Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
August 30th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 44–24th
of Elul 5773
Parshat Nitzavim/Vayeilech
It's All About Us
OK, it's the end of the Jewish year and like all major publications
we have an end of the year poll or short quiz that we'd like to run by you.
Let's see how knowledgeable you are.
Question 1) Name the prime minister of China?
Question 2) Name the prime minister of India?
Question 3), 4), 5), Indonesia? Brazil? Pakistan?
So you don't know even one? Do you know that the above
countries together have almost half of the world population's, and you can't
even name one of the leaders? Don't feel bad. Most people can't. In a recent world
poll the most recognized leaders of countries in the world by the average human
(taken from 156 countries) was of course Barak Obama, followed by Putin (from
Russia-shame on you, if you didn’t know that)
and then, holding the number 3 spot of leaders that people were able to
identify was none other than Bibi Netanyahu. Now let's think about this for a
second. Israel's ranking on world populations with our very proud 8 million
mark is number 97, which make us smaller than Azerbaijan which most people can't even
pronounce forget about spell (9.2 million), Benin and Berundi (10.6 and 10.1
respectively) which most people have never even heard of, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (67.5!)-which I know that you didn't know was Democratic or a
republic and pretty much thought it was just a convenient country on the Risk board
game where monkeys, elephants and lions ran around. But little Israel with our
8 million strong has a famous prime minister that everybody seems to know. How's
bout dem falafel balls?
But it's not only Bibi that is famous (or
infamous-depending on what news source and search engine you run), Israel is
one of the top ten mentioned countries in all media outlets and searches since
it declared its independence in 1948. Africa, Asia, even South America have
each had more wars in their region in the past 60 years and greater amounts of
deaths and casualties, yet for some reason no one can name what they were or
who they were against. Yet everybody seems to know about the Six Day War, the
Yom Kippur war and even the battles going on from our 7 1/2 mile wide x 25 mile
wide strip known as Gaza. Can you name a 7 mile strip in Asia? There are
ranches in Texas larger than this, yet Israel is on everyone's mind.
If the United Nations is any sign of what the world seems
to be interested in (which is certainly debatable) as well, Israel ranks as the
number one country with resolutions against it. Sudan, Syria, Cuba, Iran and
Afghanistan are just pillars of moral righteousness, yet us little yidehelach
here in the Holy Land that are just trying to hold on to our tiny little
country (number 153 in size ranking, smaller than Moldova and the Solomon Islands?)
seem to be really dangerous and full of bad people that seem to be impeding the
glorious world peace that awaits if we only just______ -fill in the blank. What
is it about us that just seems to garner so much attention?
I'll be honest, I don't
care much about tiny little countries and tribes in Africa, Asia, or South
America. In all honesty I really don't care much about, Idaho, Wyoming or
Oaklahoma or even Tennessee. They're really not too important to me and seemingly
to the world either. I, like most of the people I know on this planet, care about
things that are relevant to my life and that might impact me in some way or
another. If I ain't going there and they ain't coming here then I've got a lot better
things to spend time following. I do however care about Israel because I'm
Jewish, because I believe it's holy, because it's my small little few thousand
miles in the billions of miles in the world that was promised to us. But why
should anyone else care? What is the world's obsession with us?
Now you've all read the blogs and posts about how many
noble prize winners were Jews, and all the great contributions to modern
society that has come out of Israel from cell phones, antibiotics, Hi Tech and Kosher
Shwarma. So I won't bore you with that. OK, so we impact the world inordinately
and disproportionately more than anyone else on the planet. But shouldn't that be
a reason that they should like us more? Be nice to us? Help us bring them even
greater and more wonderful things? What is it with the world? What are we
missing?
Being Jewish and seemingly being in Israel long enough the
answer of course typically is that it must be us and not them. . If everybody is telling you something, than
there must be some truth to it.They can't all be wrong. We deserve it. We are
responsible for all the world's problems. They know it-although I don't believe
they can put their finger on exactly what it is. But this week's Torah portion
tells us that they are correct. Not only are they correct now, but they have
always been correct. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, Greeks, Crusader, and
even todays' Arab world all recognized that this small little piece of land is
the heart of the universe and our small little nation has the keys to the world's
ultimate redemption.
