Disa"purim" Trick-Tetzaveh/Zachor 2015/5775

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 27^th 2015 -Volume 5, Issue 18 -8^th of Adar 5775

Parshat Tetzave/Zachor

Disa"purim" Trick

Are you a fan of magic shows? What's your favorite trick? I kind of went for the saw the person in half trick. I even volunteered my sister for the job. I thought it would be cool to have two of her. She wasn't buying though. How about the read your mind tricks? Wouldn't that be a handy skill to have. I might actually understand what my wife really means when she asks me a question. "How does this look on me?", "What do you think I should do?", "I'm really fine...It's nothing..". The disappearing rabbit trick wouldn't be a bad thing either. Although the way they have been eyeing my hat lately, I'm not sure what would make what disappear. One of the coolest tricks I've ever seen is when the magician flies through the air after proving he has no strings attached. The cool thing was that unlike my children who have a tendency to jump off high places without really thinking twice, he didn't end up with stitches afterwards.

The Torah is not a fan of magic. Certainly not the Dark Arts Harry Potter stuff and in general even the sleight of hand tricks as well. We do believe in the power to manipulate all types of forces to do the supernatural and the Talmud is full of really cool stories. My favorite and always timely one is the one that happened by the Purim meal of Rava and Rav Zeira. It seems that Rava got a little carried away at his Purim feast and after a few drinks too many decided to explain the laws of ritual slaughtering to his honored guest, in a way that he would never forget. I guess you could say he kind of lost his head in the heat of the moment...ouch! The next morning Rava felt kind of bad so the Talmud tells us he performed the bring the dead Rabbi back to life trick. Amature magicians can pull rabbits out of a hat. The real deals can put dead rabbis back to life in their own hats. The next year when Rava invited Rav Zeira back again though, he politely declined, stating "It's not every day a miracle can happen." Anyone want to join my Purim Seuda this year?

This week's Torah portion, the one that almost always precedes Purim, also has a bit of a disappearing act. The Baal HaTurim notes that this is the only Parsha from when Moshe is first introduced until he gives his final speech in the book of Devarim in which the whole book is really Moshe talking. The commentaries note that the reason for Moshe's disappearance is because after the sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem tells Moshe that he wishes to destroy the Jewish people and start all over again with a new nation starting from Moshe. Moshe puts his life on the line and tells Hashem that unless He forgives the Jewish people then he should erase his name from the Torah. Moshe's ploy works and Hashem forgives us, however since whatever a Tzadik/righteous man says must be fulfilled, Moshe's name is 'erased' from this week's Parsha. And there you have it the disappearing Moshe trick.

The truth of the matter is it is quite interesting when you stop and think about it for a second. This is not the only disappearing Moshe trick in the Torah. In fact the entire Golden Calf story takes place because Moshe does not reappear after he goes up to get the commandments. The people freak out as every good magic show audience would if the volunteer doesn't come back. Taking it a step further it's interesting to note as well that when Moshe dies 'no one knows where his burial place is' the Torah assures us. The final disappearing act for our great leader. What is it with Moshe and disappearing?

Another interesting thing about the choice of the Parsha for Moshe to be 'erased' from,Parshat Titzaveh, is that the Parsha almost always as well falls out as it does this year around the time of Moshe's Yartzeit; the day he so to speak disappeared. One individual that was quite excited by this fact we are told was Haman, of the Purim story. In fact, theMidrash tells us, he was delighted when his plot to kill the Jews fell out on this month because he knew that this must be a bad month for the Jews because Moshe died in it. TheMidrash however tells us, what he didn't know was that he was also born in this month; the same day he died, the 7th of Adar. The question is though, so what? He was also incidentally Bar Mitzvah'd on that day, does that make it any better? The Baal HaTanya  though quotes ta concept that is in Kabbala that perhaps shares with us the significance of Moshe's passing and his disappearances. He suggests that when Moshe died he was "re-born" on that same day in each and every Jew. We each have a little piece of the neshoma/soul of Moshe within each of us. It's kind of like a spiritual "where's waldo" game, except exchange waldo for Moshe and all of those people with the red hat and big noses for Jews.  (incidentally eifo waldo in gematria = Moshe kaan" Try it...right now...) (OK it doesn't... wanted to see how many of you paused to figure it out :))).

