A Few Good Men-Pinchas 2013/5773

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

June 27^th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 35–19^th of Tamuz 5773

Parshas Pinchas

A Few Good Men

 

The year was 1947. Rabbi Berel Wein was a young Yeshiva student in Chicago. The school was all spruced up and everyone was dressed in their finest clothing. They were having a special guest. It was none other than the legendary Rav of Ponovezh, Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman. The Rav had escaped Europe in middle of WWII miraculously, with his diplomatic status. His family and community that were meant to join him, though tragically, never made it out. Yet he had begun to rebuild once again in the British mandated Palestine. He had a dream of renewing the classic Lithuanian style houses of Torah in Israel and he was not sleeping. His visit to the States was to be inspired by the revitalization of the burgeoning Torah community in the States, the "Shearit Ha'pleita-the remnant that had survived" and to raise the funds necessary to actualize his vision in the Holy Land. But as much as he himself was inspired, he gave even more inspiration to the individuals and institutions that he visited.

Rabbi Wein recalls the lecture that he heard from the Rav and he repeats it often until today. He can still see that tall, handsome saintly visage before him and his prophetic words that were embedded within his heart. The Rav had given an intense Talmiduc lecture to the students, after which he closed his Talmud and spoke to them in Yiddish, his mama-lashon..

"Tayereh kinder- Dear sweet young men. Know that today in Palestine...Eretz Yisrael there sits in British prisons..in Akko…in Jerusalem…,young Jewish fighters…soldiers…members of the Lechi…the Hagana…the Irgun. They are a handful. Maybe seven, maybe ten. Some of them are facing the death penalty in their struggle for a Jewish State, others have lost friends, relatives, brothers and sisters in the battle to achieve independence for the Jewish people and our homeland.

Ich zug Dir kinder- I promise and guarantee you. These 7-10 soldiers will eventually succeed and chase the British out of our country. They will win and establish a Jewish country. There will be a State of Israel. And I tell you something else my children and it is important that you listen closely. If I had 7-10 students with the same dedication, determination, self-sacrifice and sheer iron will as they these young men and women have… than we would have a Torah State in Israel as well. We would have the Jewish State that would merit Mashiach… that our ancestors have longed for and that our Father in Heaven is truly waiting to return to…But I don't have such students…We don't have them…yet. It is up to you my dear kinder to become those solidiers. It is up to us to change the world."

A few months after that lecture, the impossible happened. As the Rav predicted, on Novemeber 29^th of that year the UN voted to recognize a Jewish State and a few bitter and bloody months later, the State of Israel was born. With blood and fire Judea was redeemed. Sadly, 65 years later that ultimate redemption still costs us too much blood, too much fire and too many tears. The Torah State is not here yet. We yet await the ultimate redemption. We are still looking for those few good men.

This week's Torah portion is aptly named after the figure in the Torah that more than anyone else achieves the impossible through his selfless dedication and sacrifice; Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon Ha'Kohen. While all of the Jewish people stood by the sidelines and watched as Zimri the leader of the tribe of Shimon instigated a licentious rebellion against Moshe with the princess of midyan Kozbi, Pinchas took up his spear and put an end to the Divine plague that was running rampant quelling the wrath of Hashem. 24,000 people died that day. Moshe, the high priest Elazar and all of the other leaders were frozen in shock and horror at the travesty that was taking place. After all the years in the wilderness, the recent battles Hashem had won for our nation. How could they fall back, so fast, so tragically lose their way, literally days before their entry to the land? Was there any hope?

Yet, Pinchas saw that hope. He knew that we needed a wakeup call. Hashem was sending a message with his plague and the message was for someone to stand up to the plate and take the necessary swing to get us back on track. Pinchas was a descendant of Aharon the High Priest, who 40 years before, saw the nation on the foothills of Sinai worshiping the golden calf just days after achieving that Divine revelation and mandate. Even after being told by Hashem how precious we are to him and how much we were meant to achieve as a nation of priests, a holy nation, we still managed to fall of the wagon and back to our former idolatrous ways. Aharon and the tribe of Levi took up their spears following Moshe's call of "He who is for God after to me" and restored the spirit of Hashem once again to the people.

Pinchas, heeding that lesson as well, realized that once again the battle was not over. Perhaps it will always need to be renewed until the eventual redemption. Yet, he put his life on the line even when there seemed to be no hope, even when even all the other great leaders seemed to have been paralyzed and shell shocked by the overwhelming gravity of the situation. Pinchas's zeal and love for the Jewish people and for the honor of Hashem and his belief and certainty that the relationship will be healed  and can be redeemed drove him to do what needed to be done. And he succeeded. The impossible had happened. The rift was healed. The nation was saved and the Jewish State would be born. A Torah State. We would enter the land and Hashem would be with us.