"And the final generation will say-your children who
will arise after you, and the gentile who will come from distant lands…"
"And all the nations will say- For what reason has
Hashem done this to the land, what is all this wrath? And they will say because
they forsook the covenant of Hashem the God of their forefathers…."
For me these verses are perhaps one of the most remarkable
statements of the Torah. Would any man ever be able to write and predict that
in the future-the final generation- three and a half thousand years later, the
world which is a pretty big and busy place would all be interested in what is
going on in our tiny little country; that they would be creating commissions to
try to understand what is happening in our little corner of the world Who would've even thought that we would still
be around? But yet we are and all that was predicted has occurred and continues
to occur throughout the millennia.
The Torah than continues with the ultimate prophesy, after
describing the incredibly accurate description of our exile, whether by boats,
the attempted genocides and overwhelming desolation of the land in our absence.
"Then you will return it to your hearts, amongst all
the nations where you have been cast off by Hashem your God, And you will
return to Hashem your God and you will listen to His voice, according to
everything that I command you today…..than Hashem will return your captivity
and have mercy upon you and he will gather you from all the nations where he
scattered you… and Hashem will bring you to the land which your forefathers
inherited it and you will possess it"
It is an amazing thing to live in a world where thousands
of years of prophecy are unfolding right before our very eyes. The nations of
the world are all "United" in keeping their eye on the ball. If the
world has not reached its ultimate fulfillment yet, the Torah is telling us it
is because we haven't finished all returning to Hashem.
We're getting there. We're very close, closer than perhaps we
ever were in the history of the world. Jews are coming home, Our brothers and
sisters that were assimilating and throwing off the covenant are coming back in
masses. It is another fulfillment of prophecy. 60-70 years ago many of the
break-off denominations of traditional Torah observant Jewry predicted the
demise of Orthodoxy. No one would keep the mitzvos in the "new
world". "This is America, get real" Judaism has to change
with the times. They forgot the eternal covenant of this weeks portion. In the beginning
of the establishment of the State of Israel, it is well known (and in most
recent times the source of much controversy) that Ben Gurion offered the
exemptions to Yeshiva students from serving in the army and most of his
financial government benefits for the study of Torah (inadvertently and quite
meritoriously making the modern State of Israel the largest benefactor of Torah
in the history of the world), only because he was quite certain that it was a
dying breed. There would be no observant Jews in a few years. The "secular
Zionist Jew" was the new Jew, the Jew of the future. Except he wasn't. In
the past elections if all of the religious parties would have been able to vote
together, there would have been a majority of religious Jews in Knesset and
possibly even a Shomer Shabbat prime minister of Israel. Wouldn't you love to
see the look on BG's face. We haven't done it yet, though. But we are so very
close. The nations of the world know it. Hashem knows it. The Satan-that Divine
accuser and tester whose job it is to try to subvert us and challenge us in accomplishing
our message knows it as well. It seems that the only ones that haven't totally
grasped it yet are us.
We are still waiting for the Bobs, Larrys, Samanthas and
Dianas out there who have yet to have been introduced to their heritage and
been invited to re-connect to their roots. The Yankels, Shloimy's Berel's and
Chaim's who don't yet appreciate that all our infighting, Lashon Harah and
baseless hatred is holding back that day from coming. The Yarons, Ittais, and
Noams that know how important serving in the army is to protect our nation just
need to value as much the how essential our Torah learning and fulfillment of mitzvot
are in us achieving that miraculous ultimate peace and victory that we have
been longing for. There are still Jews from all over the world who have not yet
realized that it is time to come home, that the land is waiting for them. That
Eretz Yisrael is holy and that their ultimate fulfillment of mitzvot, their
ultimate learning or Torah can only take place in the land Hashem created and
endowed with that special kedusha. They have yet to recognize how much of an
impact and how dramatic of a change that they could bring to this country if
they would only come home. Sefardi, Ashkenazi, Americans, Israelis, English,
young and old, we are such a small people with such a big role and we are all the
children of Hashem that everyone in the world looks at with the same eyes of
expectations. When already? Is it almost here? What are you or aren't you doing
to bring that day closer.