What does that mean? It means that perhaps our biggest failing when it came to receiving the Torah is that although we wanted to hear all of the commandments from Hashem directly, after the first two we copped out. We felt we needed Moshe to intercede on our behalf to interact with the Divine. It was too much of an out of body experience. When Moshe disappeared and didn't come back, we felt lost. How would we ever connect with Hashem. Moshe tells Hashem, "erase me", let them connect on their own. Hashem does so. He erases Moshe on the Parsha of Titzave, the week of his yartzeit and instead he gives each and everyone of us that same power as Moshe, that spark that can always connect without any other intermediary. No one knows the grave of Moshe, because Moshe is inside of all of us. It is the Torah that he taught us that connects us to our Creator. That makes him reappear each and every time we study it and we learn his teachings. Haman thought without Moshe we were done, what he didn't know that Moshe was also born on that same day.

This week we celebrate the holiday of Purim. The book of Esther also has a bit of a disappearing act in it. Hashem's name is not found in the entire megilla. The beauty of the holiday, the only one that was established when we were in Exile, when we had no Temple, the last of our holidays to be established, is that we were able to find Hashem even in the darkness. Even without so much as a Menora to light up the night. We were able to tap into our inner Moshe. We are able to conquer that enemy Amalek that Moshe began the first battle with, and who we only were able to win when Moshe lifted up his hands and we looked up to heaven. On Purim we were able to conquer Amalek though the power of our own faith. The faith that Mordechai reawakened within us. We don't need magic to bring the redemption. The cards have already been played. We have the ace in our souls. We just need to pull it out of our hats. On Purim we have the ability to tap into that magic to make all our externalities and troubles disappear. For some it may take a L'Chayim or two to get there. But that's alright. As long as by the end of the night we achieve the ultimate high, the revelation of our inner spark that will bring the redemption. May it be a high that lasts forever.

Shabbat Shalom, Remember Shabbat Shalom remember Shabbat Shalom remember, (parshas Zachor..get itJ)

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY  YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

Funniest outreach speech ever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kaX-jOlmGI

Great Happy video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-2skUqszCU&feature=youtu.be

New feature of the WEEK!!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

While in the states I picked up a great book with yiidsh quotes and wisdom and I have always wanted to teach my kids Yiddish so here we go each week another great proverb in yiddish maybe you guys will learn it too!!

"Kinder un glezer hut min keyn mohl nit tzu fil"

 There can never be too many children or drinking glasses J

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE QUOTES  OF THE WEEK

"There are some Rebbes that can bring the dead back to life. My greatness is that I can Resurrect the living" -The Rebbe of Kotzk

"If you build a man a fire, he's warm for a day, but if you set a man on fire, he's warm for the rest of his life. Words to live by..."-someone on facebook

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

(answer below at end of Email)

 The Valley Railway (rakevet haemek) stopped at:

A.  Kfar Saba

B.  Kfar Yehoshua

C.  Kfar Tavor

D.  Kfar Kish

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL MIDRASH OF THE WEEK

Remember the battle of Amalek we are commanded for this week before Purim. An interesting Midrash about that amazing battle that teaches a fascinating lesson. The Torah tells us that Moshe commanded Yehoshua to choose men and lead them into battle. Although Moshe was himself also commanded to lead them into battle (as the king/leader of Jewish people). He chose Yehoshua as he comes from the tribe of Yosef (Ephraim to be precise J) and Yosef's tribe has the greatest power against Esav. Yet as a result of Moshe himself not leading them into battle, his hands became weakened during the fight and he required the Aharon and Chur to help him hold his hands up.

