Karmiel

Karmiel
Our view of the Galile

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Lesson of the Receding Hairline- Naso 2012



Insights and Inspiration

from the 
Holy Land
from 
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"


May 31st  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 30 –10th of Sivan 5772

Parshat Naso
The Lesson of a Receding Hairline

It’s a sensitive issue for most men my age. We look in the mirror after our showers and we watch that once healthy full hairline retreat slowly… inch by inch…just like the French at the slightest confrontation. I don’t want to see more of my forehead, Thank you very much. I am happier knowing about what’s in my mind, not what’s no longer on it. It’s too bad that hair doesn’t weigh that much, my diet plan might be going a little stronger. Well at least I might save on shampoo products soon.

The Torah also seems to have some interesting thoughts and laws regarding hair care. We are prohibited to shave the sides of our hair (seemingly this was an idolatrous practice even back then, I don’t know what type of practice Mohawks are today). We are told we can’t use razors to shave with (electric shavers are generally fine). The Levi and the Metzora would have to have their heads shaved as part of their service. Perhaps most fascinating though, in this week’s Torah portion we are told about two individuals that the Torah seems focus its hair laws on.

The first law mentioned in the Torah portion is that of a woman who was suspected of adultery after witnesses reported that she had secluded with a man whom she had previously been warned not to be alone with. The Torah commands that she would be brought to the Kohen where she would undergo a process of Divine discovery. He would uncover her hair publicly (we derive from here that married Jewish woman customarily would, and should, cover their hair), and then he would have her drink from the Sota water (non carbonated J). This was special water that had the name of God dissolved in it, to discern whether she was faithful or not. (PS- it wouldn’t work if her husband was ever unfaithful).

The second person was the Nazir someone who had undertaken a vow, like the great Samson and the prophet Samuel, to lead an ascetic lifestyle either for a period of time or for life. This person would be prohibited from wine and grape products, from coming in contact with the dead and last but certainly most visible was that was the prohibition to cut their hair. Even more fascinating is that at the conclusion of this process a Nazir must shave all his hair. It seems that God also has this thing about hair. What is it all about?

There is an interesting Medrash, that goes back to the Garden of Eden when Eve, the first woman, was created. The Zohar tells us that when Hashem first brought Eve to Adam he braided her hair. You didn’t know that God doubled as a Hairdresser, I bet? After the sin, when they were thrown out of the garden the Medrash tells us her hair was disheveled and it was from that time that the concept of married Jewish women covering their hair began. Our sages explain that hair is meant to represent the physical extension of our power of imagination; that which grows out of our mind. When Eve was first she was given the role and power to draw out the imagination of man, to be his partner in fulfilling his dreams and to braid together the inspiration of his passions bringing it to a glorious fulfillment in the service of the Almighty. Her hair was perfectly and Divinely braided. Yet when she caused Man to sin, she lost that perfect crown. Her hair and the illusions of the grandeur that she would get from eating the forbidden fruit, itself became a force that tempted mans imagination rather than restraining and channeling it. Forever  thereafter the hair would have to be covered and restrained, to hold that power intact from the temptations of all men, besides one’s own husband.

With this understanding we can explain the lesson of the Sota woman and the Nazir. The woman who behaved in an illicit way with another man serves as a demonstration to all of the Jewish people of what happens when ones fantasy and imagination runs amok. That special crown of the beauty of the perfectly covered hair, which speaks to the modesty of Jewish women in restraining their passion to be used exclusively with her partner in life, is lost on this woman. The results of that loss reflects itself in the ultimate shame that is experienced.

Similarly the Nazir, we are told, is an individual who feels that he is too tempted by his passions and his looks. He feels he cannot express his natural human self-control of living within in this world and elevating it. He wants to take a vow of asceticism and separation. His hair is left to grow unnaturally long and untamed because he has spiritually put the brakes on his passion by his vows and his long hair testifies to imagination run wild. It’s not the proper way to be. We are meant to channel our physical drives and desires. And we are meant to comb and control our hair, those outgrowths of our imagination; to be that Divine image that God created, no holier and not wilder. The Nazir, when his vow is over, shaves his hair to symbolize that he now re-enters the natural path of growth of his live and his drives. The wild temptations are now subdued.

