOOKED. TRULY AN AMAZING PLACE TO GO BACK IN TIME AND FEEL THE REBIRTH OF OUR ANCIENT HOMELAND FLOURISHING THE SAME WAY IT DID THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.

Never on a Sunday- Ki Tisa

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 18^th 2011 -Volume I, Issue 20–14^th of Adar 5771

Parshat  Ki  Tisa

Never on a Sunday

There are no Sundays in Israel. No day to wind down from the Shabbos excitement in the Schwartz home. No day to relax a little with the kids, get your non-necessity pleasure shopping done or just kick back and “chill”. No, in Israel the day after Shabbos is just like Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s the regular rind and grind with school, work and getting ready for the next Shabbos. It is a huge adjustment for an American, perhaps one of the biggest ones. In a way it really changes your week. As Americans we are used to the “weekend”. But here in Israel, the country of the Jewish people, we have something different. And perhaps something that we are forced to re-examine and make better. We have Shabbos.

Now don’t get me wrong. America has Shabbos too. But it is Shabbos and Sunday. It’s a weekend. It’s not the same thing. Whereas Shabbos in the States feels holy, in Israel it feels like the holy of holies. When I walk to Shul Friday night and I see the glowing red sky and sun setting over the Galilee Mountains I think of the generations of Jews that lived here and stood where I stand and felt that same sense of serenity that infuses the plains. It is truly otherworldly. One feels attached to the sounds of the shuls singing and welcoming in the Shabbos Queen. The hills are truly alive with the sound of ….praise to Hashem. You don’t get that in the States- Although West Seattle wasn’t a bad, however distant second place. An Israeli friend of mine once suggested to me that perhaps that is why in Israel we don’t need a Sunday off. The power of a Shabbos here can last you a full 6 days of work. An American Shabbos…. Only 5. A cute idea-only an Israeli could suggest- but also only one that someone who has tasted a Shabbos here can relate to.

This week’s Torah portion sheds a little light into the special nature of this Shabbos. The Torah portion begins with the collection for the service of the Mishkan- the place where Hashem’s presence will dwell and the final vessels that needed to be built. It then once again introduces the Mitzvah of Shabbos that we had already heard about in the Ten Commandments.

And the Children of Israel shall guard the Shabbos to make Shabbos for generations as an eternal covenant. Between Me and The Children of Israel it is an eternal sign that for six days Hashem created the heaven and earth and on the seventh he ceased and was refreshed.

 Our sages derive from the placement of the mitzvah of Shabbos here once again in midst of the commandments of the building of the Mishkan that the “work” that is prohibited on Shabbos is all of the various forms of work that were used in the building of the Tabernacle. Hr created the universe and stepped back from all Divine forms of Creation on Shabbos. Our covenant is that we will commemorate His Creation by refraining from the acts that are required to build His home here on the day that he rested.

But there is a deeper lesson here as well. For Shabbos is not just a commandment to refrain from work. We are obligated La’asos Es HaShabbos- to make Shabbos. We must guard and create something with it in the process of not working. Something eternal. It’s not just a day off and was never meant to be. It’s a day to put all that work of the week behind and focus on the essence of Creation and all that we do. It is the climax and pinnacle of the Mishkan- home for God. It is spending the day together in His Palace.

One of the most amazing things here in Israel, particularly I believe because there is no Sunday, is that the day of Shabbos becomes the center point of ones week. It is a day that one knows they have to make into something. It is remarkable to me how even secular Israelis that were raised without much Jewish observance or background know that there is something holy and special about this day. Stores are closed for the majority of the country. Streets are for the large part empty of cars- It’s like a Sunday morning in the States but for all day Shabbos. The country overwhelmingly chooses this day not to wind down and catch up on all those things they couldn’t get to during the week, rather to make it into a day that brings focus to their whole upcoming 6 day week. To hear the music in the air and feel the presence and sanctity of its Creator.

Maybe it is the fact that we live so close to the House of Hashem and his Temple and that we feel His Creation so much more, that makes Shabbos so special here. Perhaps it is because there is a greater appreciation of the miracle of our continued existence here in our ancient homeland. There certainly is no place else where we can feel so much like an Eternal Nation and in turn one appreciates even more our Eternal covenant. Maybe it’s just the generations of Jews since we first became a nation that have infused the air with the joyous weekly call of Shabbat Shalom. I’m not sure why it is that the day feels so much more powerful here. I just notice that the more that I am making it into Shabbos the less and less I am missing my Sundays.

