Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
September 29th 2016 -Volume 6,
Issue 53 26th Elul 5776
Parshat Nitzavim/ Rosh Hashanah
5777
Of Shofars Big and Small
It was
Changi, Singapore. It was the first time Boaz was there and he was diligently
engrossed in the tour book he picked up that gave him the important things he
would need to know about the city and country he was visiting. He read about
the foods to stay away from, the traditional ways to greet people, tip amounts
to give to waiters. You know, the important things. He skipped over the various
temples and religious sites that he knew he wasn’t interested in visiting. He
had left that behind in Israel. He didn’t come here to do religion or God,
certainly not gods. He reached the pages that were talking about the specific
laws they had in Singapore and was fascinated by the punishments of caning and
flogging that seemed to be quite common over there. As he was reading he noted
that the Asian-looking man next to him was peeking over his shoulder and
looking at what he was reading. After a few minutes the man turned and asked
him a question in a somewhat imperfect English.
“Are you
interested in sins?”
Now Boaz was
certainly not the most religious of people and yet this was like something out
of the movies. He looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras anywhere.
When he didn’t see any he asked the man to clarify. “Sins?!?” Boaz asked
perplexedly.
“Well I
noticed that you were reading about punishments over here. Generally someone
who is reading about penalties usually has some types of crimes he is thinking
about.” Boaz closed his book very quickly
and quite nervously and explained that he had no sins or crimes he was just
fascinated by the ‘unique’ penal system in this wonderful country. The man
seemed to accept that and they went back to sitting and avoiding each other’s
gazes. At least Boaz was avoiding his gaze. He thought to himself how he had
thought Israelis were nosy and like to strike up conversations with strangers,
but this seemed a bit out of the bounds for even a sabra like himself. But the next
question the man asked him threw him for an even greater loop.
“Do you
mind if I ask you another question?”
Uhhh… Sure.
Boaz answered, although he definitely was not sure.
“In your
culture, and although I don’t know what it is, I have my suspicions…”
Now Boaz was really getting nervous.
“What is
the smallest sin that a person can do?”
The smallest
sin?!
Yes the
smallest sin.
All of
Boaz’s life he had been focused on the big sins, the lies he told, the laws he
had broken, the religion that he wasn’t always most faithful or observant of.
The smallest sin?
“See here
in Singapore we focus on the little sins, the smallest crime. That’s what we
try to figure out.
Come
think with me let’s see if you can come up with the smallest sin.”
Boaz thought
and thought but all he could think of was the big ones. The man figured he’d
give him a bit of a hint. He pretended to start chewing up and down quite vigorously
with his jaws. Boaz stared and then the man made a motion of taking an
imaginary something out of his mouth and throwing it on the floor. A light bulb
went off in Boaz’s head; a shining Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Hubba-Bubba lightbulb.
“Chewing
gum in public and throwing it on the floor!”
He exclaimed like he had just won the million dollar prize on Jewprady. I mean Jeopardy.
That’s right
his Singaporean friend told him. That’s a small sin that we treat very
seriously here. He made a caning motion with his hand. Now you’ve got the idea.
Now tell me are you Jewish?
Boaz decided
to just go with the flow on this one. This was getting far too interesting. So
he just nodded.
“Ahh well
if you are Jewish it is easy to find small sins. For example those bad Germans
what do you call them nahzee’s that killed most of your people. With that
terrible big sinner Ardorf Heelter. I’m sure that there were many Jews that
lied to him, to his soldiers, to save themselves. To save their wives, to save
their children. That’s a very small sin. Isn’t it?”
He smiled
very proud of himself. Boaz being a grandchild of survivors didn’t find it as
amusing. He also didn’t feel that it was necessary to tell him that lying to
save a life is not necessarily a sin in Jewish law. This conversation was just
getting more and more bizarre… and interesting.
So now the
man told Boaz that he found two small sins. He promised him that if he was able
to name one more sin then he would show him and share with him something very
special. Something that was dear to his heart and something that had to do with
the Jewish people.
