Insights
and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
May 25th 2018 -Volume
8 Issue 31 11th Sivan 5778
Parshat
Naso
A Good Investment
It was a death sentence. If not a physical but
most certainly a spiritual one. As Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstien looked at the
telegram from his Yeshivah in Slobodka, he wondered how he was possibly going
to rescue his 150 students from the latest edict of the oppressive
Lithuanian government conscripting the entire yeshiva into the army. The
Army was known to be exceedingly ruthless and certainly not a place where
a Jew would be able to practice his faith and the chances of one coming out
spiritually intact was almost none.
The Rosh Yeshiva had decided that the only thing
to do was to move the entire Yeshiva to Palestine
where they would be able to rebuild once again the glory of the study halls of Europe . Yet to raise the $25,000 (at least a few 100,000
dollars in today’s terms) neccesary for that move in the year 1924 seemed
an almost impossible task. With much faith in his heart he approached Mr.
Schiff, a rather wealthy old friend of the Yeshiva living in New York
Years later as the great depression hit New York
"My dear freinds," he began.
"I have made millions of dollars in my life and I have over
the past several years lost all that I once thought was certain
in my life. There is however only one investment that still continues to bear
me fruit and will continue to do so for all time and that is the 25,000
that I invested in establishing the Yeshivah is absolutely the best and only
real investment that I will always have with me. A person must always know
where to invest."
When the attending Rabbi heard about the dire
straits of Mr Schiff he immediately tried to raise $5000 to try to assist him
in getting back on his feet. Yet, Mr. Schiff ever the smart, but
stubborn business man responded almost in horror.
"All I have left is the 25,000 I
invested in the Mitzvah of establishing the Yeshiva and now you want to
take that from me as well."
This week's Torah portion shares with us the
Mitzvah of giving ones gifts to and tithes to the Kohein to the temple. It
however uses a rather cryptic repetitive pronoun
"And every portion from any of the holies
that the Children of Israel
Although in its simplest interpretation the
reference to it "being his" would seem to be talking about the
Kohein. Yet rather than saying it explicitly the Torah utilizes a pronoun that
the early 19th century author of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (the abridged code
of Jewish Law) Rabbi Shlomo Gantzfried suggest is much deeper.
For many of us we spend most of our
lives working to spend, save and invest in the hopes of
providing security for ourselves. But what do we really have? At the end of the
hopefully long day, we call life, what can we say is eternally ours? Stocks
crash, and buildings crumble. How real is our estate?
The Torah tells us, what the man gives to the
Kohen shall be his. It does not say, "... will belong to the Kohen.”
It says, “it shall be his!” What we invest in the eternity of
spirituality, in order to proliferate Hashem's eternal message, will never be
relinquished. For what we invest for eternity, will be eternally invested. It
shall always remain ours.
May all our investments be blessed in becoming
"Real" estates that will never be subject to the whims of the
economic cycle. They should rather be cherished legacies and investments whose
dividends will be guaranteed for us and for our children for eternity.
Have an amazing Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Tsedokeh zol kain gelt nit kosten un
gemilas-chassodim zolen kain agmas-nefesh nit farshafen, volten geven di velt
fil tsadikim.” - If one could do charity without money and favors without
aggravation, the world would be full of saints.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q: The national watershed
passes in Jerusalem at:
a. Mount Herzl
– Mount Ora
b. Armon
haNatziv – Temple Mount
c. Mount
Scopus – Mount of Olives
d. Ketef Hinom
– Romema
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/yesimcha
- From this weeks
Torah portion my beautiful and inspiring Yesimcha- the priestly and Friday
night blessing… a must listen…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S HAFTORA CONNECTION OF THE
WEEK
Parshat
Naso- As we noted in the past for many haftoras it is very easy to
find the connection with the parsha. Particularly when they are story haftoras
rather than the prophecy ones. Yet the trick is to find and appreciate that the
haftora is not just chosen because it has one similarity to the portion. If one
digs a bit deeper then you can connect it to an overall theme that each parsha
has to it.