I find it fascinating that the Midrash seems to hold Moshe the 80 year old leader of Klal Yisrael personally responsible to go out and actually do battle. Not just sit on the sidelines and daven and inspire the people but to actually take up a sword himself and start shechting some Amalekites-men, women children and babies incidentally. He was wrong leaving it to the soliders. Not saying there's any modern day connotations....or maybe I am JJ.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL THINGS TO DO IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Dance with random Jews in the street - I'll never forget my first Purim here in Israel. It was the Gulf War, it ended on Purim. The entire country was partying, drinking and celebrating. There is nothing more special than just randomly grabbing a fellow Jew and hugging and dancing together. Today the Breslavers are the king of the random dance. It can be in Meron, Tzfat, the Kotel or in middle of the highway in a traffic jam. We're all brothers and sisters we're living in Israel, our Father in heaven loves us and watches over us. Isn't that worth dancing about? Only in Israel can you really do that any old day of the week.

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JOKES OF THE WEEK

"Rabbi, last Purim I felt just terrible.""

 "Why ? What happened?"

"Well, it seems that I neglected to make the required noise during the megillah reading?

" You mean upon hearing Haman's name?"

"No, for the word "mas" (taxes)

"Ah, don't worry, my dear student this question is dealt with by some of our greatest modern halachic authorities and he the modern day understanding of this custom is that only people who actually pay the correct amount in taxes, are required to make noise, therefore, nowadays, he claims this mitzvah does not apply to any Jews at all and certainly not any in Israel...."

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Terrible Joke alert-

Rabbi why is there only a Parsha Zachar (male) why not a Parshat Nekeiva (female)?

There is its called Parshat Parah...I will not translate that.:)

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Answer is B:  The Emek train that used to run through the Jezre'el valley was built under the Turks in the early 1900's it took an incredible 3 years to build (unlike the Jerusalem light rail a fraction of the size which took like 11 years). It's function was initially to connect Haifa to Bagdad adbn Damascus. However in the early years of Israeli settlement in the valley it assisted tremendously in the building of the various kibbutzim and Moshavim there. Kfar Yehoshua was the third stop of the original train. There's a nice museum there today to learn about the train. If that gets you going-excuse the pun. Whats cooler is that currently the train, which was destroyed in 1948 by the hagana to get at the British who weren't letting Jews in to Palestine at the time, is now being re-railed. Should be done in a few years and will connect Haifa to Beit Shean. Cool!

Beam Me Up- Teruma 2015/5775

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 20^th 2015 -Volume 5, Issue 17 -1^st of Adar 5775

Parshat Teruma

Beam Me Up

I’m back home. There’s no place like home. Perhaps nothing can make you appreciate Eretz Yisrael more than leaving for a week or two and then coming back again. I remember the first time I went to the States, a few years ago, my wife asked me upon my return what it felt like to go back to the “old country”. I told her that my first reaction was that I never realized how many goyim (a non-derogatory term for non-Jews) there were in America, before- and I was in Brooklyn and Lakewood, NJ, not Des Moines, Iowa. It’s amazing how foreign it felt for me to walk around the streets of America and see so many people that did not share my religion, that weren’t my family. Don’t get me wrong it’s not always easy living in a country where everyone is either your mother, sister, brother-in-law or crazy uncle. But it’s still family. There’s a connection with everyone. In America, it just isn’t.

The second time I went to the States, my wife asked me what I felt like and what it was like. I told her that I realized that they really don’t have Shabbos in America. Jews in America observed Shabbos. They went to Shul, they had Shabbos meals, ate chulent, and even sang Shabbos songs. Yet…yet… yet… It was missing something. It was kind of like Splenda. It looked like Shabbos and tasted like it, but it just wasn’t the real deal. Shabbos in Israel is special. You can feel it coming in the air. You can smell it in the streets. When it’s Shabbos here you can literally feel the entire creation being uplifted. It’s magnificent. The truth is the great 13^th century sage Nachmanides writes that all of the mitzvos/commandments that we are biblically required to observe in Chutz La’Aretz/ the Diaspora are merely to keep us in practice so that we will be able to fulfill them ultimately in the land of Israel. The Torah and its commandments were given in order for us to create and live in a G-d filled society which is only really feasible in the land that Hashem promised us. It is from here that we are meant to shine our light out to the rest of the world. I can’t say that I feel different putting on Tefilin, making blessings or even praying in Israel more so than I feel in America. But Shabbos…that I felt. If I went the rest of my life without ever having to spend Shabbos outside of here again, I wouldn’t feel bad.