Now Boaz was
really curious. So he thought and he thought and finally he remembered an
incident a few days before that somehow stuck in his mind. He was walking
through a park and there was a city gardener that was forming circles of rocks
around the trees. The gardener who was an older gentleman was not doing such a
great job, although he seemed to be working pretty hard. When the gardener
stepped away to take a break over by the tree for a drink, Boaz made his way
over to that circle of rocks and straightened out a few of the out of place
rocks. He tried to be discreet, but the gardener glanced at him and there was
that moment when their eyes met. He saw that he had a hurt look in his eyes.
Like who is this guy that thinks he can do a better job than me? Boaz smiled
meekly and just pooh-poohed with his hand and mumbled something about how he
really thought it looked nice, but he knew that he had hurt the man’s feelings.
It was a small sin. He had totally forgotten
about it. But now here in the train it had come back to him.
His friend
on the train seemed quite pleased with this sin. He turned to him and told him
that he had always been fascinated by the Jewish people. He read a lot about
the Holocaust and he was particularly interested in their concept of a day of
judgement each year. In Singapore he said most people did not believe in a
judgement day and neither did he, but he liked the concept a lot. He
particularly was fascinated by the concept of the shofar blast. And he started
to collect them. The problem he had was as he put it “Your shofars are too
big”. The ram is a big animal and its horns are too big. So he began to
breed smaller animals. He pulled out his smartphone and started to show Boaz
his ‘Bonzai rams” and shofars that he was breeding.
“See how
small they are? They’re just right for small sins.”
Boaz was
dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Blown away-excuse the pun.
The man
gathered up his things and before getting off the train he reached into his
handbag and handed Boaz the smallest Shofar he had ever seen. It was the size
of one of those small party-tooter whistles. Here this is for you. My Jewish
friend, he said smiling. Proud. For all your small sins. And then he stepped
off the train to the platform and he was gone.
Boaz put the
shofar to his mouth and a little squeak came out. A toot. And then it fluttered and pieces
started to flutter off of it and it crumbled. It fell in his lap right next to
his little tour book. All he had left was the little mouthpiece. He put it in
his pocket right next to his ticket back home. Isn’t that where the shofar is
supposed to bring you to, he thought…Back home.
Somewhere in
the distant recesses of my mind I hear Shlomo Carlebach strumming on his guitar
“Eliyahu Ha’Navi… Eliyahu HaTishbi… Eliyahu HaGiladi…”
When I read
this story it made me think of another story or actually another drasha,
perhaps one of the most famous and prophetic ones given by the first chief
Rabbi of Palestine Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohe*/n Kook. The year was 1934. It
was before the Holocaust. Before the 6 million. It was a time when Europe was
still the Jewish center of the world and Eretz Yisrael had less than a half a
million Jews. The British has authorized the rebuilding of the Churva Shul in
the old city of Jerusalem and this was the speech that Rav Kook z”tzl gave on
the first day of Rosh Hashana that year
“We say
in our prayers, “Sound the shofar gadol- the big or great shofar-
for our freedom, and raise the banner to bring our exiles together.” What
is the significance of this ‘great shofar’?
There are
three types of shofars that may be blown on Rosh Hashanah. Preferably, one
should blow a ram’s horn. If this is impossible, one may use a shofar made from
the horn of any kosher animal other than a cow.But if neither of these types is
available, we may blow the horn of an animal which is ritually unclean or of a
chaya -wild animal or even one that was used for idolatry, however this shofar
is blown without reciting a blessing. For it is considered a curse.
These
three shofars of Rosh Hashanah correspond to three ‘Shofars of Redemption,’
three Divine calls summoning the Jewish people to be redeemed and to redeem
their land; the big, the average or medium and the small.
The
preferred Shofar of Redemption is the Divine call that awakens and inspires the
people with holy motivations, through faith in God and the unique mission of
the people of Israel. This elevated spiritual awakening corresponds to the
ram’s horn, a horn that recalls Abraham’s supreme love of God and dedication
in Akeidat Yitzchak, the Binding of Isaac. It is the shofar of faith,
it is the shofar that wishes Hashem’s kingdom to be restored to his holy land. It
was the call of this shofar, with its holy vision of heavenly Jerusalem united
with earthly Jerusalem that inspired Nachmanides, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevy, Rabbi
Ovadia of Bartenura, the students of the Vilna Gaon, and the disciples of the
Baal Shem Tov to ascend to Eretz Yisrael. It is for this ‘great shofar,’ an
awakening of spiritual greatness and idealism that we fervently pray.
