Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
September 17th 2015 -Volume 5, Issue 44 3rd Tishrei 5776!
Parshat Vayelech/ Yom Kippur
A Very Good Day
Have you ever have a really bad day? You know the day that nothing
seems to go right. Your alarm went off late, you slip in the shower, there was
of course no hot water, can’t find your keys, car won’t start, you get pulled
over by a cop, splashed on by a passing car, miss your meeting, lose money in
the stock market, find out someone close to you died or is sick and then come
home to a screaming house, fighting children and a wife that looks frazzled because
the fuse kept blowing and the drain you were supposed to fix exploded. Supper
is of course not ready, you burn yourself boiling some water and then you
finally lie down to sleep and forget the day ever happened and the baby starts
crying… Ever have one of those? I can’t remember if I did or didn’t, I certainly
blocked it from my memory if I did though. I can think of some bad things that
have happened on some days. Not on any tour days of course. Days that I wish I
could take back some not great things have happened, some not great things that
I might have done or said. Just lousy regrettable things.
How about really fantastic days. The alarm went off just on time,
boiling hot water in the shower, your wife was waiting downstairs with a
surprise breakfast and your coffee was ready by the time you came down, the keys
were right where you left them. You put on your seatbelt a minute before you
passed by a police officer that was pulling people over for not wearing them.
Your stocks went up, you just heard some great mazal tov’s from some
friends and family of yours. Your boss congratulates you on closing some
fantastic deals and gives you a promotion, you win a free trip to Israel with a
complimentary great tour guide. Finally you come home and the kids are all in
their pajamas, their homework is all done, they were just waiting at the door
for you to give you a Layla tov kiss and hug. Dinner is ready, it’s your
favorite and you and your wife can spend some quality time sharing in the
delight of a truly excellent day….Nahhhh, I can’t remember one of those either.
But one can hope and pray right?
Most of my days are pretty much the same. Usually some great
things happen, sometimes lousy things happen but most of the time thank god
they’re not too dramatic. Although some people have told me that the best days
of their life is touring with me, I really believe that any day exploring
Hashem’s country is a good day, if not an excellent one. How about Hashem’s
days? How do you think His days have been? His year? This past Rosh Hashana was
the commemoration of certainly one of the most siginificant days in all of His
history. It’s the day that His-story and ours began. How would you describe
that first Friday of Creation 5776 years ago?
It is interesting when one goes back to the beginning- a very good
place to start- that after each day of Creation, Hashem looks at what He
Created and “saw that it was good”. Day One, Light and Dark-Good. Day Two, heavenly
waters and earthly water are separated-doesn’t say it was good and our sages
tell us that it was because nothing was really created there was just a
division. I’ve been saying since fifth grade that division is not good. Multiplication
I could handle, forget about fractionsJ. But jokes aside, a day that nothing is created
is not called good. Day Three- whadaya know the earth is revealed and oceans
are formed and the plant life starts growing- two times good. We’ve got beaches
and palm trees! Fourth Day- Sun, Stars, Moon, Celestial orbits- also good.
Fifth day- Birds and Fish- good again. And then we come to Friday, Rosh
Hashana. How would you rate that day?
The first part of the day seemed to be going pretty good. Lions
and Tigers and Bears OM-H (Oh My Hashem), rabbits, cows, deers and camels too.
Hashem sees all that and says…good. The Talmud then gives us the hour to hour
of the rest of the day
First hour-
Hashem gathers all the dust from the world and forms man
Second hour-
He’s a Golem- a soul-less being, maybe a Neanderthal, I don’t know? Interesting
that man is the only creature created in stages like this without a soul
Third hour-he
forms his limbs, eyes, ears, nose
Fourth hour-
He blows into him a soul
Fifth hour-
He stands up on his feet-now you know why it isn’t easy to get up in the morning.
Sixth hour-
Man gets to work, naming all of the animals- giving meaning to the world,
bringing the name of Hashem down here.