This past trip my wife joined me for the first time back to the States, It was her first time going back. We shopped a lot, because that’s what you have to do when you come to America. We ate in restaurants a lot because that’s what you have to do whenever you come to NY. Pizza is better there, bagels are really bagels there not just rolls with a hole in the middle, and yes I enjoyed my 7-11 99 cent gallon cup of coffee as opposed to this country where you get a little shot glass for 10 shekel with all types of muddy residue on the bottom of your cup. We also saw lots of family which was…seeing lots of family J… I mean nice of course, especially my wife’s familyJJ. B”H we went in for Simchas a Wedding and a Bar Mitzva. It was weird going to a wedding that didn’t serve schnitzel. I had a moment when they sang Im Eshkocheich-If I forget thee Yerushalayim I shall forget my right arm and I felt my hand start to twitch. I looked around the room and it seemed that no one else’s seemed to though. They were pretty comfortable there. They looked at home. But perhaps the moment that struck me the most was when I went to the Mikva/ Ritual bath as I try to do most Erev Shabbosos. For me the Mikva is the way of washing off the week and preparing my self for its holiest day, yet when I came out of the Mikva in Flatbush, I felt the same. I was still Tamei/impure , still Chol/weekday, still not shabbosdik. The Talmud describes someone who goes into a Mikva while he is holding an unclean insect in his hand. That’s what it felt like. I was still in Galus; in the land where we can never become purified.

I’ll be honest I never felt this way before I moved to Israel. But living here does something for your Jewish soul. It becomes naturalized. It’s at home. I felt bad for my friends and family in the States. Sad that they didn’t come back with me. Sad that many of them didn’t want to or even more tragically couldn’t even imagine themselves doing so. Two thousand years of wandering could do that to a nation. It makes a people want to rest and stay comfortable and live under the illusion of stability and a false sense of security and even imagine that Splenda sense of home as if it was really where we were meant to be. It made me want to cry. Can a house of God be built outside of Israel? This weeks Torah portion in fact tells us that it can. You just have to have right ingredients.

The Parsha this week, Teruma, is the halfway point in the Book of our redemption of Shemos. From here on until the end of the Parsha besides for a brief interlude that tells us the story of the golden calf the rest of the book describes the building and erection of the Mishkan/tabernacle and its vessels. This Mishkan was obviously meant to serve as our temporary Temple until we would build one in Jerusalem, but it also served as our Temple until we got there. The plan of course was never that we should use it for forty years wandering in the wilderness. But when it comes to us Jews it seems that getting to Israel would always seem to take longer than it was supposed to.

One of the more fascinating and perhaps most primary of building materials that was used in the construction the Torah tells us was the Shittim wood beams that formed its frames. The Torahs commandment is

“And you shall take The beams for the tabernacle out of shittim wood standing erect”

Rashi diverting from his usual style of merely explaining the simple understanding of the verse, launches into a description of the source of these wooden beams, as he notes that the Torah refers to them as “The” beams- with a capital ‘T’, hinting that these are famous beams. Famous beams can only come from one place and Rashi quotes the Midrash that tells us that these beams were in fact brought from Egypt with them for the purpose of building the Mishkan. They arrived in Egypt the Midrash tells us when our forefather Yaakov first came down to Egypt and our Exile began. He brought cedar trees from Israel with him and told his children to plant them there. One day we will leave this country, this exile. One day we will need these trees to build a house for Hashem. We will need these trees of Israel to do it. Can you imagine that? For over 200 years of Exile in Egypt there were trees, parks and forests that were built. Perhaps each Shabbos afternoon the family would go out to play in these parks and sit under the trees of our forefather Yaakov. And they would repeat his message again and again, from generation to generation.