Have a glorious  Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

***************************

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S VERY INSPIRING JEWISH MOTHER YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

MY SON RUINED MY LIFE J CLICK AND WATCH TILL THE END

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRbL46mWx9w

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
NAHARIYA- THE NORTHERNMOST COASTAL CITY IN ISRAEL IT WAS FOUNDED BY GERMAN (YEKI) JEWS IN 1935. ALTHOUGH INITIALLY IT WAS FOUNDED AS AN AGRICULTURAL CITY THE GERMAN JEWS WERE NOT NECESSARILY CUT OUR FOR THE FARM LIFE AND INSTEAD DEVELOPED THE TOWN INTO ONE OF THE LARGEST TOURIST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY INTRODUCING EUROPEAN STYLE STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM TO ISRAEL FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE CITY’S MOST PROMINENT FEATURE (BESIDES ITS BEAUTIFUL BEACHES) IS THE RIVER (NAHAR) GA’ATON THAT FLOWS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY. ITS MOST PROMINENT PERSONAGE ACCORDING TO THE HUNDREDS THAT FLOCK TO HIM DAILY FOR BLESSINGS IS THE NOTED KABBALIST RABBI DAVID ABUCHATZEIRA WHOSE ADVICE AND GUIDANCE AND INSIGHT IS SOUGHT BY JEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

Tetzaveh- I Used To...

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 11^th 2011 -Volume I, Issue 19–6^th of Adar 5771

Parshat Tetzaveh

I used to…

I used to drive a big, white, gas guzzling, 9 passenger 2001 GMC Suburban. It had tons of room. I could take all my kids and enough food and luggage to last for three weeks on our annual camping road trips back in the States. It only cost me $1100 and it was super reliable. Today in our very small country of Israel, I drive a 1988 hatchback Suzuki Swift. It costs me twice as much to fill up with gas, I can barely fit the groceries for the week and two kids with a stroller in it. I paid more for the car. And after I squeeze myself into the drivers seat (generally after sucking in my breath and emptying my pockets) I can feel the holy terrain of our ancestral home land every bump  of the way. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade places for the world. I’ll take my Israeli bumps over my American leather cushioned seats and well paved roads any day.

Recently I saw a blog  that surveyed a group of Olim and put together a list of things that people should bring from America to Israel; “Important things” that they could not get here. Some of the highlights of the list include-Advil, American cheese, Band-aids, Cotton swabs (True confession of author of this blog: I made Aliyah with a lifetime supply of Q-Tips :-), Foil - pre-cut foil, heavy duty foil and heavy foil pans, Kitchen garbage bags, Liquor, Onion powder, Splenda, White tuna and vanilla - the real stuff,. Although the above items are available in Israel it seems that they are very expensive here.

The List continues with products that they don’t have in Israel-Crystal light, Hot cocoa mix, Candy (especially M&M's, Reese's, Hershey's, Jelly Belly), Condensed cream of mushroom and tomato soup, Crisco, Salad dressing mixes, especially ranch, Good Seasons and Pfeiffer's Italian dressing, Spices:  Mrs. Dash, taco seasoning, chili seasoning, chili powder, garlic salt, celery seed, dried sage, Lawry’s season salt, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, poultry seasoning, dried onion, Italian seasoning mix and the essential Wilton cake decorating items.

Finally the list concludes tragically with items people miss that can’t be imported: such as the always necessary for Kosher Sushi-Fake crab, cans of pie filling, Pam baking spray, Starbucks coffee, Tom’s deodorants and toothpastes, maple syrup, Croydon House Matzo Ball and Soup Mix, Barkeeper's Friend (?), La Choy soy sauce, soft corn tortillas, egg roll wrappers, Morningstar farms bacon and sausages, Baker's Chocolate - 100% cacao with NO added sugar, Luna bars, Jif peanut butter, instant hot cereal, "Red Hot" hot pepper sauce, Thomas' English muffins, almond milk, Planter's peanuts and Lactaid milk. Isn’t your heart moved by the deprivation that we poor Olim suffer from? I can’t imagine anyone wanting to make Aliyah after reading such a list. To be fair there is a follow up list of things in Israel that are better here then there. But that list is primarily for you (or your relatives coming from the States) to have things to put in your empty bags after you bring us all the lactaid, fake crab and Jif peanut butter after your done shlepping all those basic necessities that we lack here.