Seventh hour- Hashem
creates woman Chava- unlike her husband who was created pretty much as the
lowest species without a soul initially, She was created from the highest
species in Creation, man. And she hasn’t forgotten where we come from and she
comes from sinceJ
Eighth hour-
They have twins! Mazal Tov! Kayin and his twin sister.
Ninth Hour-
Hashem commands us not to eat from “The Tree”
Tenth Hour-
We do…oops
Eleventh Hour-
They were judged
Twelfth hour-
Man and his wife and their cute little twins- the purpose of the entire Creation
are chucked out of the garden, Death comes to the world, Painful Child birth-
no more just popping out twins and going out for some fruit tastings an hour
later. What a day…What a day.
How would you describe that day? Good?! Imagine you spent a whole
week planning this perfect universe and it all comes crashing down. Truth is
everything was going great until Hashem gave us that one commandment. Sure it
was only one commandment but still, Adam was pretty much running around doing
what he was supposed to before that. So how would you describe that day.
Here’s how Hashem describes it- after all is said and done “And
Hashem saw all that he had made and behold it was….drumroll…. VERY GOOD- TOV
MEOD! Really, very good. Can you imagine that? If a day like that happened
to me or you we might consider it the worst day of our lives. But here we have
the first time in the entire Creation where Hashem says something is very good.
Not only that but that is the day that Hashem we should commemorate each year.
It is the New Year.
Rav Mordechai Alon shared a beautiful insight that we see from
here. Hashem could create everything and it is all Good. Hashem can create only
Tov. But Man has the power to create something even more powerful- Teshuva.
The ability to sin and then to return to Hashem is Tov Meod. That is
what was created at the end of the sixth day. That is what made it into the
most amazing day of Creation and of His-story. The Midrash gives many interpretations
of what the Meod, the very is. Good is the good inclination- Meod
is the evil inclination, Good is Gan Eden-Meod is Gehenom,
Good is good is the angel of life- Meod is the Angel of Death. The first
six days of Creation Hashem created a good world, a perfect world. Yet it was
lacking in one thing. The capacity for man to sin, the free choice that has
with it significant eternal consequences, the ability for Man to bring the
world to it’s lowest level and yet at the same time to raise it to an even
higher level than the perfection that it was created as. The Baal Ha’Tanya used
to tell his Chasidim That Tov is Tzadikim/the righteous-Tov Meod-
is Baalei Teshuva- those that return to Hashem after having sinned. That
is why Rosh Hashana is such a special day. That is why Yom Kippur the week
following, was considered the happiest day on the Jewish calendar. It is our
chance to elevate the world to the highest levels. Its why right after Yom
Kippur, we enter into the holiday of our happiness, Sukkot, when we enter with
Hashem in this mini-world that we have built to spend it together with Him,
just as we were together in the Garden of Eden. It is all very good days.
Last week in the Torah portion, we read about the mitzva of
Teshuva. For this Mitzvah which I have commanded you today is not hidden from
you. It is not up in the heavens…not on the other side of the sea… Ki Karov
Elecha Hadavar Meod- For it is close to you-yes that’s right Meod-
very much. It is what we were created to do, to bring the Meod, into the world,
to raise it up with our return to Hashem. It’s a simple process. Come to Shul
on Yom Kippur think about your life, think about the mistakes you’ve made this
year, think about the bad days you had- the ones that you made bad. The ones
that you don’t ever want to have or make again. Say you’re sorry. Resolve that
you will make this year better. Make a plan to make it a better year-not just
lip service- remember we can do it. It’s why we’re here. Our mistakes and sins
are not meant to hold us back they are meant to be the building blocks of the a
very good world. They will lead us to that Sukkah of King David that awaits her
children to return to her. We can make this year, “The Year”. It is very very
close to us.