Hashem has given us, with hair, an incredible barometer of our lives. When we are born we are mostly bald; no major dreams or passions. Change my diaper. Feed me, That’s it. As we get older our hair grows. We groom our passions, we direct them, we cut and trim them and they grow properly. Divinely. Yet as we age our hair becomes one of the first symbols of the loss of all those dreams. They turn gray, then white, and then sadly, one-by-one they begin to fall out. At a certain age we don’t dream any more. We have either accomplished or we haven’t. Although in Judaism we know it’s never too late to start, our hair reminds us that unless we act quickly our time is running out. Those strands get thinner and fewer the older we get and no shampoo in the world can bring it back. Hair today-gone tomorrow. So the next time you look in the mirror think of the message of the hair from days gone by and comb those stalwart remaining strands and promise them a better future.

Have an amazing Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ BAD JOKE OF THE WEEK
What do you call 40 rabbits hopping backwards in a row?
A receding Hairline oyyy


RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“CLASSIC: -A book which people praise, but never read”


RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Kfar Nachum Synagogue- THIS IS DEFINITLY NOT YOUR TYPICAL JEWISH SITE. IN FACT VISITORS TO THE ANCIENT VILLAGE OF CAPERNAUM ON THE WESTERN BANKS OF THE KINNERET MIGHT FEEL OUT OF PLACE AT THIS “HOLY” CHRISTIAN SITE. YET IT MAKES IT TO THE SCHWARTZ LIST OF COOL PLACES BECAUSE OF THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE THAT IS IN THE VILLAGE AND THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING IT.
THE VILLAGE ITSELF IS MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AS BEING A PLACE WHERE THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY RESIDED AND PREFORMED MIRACLES AS WELL AS BEING THE PLACE WHERE PETER LIVED. IN FACT A CHURCH IS BUILT ON THIS SITE OF HIS HOME. THE MEDRASH IN KOHELET 7:26 ON THE VERSE GOOD IS HE WHO RUNS (FROM SIN) AND A SINNER WILL GET TRAPPED IN IT- RABBI ISI OF KISRIN (CASEREA?) SAYS GOOD IS A REFERENCE TO CHANINA THE SON OF YEHOSHUA AND A SINNER IS THE PEOPLE OF KFAR NACHUM.

THE SYNAGOGUE THAT WAS DISCOVERED THERE AND EXCAVATED IN THE EARLY 1900’S BY THE FRANSICANS WHO PURCHASED THE PLACE FROM THE LOCAL BEDOUINS HAS PILLARS AND ORNAMENTATIONS THAT DATE FROM THE 4TH CENTURY YET INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH THERE WERE COINS FOUND UNDER THE FLOOR FROM THE 5TH CENTURY A HUNDRED YEARS LATER.  THEORIES OFFERED ARE 1) THAT EITHER THE FLOOR WAS BUILT LATER AND THE SYNAGOUGE IS REALLY 4TH CENTURY 2) THE SYNAGOGUE WAS BUILT IN A ROMAN PERIOD IN TH E 5TH  CENTURY WHEN IT WAS PROHIBITED TO MAKE SYNAGOGUES AND THE PILLARS WERE JUST RE-USED FROM ANOTHER SYNAGOGUE OR 3) AND THIS IS THE COOL ONE- THE CHRISTIANS WHO BUILT THE CHURCH KNEW FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT THE THERE WAS A SYNAGOGUE THAT WAS PREACHED IN BY THEIR FOUNDER AND THEY BUILT THE SYNAGOGUE FOR THEIR PURPOSES. INTERSTINGLY ENOUGH THERE WAS A 2ND FLOOR FOR THE SYNAGOGUE WHICH SOME SUGGEST MAY HAVE BEEN A LADIES SECTION.
\
UNDERNEATH THE SYNAGOGUE THERE IS ANOTHER SYNAGOGUE MADE OUT OF BASLAT STONE (DIFFERENT THEN THE LIMESTONE ON TOP AND THAT WOULD BE THE ORIGINAL SYNAGOUGE THERE FROM THE 2ND TEMPLE PERIOD MAKING IT ONE OF THE OLDEST IN THE WORLD!  

Monday, May 28, 2012

A Day to Remember-Bamidbar/Shavuot 2012


Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
May 24th 2012 -Volume 2, Issue 29 -3rd of Sivan 5772
47th Day of Omer

Parshat Bamidbar/ Shavuot
A Day to Remember

Did we really stand at that mountain 3324 years ago? Did we actually witness Hashem come down on the Mountain, hear his voice, and see the thunder and lightning? Do I remember being there and calling out with the other 3 million Jewish souls Na'aseh Vi'Nishma- We will do and we will listen to all the laws of the Torah? Frankly, I barely remember my kids names half the time; forget about their birthdays.
(One of the nice things about having a Teudat Zehut- Israeli citizenship paper is that it has all my kids' birthdays on it, so I don't have to undergo those embarrassing pauses at government offices- as I quickly call my wife- when they ask me for them).