There
exists a second Shofar of Redemption, a less optimal form of awakening. This
shofar calls out to the Jewish people to return to their homeland, to the land
where our ancestors, our prophets and our kings, once lived. It beckons us to
live as a free people, to raise our families in a Jewish country and a Jewish
culture. It’s not a call for religion or faith, merely a return to our
ancestral and Jewish homeland. This is a kosher shofar, albeit not a great
shofar like the first type of awakening. We still recite a brachah over
this shofar, for it also corresponds to a ‘kosher’ return of the Jewish people
to their homeland. To the place where Hashem desires us to live and shine his
light to the world from.
There is,
however, a third type of shofar. (At this
point Rav Kook burst out in tears.) The least desirable shofar comes from
the horn of an unclean animal. This shofar corresponds to the wake-up call that
comes from the persecutions of anti-Semitic nations, warning the Jews to escape
while they still can and flee to their own land. Enemies, the wild animals, the
idolators force the Jewish people to be redeemed, blasting the trumpets of war,
bombarding them with deafening threats of harassment and torment, giving them
no respite in the Diaspora.
The
shofar of an impure animal becomes the shofar of Mashiach. The one who did
not listen to the sound of the first shofar and the ones whose ears are closed
up and do not want to listen to the sound of the second ordinary shofar will
listen to the sound of the impure, invalid shofar. They will listen against
their will. Over this shofar, however, no blessing is recited. “One does
not recite a blessing over a cup of affliction” (Berachot 51b). This is
the smallest shofar; the Shofar that the nations blow for us.
We pray
that the Holy One does not force us to listen to the invalid and impure shofar.
We also do not long for the ordinary, medium sized-almost secular- shofar.We
pray, “Sound the great shofar for our
freedom”, a shofar which comes from the very depths of the sanctity of the
Jewish soul, from our Holy of Holies. We all await that great day of which
it is written: ‘It shall come to pass on that day that a great shofar will be
sounded, and those who are lost in the land of Assyria, and the oppressed in
the land of Egypt will come and worship God at the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”
(Isaiah 27:13)”
I titled
this essay “Of Shofars Large and Small”- in case you missed my brilliant
title. A lot of work goes into them each week, incidentally, but I understand
that you don’t’ have two hours to read the entire E-Mail each week before you
jump to the bottom read the jokes and delete. But anyways. I thought of this
when I heard Boaz’s story. The story of the smallest shofar that he heard from
the gentile in Singapore. The one for the small sins. And I thought of Rav Kook
and his prophecy just a few years before the entire Europe heard even more
deafeningly the shofar that our enemies blew for us. ‘It’s time to come
home’ is the only note that a shofar can play. ‘It’s time to return to
Hashem’ is the call that the shofar beckons us to heed. In our parsha this week
the Torah tells us prophetically Devarim (29-21-24)
“And the
last generation, you children who will arise from after you will say, And the
gentile that will come from a distant land and will the blows of this land and
its maladies that Hashem has stricken it with…
And all
the gentiles shall say why has Hashem done so to this land what is this great
wrath? And they shall say because they have left the covenant of Hashem the God
of their fathers…”
Is Singapore
that distant land? Is Germany? Europe? Should I even say it… Will it be America? How could the Torah have known that there would one be a
medium called the United Nations, The World Wide Web, a global media? A world
which would one day even have the ability to blow daily its hot air with what
becomes a holy cry for our people to return, return, return…
This year as
we close our eyes and hear that shofar blow of that ram’s horn, the big shofar,
the great one, the only shofar blast that really can unveil our deepest and
perhaps most buried and yet most spiritual longing. Let us confess our smallest
sins and our biggest sins. Let us awaken and realize that the redemption is
just one short blast away. It is up to us. We’ve had enough of other people
blowing for us. May the next shofar be the one that Eliyahu Hanavi –the Israeli
version-blows, the biggest and greatest blasts, and may it be written and
sealed for this year.