A
similar concept or exercise can be done when examining the title of each parsha
, which although my not necessarily upon surface have significance to them
being just a word or two from the first sentence of each parsha. Yet our sages
as well claim that if you examine the parsha the word or title chosen, like any
other title, will give you the theme of the parsha.
Take
this week’s parsha for example. The parsha, the longest in the Torah, has many,
what would seem at first glance, random narratives, we have the counting and
jobs of the family of the Levi. We have the laws of Nazir, of Sota, of sacrifices,
of impure people being sent from the camp. We have the priestly blessing and
the inauguration of the tabernacle and its daily identical sacrifices from the
leaders of each tribe. Wheww…. Random right. The hafotra which is the story of
the foretelling by an angel of the birth of Shimshon or Samson the judge to his
unwitting parents and the command that he be raised as Nazir and those laws
that pertain to him, seems to be connected by the fact that our parsha as well
tells us about nazir. Yet as we explained you gotta go deeper.
The
title of the parsha is Naso- which means lift up, or raise or count the heads
of the family of Gershom from the Levi. Now this parsha comes right on the
heels of the end of last week’s parsha which tells us to count another Levi
family Kehat. So it was split up in order to start this week’s parsha with the
words Naso. If you think about it is telling us the theme of our parsha it how
to lift oneself despite the different challenges you may have or undergo. Each
one of us has our peckel. There are priests, there are Sota’s, there are
Levi’s there are impure people and there are those that need guilt offerings
and those that are princes. Each one of us hasa a way to overcome our challenge
and live up to our role. It is predetermined and it is in the Torah. We just
have to find it. \
If
that is the case then the story of Shimshon really is a microcosm of the
parsha. His parents have challenges, they are childless, perhaps according to
our sages even marital discord which might be found in some of their
conversations. Shimshon as well will have challenges that are far beyond what
anyone of us can imagine. The angel tells his parents how to navigate them. How
to raise him to be prepared for them. How to Naso- how to lift him up. And
there you have the global connection. Isn’t it amazing what you can find when
you just dig a bit deeper.
Shimshon
HaGibor (950 BC)- Reb Tzadok Hakohein
suggests that the tribe of Dan is the last tribe before Mashiach comes. The one
that will gather in all of the other tribes. They are us. As well we know the
tribe of Dan was from the most assimilated, the most idolatrous and of course
their judge, Shimshon certainly the strangest. Unlike other Judges he does not
have an army. He is a one man show, Rambo. As well he seems to be pulled and
engage in “inappropriate relationships” and even marriages with Philistine
women. Again not something one would expect from the Gadol HaDor. The Jewish
leader and Judge. He terrorizes the Philistines in strange ways, with riddles,
with donkey jaw bones, he wrestles lions. Yes very strange. Yet at the same
time our sages note that in Jacobs blessing Shimshon is literally compared to
Hashem. “ Just as I am the one judge in heaven Shimshon is a singular judge
below. The story and lessons of Shimshon are not easy to understand, but they
are the lessons we need to learn for afterall if we are “Dan” then his
leadership is our guide.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S
AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Shimshon/ Samson HaGibor- 950
BC- This most famous of Jewish judges, the one who gets the most “facetime”
in the book of the prophets of all the other judges, lived in the Beit Shemesh
area. This was the area that was biblically allocated to the tribe of Dan, and
he was their judge. The problem was that Dan never successfully conquered their
portion because the Plishtim/ philistines would constantly attack them. Ultimately
they moved up North to Tel Dan. So where would I talk about this great and
unique hero? Well of course when we are in that area not far from Latrun we pass
by Tzora and Eshtoel the cities that he walked from and from where he fought
and killed a lion with his bare hands. One can actually see the topography as it’s
described in tanach and why he went off the beaten track to get there. Namely
to avoid the vineyards along the way, which can still be seen today.