Yet our sages tell us that we were all there. The Torah gives us a commandment to remember the day that we stood at Sinai and according to Nachmonide/ the Ramban this is in itself one of the 613 commandments. Yet for some reason 3324 years seems like a long time for this aging brain of mine. Yesterday does as well.
There is a general rule in the Torah that "the commandments were not given to angels". All of the mitzvos are given for us, simple and forgetful type, human beings to observe. So how can there be a mitzvah to remember something from so long ago. Perhaps on an even deeper level why is it that we have to remember the whole Sinai "production" isn't it enough just to know the Torah and observe the commandments?
Why does the Torah command us to...

(Devarim 4:9-10) "Just observe for yourself and guard your soul exceedingly LEST YOU FORGET the things that your eyes saw and lest you remove from your hearts all the days of your life and you will make them known to your children and your grandchildren. The day on which you stood before the Lord, your God, in Chorev, when HaShem Said to me, 'Gather together for Me the people that I may Cause them to hear My Words, that will teach them to fear Me all of the days that they are living on the earth, and that they will teach their children"

The answer the Ramban suggests is that the significance of the mitzvah is so that one will teach their children. The entire "production" was there to give a message and an impact that one would "just have to" pass down. I may forget what happened yesterday. But what my father heard from his father from his father... that message, that scene was embedded in our national memory forever.

This week we begin the 4th book of the Torah, Bamibar-In the wilderness. It is the reading that always precedes Shavuot and there are many lessons that our sages and commentaries have forever found in it about the lessons of Sinai. Perhaps one of the most poignant, yet subtler lessons, is the extensive amount of space that is spent in the Parsha recalling our national counting as we began our journey. The Torah notes repeatedly how each Jew would be counted according to their families/ their father's home. The message being that as a Jew we count as much as we associate ourselves with the home of our fathers who stood at Sinai. We are not an independent, self-started, coming-to-it-of-our-own, religion. Rather we are bearers of our family heritage, the stories that we heard and the events that we witnessed. To be counted is to connect oneself to the events of that national moment that has been passed down in full detail to us.

Another message our sages note in a Medrash in the beginning of the Parsha when it discusses the genealogy of the Jewish people is that it was in the merit of their genealogy that we received the Torah. The Meishiv Nefesh explains this medrash with another fascinating Medrash
.
"When Yisrael stood at Har Sinai, Hashem asked them, "Who will guarantee your observance of Torah?" Bnei Yisrael answered, "Our forefathers," but Hashem responded that those were not adequate guarantors. "Our children," Bnei Yisrael then said, and Hashem responded, "Your children are certainly good guarantors." This, the midrash concludes, is the meaning of the verse (Tehilim 8:3), "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have established strength." And, this, writes the Meishiv Nefesh, is the meaning of the midrash that the Torah was given because of
our genealogy, i.e., our children.

The Ramban suggests as well that the key to us fulfilling the mitzvah of remembering Sinai is passing that tradition, our story that we heard from our fathers and that resides in our collective memory to the next generation.
"And you will make them known to your children and your grandchildren"

I recall a lecture I once heard from Rabbi Berel Wein who once made an incredible calculation. He suggested that each individual can relate first hand testimony for about 130 years. Meaning that I knew my grandfather who was born in the early 1900's and he knew and heard from his grandfather who lived in the late 1800's. So my personal record goes back about 130 years. If we make that calculation over the 3324 years from Sinai we would only require a chain of about 25 people to pass down the story of that great event. 25 people charged with the memory and legacy of their grandparents who take seriously the mandate to make sure that their grandchildren knew the most important message and revelation of mankind that they were at. It's not so many people. It's not too hard to remember.

We live in a world where, thank God, with the blessing of modern medicine people are living longer. By my son's Bris 14 years ago he had 7 out of his eight great- grandparents alive and sharing in the Simcha. Today, they should live and be well until 120, they have the blessing of of having 4 of their great grandparents still active and passing down those important messages and values. Sinai lives and will always live our memory despite how much so many of us might forget from time to time, despite the challenges of assimilation and persecution we've faced throughout the centuries. It lives because the deepest instinct imparted to us as a nation at the momentous occasion was this message. Remember this day, Remember this moment when we saw and witnessed Hashem a.nd his glory. And never forget to remind your children of their precious heritage and memory as well. Personal birthdays may be forgotten, but our national birthday as the eternal nation will be celebrated each year as we approach and enjoy in the special birthday party of Shavuot.