Have an inspiring first Shabbos of the year- Shabbat Shuva- the
Shabbos when we return to the beginning and may we all be sealed for a very
good and sweet year,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
***************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S VIDEO OF THEWEEK
https://vimeo.com/2811238 – A beautiful golden oldie song and moving video “It
happened Yom Kippur” about the Yom Kippur war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rMRHHh8hm-c#t=114
– Kol Nidrei with MBD 25 years ago and Yaron
Gershovsky on Piano
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!!
“Der
mentsh lernt fri tzu redn un shpet tzu shvaygn..”- A Man
learns to speak early and to keep silent late.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE FORGIVENESS QUOTES OF THE WEEK
.“Forgiveness is the
fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Mark Twain
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free
and discover that the prisoner was you” - Lewis B. Smedes
“When I was a kid I used to pray every night
for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I
stole one and asked Him to forgive me”- Emo Philips
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
(New exam this week these questions are from the
most recent tour guide exam-let’s see how I do)
answer below at end of Email
An Israeli
author that was murdered in the pogroms of 1921
A.
Yosef
Chaim Brenner
B.
Chaim
Hazaz
C.
Chaim
Arlozoroff
D.
Chaim
Nachman Bialik
.RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL MIDRASH OF THE WEEK
We think of Yom Kippur as an intense serious
day of introspection. In the times of the Temple the Mishna tells us it was
quite a different day. It was a day of rejoicing, a day when the girls would go
out dressed in white and try to “solve the Shidduch crisis J” each pitching their
own benefits. Here is the text of this fascinating Midrash.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Israel had no greater days of joy than
the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur. On these days the daughters of Israel would
go out dressed in white which were all borrowed in order not to shame anyone
who didn’t have [a suitable white dress]. … The sons/daughters of Jerusalem
would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man,
lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Don’t set your eyes
upon beauty; rather, set your eyes upon family. [For] grace is false and
beauty is vain; a woman who fears the Lord she will be praised. And the
verse further states: “Give her from the fruit of her hands and let her
deeds praise her in the gates” ….
The Mishna also notes the significance of the day as being the day that
the Torah (the second time around was given-
So too, Scripture says: “Go forth O you daughters of Zion and gaze
upon King Shlomoh [i.e., the Holy One, the King of Peace] crowned with the
crown His nation made for Him on the day of His wedding and on the day of the
gladness of His heart” (Songs 3:11). On the day of His wedding refers
to [Yom Kippur] the [day of the] giving of the Torah [i.e., the second
Tablets], and on the day of the gladness of His heart, refers to the
building of the Holy Temple [inaugurated on Yom Kippur], may it be built
speedily in our days
Even more fascinating is that Rashi notes that it
is for that reason that Yom Kippur was chosen to be the day of forgiveness for
Hashem had forgiven us for the sin of the Golden Calf on that day.
So he will forgive us for all generations on that
day.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S COOL THINGS TO DO IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
That Yonah doesn’t think I can come up with each week…
Yom Kippur in Israel – For those that have never
been here it is truly amazing. This is a day that one can truly feel the holiness
and sanctity of the day. Most Israelis are not necessarily fully observant.
Although the majority consider themselves traditional. Yet on Yom Kippur a
wopping 65-75% of the population attend a synagogue and fast. Wow! The highways
are empty. Little kids can be seen riding bikes on them. Each year prior to Yom
Kippur the newspapers are full of talk about asking forgiveness and making amends.
The television talk shows have Rabbis and Jewish leaders on them to talk about
the upcoming days of awe. And even billboards sneak in something about Yom
Kippur and the New Year as well.To a
large degree the sense of the specialness of the most holy holiday of the year
on the Jewish calendar if I had to describe it in a bad analogy that is pretty
much the opposite experience it’s the “winter season atmosphere” in all the
streets of America. Yeah, just the opposite. Israel’s in no way in the perfect
shape that it is meant to be. And Yom Kippur here is still not that amazing day
it will be God willing when the Temple is rebuilt and all of Hashems’s children
are here. But it is certainly an incredible taste and a merit for the State of
Israel that unlike the Diaspora counterparts which sadly is hemmoraging so many
of our brothers and sisters to assimilation and intermarriage. Here that
pinteleh yid- that Jewish spark is still burning bright.
