Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
July 21st 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 37 27th
Tamuz 5777
Parshat Matos/ Maasei
Where are you coming from?
“There is so
little bureaucracy in this country” my
friend who was a new Oleh was telling me. “You
go to the government offices, or the banks and it only takes a few times until
everything you need gets taken care of”.
“Actually what I like best here is the
weather” my other Oleh friend
told me- as I was wiping the 90 degree heat off of my brow-“I find it very
pleasant here”.
Chaim, our
newest Oleh, though had the best take- he couldn’t believe how wonderful the
roads were and the lack of traffic, that he was so accustomed to fighting in
his old home, made driving here in Israel just a Mechaya- a true pleasure.
“Are we
talking about the same country I’m living in?” I thought. But then I
remembered. You see, Chaim was from San Paolo, Brazil- home of the world record
of 166 miles of backed up traffic out of 522 total miles. Nati, my heat loving
friend from India was used to regular 105 degree months of summer. Boruch- or
Boris, as he used to be called back in the former Soviet Union, never thought
that he would live in a country where he didn’t have to wait in line for 2
weeks and then wait for another few months until he received a response. For
him the Misrad Ha’Pnim-Israel’s infamous red tape capital was just a walk in
the park. Isn’t it fascinating how much your point of departure reflects on how
you see the world.
I had a Rebbe
that once asked us, if we could change places with the wealthy Baron Rothchild
if we would be willing to do it. He then proceeded to show us how the great
Baron lived without running water, without air conditioning, he traveled by a
bumpy horse driven wagon- without music. He lived without electricity,
television, internet and would you believe cell-phones. Not even the poorest
Kollel Rabbi lives in such conditions. If he were living today like that, we
would probably start a collection for him. Yet we still feel we’re lacking and
still find no shortage of things to complain about.
This week’s
Torah portion, Ma’asei is the final one of the Book of Bamidbar. In truth it is
really the final Parsha of the story of the Jewish people before they enter the
land of Israel. The Book of Devarim for the large part is Moshe’s last sermon
to the Jewish people before he dies. It is with that understanding that we can
appreciate the first part of the Parsha that recounts for us a review of all of
the travels of the Jewish people for the past 40 years. The traveled from…and
they camped …. Over and over… 42 times the Torah tells us the names and hints
of the various things that occurred along the way. Some places we had highs and
some places unfortunately we sinned and were places of tragedy. The
commentaries all struggle to understand the point of this list of names. Yet
perhaps the reason is to give us the most important lesson of all before coming
to Israel. Know where you’re coming from. Understand from where your
perspective is built upon and it is important to take that in to consideration
for it will affect your outlook on the country you are approaching and are
charged to make holy.
Reb Moshe
Feinstien elaborates on this point. He explains how it was, that this great
nation that witnessed all the miracles of Egypt, the splitting of the Sea, The
Revelation on Sinai, the Manna and the clouds of glory could have sinned so
many times repeatedly. He explains that it is precisely because they were so
accustomed to seeing so many miracles and the open hand of Hashem in the world,
that they were challenged to see it when it wasn’t so revealed. Like a child
whose parent is always there and then one day isn’t. Ma’asei, the review for
the next generation before they will come into the land of Israel is to
recognize that their previous experiences are the baggage and at the same time
the tools for growth that they come into Israel with. If they want to have a
successful Aliyah they have to consistently recall from where they came and be
cognizant of the things that will influence their views as they approach a new
life; one where Hashem’s hand will most certainly be more hidden than it was in
the wilderness. Yet at the same time know that it is always there for them.
We enter the
month of Av this week as we increase our level of mourning as we approach Tish’ah
B’Av the day when our temple has been destroyed and even more tragically not
yet been rebuilt. The increased mourning for men entails no shaving- so our
face and beards scratch a little more. For others (who’s gender shall remain
nameless.. JJ)
it is the prohibition on shopping for new clothing or significant purchases
that shakes us out of our regular existence. For some, like my teenage
daughter, unplugging their I-Pod and not listening to music for three weeks has
been a life changing experience. The point is that we are meant to pause and
think about our lives. There is meant to be something different here that is
missing. Hashem’s Temple, his presence in our country…our people… our world, is
meant to be here with us and it’s not. Why aren’t we mourning more? What are we
doing to change it? Has our 2000 year “temple-less” existence made us so cold
that we can’t even appreciate how lacking our existence is? This is meant to be
a time to reflect and to review. To think. As we scratch our chins, sit music-less
in our cars and homes and we are meant to contemplate about what has caused us
to be so cold and so distant. We need to think about how as distant as we are,
it is even more painful for the Shechina to be distant from us. How it must
feel for the Father who goes away and how the children didn’t even notice he
was gone. Didn’t cry… Didn’t mourn... Didn’t miss Him.
May Hashem help
us as we try to get closer to Him during this time. May he see our efforts as
minimal as we can muster up to be sufficient to return once again to us. To
return to our Home and once again may we finally merit to complete that journey
our ancestors began so long ago in building an Eternal home for us and Hashem
forever.
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Vibald du farshtaist dein narishkeit, bistu a
kluger.” As long as you
understand your foolishness, you are smart.