Have an incredibly amazing Shabbos and a Chag Shavuot Samayach,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

P.S. Happy 1st Bar Mitzvah anniversary to my 14 year old Yonah!! We are so proud of you!!(and me for remembering :))

RABBI SCHWARTZ SHAVUOT YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS03Xkmaf3U




RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Instead of spending a fortune on this trip to climb Mount Sinai and reciting the 10 Commandments on the mountain's peak, I have a better idea. Save your money, stay home and keep the Commandments in Boston."-Mark Twain to the Boston Globe on a proposed expedition to the Holyland with a Sinai finale"




RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

JEZRE'EL VALLEY/ "THE EMEK"-THE TRUTH IS THIS LARGEST VALLEY IN ISRAEL BETWEEN THE LOWER GALILE AND THE HILLS OF MENASHE HAS TONS OF COOL PLACES. MANY BIBLICAL STORIES TOOK PLACE IN THIS VALLEY FROM SAUL, GIDEON, DEVORA, ALIYAHU AND ACHAV. YET WHEN ONE IN ISRAEL REFERS TO THE EMEK THEY REFER TO THE HOTBED OF MANY NEW IDEAS AND SOCIETIES THAT WERE DEVELOPED AND TRIED IN THIS VALLEY THAT WAS FULL OF SWAMPS, SICKNESS AND DETERMINED ZIONIST IDEALOGUES WHO WERE COMING TO BUILD A DIFFERENT FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES.
CO-OPERATIVE LIVING IN MERCHAVIA, KIBBUTZ LIFE IN EIN HAROD, MOSHAV IN NAHALAL WERE ALL ATTEMPTS IN THE 1920'S TO CREATE A SOCIETY THAT WOULD BALANCE A COMMUNAL LIVING AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. THE ONE THING THAT THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT THEY WERE ALL STARTED AS SECULAR NEW-WORLD VIEWS AND SOLUTIONS AND THEY HAVE ALL CHANGED AND EVEN HAVE ESTABLISHED SYNAGOGUES AND MIKVAOT.
THE JEW IS BUILT TO CHANGE THE WORLD THE EMEK IS A SYMBOL OF THE INCREDIBLE FLOURISHING THAT WE CAN BRING TO A DESOLATE SWAMP AS THE MOUNTAINS FLOURISH WITH WHEAT, TREES AND FLOWERS. MAY WE BE THAT TRUE SPIRITUAL LIGHT AS WELL

Friday, May 18, 2012

Casually Pregnant- Bechukosai 2012



Insights and Inspiration
from the 
Holy Land
from 
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"


May 18th  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 28 –26th  of Iyar 5772
41st  Day of Omer

Parshat Bechukosai
Casually Pregnant

It was during one of my wife's pregnancies and I had just returned from Israel on a trip. She was at a rather early stage and so, as the custom in our home, in order to avoid any Ayin Harah/Evil Eye we had not told anyone before I had gone on my 10 day trip. However the good Almighty always has alternate plans, and while I was away my wife became slightly ill (another not so fun pregnancy custom in our house), required some help and the word slowly got out. So there I was getting picked up from the airport when my little son Yonah turns to me excitedly and says

Hey, Daddy! Guess what? Mommy's pregnant!”

Biting back a smile and ignoring my friend’s who was driving us little comment about "see what happens when you go away for 10 days", I turned to my son with as much surprise as I could muster up and said "REEEAAALLY! Baruch Hashem!!" His response however touched my heart and soul.

"I just knew it would happen, Daddy! It's because I've been davening (praying) a lot and I sent a letter to Hashem and because you must have davened a lot when you went to the Western Wall-The Kotel in Eretz Yisrael to deliver it there."

I remember coming home smiling that night as I told my wife how cute my son was and the wonderful innocence of youth. In doing so however I caught myself. Is his statement and exuberance about the Hand of God and His answering- to- prayers- capacity a product of my son's childhood naiveté? Or is the lack of that emotion and faith an unfortunate testimony to his father's adult Divine callousness to the incredible miracle that was growing inside of my wife. Had I perhaps become so enwrapped in the natural expectations of "the way of the world" and fallen guilty to the sin of not appreciating the wonderful blessing I had been granted in response to my prayers.

This week’s Torah portion and the conclusion of the book of Leviticus discusses the blessing and curses associated with the fulfillment and non- fulfillment of the commandments. In the portion of the terrifying punishments that Hashem spells out in spine-chilling graphic detail (unfortunately most of which our history shows has been meted upon us generation after generation) there is one repeated cause for all these tzoris/troubles; one sin specifically that invokes a response from Hashem; a response of terror and tragedy.