Our sages tell us the soul of Pinchas is the same soul of the prophet Eliyahu. Just as Pinchas took up his sword on behalf of Hashem, the Jewish people and our special relationship, so too did Eliyahu do so repeatedly. Perhaps most significant is the fact that Eliyahu who went up to the heavens in a fiery chariot is meant to be the one prophet who will herald in the eventual redemption of the Jewish people. It is Eliyahu who tradition tells us attends every Bris and every Pesach Seder. Those two symbols of the eternal bond of our nation and Hashem, Eliyahu/ Pinchas become the one who witnesses. It  is they the eternal loyal soldiers that forever bring that merit before the Almighty.  For it is their knowledge and faith that the bonds between us will never be severed. We can overcome all the challenges and battles, physical and spiritual, from enemies from without and even more significantly from within, we just need a few good men to carry that banner. To believe in us and to be willing to put themselves on the line- the front line for those beliefs.

We have come once again to that time of year, sadly enough, when we must confront our exile…our mourning.. the destruction of our Temple and the lack of the presence of Hashem in our midst. We are in the three weeks that lead up to Tish'ah B'Av. For many it seems hopeless. It's been close to 2000 years since we have seen our Father in His palace- our Beit Ha'Mikdash. So many generations so much greater than us have come and gone and yet we still remain bereft. Yet the end is approaching. Like Pinchas, like the Rav of Ponevezh we must be able to believe in the possibility of the impossible. We have seen many miracles happen. We will see many more to come. We just need to become the soldiers that Hashem needs to heal the rift, to restore the peace and love for Hashem and one another.  May we soon merit to the final words in our book of Prophets

Behold I will send to you Eliyahu Ha'Navi before the great and awesome day of Hashem and he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers…

Have a Shabbos filled with blessing and peace,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz  

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 RABBI SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 (answer below)

The tourniquet should never be applied to the neck?

(a) Thigh

(b) Arm                                                                                                                               

(c) Leg

(d) Neck

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RABBI SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE WEEK

 "I know for certain that there is no life on other planets for if there was the Ponovozher Rav would have certainly gone there to raise money for his Yeshiva” – Reb Yoel Teitelbaum-the Satmar Rebbe Z"TL

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 RABBI SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK

RARE FOOTAGE OF THE PONEVEZHER RAV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHpw3-b3ors

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RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Tayelet Louie/ Louis Promenade-Haifa-This promenade in the heart of the city of Haifa is one of the most beautiful outlook points over the Bahai Gardens and the Haifa coast and port. It’s a wonderful place for a picnic in the park there for visitors to Haifa and the history of the location is commemorated by a monument that was built in 1898 to Kaiser Willhelm II and his wife Augusta Vicotria who came to visit his German citizens who had moved to Haifa and  built the German quarter there. (eventually these germans were expelled by the British as being enemies after WWI and during WWII the rest were expelled 34% being card carrying Nazi's). Alongside the monument is a canon that commemorates the British conquest of Haifa which was only conquered after General Allenby's navy was able to quell the Turkish cannons that were shooting from atop this hill. The Promenade dedicated in 1992 was named after Louis Goldschmidt who was killed in a car accident by his parents, Olim from South Africa, who were the contractors for the Bahai gardens.

 

 Answer is D- This was pretty much a give-away question, I hope for most… Athough occasionally you do get a tourist here and there that you might want to strangle (not me of course) but it's pretty obvious that it is not a good idea to tie something around the neck that would stop blood flow to the head..But yes we did have to take a basic first aide course to become a licensed tour guide.

Wow Moments-Balak 2013

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

 

June 20^th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 34–12^th of Tamuz 5773

Parshas Balak

Wow Moments

 

Perhaps my most favorite part of being a tour guide is what I call the "Wow Moment". It is that few minutes when you take your tourists to a place and they are kind of scratching their head, and you know they are asking themselves "Why did he shlep us all the way over here?" I mean it's pretty and all that jazz and perhaps even historical, but was it really worth the extra drive..? Climb…? Hike...? And then you turn the corner and are overlooking a glorious view, or you pull out your Tanach and describe for them that where they are standing is where this story took place, or you ask them to close their eyes and envision something special and meaningful and all of a sudden a change comes over their faces. "Wow!!" "Awesome" "That's incredible" "Amazing". Those are the moments we live for. Our mission has been accomplished. The hike and trek to get out here was worth it. It is a moment you know they will carry with them back to the States. You may even get a tip. Truth is you don't even need one (don't quote me on this- we always like oneJ). The look on their faces is more than enough.