We read this Torah portion each year as the last reading of
the year. More significantly we read it as the final Torah portion before we
come into Rosh Hashana. On Rosh Hashana which we know is our day of judgment
for the year. Whether we will live or die, be healthy or sick, share in simchas
or god forbid tragedies. Whether we will have money to pay our bills, some
extra to help others or will we be on the other side of the door with our hand
outstretched. It is a serious day, if not the most serious. Yet none of our
prayers, revolve around our individual needs. The focus of our Rosh Hashana
prayers is only one thing; Hashem's kingdom on this world. The ultimate
redemption. Our prayers on Rosh Hashana are for the entire world. We are their
representatives. We are the only ones that will be praying on that day. It's
the day that we finally get what we have forgotten and perhaps even buried for
so long. The shofar will stir our souls and we will be back again on Sinai when
it all started and we heard that first ancient Shofar blast. It all becomes
clear. The nations will rejoice. We will finally merit. May the upcoming year
5774 years from creation be the last year that we count from creation, as the
new year will bring with it a new era of peace, blessing as time will start
anew with the coming of Mashiach.
Have the greatest Shabbos of the year and a Shana Tovah,
Rabbi
Ephraim Schwartz
*************************************************************************
RABBI
SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
(answer
below)
(and
now we move on from the Christian questions to the Islam ones, sigh….)
Which
festival concludes the month of Ramadan?
(a) Eid al-Fitr
(b) Eid al-Adha
(c) Milad al-Nabi
(d) Laylat al-Qadr
"Lord of the world, you must forgive Israel their sins. If you do this--good. But if not I'll tell all the world that the tefillin you wear are invalid. What's the verse enclosed in your tefilln? A verse of David. your anointed king: 'Who is like your people Israel, a unique nation on earth?' If you don't forgive Israel…(this) verse is untrue, and the tefillin are invalid.- Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev
RABBI SCHWARTZES JOKE(S) OF THE WEEK
STATISTICALLY, HOW TO ENSURE THAT YOU WILL BE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE THIS COMING YEAR:
§
Avoid riding in automobiles because
they are responsible for 20 % of all fatal accidents.
§
Do not stay at home because 17 % of
all accidents occur in the home. (that's 37 % already!)
§
Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks
because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.(now that's 51%)
§
Avoid traveling by air, trains or
buses, 16% of accidents involve these forms of transportation. (that's
67%)
§
Of the remaining 33 percent, 32% of
all deaths occur in hospitals. Above all else avoid hospitals.
You will be pleased to learn that only 0.01 % of all deaths
occur in a synagogue!
...and these are usually related to previous physical
disorders.
Therefore, logic
tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is in
Synagogue.
Torah Study is even safer! The number of deaths during Torah Study is too small to register!
For safety's sake, go to Shul as often as possible, and attend Torah Study!
Torah Study is even safer! The number of deaths during Torah Study is too small to register!
For safety's sake, go to Shul as often as possible, and attend Torah Study!
It could save your life!
This message has been brought to you by your local
synagogue's membership drive.
PS: You don't have to be Jewish to go to shul. Sure, you may not understand what the old guys are saying but they sometimes they serve schnapps in mini paper cups.
****************************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK
What's your wish for the new year interviews
http://www.chabadchayil.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/428984/jewish/Whats-Your-Wish.htm
Aish music Get Clarity Rosh Hashana-cool yeshiva guys moves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCYRM7KYJY4
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Me'arat
Ha'Netifim/ Stalagtite caves- One of the most beautiful and amazing sites in Israel is this glorious
cave right outside of the Beit Shemesh area in the Judean Hills. Discovered
in 1968 while working in a quarry this cave has perhaps one the most dense
concentration of stalagtites and stalagmites in the world. Formed by water
dripping through cracks in the cave and then the CO2 leaving it as it leaves
the stone residue, the shapes of this icicle like formations from the ceiling of
the cave and the formations of the pillars that grew up from the ground make it
a virtual playground for ones imagination where you can spot smurfs, giants,
weddings, and just the ultimate beauty of this special part of creation to
recognize the glory of the world Hashem has created. One can also enjoy a nice
hike fown to the caves and back up again following the steps up with their cute
signs that tells you how many ice creams and blintzes calories you burned doing
this hike.
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