"And if you will be have casually with Me and refuse to heed Me And I shall lay a further blow upon you seven ways like your sins……"

"If despite these you will not be chastised toward Me and you behave casually with Me then I will behave toward you with casualness and I will strike you even I seven ways for your sins)"

"And if despite this you will not heed Me and you will behave toward Me with casualness I will behave toward you with a fury of casualness; I will chastise you , even I, seven ways for your sins…."

"And you will confess your sins and your forefather's sins for the treachery with which they betrayed Me, and also for having behaved toward Me with casualness. I too will behave with them with casualness and I will bring them into the land of their enemies –perhaps then their unfeeling heart will be humbled and then they will gain appeasement for their sin."

Thankfully this portion concludes with the ultimate promise of redemption. With
Hashem "remembering" the covenant of our Forefathers and the remembrance of the Land of Israel,  to which will be fully and undisputedly returned to when we finally achieve atonement for our sin.
Perhaps one of the most difficult concepts for people to come to terms with in understanding or coming to terms with about God-run world is the untold tragedies that occur. Interestingly enough no one has that problem or question when blessings and good things befall them. The book titled "Why Do Good Things Happen to me?" has yet to be written and would probably never get published. It seems there is almost an expectation in life that the natural order of the world is that I deserve to have things going good. Although if you ask the average person if they have committed sins, if they have recognized regularly the Source of their blessing, if they truly feel they can approach an Almighty with clean deserving hands, most I believe would respond with an overall "Well I'm generally a good person" type of answer, rather than address the specific merits of the questions posed. An argument that would never hold its weight in any court when faced with a specific charge, nor one that would entitle anyone to getting a foundation grant, government assistance program, or even a job when asked for the merits by which they may be specifically worthy. Particularly because “generally good” is pretty subjective term.

Yet we feel that way. Why? Because we take God and goodness for granted, it's just the way its "spozed" to be. The greatest tragedy is that in doing so we lose out on the experience of the Divine nature, interaction and love by which we receive all that we have and by which we exist. We therefore more tragically lose out on fully appreciating the Divine nature of the significance of wha twe must have been given the capacity to accomplish. Imagine the wife who receives a beautiful diamond necklace from her husband (one day… Rebbetzin… one day…J) yet assumes that it just got there on the dining room table by itself. Imagine that tremendous potential for love that is lost. Imagine the message and knowledge of the incredible sense of love and appreciation her husband has for the value of their relationship that she could have taken from this gift had she only realized it was from him. Imagine the immense sadness of living a life not realizing how valuable and cherished you truly are because you just assumed with casualness that it’s the natural way of the world.

Hashem our ever loving Father in Heaven cares too much for us to let us lead that type of life. So He does that which always seems to get us recognizing and turning and begging for the return of His divine love and blessing. He separates and gives us exactly the type of relationship we are deserving of and have been behaving with, according to our lack of recognition, in order that we learn and appreciate how significant his blessing and love is in our lives.

We conclude this third book of the Torah Vayikra, the book that discusses sacrifices and the process of getting and integrating our closeness with our Creator with this powerful message. The Torah is teaching us that we are in a relationship with God. Our blessing and our existence are all not merely casual natural things that happen, rather they are a direct result of the caring love and significance by which we are meant to relate to the Divine and by which Hashem has a relationship with us. Perhaps even more significant is when we are faced with tragedies and challenges. We should never view them as products of the casual or circumstance. They are happening for a reason. A Divine reason. For they are coming from a loving God that wants nothing more than for His special children to turn to Him once again, whether in prayer or in our deeds and awareness and relate and appreciate the significance rather than the casualness of our lives.
Have an incredibly amazing Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

This week’s insights is dedicated in honor of my dear Rebbetzin Aliza who’s birthday is this week!! You are always my tremendous source of inspiration and the strength and the center of all that I have that is good. Thank you for all you are and do and for sharing life together with me. May Hashem continue to bless you and us with many more years growing younger, closer and greater together and may we both merit to continue to see all our dreams come true…
Mazel Tov!!