In many ways being an outreach Rabbi was very much the same thing. Watching new students eyes and faces transform before you as you shared with them their first Torah insight, their first real connection to their heritage, their first taste of Shabbos...of chulent JJ, there's nothing better than that. You can actually see how you have opened with a key the hidden treasure that is their soul and it blossoms right before your very eyes. It is a "Wow Moment" of the holiest kind. It is those that I treasure for a lifetime and I thank Hashem for giving me the privilege to be part of and to witness.

We have all read stories, heard inspirational ideas and have had people tell us about incredible visits that they have had to all types of fabulous places. Yet, none of the above has the same impact as the power of sight. Seeing something that is moving connects ones soul with what one sees in the deepest of ways. The images embeds into ones soul and can connect to ones memory in the deepest of ways. It is perhaps for that reason that the Torah warns us V'Lo Sasuru Acharie Li'Vavchem V'acharei Einechem- don't "tour/stray" with your heart and your eyes. The heart is open and looking to connect, the eyes are the receptacles that transplant their images on the soul of a man. One of our great sages once said that he felt this was the most challenging of all mitzvos; Our natural desire is to "tour" with our eyes, to explore the world, to "check it out". Yet as Rashi teaches us seeing can lead directly to the heart coveting, to rest of the body engaging in activity that ultimately will bring man to the depths. The eyes are the windows to our souls for better and for worse.

This week's Torah portion introduces us to what our sages considered to be the "Rebbe" of the bad eye. The Mishna in Avot urges us to be from the Students of Avraham whose traits consist of having a "good eye", as opposed to the students of  Bil'am of the eye that sought out bad. The Parsha seems to be full of Bil'am, who is employed by Balak the king of Moav, touring around to see the Jewish nation so that he may place that eye upon them and curse them. This is despite the Almighty's explicit repeated command not to attempt to do so. This is despite the incredible Divine irony of Bil'ams donkey being able to see the angel that threatens to destroy him with a sword which Bil'am can't see initially. Even when Bil'am comes to different positions and outlooks points on the Jewish people and breaks out in blessing rather than the curses he had hoped to unleash upon our nation, he persists on trying to find a better spot, another sacrifice another opportunity to use his eyes as a tool to wreak destruction upon our people.

If one follows the verses though the third time around Bil'am seemingly finally gets it.

And when Balaam saw that it pleased HaShem to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of G-d came upon him.

And he took up his parable, and said:

"The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened; The saying of him who hears the words of G-d, who sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes:

 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!

The ultimate "Wow moment" took place for Bil'am. For the first time he states his eyes had been opened. He saw the Jewish people as they really were. Not this fearsome tribe that Balak and the world media were presenting him with. They were a nation whose tents were holy. The Medrash brought by Rashi suggests that Bil'am saw that the Jewish tents were set up with the openings not facing one another "So that one would not see into his neighbors tent". Unlike many of us who prefer tinted windows on our cars so that no one else can see into our car. (As our children fight with one another, or as we yell at them for fighting, or so that we can hide our latest purchases from prying eyes-which is generally what our children our fighting about). The Medrash's terminology is that they were structured such so that we would not look into another person's tent rather than the vice-vers- others checkin' us out.. What's his is his, no one wanted to covet, begrudge or give a "bad eye" to his neighbor. Each Jew would, as my mother used to scold us (and to fulfill her prophesy I do to my own children as well), "keep their eyes on their own plate". We knew that our eyes were the windows to our souls and we wanted our windows to be faced inwards rather than upon another.

 Bil'am saw that and he said "Wow!"- Ma Tovu-how wondrous and goodly are your tents. His blinded eye that always saw the negative, whose heart could never seem to connect to anything but the curse that he saw was opened. With a little practice and warming up of Hashem putting the right words in his mouth a few times and with that incredible paradigm shifting moment he was able to find the blessing within himself albeit for a minute for the nation that was just moments before his mortal enemy.