When our ancestors left Egypt, they took the gold and silver and the bones of our ancestor Yosef with them. But they also took the shittim trees. They understood that the house of Hashem could only be built with the trees of faith of Israel. Rashi quotes the poetry of one of the liturgical poems recited in some synagogues on Pessach

“The planting of the roused Israel flew from Egypt, to become the shittim beams of our Home/ or Temple.”

It is possible to build a temporary temple for Hashem in exile. It was even possible to bring the Shechina Divine presence down to this world before we got to the Land of Israel. In fact all of the laws that we have to build the ultimate Beit Hamikdash are derived from that temporary temple that the Torah goes to great lengths to describe. But it is all premised on that it’s foundation are built upon the beams of Eretz Yisrael, a longing and a foundation that Yaakov established that we must return there. We have an ultimate home. It’s not in Egypt, Persia, Babylonia, France or another country with lots of good kosher restaurants and cheap coffee. Out homes must be built with the cedars of longing for Israel.

We enter the month of Adar and we increase our happiness as we approach the holiday of Purim. Purim is the only Jewish holiday that was established in the Diaspora; the last Jewish holiday of our exile. That’s a good thing. The descendants of Queen Esther and Achashveirosh according to many commentaries are the ones that allowed us to return to Israel after our exile from the first Temple. Most Jews didn’t grab that opportunity. They celebrated their fake Purims in good old comfortable Iran. We don’t need to make the same mistake again. We can really be happy. We need to increase our happiness, and take it from me there’s nothing happier than coming back home.

Have a Chodesh Adar Tov and a  happy happy (Marbin B’Simcha J) Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S AIRPLANE  YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

MONTY PYTHON CLASSIC AIRPLANE PILOT FUN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb7pvaJ2aVg

 ANOTHER CLASSIC NO FRILLS AIRLINE FUNNY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2S7uKm_OJ8

New feature of the WEEK!!

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

While in the states I picked up a great book with yiidsh quotes and wisdom and I have always wanted to teach my kids Yiddish so here we go each week another great proverb in yiddish maybe you guys will learn it too!!

“Az min esst up dem beigel, bleibt in kesheneh dem loch”

 If you eat up the bagel, than the hole remains in your pocket

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE QUOTES  OF THE WEEK

"Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo."-— Al Gore

"Oldtimers, weekends, and airplane landings are alike. If you can walk away from them, they're successful."— Casey Stengel

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

(answer below at end of Email)

 Which of the following streams marks the northern border of the Golan Heights?

A.    The Yarmouk River

B.     Nahal Roked

C.     Nahal Snir

D.    Nahal Sa’ar

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL MIDRASH OF THE WEEK

This week’s Parsha Teruma begins with the mitzvah of tzedaka the massive contribution for the building of the Tabernacle. The Midrash shares with us an interesting insight into the mitzvah of tzedaka and the three levels of giving as demonstrated by the gold, silver and copper dontaions that were brought.

“The charity that a person gives, the midrash says when he and his family are healthy and things go well is compared to gold. It is the tzedaka which has the most powerful effect in heaven. It is like a gift to an Emperor. Although the person has no urgent reason to give, he presents it in order to show honor and have grace with the emperor. Then there is the second type of charity. This is the charity one gives when he is taken ill. It is less effective since it is given in a time of need. It is therefore compared to silver. If a person postponses giving charity until he is dangerously ill and metaphorically speaking standing with a “rope around his neck” the value of the tzedaka is reduced to copper. Nevertheless, a person should not refrain from giving charity under any circumstances. His tzedaka will precede him in Olam Habah and provide him with a good reputation and will be protected from punishment in the world-to-come”

Here at the Young Israel of Karmiel we accept all forms of currency J so feel free to click on our pay-pal link below and make your pre-purim donation today!!!