RABBI SCHWARTZ YOM YERUSHALAYIM YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS03Xkmaf3U


RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“BE KIND TO YOUR DENTIST. HE HAS FILLINGS, TOO.-Anonymous”

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Museum of Rishon Li’Tzion- THE CITY APTLY NAMED RISHON LE’TZION WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL FARMING COMMUNITY STARTED IN ISRAEL IN 1882- LONG BEFORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL. THE CITY WAS A BLEND OF EASTERN EUROPEAN RELIGIOUS JEWS THAT CAME TO LIVE IN ISRAEL AND WORK THE LAND, OLD YISHUV-NIKS THAT WERE MOVING OUT OF YERUSHALAYIM LOOKING TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND WESTERN EUROPEAN JEWS FUNDED BY THE ALLIANCE’- KOL YISRALE CHAVEIRIM THAT WAS DEDICATED TO SHOWING THAT JEWS COULD BE MORE THEN “BUSINESS MIDDLE MEN” AND COULD CREATE FROM THE SANDS AND INFERTILE GROUND OF ISRAEL AND FLOURISHING AGRICULTURAL WONDERLAND. WITH THE SUPPORT OF BARON ROTHSCHILD (AND THE CHALLENGES THAT CAME WITH HIS HARSH DEMANDS) THE MIRACLE TOOK PLACE. THE CITY GREW AND DEVELOPED AND IS TODAY THE FOURTH LARGEST IN ISRAEL. IN THE MUSEUM OF RISHON ONE CAN VISIT THE OLD REFURBISHED PERIOD HOUSES ALONG WITH MEETING MANY OF THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS (DRESSED AND SPEAKING AS THEY DID IN THAT ERA) WHO ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THEIR STORIES. ONE CAN VISIT THE HOMES WHERE THE HATIKVA WAS ESTABLISHED AND SET TO MUSIC, WHERE THE ISRAELI FLAG WAS FIRST UNVEILED, THE OLD SHUL-WHICH IS STILL IN USE AND EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND WHAT LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN LIFE FOR THOSE EARLIER PIONEERS WHO CAME WITH A DREAM OF HOLINESS AND DEDICATION TO BUILD OUR LAND.

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Dancing with Hashem- Lag Ba'Omer/Behar 2012


Insights and Inspiration
From theHoly Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
May 10th 2012 -Volume 2, Issue 27 -18th of Iyar 5772
33rd Day of Omer
Parshat Behar/ Lag Ba'Omer

Dancing with Hashem
I could swear his feet were not touching the ground as he circled around and around. His eyes were closed heavenward, his curly side-locks (payot) and glistening white beard swaying in the air with his hands stretched out as if they were holding the hands of his Creator. Grabbing anyone to join him in the middle of the circle, Sefardi, Teimani, Chasid, Black hatter, soldier, secular and anglo rabbis from Karmiel :).
"Anachanu Ma'aminim Bnai Ma'aminim-We are believers the children of believers" they all sang with him together. Welcome to Meron. Lag Ba'Omer 5772.

Only Jews could make a holiday on the day that one of our greatest sages Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (the 1st century Mishanic leader) passed way. For many other nations this might be a day of sadness and mourning. In traditional Judaism the period of Omer (the 49 days from Passover to Shavuot) is our period of mourning for the students of Rabbi Akiva- the teacher of Rabbi Shimon- who passed. Yet, on the day of Rabbi Shimon -Lag- the 33rd day- the mourning comes to an end (or is interrupted) as we celebrate the tremendous legacy Rabbi Shimon left us on the day of his passing- the fire and the secrets of the hidden and mystical aspects of the Torah and universe that are found in the teachings of Kabbalah.

As I walked through the jam packed streets of Meron (over a half a million people come over the course of the day) I watch Hashem's children who have picked themselves up from their mourning as they dance and celebrate like crazy. Circles after circles around bonfires. There are 10's of Kiosks and tents that are set up offering free food (kugel, cake, chulent, sandwiches) drinks, wine donated from people and organizations around the world. The rich, the poor there is no difference when it comes to that small mountain top we are all one joined in dance, song, prayer and Torah. The way it should be...it used to be... it will be.

This week we read Parshat Behar. It is named that after the first verse in the Parsha
"And Hashem spoke to Moshe- Be'Har- on the mountain- of Sinai" The Parsha then goes on to detail the laws of the Sabbatical Year and the 50 year Jubilee year and the incredible laws that take place during these years. All land that was sold is returned to their owners in the 50th year, The land cannot be worked, slaves are freed, debts are declared exempt and most importantly the obligation to assist those that are struggling. The Medrash asks the question as to why these laws are particularly singled out as being taught at Sinai? My father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Sorotzkin in his monumental work Meged Yosef, explains the Medrash's response that there have been many attempts throughout history to create societies in which all were equal, where one is not treated any less because of their financial hardships, their social status, where those more fortunate were obligated to care for the more needy. Yet, they have failed. Judaism is different. We are a nation that has its eyes and its memory firmly planted on that mountain where we were born as a nation. The Torah can mandate that I forgive the debts that are owed to me, I do not charge interest on loans I lend, I leave my land- the source of my income barren-giving it a Shabbos, I free my slaves because we remember where we came from. We remember that what made us a nation is how we all stood as one after having left the slave pits of Egypt. We swore we would never forget that unity, that responsibility, that heavenly mandate. We remember the mountain.