It is interesting to note that it is that blessing that Bil'am said at that moment that become the custom of the Jewish people to say as they arrive in shul each morning. Think for a second how bizzare that must be. We have no shortage of poets, lyricists and beautiful texts that we could start off our morning with. Yet from all of that, we chose Bil'am's personal blessing. Bil'am who after that one moment, returned again to his diabolical plot and in fact ended up advising Balak to have the Moabite daughters seduce the Jewish people. This in turn brought down the wrath of God and 24,000 Jews were killed in the ensuing plague-more than any battle, plague or Divine punishment that happened in the 40 years in the wilderness.  Yet is it is Bil'ams prayer that becomes the text of choice to start off our morning. Why?

The answer is because there is no more powerful way to start off our morning, our day, our lives, than with that sense of Wow! How special is our tents, our places of worship, our fellow Jews and our nation. If even Bil'am that archenemy of our people who intended to destroy us, yet when he actually beheld us was so overcome with the beauty and specialness of our nation, than how much more so should our wow be when we see our fellow Jews each morning, when we take our first breath and steps in Hashem's glorious world. We start our morning with that Wow because it is meant to engage our good eye to give us the vision we need to activate our hearts and love for life, for our brothers and sisters and for Hashem our Father in heaven.

This week we begin the three week period of mourning for the destruction our Temple. Our sages tell us that when the temple was destroyed the Divine presence had already departed from it. It was sticks and stones that the Babylonians and Romans destroyed. What caused the divine presence to depart? It was because we had let it go. We were no longer awed by the Temple and the almost unfathomable-to-us-today notion that Hashem had a house that He resided in where we would be able to come and "see" his countenance and glory. It was a nice building of which we had many. Jews also lost their awe and wow of one another. We were a nation divided that coveted, begrudged and even hated, fought and eventually even killed one another. Our good eye was closed and Bil'am's evil eye was rampant. So Hashem took it away. The building destroyed, the fires burnt, our blood flowed. And we, finally, with tears in our eyes, said sadly,"…Wow… what have we lost…what have we done…when can we come back...?

As we contemplate over the next few weeks let us think about that wow that we lost and start to focus on the wows that will bring us back. If we could only see the good in one another, the beauty of our Torah, the joy of our mitzvos, than Hashem will surely return us to our home as He comes back to dwell amongst us. May we very soon share in that biggest "wow  moment" of all.

Have an amazing Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz  

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RABBI SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE WEEK

- There’s that old joke: “Why do you go to shul? Harry goes to shul to talk to G-d; I go to shul to talk to Harry.” - Sue Ellen Dodell

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  RABBI SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK

MA TOVU COOL CLIP ON SYNAGOGUES AROUND THE WORLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWVasdTO0JM

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RABBI SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 (answer below)

The Haifa Central Station "Hashmona" commemorates?

(a) the defenders of Tel Hai

(b) The people killed in the "Night of the Bridges"                                

(c) Haifa residents killed in first Lebanon War

(d) Train workers killed in 2^nd Lebanon War

 RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Ramban synagogue-Jerusalem-In the year 1267 the Ramban/Nachmanides came to Israel. He lived in Akko at first and than came to Jerusalem which was in ruins following the Tatar and arab attacks on the city.He describes the city as having 200 residents most non Jews and being that the city was destroyed anyone was free to take a building and create a shul. Sadly he did not have a minyan and had to pay two dyers to join him each weekend for Shabbos. In the 1400's the Bartenura visited and described the shul with its water cistern underneath it and its arch shaped pillars. He also mentions that there was a house next door which one can see to day which is the remains of a mosque that was donated out of resentment by a Jewish women whose son became a muslim out of spite. From the 1500's the turks prohibited Jews to pray there and it wasn't until 1967 (700 years exactly from when the Ramban first came) that it was re-captured and returned to Jewish hands. Most archeologists today feel that it is unlikely that the Ramban shul is the same as the Ramban describes that he lived by Mt. Zion nearby which was where the Jewish community lived. It is more likely that in the 1400's when the Jewish community moved to the modern day Rova (after a dispute with the Christians over the rights to mt zion and kever david) that the congregation of the Ramaban moved the shul here. Interestingly enough Rav Nebenzahl the first rav of the old city established that the nusach of the shul should be open to whoever the baal tefila is and so it is until today.

