Insights
and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
July 27th 2018 -Volume
8 Issue 40 15th Av 5778
Parshat
Va’Etchanan /Nachamu
One More Woyd
He was my favorite comedian. The Rebbe ‘Reb
Jackie” we would call him. We would listen to him again and again and roll with
laughter at his perfect on the spot charachterizations of Jews and Gentiles. Us
and them. We mimicked his New Yawhk accent and we repeated his lines as if they
were Torah from Sinai. It was our brief comic relief from the intensity of our
Yeshiva life and rigorous schedule. It was also contraband and against the
rules. So of course we listened. We listened and we laughed.
One of my favorite routines that he had was
about how Jews are not fighters. You never find four “black guys” (his 70’s
politically incorrect term-not mine) walking down the street saying “watch out
there’s a Jew over there”. You never find anyone scared to walk into a Jewish
neighborhood because they might get killed by an accountant. Jews don’t fight.
They don’t fight. They almost fight. “I almost killed him”. If he would
have said one more ‘woyd’, I would break his head. One more woyd and I would’ve
killed him. He would be dead already. One more woyd I was ready I was waiting.
… What’s that word? Nobody knows…
Yup that’s us we’re not fighters. We’re talkers.
We’re negotiators. We don’t like to fight. What about the Israeli army?
According to Jackie, they’re really Puerto Ricans. They even speak Hebrew like
Puerto Ricans. “Makita catata badipa madata…” Oyyy those were the days.
Now this weekly E-mail is not just Rabbi
Schwartz reminiscing about his good old yeshiva days. Although that might be an
arguable point. It’s about the Parsha. It’s inspiration. So what does Reb
Jackie have to do with the parsha? See that’s why you come here every week. To
see how one can connect Torah and Jackie Mason. Or how the warped mind of your
favorite “tour guide” Rabbi works. So the truth is this memory really jumped
out at me when I saw an incredible Chatam Sofers insight into this weeks Torah
portion. One that revealed not only an answer to one of the most difficult
questions in the Torah but one that as well should serve as a source of
inspiration for all of us.
This week’s Torah portion Va’Etchanan begins
with perhaps one of the most difficult stories. Moshe Rabbeinu, our shepherd,
our leader, the hero of the past four books of the Torah tells us how he
beseeched Hashem to enter the land and his prayer was rejected.
Va’eschanan el Hashem – And I entreated
Hashem at that time saying "O Hashem You have begun to show Your servant
Your greatness and Your strong hand… Pray let me cross over and see the good
land that is on the other side of the Jordan… and Hashem said to me,
"It is enough for you; speak to Me no more regarding this matter.
Admit it. This story bothered.you. Why couldn’t
Moshe go in? After all he had done for us, after all he had done for Hashem. Is
there no mercy? No grace? And Moshe prayed and prayed for this . According to
the Midrash Moshe even prayed 515 prayers- that uncoincidentally is the
numerical Gematria value of the word Va’Etchanan. So after 515 prayers Hashem
couldn’t let him go?
Perhaps even more perplexing, the Chasam Sofer
asks, The Midrash tell us that a person should always call out to Hashem in a
time of trouble. As the Torah tells us that Moshe said and “I entreated
Hashem… saying”- saying is referring to future generations in
trouble to call out in prayer. For even though Hashem told him he would not
cross the Jordan he still entreated God.
The Chasam Sofer asks though this would seem to
be a really bad example. After all it didn’t work. Moshe was refused. So why
should someone pray in time of trouble. It’s like telling someone to try this
and this cure because Berel tried and it didn’t work.
So what the Chasam Sofer reveals to us and he
actually reads it in the verse. He suggests that Moshe would have been answered
ultimately. Had he recited that one last prayer that Moshe tells us he didn’t
say. Because Hashem told him don’t say it. The way the Chasam Sofer reads the
verses, Moshe says “I entreated Hashem. I did it 515 times. And then I wanted
to say “Hashem you have begun to show your greatness… please let me cross…”
But Hashem cut me off. He said don’t say it. Not one more woyd. If Moshe would
have said that one more woyd, that one more prayer, the 516th …it
would have been over. Hashem would have had no choice but to let him in. But he
didn’t say it. He stopped at 515.
He continues and explains that is the reason
therefore that our sages suggest that we learn from Moshe to call out in prayer
in a time of trouble. Prayer works. Moshe’s prayer would have worked if he
would have said the last one. It would have worked so much that Hashem had to
ask Moshe not to say it. And thus each Jew should heed that lesson and never
give up hope and pray as well.
That brings to an end the inspirational and
humorous part of this weekly E-Mail. You even got the Jackie Mason connection
here. So you can feel free to click down to the jokes or youtube section about
now. But for those of you with a little more stamina and free time on your hand
or a more mystical and spiritual bend, hang on for a few more paragraphs for
the rest of this deep deep idea that the Shvilei Pinchas shares from the Belzer
Rebbe.