Other nations do not have that mountain to look back to. Ideals of equality, sharing of wealth and renunciation of our hard earned possessions and acquisitions fall to the wayside without a recognition of our Divine Benefactor who wishes all His Children to appreciate the goodness, freedom and blessing of having and being sufficient enough to serve Him. We understand with those miztvot that were given to us on the mountain that no matter how desperate and tragic our situation, there will come a time of Jubilee when we return to our ancestral heritage, when our debts are finally forgiven. When we will experience the final Shabbos together with Him. It is with that knowledge that we can pick ourselves from our mourning and dance, we can celebrate the greatest light that explodes from the darkness and we can float and sing and stretch out our hands to heaven to dance with us.

I went inside to pray by the grave of the great Rabbi Shimon and I came out about an hour later and the old Rabbi was still dancing in the middle. I asked someone who he was. He did not know his name as well, but told me that he had been there all night dancing, floating, singing. It seemed from what I gathered that the Rabbi had lost his children and family in a tragedy. Lag Ba'Omer, had become his day. The day when he felt he could dance and pick himself up again. The flames of the bonfire around which he danced were a testament to the flame and spirit of the eternal souls that we have. Just as all our souls are united and forged as one and a spirit of Hashem. So too in drawing every type of Jew together closer to that warm flame in joy he was creating that eternal connection we all shared to dance with Hashem.

From Mt. Sinai to Mt. Miron, may Hashem bring us all together one again on his eternal Temple mount in Jerusalem once again rebuilt.
"Lag" Samayach and have a spectacular Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz


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RABBI SCHWARTZ LAG BA'OMER YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
This years lighting- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnqNoUMhooA

And feel for the atmosphere of holiness and joy- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4ddawKlzQo


RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK


"The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the vote decide everything- Jospeh Stalin (Y"M"SH-of cursed memory)."



RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-


Grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai- The second largest internal tourist site in Israe,( after the Kotel) due to its over ½ million that make the annual Lag Ba'omer pilgrimage besides the thousands that come year round, the grave site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Miron is always a cool and incredible place. Although there are testaments of sages from the 11th and 12th century that would visit Miron and go to the graves of the great Hillel and Shammai, the tradition of Rabbi Shimons grave site only goes back as early as the times of the great Kabbalist the Arizal in the 1600's. The more modern pilgrimages though only date back to the 1830's when the Abo family, Algerian Olim, who lived and served as chief Rabbi of Tzefat purchased the grave sites from the local arabs which was until then being used as sheep and cattle-herd shepherding area. It was he who built the traditional building that we have to do (although it has been fixed up since then). In appreciation of that until this day the traditional Lag Ba'Omer festivities begin each year with the arrival of the sefer torah scroll from the Abo home in Tzefat. Not long after the Rozhiner Rebbe purchased the right to light the bonfire each year, although he never made it to Israel however until today his descendants the Rebbe of Boyan is the first to light the annual bonfire.
Today the annual pilgrimage brings many who come to pray for children, Jews throughout the world donate money for "Chai Rotel" 18- is the amount donated (a sign of life) to provide three liters or so of wine to be shared at the grave site, they come and light bonfires and dance and most fun is watching many young jewish boys get their first haircut at age 3 fulfilling the custom that states that the 'fruits of your tree" should be let to grow wild and not be cut the first three years.
All year around Miron is a cool place on Lag Ba'Omer it is the coolest!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Rabbis with Guns- Emor 2012



Insights and Inspiration
from the 
Holy Land
from 
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"


May 4th  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 26 –12th  of Iyar 5772
27th Day of Omer

Parshat Emor/ Lag Ba’Omer

Rabbis with Guns

It was about two years ago and my first time giving a speech in Hebrew. My new friend Rav Yedidya Atlas, the IDF Major of the ground forces and my liaison to the Israeli Army Rabbinate, tried to quell my nervousness with what he thought was a reassuring statement. He told me that the added benefit of being a Rabbi in the Israeli army over being a regular congregational Rabbi is the fact that you get to carry a gun. Not bad, a captive audience. The only thing he cautioned me is that the downside is that your ‘congregation’- the soldiers, carry guns too… So don’t speak too long, he warned.