Yet is it really so bad to miss, what some might consider to be, the basic comforts of the States?  Isn’t it only natural? I imagine most Olim are like me. They wouldn’t go back to the States or take that life with Reese’s peanut butter cups or even cheaper gas instead of the blessed one that they have here. But is there harm in a little reminiscing of luxuries long gone?  There is a beautiful insight from the Chasam Sofer in this weeks portion that- excuse the the pun- “sheds light” on the question.

The Torah begins this week with the Mitzvah of lighting the Eternal lamp of the Menorah. The Torah proscribes that the oil that is used for the Menorah is unique from other oil used in the temple service and offerings.

“And they shall take clear olive oil, crushed for illumination”

Rashi, quoting the Talmud, explains that this oil must be crushed by a mortar, rather then a mill, and only the first drops are used for the Menorah. All drops that follow are permissible to be used for the flour offerings but not to light the Menorah with. The Medrash points out that this is contrary to human practice. Normally we would use the best oil for our food and the cheaper “Israeli brand” stuff to light our homes with. (The way my children feel about American ketchup- it should never be used to cook with, god forbid, it is exclusively for French fries, hamburgers and Hot Dogs). Hashem though tells us precisely the opposite in this Mitzvah.

The Chasam Sofer explaining this anomaly sees in it an important life lesson. The menorah which is the spiritual channel through which wisdom and Godly knowledge flows in this world, requires the most perfect, clearest and best oil. The offerings which bring material sustenance, food on our tables and blessings on our plate- for that we should understand that any oil is good enough. We don’t need the name brands or the REAL, 100%, no added… to fill our physical needs. W need to be focused more on making sure that are spiritual needs are being filled in the first rate place and way. That is the message of the Menorah.

We have entered into the month of Adar. A month we are told is one when we are meant to increase our level of Simcha- Happiness. There is none that is as happy as he who feels that he has everything that he possibly needs. It’s natural to wish for something better, But the Torah tells us we should use that instinct to further our relationship with Hashem. To wish for a little better in that area first. When most of us think about our needs and the things we lack or that could improve our lifestyle and thus our happiness we tend to think of the material and physical. The better____ and the tastier_____ ,the fancier ______  or more comfortable_______. Yet how often are we focusing on the other needs as well. How much better do we want to make our spiritual lives? How far are we willing to go to “upgrade” them? Are we ready to use a lower brand “oil” in our physical pleasures in exchange for the enormous delight of the spiritual? Whether you are an Oleh looking back or a Chutznik looking home, these are questions that it pays to put at the top of your shopping list. Because there are some items in your spiritual life that you really can’t get somewhere else.

Have a  Brilliant Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF AN EGYPTIAN NEWSPAPER THIS WEEK

Dear Egyptian demonstrators,
Please do not damage the pyramids.

We will not rebuild.

Sincerely,
 The Jews

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
BEIT HADASSAH in HEBRON- THIS FORMER HOSPITAL FOUNDED IN 1893 IN THE CITY OF HEBRON UNITED BOTH JEWS AND ARABS IN THEIR PEACEFUL EXISTENCE. THEY WORKED SIDE BY SIDE AND TREATED EACH OTHERS PATIENTS. IN 1929 THE ARAB MOB WAS INCITED BY THE MUFTI OF JERUSALEM AND MASSACRED OVER 70 RESIDENTS OF HEBRON AND THE JEWS WERE EVACUATED BY THE BRITISH. THEY WERE NOT REALLY ABLE TO COME BACK IN ANY STRONG WAY UNTIL AFTER 1967 WHEN THE JEWS RECLAIMED HEBRON AND BUILT THE CITY OF KIRYAT ARBA .ALTHOUGH THE CITY OF HEBRON ITSELF DID NOT HAVE ANY JEWISH RESIDENTS.

 IN 1979 10 WOMEN AND CHILDREN BARRICADED THEMSELVES IN THE FORMER BEIT HADASSAH BUILDING AND REFUSED TO LEAVE UNTIL THEY WERE GUARANTEED ITS RETURN TO JEWISH HANDS. MENACHEM BEGIN, THE PRIME MINISTER, GAVE ORDERS NOT TO GIVE IN TO THEIR DEMANDS, HOWEVER HE SAID THAT THE WOMEN WOULD NOT BE PHYSICALLY REMOVED BUT IF THEY LEFT THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO BACK IN. FOR 10 MONTHS THE WOMEN STAYED THERE, FOOD WOULD BE SENT IN AND THEIR HUSBANDS WOULD COME EACH FRIDAY NIGHT TO MAKE KIDDUSH AND SING AISHET CHAYIL BY THEIR WINDOWS. AFTER TEN MONTHS WHEN SOME ARABS ATTACKED AND KILLED 6 MEN AND STUDENTS THAT WERE SINGING THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWED THE JEWS TO RETURN TO HEBRON.