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/qRG7XqqG0aA?list=PLTOCZ-DLMausvvU5Ba-8C1INQUSED6Jre
– Eli Beer Ani Bochiya vocally
https://youtu.be/fHuzLmbcobo?list=PLTOCZ-DLMausvvU5Ba-8C1INQUSED6Jre
– Dovid
Dachs I am ancient wall ahavs chinam beautiful!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR
GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q. The 19th century Templers originated
from:
a. Alsace
b. Russia
c. Wurttemberg
d. Austro-Hungary
a. Alsace
b. Russia
c. Wurttemberg
d. Austro-Hungary
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE
WEEK
Matos- The problem with Rashi is that its sometimes so easy to read
what he writes and continue and move on without actually thinking about what he
writes and one then misses the perplexing questions tht need to be asked and
that once answered reveals a powerful insight into a Torah teaching.
In this weeks Torah portion the verse tells us that (Bamidbar
31:5) a thousand from each tribe were given over to fight in battle. Rashi
notes that the Torah uses a term that seems to mean they were given over
against their will
“In order to teach you the praise of the shepherds of Israel how
dear they are to Israel. Until they heard that Moshe would die (as part of the
aftermath of the battle with Midian) what did he (Moshe- say about them) ‘A
little more and they will stone me”. Once they heard that Moshe’s death would
be connected to the vengeance of Midian they did not want to go and they had to
be forced.”
If one thinks about this Rashi for even a second, the question
is why did Rashi have to bring up the dirty past to tell us that we love our
leaders and Moshe? Just say that we didn’t want to be given over if we knew
that Moshe would die. Why does Rashi have to tell us that previously we wanted
to stone him?
The Steipler Gaon, explains based on a concept of Rabbi Yisrael
Salant explains that the love Israel has for its leader is so deep that even
when we are holding externally by stoning him deep down the true love will come
out ultimately. He brings an example of a parent of a difficult child who he
constantly fights with, at the same time that parent might be a teacher who has
a student who he loves and always treats with pride and praise. However in time
of danger, the parent’s internal love for his child would come out and if given
a choice he would save the child first, despite all of the trouble he gives
him. It is almost unexplainable. It is just a deep-seated natural love he has
for his child. That is what Rashi is trying to convey about our connection with
Moshe. This can only be shown this internal love by contrasting it with the
external strife. That is the depth of the love and connection we have to Moshe.
If that is true about us and Moshe- the shepherd of Israel, how
much more so is that true about our love for Hashem who is our shepherd.
Despite how much we might rebel, under it all we are faithful and would give
our lives for Him and our belief in Him. That is the history of the Jewish
people from even the least observant of our people, when given a choice or
threat of life they will martyr themselves before denying God.
What an amazing Rashi and lesson.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF
THE WEEK
Temple Mount Faithful – I don’t believe that it is a coincidence that during the
week that we are meant to be thinking about life without the Beit Hamikdash,
our Temple, that has been destroyed that the entire world is talking about
who’s sovereignty it really falls. Since the times of the earliest pilgrims
some of our greatest sages describe having gone up to the Temple Mount to pray
and worship before Hashem. Obviously these great Rabbi took necessary halachic
precautions and only entered into places that were permitted to walk, immersed themselves
in a Mikva or better yet a fresh water spring, and did not wear leather shoes
or bring anything with them besides their awe of Hashem and his Home and their
heartfelt prayers. Upon the miraculous return of the Temple Mount to the Jewish
people in the 6 Day war in 1967. Rabbi Goren, the chief Rabbi led Jews up there
to pray as well. That all ended on Tisha B’Av that first year when they tried
to bring up an Ark and blew Shofars after which the Jordanians and the Waqf
whom we had handed over the keys to the administration over to, protested and
forbade Jewish worship over there, making it ironically and tragically the only
place in the world where Jews are forbidden by law to pray. Yet each years
thousands of Jews go up to the Temple Mount. This past year over 14,000 and
last week over 600 Jews went alone. The Jews that go up there really range the
gamut from radical right wing religious Zionists that wish to show our
sovereignty over it. Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews that wear black hats and
affiliate with Chareidi Judaism, despite the overwhelming rulings from Chareidi
Rabbis and accepted halachic authorities that for various reasons object. There
are secular Jews and tourists as well that go up just to see the place where
the Shechina once resided. It is
interesting as well that many of those that are in the forefront of this Temple
Mount faithful group are American Olim that having made the bold ideological
move to the Land of Israel want to be part of the next stage of our redemption
by being part of the Jewish presence returning to Har HaBayit as well.
Personally I do not go up to the Temple Mount. I avoid what I call dangerous
places, both to my life and to my soul as many of my Rabbis oppose going up
there. I do however feel that the big golden pimple up there should probably be
taken down if we truly we believe we are a Jewish State. Because just because
we can’t pray there doesn’t mean we should be participants in the greatest
sacrilege to our holiest place. But I feel the same way about churches in
Jerusalem as well-maybe even more so… So don’t pay much attention to me.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JOKES OF THE
WEEK
It’s the 9 days this week. sorry no jokes!
**************
Answer
is C– The Templer- not to be confused with the knights Templar
of the Crusaders that guarded the Temple Mount…Hmmm wonder if they had metal
detectors back then…- Were German Protestants from Wurtenberg that were pretty
much seemed to be too radical and Messianic for even the Protestants and they
moved to Israel to realize the coming of Messiah and the rebirth of Palestine.
They pretty much get the credit for building the “German Colonies” all over
Israel. In Haifa primarily and initially but also Jaffa and Emek Refaim in
Jerusalem. With the advent of Nazism after WWI many of them were rounded up by
the British and some were even traded with the Nazis in exchange for Jews.
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