  Answer is D- The Haifa train station named after the 8 workers that were killed by a katyusha missile that hit near the station at a depot and killed 8 workers in the 2^nd Lebanon war in 2006.  A tricky question as kiryat Shmona is named after the 8 killed in Tel Chai and there were 14 people killed in the night of the bridges attack in independence war (the monument is by Achziv) and the first and 2^nd Lebanon war can always get confusing. Israelis thought this one was easy as it was only named this 6 years ago most of them remember. But for a recent oleh like myself…I got it right J

Well Songs-Chukas 2013

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

June 13^th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 33–5^th of Tamuz 5773

Parshas Chukas

Well Songs

I sing in the shower. Maybe it’s the pounding beat of the spray on my body, that delicious cleansing power of water running down my head, the echoes of the walls or maybe I'm just happy that somebody remembered to leave the "Dood" (hot water boiler switch that needs to be turned on in this highly advanced third world country that still hasn't figured out how to provide hot water all the time yet sigh..) on. Regardless water makes me sing. It's not only me I imagine. Some of you readers I'm sure are also "water "closet singers. Truth is my experience as a tour guide as well has taught me that when you are on a hike in Israel and you hear some loud singing coming up ahead of you in general it is a sign you are near some type of waterfall. Underneath the glorious cascading dalls inevitably you will see some crazy Israeli teens jumping up and down or some yeshiva students and than some americans on the side wondering if it is dangerous and taking pictures and arguing with their children whether they need life jackets or not to go in. Yet the hills are truly alive at that moment with the sound of music…

Yet with all the singing that takes place under water I have yet to find anyone that sings what should be the most popular song to sing while frolicking in the water. That would be the first and only biblical song that this week's Torah portion tells us the Jewish people composed in honor of the miraculous well that provided them with water in the wilderness for forty years- Shirat Ha'Be'er -the song of the well. Perhaps it is because no great Jewish singer has yet to come up with a tune for it. Perhaps it's because like most of my readers, most of us don't know the song by heart and those that do probably don't find it too inspiring. We know the song of the sea that the Jewish people sang when we left Egypt. It's part of our daily morning prayers. Many of us know the song of the Torah portion of Ha'azinu that Hashem commands Moshe to write and "place in their mouths" so that it will be for us eternally. After-all we read it annually the Shabbat right before or after Yom Kippur when everyone is still paying attention to the Torah reading as those New Year's resolutions last at least that long. But somehow the song of the Well has been forgotten. And that is something we have to do something about.

The truth is out of all of the biblical songs, mentioned above, the song of the well in the Torah's introduction to it describes it as one that we are perhaps most obligated to remember

"About this it shall be said in the books of the wars of Hashem" and Rashi's comment is that when we are meant to recall the miracles Hashem performed for our forefathers we should relate this miracle and song. He adds even more than that. "Just as we are meant to remember the miracles of Splitting of the Sea,  so too we are meant to remember the miracle of the valley of Arnon" (where this song was composed). Now I know that all of us have a whole holiday to remember the splitting of the sea and some great and not so great Hollywood movies to help us visualize it, but what about Nachal Arnon? Where is our song and commemoration that Rashi dictates we must remember? Perhaps even more perplexing is why did we have to wait until the end of our 40 year sojourn in the wilderness to sing this song. After all this well miraculously accompanied the Jewish people throughout our whole trek. As well (excuse the punJ) we find many miracles in wilderness, the clouds of glory, the manna and the miraculous battles, yet it is only for the well that we ever composed a song. If it is that important shouldn't we be singing about it a little more?

Perhaps it's not our fault. Unlike the other songs in the Torah the song of the well isn't framed in the traditional style of a song with a separation of the lyrics. It also has no refrain, as the song of the sea did. In fact if one looks in Torah you have to search pretty hard to find the few verses that compose this song. Yet it's about time we learned it and perhaps even got some inspiration from the only song in the Torah sung and composed spontaneously by our ancestors. So here we go close your eyes start humming your favorite tune and then insert the following words…(if you need help with a tune you can scroll down to RABBI SCHWARTZ'S YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK for my favorite tune this weekJ)

Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!
    Sing about it,
about the well that the princes dug,
    that the nobles of the people sank—
    the nobles with scepters and staffs.

There it is. Are you inspired? You’d think after the big build up I just gave you that it would be something more. Maybe that's why we haven't been too big in the music business. What is this song really about? What is the miracle of Arnon?

So Rashi and the medrash share with us  that the impetus that led to the composition of this song was the battle that never happened. We were camped as the previous verses tell us on the other side of the Jordan river and the Emorite nation wishing to prevent our entry to the land camped out in the cliffs of Moav to attack us. Miraculously, we are told, Hashem shook the earth causing the mountatins to collide and smushing (so much more Jewish than smashing) the Emorites in the middle. This was a miracle we would have never known about. Yet Hashem sent the rolling well into the valley and the blood of our would-be murderers flowed around the camp. It was at that moment that we broke out in the above song.