Click here and visit and contribute on our blog http://holylandinsights.blogspot.co.il/

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL THINGS TO DO IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Arrive in a Jewish airport – Who would of thought that when the Torah describes returning to Israel on the wings of Eagles that there would one day be huge airplanes that would bring us soaring through the sky to the holy land. I love coming back to Israel. It is just so cool landing, the applause getting out of the plane surrounded by Hebrew stores, restaraunts, the people talking in Hebrew. There’s a sense of euphoria. Inevitably one bumps into new Olim that are arriving, people kissing the floor on the tarmac. I don’t think one experiences that in any other country. A Jewish airport with thousands of Jewish travelers! Amazing! What would Rav Yehudah Halevi thought? The Ramban? Moshe Rabbeinu? I got teary-eyed just thinking about the waves of immigrants from all over the world that have landed here and come home. Yup, even the airport in Israel is a cool and inspirational experience.

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JOKES OF THE WEEK

 A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.
Welcome to Flight Number 293, non-stop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax - OH, MY G-D!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier; but, while I was talking, the flight attendant brought me a cup of coffee and spilled the hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!"
A passenger in Coach said, "That's nothing. He should see the back of mine!"

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A young and foolish pilot wanted to sound cool on the aviation frequencies. So, this was his first time approaching a field during the nighttime. Instead of making any official requests to the tower, he said: "Guess who?"
The controller switched the field lights off and replied: "Guess where?"

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Answer is D:  The Golan, in my humble opinion is one of the most beautiful parts of Eretz Yisrael. It seems I wasn’t the only one that thought that way as the tribes of Reuvein and Gad chose to remain there as well rather than taking a portion on the other side of the Jordan river. It took us until 1967 until we got it back from Syria, but it was certainly well worth the wait. Full of streams and hikes the Golan is an exciting place to visit. The Yarmouk is the southern border that flows from Jordan. The Ruqad river is on the eastern border and Senir/Banias is on the western border. The Saar river is what separates the Golan from Mt. Hermon in the North, which many people confuse with the Golan, yet Israel’s tallest Mountain and ski resort the Hermon, is a region within itself.

The Whole Truth- Parshat Mishpatim 5775 2015

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 13^th 2015 -Volume 5, Issue 16 -24^th of Shvat 5775

Parshat Mishpatim/Shekalim

(A golden oldie from back in Seattle as I am in the States now for a Simcah was last week as well and couldn't send out an Email…sorry..and touched that so many of you noticed..)

The Whole Truth

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God? It was just another day in the Seattle Municipal Courthouse, that I recall from a few years ago when I lived in that city. Can someone explain to me why everyone who comes into court to fight a traffic ticket thinks they are auditioning for Law and Order? Why absolutely no one that I have watched take that oath on the stand had any intention of telling the truth.

 It's almost like those security airport questions. Has your luggage been out of your sight at all since you packed it? (I can barely keep track of my three kids you think I'm watching my luggage). Or has anyone given you any packages to take? (I'm going to Israel , darling is there anybody I know that hasn't given me something to take is a much better question to ask!) Yet I remember sitting and  watching each defendant try to explain "how the light was really yellow", "how my car really stopped fully- the officer just didn't see it", "how I know I was sober I only had one drink at noon". It was going to be a long morning… as I waited my turn. So I started preparing the Torah reading for the weekly Parsha instead.

The weekly portion of Mishpatim seemed quite timely here in the courthouse.  It contains a significant portion of the gamut of Jewish law; Damages, Torts, Witnesses, indentured Servants. It also contains holiday laws and sacrifices, Shabbat and Sabbatical year laws, Kosher laws, Witchcraft, Bestiality, respect for parents, Charity and caring and sensitivity for the poor and the orphans. The Parsha it seems is a virtual "chulent" of all aspects of Jewish law. In fact the first word of this Parsha "And these are the Laws which you shall place before them" the Midrash understands to be a continuation of the previous portion. Just as the previous Ten Commandments and laws mentioned were from Sinai, so too all of these were given at Sinai too. The Whole Truth.

