Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
December 13th 2013
-Volume 4, Issue 11 -10th of Tevet 5774
Vayechi/ 10th of Tevet
The Blessing of Children
She was a new nurse in the maternity ward in
Israel, not aware of the miraculous births that take place here. As she entered
the first room she saw a new mother with 4 newborn babies lying next to her in
their hospital bassinets. “Wow” she said “Are all of these yours?”
“Yes” said the new mother. “I just had quadruplets last night, but
actually…” she said “that’s quite common. You see, I come from the city of Kiryat Arba (the
Israeli community translated as “village of four) and a lot of my friends
have four children.”
“Pretty amazing” the nurse thought as she
went to the next room. Much to her surprise the next patient was lying down
with 7 little infants around her. “Are these all yours?” she again asked
in shock. “Certainly” the proud mom exclaimed, “I’m from Be’er Sheva (the
well of seven) and many of us have septuplets”. The next room had a
mother from the city of Kiryat Shmona (the city of eight) and sure enough 8
adorable little babies were pleasantly cooing around the mother’s bed. When the
nurse came to the next room though, she immediately turned around and started
running out of the hospital. On her way out the doctors asked her where she was
going. With a sign of total resignation the poor lady said “I quit! There’s
no way I am going in the next room”. “Why? What’s the matter?” the
doctor said. “Don’t you know,” the exasperated and clearly overwhelmed
nurse responded. “The lady in the last room is from Meah Shearim (the
city of 100 measures)!!!” JJ
Jokes aside, (although I thought this was a
pretty funny one), we have lots of babies here in Israel…especially in Meah
Shearim. The Satmar Rebbe was once quoted as saying “Ahhhh don’t you love
the little Yerushalmi children, when they’re young they’re so cute, you could
just eat them up… when they get older though, you sometimes wish you had…”.
I don’t know if it’s only Yeurshalmi children. The kids here are different then
the ones in the States. I don’t see a lot of computer games or sitting in front
of TV sets, nor are there a lot of tennis lessons or even little leagues. The
kids that I see here like cats… running around in the streets. They like hiking
through the woods, jumping down waterfalls, playing jump-rope, hop-scotch,
marbles, nuts, and one of the new fads in the religious circles are trading
Rebbe cards and mitzvah stickers. There’s such an incredible innocence and
perhaps even a more natural sense of discovery and fulfillment that children in
Israel have. It’s not the newest toy or gadget that will make them happy. It’s
reveling in the beauty and history of our country and people and the thrill of
discovery that makes their childhood so special. It is truly a country that was
made for kids. And kid that I am, a country for me…
This week’s Torah portion, the last of the book
of Bereishis ends with the story and blessing of Jewish children. Truth is most
of the book and stories revolved around the families and challenges that led to
the formation people of Israel. Adam and Eve and their two children-fighting
over who would inherit the world (medrash). Noach and his three children, and
once again one of them Cham, also concerned about his legacy if his father
should have more children gets thrust and cursed out of the family. Isaac and
Yishmael, Jacob and Esau, Yosef and his brothers- all seemingly dysfunctional
families of children who seemingly can’t get along, who fight over their
rightful roles, and who many of us might have said thank god that’s not our
family… it is. They were and are our roots and the Sefer Bereishis that we read
each year doesn’t give us much chance to hide from it. The good news though is
that the story of Bereishis doesn’t end there. It concludes this week with the
story of two more brothers, and the story of their blessing. Perhaps the
perfect answer, message and legacy to the millennia old story of the family
that was very soon to become the nation of Israel. Perhaps the reason how we
were finally able to become a nation.
And he
(Yaackov) blessed them on that day saying “Bicha Yivareich Yisrael-So
shall Israel bless saying-‘May Hashem place you like Ephraim and
Menashe’ and he placed Ephraim before Menashe.”
The Torah shares us the strange story of Yaakov’s blessing of these two
children of Yosef; the first Jewish Zayde grandchild relationship we are told
about. We are told that Yaakov switches his hands placing his right hand on the
younger brother and the left on the older brother. This is in opposition to
Yosef, who feels the older brother should get the more important right hand
blessing. Yosef, having had the benefit of experience, having suffered from the
years of knowing that bad things happen in this family when younger brothers
are placed first. Yet Yaakov persists claiming ultimately Ephraim will be
greater, so he deserves the right hand blessing. It is a strange story. One
that is difficult to understand. But stranger still is the blessing itself.
What type of blessing is this? Is it a blessing that all Jews will be blessed
using their names and stature? And why does the Torah need to repeat once again
and tell us that he placed Ephraim before Menashe, don’t we know that already?
It is interesting and perhaps revealing that the Torah uses the same root word.