******************
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S CREATION JOKES OF THE WEEK
One
day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way
and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that
they were done with Him.
The
scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer
need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous
things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."
God
listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done
talking, God said, "Very well, how about this?
Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
But
God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old
days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"
*************
One
day, Eve was walking in the garden with the Lord. She said, "Lord, the
garden is wonderful, and the animals and birds provide such joy, but I am still
lonely sometimes."
"No
problem!" the Lord replied. "I will make you a man for a companion.
He will desire to please you and to be with you. But I have to warn you, he
won't be perfect. He'll have a difficult time understanding your feelings, will
tend to think only of himself, and will stay out late with his bowling
buddies."
"What's
bowling?" Eve asked.
"Oh... never mind. I was just getting ahead of myself, sorry."
"Oh... never mind. I was just getting ahead of myself, sorry."
"That's
OK. I think I can handle this 'man'," Eve replied.
"Great, I'll get right to it!" God said, and started grabbing some mud and shaping it.
Suddenly, the Lord stopped and said to Eve, "Oh, there's one other thing about this man I'm making for you."
"Great, I'll get right to it!" God said, and started grabbing some mud and shaping it.
Suddenly, the Lord stopped and said to Eve, "Oh, there's one other thing about this man I'm making for you."
"What's
that?" asked Eve.
"You'll have to tell him he was here first."
"You'll have to tell him he was here first."
****************
Teacher: "Who were the
first human beings?"
Kibbutznik Student: "Adam and Eve."
Teacher: "And what religion was this Adam and Eve?"
Student: "Socialist, of course."
Teacher: "And how do you know that they were Socialist?"
Student: "Easy, they had no roof over their heads, no clothes to wear, and only one apple between them, yet they still called it paradise!"
Kibbutznik Student: "Adam and Eve."
Teacher: "And what religion was this Adam and Eve?"
Student: "Socialist, of course."
Teacher: "And how do you know that they were Socialist?"
Student: "Easy, they had no roof over their heads, no clothes to wear, and only one apple between them, yet they still called it paradise!"
***********************
A doctor, a civil engineer, and a Politician were arguing about
what was the oldest profession in the world. The doctor remarked, 'Well, in the
Bible it says that God created Eve from a rib taken from Adam. This clearly
required surgery, so I can rightly claim that mine is the oldest profession in
the world.'
The civil engineer interrupted and said, 'But even earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most spectacular application of civil engineering. Therefore, fair doctor, you are wrong; mine is the oldest profession in the world.'
The Politician leaned back in his chair, smiled and said confidently, 'Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?'
The civil engineer interrupted and said, 'But even earlier in the book of Genesis, it states that God created the order of the heavens and the earth from out of the chaos. This was the first and certainly the most spectacular application of civil engineering. Therefore, fair doctor, you are wrong; mine is the oldest profession in the world.'
The Politician leaned back in his chair, smiled and said confidently, 'Ah, but who do you think created the chaos?'
**********************************
Answer is A-So which is
the Chaim that was murdered. Interesting isn’t it how they do this thing all with
the name Chaim. OK, So I guessed this one correctly. Bialik I knew wasn’t
killed. Truth is he didn’t even come to Israel until the mid 1920’s. Hazaz I
had never even heard of, he died of old age anyways in 1973. Which leaves
Brenner and Arlozoroff, both who were murdered. Arlozoroff though was more
likely assassinated by Jews and he really wasn’t an author. He was the controversial
Zionist leader that negotiated the ha’varah agreement with the Nazi’s during
the war that brought many Jews- and their money to Palestine during the
beginning of the war. He was fiercly opposed by many of the Zionists for various
reasons as well as some of his other political views and he was assassinated in
1933. Brenner, was killed along with 7 others in the riots and pogroms that
took place in Yaffo where he lived in 1921. The animals hung their bodies from
the gates of the cemetery there. May Hashem avenge their deaths.
******