Rav Mordechai Alon suggests a fascinating insight into this song and miracle. He notes that most of our Torah portion which contains the story of the Jewish people before we entered the land in year 40, corresponds to the first portion of our Exodus in Parshat Beshalach. We have the Jews complaining about the food again. We have an attack by the Cananite/Amalek, another water crisis with Moshe hitting the rock instead of talking it to and of course we have the song of the Sea and the Well. The difference between the two narratives is that whereas at the start of our Exodus the Jewish people had miracles performed for them via Moshe and Aharon and in the merit of their forefathers, at this point is was time for them to stand on their own; to recognize their own greatness and potential and to acknowledge that we had what it takes and we were connected to Hashem enough to move forward and conquer the land.

 Aharon dies, Miriam dies, Moshe is not allowed to bring the Jews into the land. Yet miracles can and would still be performed for them. They are loved by Hashem and protected.  The miracle of the cliffs of Arnon and its subsequent revelation via the well showed them that even after Miriam and Aharon had passed they have within the merit and potential to achieve that special Divine care. It is perhaps for this reason that Moshe was so severely punished in hitting the rock rather than speaking to it. The wellspring for miracles within the Jewish nation had already been dug and uncovered. There was no longer any need to force it. It just needed to be spoken to and coaxed. We were that well. Our ancestors, our experiences and miracles in the wilderness had given us all that we need. We had within us the power to conquer the land. And thus we broke out in song. A song to the well we found in ourselves. A song that perhaps we have forgotten…

The miracles of that last year in the wilderness was the transformative experience for our nation. It gave us the strength to eventually conquer that land. To wage wars that all odds, besides the Divine, were against us ever winning. We had faith in Hashem and in His love for us and our potential to create that special country and Nation that was our destiny to create. Yet with time we forgot the song. It wasn't standing out in the Torah like the other songs. It has to be searched for. It is a song each Jew has to seek as he studies and grows and builds that special relationship of love with our Father, our Creator. It can be found in the Book of Wars that Hashem fights for us on a personal and daily basis. Perhaps even in the ones we don't even know about unless we hear that song of the well. Yet if we can sing that song once again and have the faith  and confidence of a nation that knows that with Hashem's eternal love for us we can rightfully return and claim our place in the world…see the redemption…return to Israel…be victorious once again.

Have a transformative Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz  

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RABBI SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The bad part about singing your heart out in the shower is watching it go down the drain"
- Susan Gale.

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 RABBI SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK

·         WARNING*This song will make you smile but will stick in your brain

SINGIN'G IN THE BATHTUB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rj5OQirHfY

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RABBI SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

 (answer below)

What is the leading site of the Society for the Perservation of Israel Heritage sites where illegal immigration (ha'apala) is commemorated?

(a) Atlit

(b) Nahariya                                                                                                                    

(c) Giv'at Olga

(d) Nitsanim

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Caliber 3-Efrat-A super cool place and experience, although not cheap (actually kind of expensive) Caliber 3 is not just a shooting range where your whole family (any age!!!) can shoot handguns, rifles and snipers. It is a actually one of the top counter-terrorism training centers in the world where Navy Seals and special forces from all over the world come to learn from Israeli expertise that has developed much to our sorrow in this area. American tourists can come here with their passports and will learn hands-on firsthand from experts in the field about the skills and dangers that make this essential section of Israels defense forces unique. You will train learn how to handle (and respect) the weapons that you will be using and then you will practice your skills with live ammo on the range. A truly unique one of a kind experience only in Israel.  

 Answer is A- The Atlit detainee camp (a previously described Rabbi Schwartz cool place in Israel and I quote from there)- As you make your way up the coast of Israel a little before Haifa one can visit the historic refugee camp of Atlit for an experience in what true dedication to come to Israel felt like. After WWI when many Jews assisted the British in fighting against our common enemy in exchange they were promised with the Balfour declaration a Jewish State. The British reneged on their deal creating the infamous White paper limiting Jewish immigration to Israel. But we were not to be stopped. Illegal boats smuggling in Jews brought thousands of Jews home. Yet many were stopped and captured by the British and kept in this camp to be sent to Cyprus or other countries that wouldn't take.

As one walks through the camp one can see the showers and sanitation centers that they first came to and can imagine how those who had just experienced the horrors of the holocaust must have viewed these barbed wire chimney stacked rooms. One can view the barracks where they stayed and see the graffiti on the wall of survivors looking for the relatives. A small hike to the shore brings the visitor to a recreation of one of the many refugee boats where you can watch a super short film experiencing what the trip and conditions were like for those who smuggled into Israel. At the end of the tour one can visit the room where they have computerized archives of those that were in the camp as well as hearing the story of the famous breakout on October 1945 led by Yitzchak Rabin.