Have an uplifting Shabat and may we be
inscribed and sealed for a happy, healthy and holy sweet New Year,
Shana Tova UMetuka,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
***********************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEO CLIPS OF THE WEEK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__7b9O8k1tw
– In memory of Shimon Peres
a funny parody he did when he left the job of being president of Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIurPUWOkss
– Shana Tova from my heroes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3tNKmzTZDw
– cool! Shana Tova Min Hashamayim- from the heavens!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC6YeLy61V4
– Shlomo Carlebach L’Shana
Tova and the Chozeh of Lublin
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“A nayer meylekh mit naye gzeyres, a nay yor
mit naye aveyres.” - A new king with new decrees, a new year with new misdeeds.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JEWISH PERSONALITY AND HIS
QUOTES IN HONOR OF THE YARTZEIT OF THE WEEK
“Now we pray every day: ’Vtehchezena eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion Let our eyes behold Your return to Zion in
mercy’ and if we believe our own words, then upon whom will the Divine
Presence become manifest? Upon the trees and the rocks? Therefore, as the first
step to the beginning of redemption of our souls we must return to the Land
twenty-two thousand (Jews), to cause the Divine Presence to descend upon them.
This most certainly will be followed by Hashem showing us and all of Israel
beneficial signs..”
“Now however because of our sins we are
separated one from another, for each and every country has a language and
customs of its own and this factor hinders the ingathering (of the exiles) and
delays the redemption. I myself have remained in sorrow over this, as it was
not right that our fathers abandoned and forgot the Holy Tongue when our nation
was divided among seventy nations and our language among seventy different
languages in all parts of the world. When G-D accomplishes all His wondrous deeds for us and
gathers us from the four corners of the earth into our Land we will not be able
to converse with one another and the ingathering will fail….Therefore we should
not abandon hope but rather in steadfastness and strength attempt to achieve
the revival of our language and make it our essence so that the Holy One
Blessed Be He will pour His spirit upon the teachers and the students; upon the
sons and upon the daughters”
“This
new redemption will - alas, because of our sins - be different: our land is
waste and desolate, and we shall have to build houses, dig wells, and plant
vines and olive trees.”
“All
of the final dates for redemption have finished and the only thing that is
lacking is Teshuva-our sages teach us. Teshuva in this statement means
returning to the Land.”
“The
salvation of Israel lies in addressing to the kings of the earth a general
request for the welfare of our nation and our holy cities, and for our return
in repentance to the house of our mother... our salvation will come rapidly
from the kings of the earth”
Rav Yehuda
Ben Shlomo Alkali (1798 - 1878) This Thursday,
the 4th of Tishrei- Many consider the father of modern Zionism
Theodore Herzl. But perhaps the ideas that he brought to fruition had their
roots in the life and teachings of the shul where his grandfather blew shofar
each year, and the sefarim/holy books that Herzl’s father published. The
teachings of the great Rabbi of Sarjevo who planted the seeds and began the
work of convincing the Jewish people that the ultimate return to our holy land
would come with our already beginning to move and by the Jewish people en-masse
supporting this movement and getting the agreement politically from the world.
Yehuda
Solomon Alkalai was born in Sarajevo (Bosnia) in 1798. He spent his boyhood in
Jerusalem then under Turkish rule from age ll studying with various rabbis most
notably the great author of the Pele Yo’etz and it was there that he came under
the influence of the Kabbalah – Jewish mysticism. In 1825 he became Rabbi of
Semlin (the capital of Serbia). At that time, the Serbs, as well as other
nationalities which resided within the Balkan States, were greatly influenced
by the Greek War for Independence and the prevailing atmosphere of rebellion
against foreign Turkish rule. With this resurgence of national pride and desire
for independence, the entire Balkan area became divided among differing nations
and peoples. There is no doubt that these events influenced Alkalai and brought
him to the realization that the time had come for Jewish nationalism to
reassert itself among the Jewish people.