“May Hashem place you… and he placed Ephraim before Menashe”
The 13th century scholar Rabbeinu Bachaya
says a fascinating insight into this blessing. He suggests that the placement
of Ephraim before Menashe, his older brother was not to give him greater honor,
rather the opposite. He placed him before him in order to humble him; as one
who should honor the one he is standing before to show subservience and respect
towards him. Yaakov was teaching Ephraim, that although he may be greater and
more scholarly and have descendants who become leaders spiritually and
physically (Joshua being a descendant of Ephraim). He should never let it get
to his head. He should always remember to give honor and respect to his brother
who is older. Although Menashe and his desendants may not be the movers,
shakers leaders and rabbis that Ephraim may be, yet each of them have their own
role. One is not greater than the other and their blessing is and will be that
all of the Jewish people will long for the placement and legacy that these two
brothers will have. Each fulfilling their own God given destiny, yet each
cherished in their understanding that no Jew is more loved than another before
our Father as the job and life mandate of each of them are equally important in
the eyes of Hashem.
Today we observe the fast of the tenth of Tevet;
the date when the siege, a year and half before the destruction on the city of
Jerusalem began. When we mourn, it not as much on the destruction of the Temple,
but for what our sages tells us what the root cause of its destruction and why
we have not yet merited for it being rebuilt. The sages put a word on the
cause- Sinat Chinam- baseless hatred. I mourn as I read the newspaper 2000
years after the Temple had been destroyed and see that nothing has really
changed. I mourn when I read about “religious Jews” who scream and protest about
their fellow Jews that they did not feel were behaving as religiously as they
do. I mourn when I read in the media about how terrible religious jews are who
don’t serve in the army and who are parasites of society and who should be
expelled from the country at best. I mourn when I read about left wing jews
decrying “settlers” who have no place in our country and endanger our lives by
living where they do-in “arab land occupied by Israel” and their “price tag”
response to being thrown out of their unjustly occupied homes. And I mourn as I
read those same settlers calling the left wingers anti-zionist, anti Jewish,
traitors and proletariat elite that have lost their way. Not a day goes by that
our army- the first Jewish army since the times of Bar Kochva thousands of
years ago, has internal debates whether it is worthwhile to accommodate religious
beliefs, should soldiers be forced to listen to women singing, should women
soldiers be discriminated against and be made to feel less than or as mere
objects of male frailty and at what point are we a Jewish army and at what
point are we a melting pot of modernity like every one else. What has happened
to the children of Hashem? Where are those cute adorable children that Hashem
through his prophet had said
“Ha’Ben Yakir Li Ephraim, Ki yeled
Shaa’shuim- my dearest son Ephraim the child of my delights, whenever I speak
of him I remember him more and more…
Why can we not appreciate the fact that Hashem
loves each of us, created each of us with a different challenge and different role?
Some were raised religious, some without. Some who’s role is to learn Torah,
some to serve in the army; some to reach Hashem on one path and others though a
different. Why can’t we respect and love one another and why must we always
judge? Ephraim and Menashe lived up to their blessing and each of us who bless
our children at that most loving moment during the week or during their
children’s lives must pass on that message to them. We are special, you my dear
children are special…but you are never better. You should never judge and you
must always appreciate your brother and sisters as different as they are. They
are special too. And their father, our Father loves all of them just as
much as you.
May Hashem bless all of his children with the realization of the
specialness of one another.
Rabbi
Ephraim Schwartz
*******
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
(answer below at end of Email)
Itzchak
Sadeh was commander of the:
a) Altalena
b) Shomer Organization
c)
Palmach
d)
Haganah
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
In 1950 the Chief Rabbinate declared the 10th of
Tevet as the day of yahrtzeit for all the Jewish martyrs who have no known
burial place or day of death in their memory
The last Seder
in the Warsaw Ghetto
RABBI
SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Yad
Vashem-Jerusalem- Perhaps
Jerusalem and the Jewish people most somber place the Holocaust museum is a
place it is impossible to come out of unchanged and uninspired. A walk through
the museum as one follows the story of the holocaust from the pre-war days with
video testimonials of survivors is unreal. After the museum one can should
visit the halls dedicated to those who perished in the camps, the ghetto
fighters memorial with its world famous sculpture by Natan Rappaport as well as
the room dedicated for the Jewish children who were murdered by the Nazi and
their collaborators May their blood be avenged. For children and family of
those that perished the archives in Yad Vashem are certainly the most elaborate
allowing you to search and document so that we should always remember and never
forget as we mourn and build anew.
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RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"So said Hashem the lord
of multitudes the fast of the 4th (17th of tamuz), the
fast of the 5th (9th of Av) the fast of the 7th
(Tzom Gedalia) and the fast of the 10th month ( the tenth of Tevet)
will turn and become for the house Judah
days of rejoicing, happiness, holidays and they wil love truth and peace
" –The prophet Zecharia
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RABBI
SCHWARTZ' S EXAM ANSWER OF THE WEEK
Answer
is C: This is just an extremely not fair question. As he was a
commander in the Haganah as well as one of the founders of the Palmach (the
strike brigade) where he also served as a commander. I wrote D and seemingly I
got it wrong. Still not sure why. But you cant argue with the ministry of
tourism I guess… incidentally Sadeh was also one of the founders of HaChalutz
with Jabotinsky which led to the founding of the Israel private guard Hashomer.
Yitzchak Rabin (same first name) was the Palmach commander who fired upon
Menachem Begins Irgun boat called the Altalena and killed 14 Jewish soldiers.
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