Rabbi Ephraim's Tour- Terumah 2011

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 4^th 2011 -Volume I, Issue 18–30^th of Shvat 5771

Rabbi Ephraim’s Tour

There is a rule about love. The more that you love something, the more you should want to know and understand the object of your affection. One who loves wants to understand the little nuances; the things that make it tick. Things that to other people may seem innocuous, dull or even annoying, but the lover is enthralled and can’t wait to dig even deeper into the heart of their beloved.

I have a love that grows every day. Actually I have quite a few. My wife, my family my shul and of course chulent J. But most recently the object of my affection of which I have been putting most of my effort into understanding is my love of Eretz Yisrael; my new “old” homeland. To further my love for the land and perhaps to be most capable of sharing it with as many people as possible (and hopefully to make a living off of soon as well), I have been privileged to join a Tour guiding program at Machon Lander/ Touro University in Jerusalem.  The course is an amazing one. Subjects that never really interested me such as geology, archeology, and even botany and zoology all become fascinating as we walk among the places where all of these studies come alive.

The best part of course, is the history of our country and people. There are not too many places that you can go to here that do not have a story, a battle and perhaps even most enchanting a lesson to be learned. Daily drives that I take as I pass by what seems like innocuous rock formations and beautiful valleys now have begun new meaning as I delve deeper and deeper into the story that is our country. One of the most wonderful things about the course is the variety of tour guide “trainers” that we get to spend time with. Each a professional in their own area of expertise with a true love of the places and subjects that they share with us.

This evening though I was privileged to take a different type of tour. It was on my 2 hour bus ride home from a full day trip; a time whose quiet I cherish (before I get home to our busy Erev Shabbos home), to pull out my Chumash, prepare the weekly portion and review my day. This weeks Torah portion, Parshat Terumah, is certainly one that is on the slow side, following all the exciting Torah portions we have had until now. The Exodus is over, the laws have been given and the portion begins and tells us of the commandment to build a Tabernacle for the Divine presence to reside amongst the Jewish people. The Torah tells us the dimensions of the Ark, The Menorah, the Table the curtains and on and on and on. I will be honest. Architecture ….I don’t love. A table is a table, a cubit is a cubit. Dimensions don’t speak to me and neither to all the little bells and whistles on each holy vessel. But that was until I found my tour guide. Deciding to dig a little deeper into a text that I guiltily knew I should be loving a little bit more, I came across the commentary of the Klei Yakar- Rabbi Ephraim Lunshitz The 16^th century Rabbi of Prague. (I liked his first name J). And does he give a tour. Wow! The Mishkan-Tabernacle came alive. I don’t think it will ever bore me again.

Here are a few snippets of his tour with my paraphrasing. As you read it you can almost hearing him guiding you.

As we enter the Parsha the Torah tells us 15 different materials that were used to build the Mishkan with. These 15 each have tremendous spiritual significance. King David tells us Ki B’ Yah Hashem Tzur Olamim. With Ya” H (an acronym of God’s name) the universe was formed. Ya”H in Gematria Jewish numerology is 15 (yud =10 and Heh=5) It with 15 the universe was formed and the Tabernacle being a microcosm of the universe is also formed with 15 materials. This explains as well why in the temple King Solomon (the 15^th generation from Abraham!) built there were 15 steps into the Temple. In addition the gold, silver, copper and red skins correspond to the four exiles of the Jewish people Babylonia, Persia/Media, Greece and Edom/Rome as he quotes verses that show this connection.