The Rule of Three- Korach 2013

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

June 6^th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 32–28^th of Sivan 5773

Parshas Korach

The Rule of Three

This is not a country for the shy, meek or faint of heart. If you want something done in Israel you need to ask for it loudly and forcefully. If you are told no, the old time natives will tell you, that you have to ask again more forcefully. Despite what it may seem from the lack of smiley customer service representatives in this country, things do get done. You just have to demand it. It took me some time to understand this, coming from the free-market customer loyalty plans of America. Until someone (our electrician-who never showed) explained it to me. "If you really need something done than you should yell about it- and if you're not yelling about it, than you probably don't need it- so than why are you bothering me" Yet it's amazing what can get done here once you learn the dialect of the country. What I always found funny was that after every customer service call I would receive these annoying SMS's texts asking me to fill out a survey about how I rated there service. I would never respond. And they would send them again and again...I finally YELLED in caps in a response SMS and they seemed to be satisfied. Another fruitful conversation in the holy land.

We are a stubborn people. We are an argumentative people. We are a nation that thinks we're always right and we expect others to know that about us. The truth is, despite our minority and most persecuted nations status we have been right and the banner bearers of truth, knowledge, wisdom and innovation more than any other nation in the history of the world. Yet when it comes to us dealing with one another- another MOT (Member of the Tribe) we can't seem to imagine that they may also be part and parcel of this great wisdom filled nation. We're right- we get it-the other guy is wrong- they missed the boat. It ain''t easy living in a country where everyone feels that they're right 100% of the time. But it's our home, our family and we learn to acclimate.

This week's Torah portion, Parshat Korach, brings to the forefront the story of the arguing Jew. Our nation has traveled from Sinai and it's been a sad and difficult journey to follow since. The memory of us standing as a nation-"K'Ish Echad B''Leiv Echad-Like one man with one heart" is long gone. Truth be told it was probably the last time in our history when we are all right...all complete... all one. Since we left Sinai three Parshiyot ago it's been downhill. We have the story of the Jews complaining about food " we miss all the free fish, melons and veggies we used to eat in Egypt (we Jews always remember the free mealsJ)" and we complain about the Manna. Hashem responds with more meat than we can handle and wipes out the complainers with a plague.

Next stop we have the tragic story of the Spies, the leaders of the tribes, who for fear of losing their positions and of coming to the Land where they would have to conquer and build the country instead of the cushy leadership roles they had in the clouds of glory in the wilderness, spoke Lashon Harah and badmouthed the land and even Hashem's ability to bring us there. The result the spies die, the Jews who lost faith die in the wilderness over forty years and Tish'ah B'Av becomes a day of mourning and tragedy for the rest of our history.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse we open up this weeks portion of Korach where we have our first major rebellion against the leadership of Moshe. Korach and his followers each with their own agenda challenge Moshe and Aharon's leadership. "The whole nation is holy" we were all by Sinai, we heard Hashem speak to us, we were all given the Torah, we are all a "kingdom of Kohanim and a holy nation". Why you should you be the chief? Moshe tries nicely to talk them down, bring the peace, see if there was any way to even get them to realize the error of their ways. Maybe he should have tried yelling louder. However finally realizing that only Divine intervention could ever solve a fight between Jews, he held an incense/Ketores bake-off with the loser having to literally eat dirt. Hashem-giving new meaning to the statement "another one bites the dust"- opens up the ground, swallows the challengers up into the earth and destroys the rest with fire. For a nation that thinks it's always right, we seem to be getting a lot wrong. What is up with us?

The great Rebbe of Slonim, the Nesivos Shalom, suggests that these three Parshiyot contain in them, what I refer to as the rule of three. The Mishna in Avot tells us that there are three sins or more correctly pursuits, that take a man out of this world- Ha'Kinah, Ha'Ta'avah, V'Hakavod- Jealousy, Desire and Honor. In contrast to that our sages tell us that the world rests upon three pillars, Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chasadim- The study of Torah, Service or prayer to Hashem, and acts of kindness and generosity. The rule of three. The three pillars of the world are the antidote and contrast to the three that take one out of the world. Kindness counters the self-focused pursuit of jealousy, Prayer infuses one with humility and prevents the pursuit of honor and the study of Torah has the power to channel and elevate ones base desires and lusts into a Godly expression of one's essence and soul.