So there I stood before a roomful of IDF Rabbanim Tzvaim-Rabbis of the Israeli Army, tasked with my first mission of sharing with them some inspiration. I felt totally overwhelmed. These were modern day heroes. Each had themselves served in the army before they chosen to further dedicate their lives caring for the Neshama- the Souls of its armed services. Can there be a greater task than to raise the holiness of those that place their lives on the line each day for the protection and preservation of the Jewish people in Israel ? Friends of mine in America had told me that my outreach work in areas out of mainstream Jewish communities was ‘out in the trenches’. But these guys truly were on the front, of perhaps what is one of the most significant lines of which the Jewish people stand upon.

So what did I say? How did move them? What words could I have use? I would tell you but… it was in Hebrew so you wouldn’t understandJ. Needless to say, thank God, it went well, I thought. Instead I will share with you the idea that I didn’t have time to share with them. (Remember they did have guns.) Yet, I believe it speaks to all of us and it touches upon our season.

This weeks Torah portion begins with the commandments regarding our more biblical Rabbanim Tzvaim-the Kohanim; the priests of Israel . In times of war it was the Kohen’s job to inspire our warriors and to provide their spiritual needs. The Parsha tells us that the Kohein had specific laws of Kedusha/ Holiness. He was forbidden to come in contact with things that would make him un-pure, he was limited in who he was permitted to marry. Even more than that the Talmud derives from the verse Vi’Kidashto- And You shall make him holy- that the Jewish people themselves were authorized to force him to maintain his high spiritual state. Fascinatingly enough from that same verse, we also derive the specific commandment to honor the Kohen. We give him the first portion by the meal, we honor him with the first Aliya to the Torah and in many areas he is given preferential treatment. He gets the spiritual ‘Platinum Card’.

What is the reason for this special treatment? So the verse continues and tells us
Es Lechem Elokecha Hu Makriv, Kodesh Yihyeh Lach, Ani Hashem MiKadishchem- For he offers the ‘bread’ of Hashem, He shall be holy for you I am Hashem who makes you holy.
The Torah Temima notes that the obligation to honor the Kohein comes from the end of the verse; he should be Holy to us. We are obligated to honor the Kohen so that we can develop an appreciation of the nature and glory that comes with a fulfilled spiritual existence. We can’t fight and win the battles and challenges that face us on the battlefield, in our homes and our personal lives, without tapping into our inner holy essence. The Kohein, our Rabbis and the Torah offer for us and to us the bread of Hashem. We need to feel it and deeply sense how powerful and incredible it is. If we do, than as the verse concludes, we can appreciate that Hashem Himself has given each and everyone of us that same Kedusha; that same beautiful piece of Him that resides in each of us.

This Wednesday night and Thursdaywe celebrate that more mystical holiday of Lag Ba’Omer. Here in Israel, I look our my window each afternoon and I see children shlepping wood, logs, beds, closets and setting up pyres for the bonfires that will take place. The holiday celebrates the break from the deaths of the students of Rabbi Akiva who died from a plague during this period of the Omer count. It also commemorates the passing of the great sage of the Mishna Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whom the secrets of the Kabbalah and the Zohar are attributed to. The bonfires are meant to be a great big Yartzeit memorial candle for him and his legacy. What is the legacy of the Rabbi Shimon and his teachings? It is that there is a hidden spiritual world. The universe is much more than what our eyes and ears perceive. We have a neshoma that is reaching, like the flames of those bonfires, to connect our worlds. To harmonize them. To make us whole. To make us holier.

We are all soldiers and we are all priests. We have missions to accomplish, goals to achieve and enemies that we each face. But we also have a secret weapon. It is burning inside of us aching to be released. Let’s light that fire together. Let’s shine our flame.
Have a Great Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

This week’s insights is dedicated to the modern day Kohanim who dedicate their lives to bring the light of Torah and the beauty of Yiddeshkeit to our brave soldiers in the Israel Defense Force And to the wonderful families who joined us to bring them Yom Ha’Atzmaut BBQ..
Check out the link below for pictures and articles
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RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
EXPERIENCE:-The name men give to their Mistakes.”

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Nachal Ein Bokek- Right across the street and under the bridge from the hotel area on the south side of the Yam Hamelach-Dead Sea is a wonderful hike through the beautiful Judean Dessert. With running water and small sliding waterfalls from the natural springs shaded by the beautiful Eshel/ Tamarisk trees Nachal Bokek is a great place to bring your entire family to hike at the lowest place on planet earth. One can also see the ruins of the ancient Byzantine fort that was once here that protected the crossroads of the border to Moav and Edom. There is the option to hike up past the falls to get a glorious view fo the entire Dead Sea hotels and mountains. It is not a 5 minute hike though J and make sure to bring water and hiking shoes for that part of the hike.
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