Rabbi Alkalai
raised the issue of Jewish political independence and the Land of Israel for
the first time in 1834 in a small booklet entitled Shema Yisrael, (‘Hear O
Israel’). In his essay, he proposed a beginning of Jewish settlement in the
Land of Israel as a precursor to the Messianic Redemption. Such an idea was not
only original but was considered heretical among many Jews who believed that
the Messianic Redemption would come only through a miraculous event caused by
God. Within Alkalai’s proposition of a natural process of redemption, there was
the inclusion of the Rabbinic doctrine, expressed in the Midrash, that the
Messiah, son of Yoseph, would first come to lead the people of Israel in the
apocalyptic war of Gog and Magog and would then re-conquer the Land of Israel,
freeing it from foreign domination.
A drastic
change took place in the life and outlook or Rabbi Alkalai in 1840 with the
occurrence of the Damascus Blood Libel, shaking the very foundations of the
Jewish, and elements of the non-Jewish world. This blood libel convinced Rabbi
Alkalai that freedom and security for the nation could and would only be
achieved in the land of the forefathers, and that the redemption would only
come about through positive action on the part of the Jewish community.
From this
moment Rabbi Alkalai devoted himself to spreading these ideas through writing
and speeches within various Western European Jewish communities. He approached
such Jewish leaders as Moses Montefiore and others for their political and
financial support.
Rabbi Alkalai
was convinced that it would be possible to buy part or even most of the Holy
Land from the Turkish government, i.e., the Sultan and his empire, as Abraham
had done at the cave of Machpelah when he bought land from Ephron the Hittite.
He dreamed of establishing a world-wide organization along the lines of the
various national organizations then prevalent among other nations of Europe.
The purpose of these organizations would be to buy and reclaim land, as well as
providing loans for new settlers. These ideas were subsequently adopted by
Herzl and the World Zionist Organization.
Alkalai did
not simply write and preach his ideas but he traveled to various cities
attempting to set up a basic structure for the organization he envisioned. One
such group was established in London but it did not last long enough to have
any type of substantial impact upon the masses.
Alkalai
attempted to convince people that his plan for at least part of the Jewish
nation to re-establish itself in the Land of the Forefathers was one of
realistic proportions and that the realization of an independent state in all
its modern nationalistic connotations could be achieved. Towards the end of his
life he moved to Israel and died there without seeing many of his dreams
fulfilled. He lived his last four years here and is buried on Mt. Of Olives
right across the mountain from the city that he worked so hard to return the
shechina and his nation to.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q. A tourist site with a restoration of a
Talmudic Village can be seen at:
A.
Tel Dan
- Neot Kedumim
- En Yael
- Katzrin
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE
WEEK
This weeks Parsha is
always read the week before Rosh Hashana. Although Rashi’s explanation is
certainly not dependent on our calendar year, if one reads Rashi’s commentary,
just as is one reads the weekly parsha with an eye to the eternal timeliness of
its corresponding Parsha we can find a message that Rashi is stressing that is
meant to inspire us in that particular time.
This week’s Torah
portion which moshe reiterates the covenant between us and Hashem tells us
about the mitzva of Teshuva and our ultimate Redemption. Devarim (30:2-3)
“And you will return to Hashem, your God
and listen to his voice, according to everything that I command you today; you
and your children, with all your heart and all your soul.
VShav Hashem Elokecha Es Shvuscha VRiChamecha--And
Hashem your God will return your captivity and have mercy upon you”
The translation above
is Artscrolls and it was fine with me, but that’s primarily because I really
don’t know much about grammar. Rashi on the other hand asks that if that was
what the verse meant to say it should have used the word V’heishiv- And He
returned rather than the literal translation which would be and Hashem your God
returns- the focus being the return of Hashem rather than the capitves. The
footnotes say something about intransitive, third person masculine conversive
prefixes. Whatever that means..
Rashi thus learns and
explains pshat with two powerful insights. The first is he quotes the Talmud
that explains that Hashem is saying that He is in exile with us. And when we
return He returns as well.
As far as we may have
fallen and may have strayed from Him, guess what? He’s there as well. He’s
waiting for us to return so that He may also return home.
The second lesson that
Rashi suggests and brings a proof to is that the day of the ingathering of
Exiles is so great and will come with such difficulty it is as if Hashem
himself must actually hold each and every person with his hands to take him
from his place in Exile. Each and every person. In His hands. Rashi is vivid.