As well
we can see how the path and road he took to Gaza was from the Beit Guvrin area
as that was the crossroads of the major road that led down there. I of course
can’t take people to Gaza anymore, thanks to Ariel Sharon and the Gush Katif
expulsion but nearby there in Sderot and other communities when we visit the
fields that are there I try to describe to my tourists how Shimshon tied
foxtails together and set them on fire to race through the philistine fields
and wreak havoc on them. Bet they didn’t teach you that story in Sunday school!
As well I can’t take you to the place where Shimshon was killed as that is also
in Gaza but his grave is however marked with a big blue tomb and dome by tel
tzora along with the grave of his father Manoah. Chances are though shhhhh…
that more likely than not it isn’t his grave. See that would be on top of the
hill of the city that wasn’t there in Shimshons time. As well it says that he
as buried between the two cities tzora and eshtoel. As well we don’t bury
people in cities in the Jewish world rather outside of the city. There are
earlier sources that place the grave in other areas (most of them the graves of
sheiks shhhhh.) But regardless, yes tomb, no tomb we don’t daven to dead
people. We only daven to Hashem. The grave is a place where we inspired by the
individual and this is certainly the area where Shimshon was.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S FUNDRAISING JOKES OF THE WEEK
Opening his front door, the Rabbi found himself face to face
with the local priest.
"Rabbi, may I have a few words with you?"
asked the priest.
"Of
course," replied the Rabbi, somewhat nervously. "Rabbi,"
began the priest, "It must be evident to you, that in this town we
are plagued by thieves. Scarcely a day passes, without one of my members
coming to me, bemoaning the fact that his house has been broken into. On
the other hand, I have noticed, that thieves do not bother you Jews, nearly as
much".
The Rabbi answered: “Yes, You are correct."
The Rabbi answered: “Yes, You are correct."
"But why is that?" Inquired the priest:
The Rabbi said: "See this little box, on the side of my door post, it's called a Mezuzah. We Jews believe, that when we put a Mezuzah on the entrances to our houses, the Holy One, may His Name be blessed, protects both us, and our property."
"In that case", replied the priest, "I must have one!"
The Rabbi said: "See this little box, on the side of my door post, it's called a Mezuzah. We Jews believe, that when we put a Mezuzah on the entrances to our houses, the Holy One, may His Name be blessed, protects both us, and our property."
"In that case", replied the priest, "I must have one!"
Not wishing to be the
cause of a pogrom, the Rabbi reluctantly handed over a mezuzah to the
priest. Two weeks later the Rabbi was awakened, by the sound of someone
pounding
violently on his door. Dressing himself hastily, he made his way down the stairs.
"Who's there?" the Rabbi asked. "Open the door, open the door!" screamed a
voice on the other side.
The Rabbi opened the door to see the priest standing in front of him, in great distraught.
violently on his door. Dressing himself hastily, he made his way down the stairs.
"Who's there?" the Rabbi asked. "Open the door, open the door!" screamed a
voice on the other side.
The Rabbi opened the door to see the priest standing in front of him, in great distraught.
"What
happened?" asked the terrified Rabbi. "Were you not protected
from robbers?"
"I was! But these people were worse than robbers!" screamed the priest.
"I was! But these people were worse than robbers!" screamed the priest.
"Who?" asked the Rabbi.
"The Fundraisers!!"
"The Fundraisers!!"
One Sunday morning, Rabbi Rabbinovitz goes to visit Samuel
Lyons the local miser. "Shalom, Sam. I’ll come straight to the
point. I’ve come here because our shul needs your help. You’ve
been a member for over 20 years and I realize that you’re always quick to pay
your membership fees in full. But as you are aware, we are in a financial
crisis. I've come here to ask you for a little extra for the new school
building fund."
"How much are you looking to get from me - how big is little?" asks Sam.
"I’ll be honest. £10,000 would be a tremendous help to us," replies the Rabbi."