Moving on to the first of the Temple vessels, we are introduced to the Ark. Interestingly enough we are told that it is coated in gold inside and out with wood as its core to show that the Torah is a tree of life and both those who support and study it have an equal portion in it. We are told of the Badei Shitim- the poles that carry the Ark. This, he notes one again through Gematria, represents the 16 (the numerical value of Badei- Beis=2 Daled=4 and Yud=10) individuals that are called to the Torah weekly for an Aliyah. When? Easy to remember, he suggests. They are coated in Zahav-gold spelled Zayin-7= Shabbos, Heh- 5 =Thursday, and Beis-2 Monday. Finally we are told of the covering of the Ark and the cherubs in the shape of angels with children’s faces. This is to teach us of the importance of covering the secrets of the Torah and the importance of having teachers who transmit the Torah who are similar to angels and clean of sin as a child. The cherubs face one another in loving embrace so that we learn that the Torah can only be studied when we are at peace with our fellow man. Perhaps most fascinating, is that unlike other dimensions the Ark’s are all not complete numbers 2 ½ x 1½ x 1½. This is so that one who studies should know that he has never learned it all and still needs to study more.

Moving along to the next vessel we reach the Table. The table is of course symbolic of the ones livelihood and the Table he eats on. Its dimensions are partially whole numbers and partially fractions 2x1x 1½ to teach you that one should feel that on one hand he has all the blessings that he needs and is satisfied with his portion (the width and length), however on the other hand the height is a broken number and he should never be haughty about it. The table, if you notice, has rings upon it. This there to remind us that ones success is like a circle that and cycle that goes around. There a times that are good and times that are bad. One should use our good times to support the needy and merit an eternal world that has no end (like a circular ring). In fact, the functions of these rings are to be “homes for the L’Badim-poles” the word L’Badim switching around the letters spells B’Dalim- for the poor. The Table also as you notice on our tour has a rim around it called a Misgeret. This is to symbolize that one should close and fence in ones desires and not let them run rampant.

The last I will share with you is as we exit into the Courtyard we see the Copper Sacrificial Altar. Its dimensions are all complete numbers 5x5x3. This is to show that through ones remorse and the atonement of the Altar one can become fully complete. The Altar has copper netting around it to symbolize the net of sin that ones evil inclination has wrapped around him that has brought him to this state. We also find miracles that were present with the Altar. The fire never scorched it, the water never damaged it and the wind never blew it’s constant pillar of smoke (although it was outside in the open air) and it was formed out of stone and earth upon which no blade ever cut. This is to teach us through the offerings upon the Altar man will be protected from all four elements- fire water, wind and earth. In addition it will protect a man from all four capitol punishments; stoning, fire, sword and strangulation (water). All three of these vessels have a crown upon them which symbolize the three crowns of our existence the crown of Torah the crown of Kingship and the Crown of the priesthood.

He continues on for each of the vessels, and next week as well in the lengthy description of the clothing of the priesthood (I was never into style or clothing much either… but who knows with the right guide?) but I don’t want to spoil your own personal tour with the Klei Yakar. The Torah is perhaps the greatest place to start your tour of life. We recite each day that its words should be one that we carry when walk on our paths. The more one studies the more one can fall in love. May the sweetness of Rabbi Ephraim’s tour give you inspiration as you take a new look at the beautiful world of the Mishkan.

Have a joy filled Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph Tov ,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FOR ALL THOSE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SITUATION IN EGYPT FUNNY INTERVEIW OF THE WEEK

http://www.aish.com/j/mm/SNLs_Mubarak_Interview.html   

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

TEL BEIT SHEMESH- MOST OF YOU MIGHT NOW THE VERY POPULAR AMERICAN SETTLEMENT AND CITY OF BEIT SHEMESH. BUT DI YOU KNOW THAT ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY THERE IS A ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG THAT DATES BACK TO 700 BCE AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST OF SANCHEIREV OF ASSYRIA. THERE IS AN REMARKABLY HUGE UNDERGROUND WATER CISTERN AND WELL WITH PLASTERED WALLS WHICH WE HAVE BEEN ABALE TO DATE TO THAT AREA AS WELL AS HOMES FROM THAT TIME PERIOD. WHAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE FASCINATING IS THAT IT IS IN THIS SAME SPOT THAT THE ARK OF HASHEM WAS RETURNED BY THE PHILLISTINES (THEY PUT IT ON A WAGON PULLED BY COWS AND SENT IT BY ITSELF) UNFORTUNATLY THE PEOPLE OF BEIT SHEMESH DID NOT TREAT IT WITH THE PROPER RESPECT AND OVER 50,000 WERE PUNISHED IN A GREAT PLAGUE. NEEDLESS TO SAY THEY PASSED THE ARK ON TO ANOTHER PLACE.