It is an image we should read again again.
Rashi was not just satisfied
with telling us that Hashem is with us waiting for us. Rashi is telling us that
Hashem and the Torah itself is telling us that He will take each Jew with his
hand. Like a father crossing his child the street and bring each one of us
home. With Him.
We sometimes wonder
how can it happen? There are so many that are so scattered, so far from our
Father. We are so far. We can’t see him here in our Exile with us. Rashi thus
tells us don’t worry. He will take us in His hand. His hand…
We will daven this
Rosh Hashana for that Shofar. That call. Rashi tells us to wait and pray for
that Hand of return as well.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL
HISTORICAL EVENT THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DATE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Death of Shaul and his sons-
this Wednesday 28th Elul Year 2282 – 907 BCE:- The story as told in the Book of Shmuel
and that I often read as I stand on Mt. Gilboa looking down at the valley below
where it all took place is that the great king Shaul knew the end was near.
Just the day before he had disguised himself and asked the witch of Ein Dor
(Yes, like the Star Wars planet and like the dream of Jeannie witch
mother-in-law Endora) to raise up Shmuel from the dead. He was not happy and
told him pretty much that he would be joining him over here in the other world
pretty soon. Shaul knowing he is doomed still goes out to fight. The
Philistines massacare the Jews and Shaul though injured tries to commit suicide
by falling on his sword so that the Philistines won’t desecrate his body. When
he is not successful he entreats the Amalekite convert that is nearby to finish
him off-which he does. Ironies of Biblical ironies for it is Shaul that spared
the King of the Amalekim originally and that got him in to this whole losing
your kingdom mess with Hashem in the first place. The Philistines find Shaul and
Yonasan his son’s bodies and they desecrate them and hang them on the walls of
the city of Beit Shean. They were only rescued by the some heroes from Yavesh
Gilad- a city that Shaul saved in the beginning fo his career who took his body
down. King David when he hears mourns them with the famous “Oh how the mighty
have fallen” eulogy. He curses Mt. Gilboa that it should always remain barren
and so it is…
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S HORRIBLE BIG/SMALL JOKES OF THE WEEK
What did
the big chimney say to the little chimney? 'You're too
young to smoke!
What did
the big candle say to the little candle? You're too young to go
out by yourself!
What did the big bucket
say to the little bucket? You look a little pail!
What did
the big maths book say to the little maths book? You're too
young to have so many problems!'
What did
the big star say to the little star? 'You're too young to
stay out all night!'
What did the big tonsils say to
the little tonsils? 'You're too young for the doctor to take out!'
What did
the big firework say to the little firework? 'My pop is
bigger than your pop!'
What did
the big hand say to the little hand? 'I'll be back in an
hour!'
What did the big elevator
say to the little elevator? I think I'm coming down with something!'
Finally the last one of these
very painful jokes…
What did
the big old shoe say to the little old shoe? My sole is
hol(e)ier than your sole!
**************
Answer is D – It’s that time of year, thank Hashem, when my phone rings
off the hook with people calling for tips for Sukkot vacation. Tel Dan is
unquestionably my favorite place in the entire country primarly because it
contains all most ingredients for a great tour; history-modern and Tanach,
archeology, nature and water it’s just beautiful and an easy trail for the
entire family. I have never been to Ein Yael in Jerusalem by Nachal Refaim but
I googled it to just be sure and it seems cute recreation of terrasots and
roman streets and activities. Maybe I’ll check it out next time. Neot Kedumin
is definitely a cool place it was established with the vision of connecting the
Jewish people to the land and our history and Torah through nature. On sukkos
it is particularly mobbed as they have a very cool Sukkot display which shows
all the Sukkot that are kosher and not that are mentioned in our teachings. But
the correct answer is of course Katzrin in the heart of the Golan. I don’t go
there often enough. But it is definitely a Talmudic period city and they show
you (sometimes even dressed up) what life was like back then olive and wine
presses and their houses and shuls. They have some cheesy films there that
recreate the story of Elisha Ben Avuya AkA Acheir and of the story of Tanur
shel Achnai. Happy Sukkos everyone!