Reb Elya Meir Bloch, the founder and Rosh Yeshivah of Telshe Yeshivah in Wickliffe Ohio in the early 1940's, explains the message of the juxtaposition of these laws and the Torah's need to relate them to their Sinai source. He suggests that there are those people that look at being religious or observant in terms of the degree of their ritual performance. How Kosher they are, their Sabbath observance the sacrifices they may bring. Unfortunately their business dealings may not always be done with the fullest honesty. "Business is Business". The not-always- such "white" lies and the disregard for the moral implications of ones business and ethical practices for the sake of the "bottom" line instead of the "higher" road. To those the Torah goes out of its way to say "AND these are the laws". Your business practices are just as Sinai oriented and Divine as "I am the Lord your God". In fact they are a result of them. One who is not upright or observant or yes, even religious in their business practices the Talmud states is denying that God is the one who provides for all needs and stating that his  livelihood as comes a result of any of man's manipulations. Thus the demand is always for Nothing but the Truth.

The opposite is true as well. The premise of the Torah, of Sinai, is that all of the ritual laws and observances were said at Sinai together with Thou shall not steal or murder. Judaism declares that there is no difference as to the source of the mitzvah to observe the Shabbos or the Kosher laws to those that speak about social justice and caring for the poor and freeing slaves. Traditional Judaism always understood that there is the only one unchanging Truth. It was not something that man created that could be further amended with the consistently changing times, desires and morals of the prevailing culture. When our all-knowing Father declared His system of the purpose and fulfillment of life to our grandparents at the foot of the mountain as being Eternal, He really meant it. So help me God. 

There are many amazing stories of our great leaders and teachers who lived and strove their entire lives to abide by the truth. They understood what the great Chasidic master Reb Zusha homiletically understood in the mitzvah of this parsha -Midvar Sheker Tirchak- From  matters of falsehood -be distanced. Reb Zusha explained it as being read as not just a warning but rather as a consequence; one becomes distanced when one is not living the truth. The early 12^th century commentary Rabbeinu Bachya explains that is the understanding of the verse in the Ashrei prayer Karov Hashem L'Chol Koruv L'Chol,-Asher Yi'Kreoo'Hu B'Emet- God is close to all those who call out to him. Those who call out to Him and are of Truth.

I recall hearing a story once about Rav Bengis one of the leaders of the Eidah Charedis in Jerusalem who was asked to sign a letter of protest to the Israeli government back in the day when there was a move to forcibly draft Jewish women in the Israeli military service. When the letter that was brought to him, signed already by many of the great Rabbis of Israel of the time he sat and read it quite a few times before putting down his pen closing his eyes and beginning to cry.  His student fearing that perhaps the Rabbi was conflicted about signing asked him what was his hesitation. He responded to the question in a lesson of truth that we can strive for.

"I have no hesitation about signing my students" the Rabbi said. "It is important that this letter which will protect the modesty and sanctity of our daughters be sent out. Rather my hesitation stems from the line the concluding line that one Rabbi wrote that says Hachosmim Bi'Dema- tearfully signed by the following Rabbis."

"I have as of yet not shed tears on this matter and therefore it would be dishonest of me to sign unless I had. I therefore had to pause and contemplate the severe ramifications of this conscription in order to sign the letter in truth."

How often do we sign our letters Sincerely Yours or Yours Truly? Do we really mean it? How often do we satisfy ourselves with larger and less tangible aspects of good that makes us comfortable  and distance ourselves from the little more difficult truths that are just as significant and are all part what it means to be a nation of God -a Nation of Truth.

We took an oath 3,327 years ago to live to that truth; the whole truth and Nothing but the truth. 

How do you plead?

Have a marvelous Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S   YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

FUNNY LIE DECECTIVE-KIDS ON A FAKE LIE DETECTOR…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMBeQpor0IQ

 AND A SECOND ONE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPgpRw9tiuM

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE QUOTES  OF THE WEEK

“I know you think you believe you understand what you thought I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is exactly what I meant.”- Richard Nixon

“Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know.” ― Donald Rumsfeld

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

(answer below at end of Email)

 Q. In which century did most of the Circassians arrive in Israel?

A.    19

B.     18

C.     17

D.    16

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL MIDRASH OF THE WEEK

I'm at  a wedding this evening and there is a fascinating Midrash about the protocol for a wedding based on the verse mentioned above about falsehood and a discussion between the two schools of Shamai and Hillel.