On a deeper level these three principles really define the three ultimate relationships we are meant to have and fulfill in this world; Between Man and himself, Man and God and Man and his fellow man. Jealousy a flaw in ones relationship with his fellow is perfected by kindness. One's relationship with his Creator is threatened by a pursuit of one's own personal glory and honor and tempered by the sense of humility that prayer engenders. And the biggest challenge to ones satisfaction and personal growth is the never-ending pursuit of lust and gratification that the incredible experience, light and wisdom of Torah conquers and raises man up in it's study.

If one follows this theme, he suggests, we can see it repeated throughout the Torah. He notes that the first three sins after leaving the Garden of Eden before Avraham also were the pursuit of these sins and the lack of the principles that form the foundation of the world. Cain is jealous of his brother, the Dor/generation of the Flood chases after its lusts and desires in unnatural ways and the tower of Babel is the sin of honor- with their attempt to conquer god and becoming the new kings of the world. In contrast to that, the world was saved-so to speak, by the arrival of our forefathers. Avraham represents kindness as his life story is abound with stories of his always open tent, Yitzchak who was bound to an altar is service and who the Torah tells us prays for children for many years is service and Ya'akov, the father of the twelve tribes who studied for many years in the tents represents Torah. The generations of the tribes of Israel that are born are meant to be that foundation of the world to teach its principles and to unite us all with our Creator. Our destiny is to form the ultimate three. Hashem and his children, in the land of Israel.

Yet sadly enough after that one moment on Sinai, we fall back into that ancient habit. We desire better food in the sin of the complainers, we fail in our ability to have faith in Hashem and our place in the land of Israel and give up our own pursuits in the sin of the spies and finally in this weeks Torah portion the jealousy of Korach and his congregation divides the nation and literally in that most visceral lesson of Hashem takes them out of this world.

We have left the holiday of Shavuot a few weeks ago. That moment on Sinai is fading. The inspiration has gone with the cheese blintzes and cheese cake. We enter the month of Tamuz and the summer season that approaches us brings with it the days of mourning for our Temple. It is a cycle we have gotten used to. But it was not meant to be an annual cycle of holiday and tragic events. We were meant to and have the power to bring the Exile to its end, to put us back in the world and be the light, the source of truth and inspiration that reveals the pillars of the world to all of Hashem's children. To live in this country and to be the nation of Hashem is not for the shy, meek or faint of heart. Neither is it to be arrogant, running after our desires or trying to be right and out do the next one. To truly merit the land and live up to the role that we were born to fill we must learn from the lessons of the past and become the nation of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov. As we bless the new month of Tamuz, may we truly merit that this month is one that will bring us blessing and the final redemption that we have waited so long to achieve.

Have a magnificent Shabbos!

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.
"- Benjamin Disraeali

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RABBI SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK

( Nachal Charedi-I found it inspiring and interesting-certainly thought provoking-in Hebrew though)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4-lqAIjgDg&feature=player_embedded

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RABBI SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

(answer below)

The "Burma Road" was a bypass road forged during the?

(a) Arab Revolt in 1936

(b) Independence War

(c) period between the Independence War and the Six-Day War

(d) Six Day War

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Kfar Etzion-One of four settlements created in the 1920's that formed the Etzion bloc. Originally called Migdal Eder it was purchased by Shmuel Holtzman who Hebraicized his name to Etzion in the 1930's. The Jews were forced to leave Kfar Etzion in the arab revolt in 1936 and came back in 1943 and the Masuaot Yitzchak, Revadim and Ein tzurim joined them creating a block of settlements on the road between Jerusalem and Hebron. On the day of the establishment of State of Israel in May of 1948 the block was massacred by the arab populace in one of the most horrific attacks on the fledgling State. Today one can visit the museum of Kfar Etzion and see an inspiring multimedia film about the story of Kfar Etzion and the return of the Jews in 1967 to rebuilding the Gush Etzion today.

Answer is B-While the Arabs sieged Jerusalem in 1948 as they held the overlook of the Latrun Fortress, the Jews led by the first General of the Israeli army, the American Mickey Marcus planned an alternate route in to save the city through an old shepherds goat path. The road named the Burma road after the WWII road paved by the US and British troops to bring supplies avoiding Japan. Eventually Highway 38 & 44 was captured and paved which turned into the main road to Jerusalem until 1967 when the current route 1 came into Israeli control. The paving of the road just beat the deadline by a few days of the imposed cease fire to Jerusalem and saving the old city yishuv.