Sam responds, "Rabbi, my daughter Rebecca is soon getting married and she has asked me for £25,000 to help her buy that house she saw in Hampstead. And my son David is just starting at Manchester University and he wants £25,000 to see him through the difficult first year there. My wife Sadie wants plastic surgery and she has asked for £30,000 for the doctors’ fees and in-patient facilities. And that’s not all. You know from your own experience that to keep my mother in a nursing home, they are asking £35,000.
"How much are you looking to get from me - how big is little?" asks Sam.
"I’ll be honest. £10,000 would be a tremendous help to us," replies the Rabbi."
Sam responds, "Rabbi, my daughter Rebecca is soon getting married and she has asked me for £25,000 to help her buy that house she saw in Hampstead. And my son David is just starting at Manchester University and he wants £25,000 to see him through the difficult first year there. My wife Sadie wants plastic surgery and she has asked for £30,000 for the doctors’ fees and in-patient facilities. And that’s not all. You know from your own experience that to keep my mother in a nursing home, they are asking £35,000.
So Rabbi, if I can say 'no' to them, I can say 'no' to
you."
A Catholic priest, a Protestant reverend and a rabbi were
sitting together on a jet. They were discussing how they separate their own
money from what they give to G-d.
The Priest said, "I stand in a circle, put all my
money in a hat, throw it up and what lands in the circle I give to G-d."
The reverend said, "I put all my money in a hat,
throw it up and what lands back in the hat I give to G-d."
So the rabbi said, "I put all my money in a hat, throw it up and what he wants he keeps…
So the rabbi said, "I put all my money in a hat, throw it up and what he wants he keeps…
A doctor, a lawyer and Yankel, the yeshiva fundraiser arrive
up to the gates of heaven. The angel in charge tells the doctor that he will
grant him one wish before he enters heaven so the doctor asks for a million
dollars. The angel grants the wish and the doctor enters into heaven. This
generosity did not go unnoticed by the lawyer so when the angel asks him for
his wish the lawyer asks for a billion dollars. The angel grants the wish and
the lawyer enters into heaven. When the angel asked Yankel, fundraiser what he
would like, he says, “If it is not too much trouble could I please get the
business cards of the two people who entered heaven just ahead of me?”
A hurricane blew across the Caribbean. It didn't take long
for the expensive yacht to be swamped by high waves, sinking without a trace.
There were only two survivors: the boat's owner Dr. Eskin
and its steward Benny. Both managed to swim to the closest island. After
reaching the deserted strip of land, the steward was crying and very upset that
they would never be found. The other man was quite calm, relaxing against a
tree.
"Dr. Eskin, how can you be so calm?" cried the
Benny. "We're going to die on this lonely island. We'll never be
discovered here."
"Sit down and listen to what I have to say,
Benny," began the confident Dr. Eskin. "Five years ago I gave the
United Way $500,000 and another $500,000 to the United Jewish Appeal. I donated
the same amounts four years ago. And, three years ago, since I did very well in
the stock market, I contributed $750,000 to each. Last year business was good
again, so the two charities each got a million dollars."
"So what?" shouted Benny.
"Well!" smiled Dr. Eskin, "It's time for
their annual fund drives. They'll find me."
************
Answer is D- One of the fascinating things about Eretz
Yisrael is that because of the Syrian Afrtican Rift and really the colliding of
the continents here the entire center of the country is a mountain ridge. The middle
of that mountain ridge is called the watershed line, because the water flows on
both sides of the mountain. That makes it the best place to live beccasue you
can collect water on both sides. It’s also the most strategic being up on high.
That is where most of our forefathers lived. The road that travels along it is
highway 60 or derecho ha’avot which runs from chevron through Beit Lechem,
Jerusalem up to Shechem. In Yerushalayim itself the old city was off the path.
That fact is noted in tanach, as well it is visible as it is surrounded by
higher mountains. Thus the B and C are out. Katef Hinom is the right answer
which is the high point on the Chevron road all the way up King George and Yaffo street through Mekor
Baruch and Romema to the French hill and on north.