"How does one dance before the bride?  Beit Shammai says describes the bride as she actually is.  Beit Hillel says 'A beautiful and graceful bride.' 

Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: Say she is lame or blind; we say to her, 'A beautiful and graceful bride'?!  But the Torah said, 'You shall distance yourself from matters of falsehood'! 

Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: According to your view, one who made a poor purchase in the market – should one praise it before him, or denigrate it before him?  Surely we would say, he should praise it before him.  Beit Hillel therefore says, One's disposition must be pleasant towards people. 

Beit Hillel also argues do we not have here 'beautiful' in terms of her conduct?  Perhaps when we compliment the bride we mean 'beautiful in family background, graceful in her conduct' – for we do not presume one to be not nice! 

Beit Shammai responded: Is it written, 'You shall distance yourself from sheker [falsehood]'?  Rather it says, 'mi-dvar sheker' ['from MATTERS of falsehood'] – implying even plainly if the comment is subject to various interpretations. 

Beit Hillel responds: Regarding what does the Torah say, 'Mi-dvar sheker tirchak'?  Only because of the continuation of the verse, 'do not bring death upon those who are innocent and in the right'; but to sustain life rather than kill– this is permissible."

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL THINGS TO DO IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Appreciate Israel currency  – They make the money in ths country to look like monopoly money so that its easier to spend. But jokes aside it is pretty amazing that we are using shekels and it has become a world currency and it s the same types of coins that we find used in the Torah. Israels historic coins and bills are packed with Jewish history references many of them that are replicas of coins used in the times of the kings of Israel and during the Bar Kochva revolt there are some great museums including the Israel museum and other places in Israel where you can trace the history of Israels ancient coins and monetary system which is pretty amazing. Today thank God n addition to the cheap airfares to Israel that you can get the exchange rate is almos 4 to 1 for a dollar. So you have no excuse…come visit!

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S  JOKES OF THE WEEK

 A guy gets pulled over for speeding 88 MPH in a 45 zone. The cop askes for his drivers license and the guy says, "I'm sorry officer, but my license was suspended after my 5th DUI."

The cop askes for his registration and the guy says, "It's in the glove compartment, but it's not in my name because I stole this car in a car jacking and I killed the woman that owns the car and stuffed her in the trunk and the gun I used is in the glove compartment." At this point the cop tells the guy to keep his hands in sight and he radios for back-up.

When a supervisor shows up, the cop tells him the story and he walks up to the guy in the car. The supervisor asks to see the guy's drivers license and the guy hands it over and it is valid with the guys real name and information.

The supervisor asks for the registration and the guy says, "It's in the Glove compartment." The supervisor tells the guy to keep his hands in sight and walks around to the passenger side and opens the glove compartment. There is the registration in the guys name and everything seems in order.

Next the supervisor asks the guy to get out and open the trunk. The guy opens the trunk and the only thing there is a spare tire.

At this point the supervisor tells the guy what the other cop had told him. The guy says "I'll bet that lying cop. told you I was speeding too!"

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Answer is A:  The Circassians, or Tcherkessim- as they call them here in Israel, is another one of those interesting minority religions/cultures in Israel. They were brought here by the Turks from the Northern Caucasus where they were being massacred and expelled by the Tsar in Russia. The Turks as the sick man of the Ottaman Empire saw in them srong fighters that would protect their borders. And moved them up to the Galile. They're religion is Sunni Muslim but they are quite different than the typical muslims, their mosques are shaped like churches and they are very well educated both men and women have equal rights and they have a language with like 60 letters in it. Almost all of them serve in the Israeli army and since they came around the same time as the first Aliya of Jews from Russia they built great relationships with the Jewish immigrants that last until today.