The Talmud tells us in reference to the Beit
HaMikdash that Avraham called it a har- a mountain (when he saw it from
a distance to sacrifice Yitzchak. Yitzchak calls it a sadeh- a field
(when he goes out to pray) And Yaakov calls it a bayis- a house. (when
he awakes from his dream. The Rebbe then quotes a Midrash that writes
cryptically about a heavenly Temple above that corresponds to our Temple down
below and that will ultimately come down in the time of the building of the third
Temple to complete ours down below.
“The
Temple that is up who built it? Hashem and his heavenly machaneh- camp built
the first wall, Avraham built the second wall, Yitzchak the third, Yaakov the
fourth and Moshe built the roof.”
As I said cryptic and strange.
The Rebbe notes however something fascinating
the gematria of the word machaneh- camp is 103, har- mountain or
Avraham’s wall is 206 or 2 times 103. Isn’t that cool? But let’s keep going.
Sadeh- field is 309 or 3 x 103, bayit- house yaakov’s wall is… can you guess?
Yup. 412 or 4 times 103. Now that’s pretty wild but what about the roof. What
about Moshe? Well what’s 5 times 103? Hmmmm… that’s right it’s 515. Does that
number sound familiar? It should those are the 515 prayers that Moshe prayed to
come into the land. So those prayers that we thought didn’t do anything? Each
one of them was another shingle on the roof of that heavenly Temple that will
come down when Mashiach comes.
Moshe having completed that Temple up above with
his 515 prayers now wanted to bring it down. To usher in the heavenly,
Messianic era. To finally “show the greatness and the strong hand that Hashem
had only begun to show to the world. But Hashem said. Don’t say that one more
woyd. It’s not the time yet. The souls that died in the wilderness will need a
shepherd ultimately to bring them into the land. The midrash tells us that Hashem told Moshe
Bamidbar
Rabba (19:13) Hashem said to Moshe. How can you request to enter the land?
It is similar to a shepherd that was shepherding the sheep of the King. And the
sheep were taken. The shepherd wanted to come into the palace. And the King
told him “if you will enter now what will people say that you lost my sheep. As
well over here Hashem said, your praise is that you took 600,000 out and buried
them in the wilderness and bring in a different people. People will say that
those who died lost their portion in the world to come. Its better that you
shall remain here with them and then you will ultimately be the one to gather
them and come with them into the land.
Moshe wasn’t denied entry to the land. Moshe,
our faithful shepherd, chose not to come into the land until he finished his
final mission. The mission that he started 40 years before bringing the Jews
out of Egypt to the holyland. He could have said that one more word, that one
more prayer. But instead he listened to Hashem for when the time when all of
those souls of our ancestors will finally achieve their tikkun, their
completion. Then it will be time for him to finally enter the land and say that
last prayer. The ARI”Zl notes that the one prayer that each Jew says perhaps
more than any other prayer is the Kaddish. The Kaddish begins with the words.
Yitgadel Vitkadesh Shmei Rabba- May Hashem’s name become great and sanctified.
The first letters of each of those first four words spell Yosher- straight. The
gematria of yosher… 516. We all say that 516th prayer. It is the
most recited prayer of every Jew; the prayer that Moshe couldn’t say for the
that third Temple, for Hashem’s great name. That is the prayer that we are
constantly reciting. Out loud with all our hearts. That is the ‘just one word’
that we are waiting for. May Hashem answer that prayer and may that heavenly
Temple built through the prayers of our forefathers and roofed by Moshe finally
come down and join the Temple that we are awaiting for here in Yerushalayim.
Have spectacular and comforting Shabbos Nachamu,
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
********************************************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Verter zol men vegn un nit tseiln.”- Words should be
weighed and not counted.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q. According to tradition.
Alexander the Great met Simon the Righteous (Shim’on
haTsadik, the high priest) in:
A. Jericho
B. Sartaba
C. Gaza
D. Antipatris
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE
WEEK
https://youtu.be/MfhNs2rveEM- Jackie
Mason on broadway- It’s long and can’t tell you how “kosher” it all is but if
you want “just one woyd” Listen from about the 11 minutes point to 16 minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_xHmY6ttIo
– Whats
Shabbos Nachamu without Reb Shlomo Carlebachs live concert and song Nachamu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Je4NEIzupw
- Yaakov Shwekey a cool new video Your
Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMbZMdtsWDs
- an
unreal- Real story by R’ Moe Mernick, The Promise of Reb Hershel
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S HAFTORA CONNECTION OF THE
WEEK
Parshat
Vaetchanan/ Nachamu – I don’t know if you
are allowed to have a favorite haftora. But if I took a vote I would think that
this weeks wins the prize. After three weeks of gloom and doom and mourning for
our Temple there is nothing that can be more refreshing and comforting then
Yeshaya’s prophecy of Nachamu Nachamu Ami, my nation should be doubly consoled,
says our Lord. It is the first of 7 haftorahs of consolation that we read until
Rosh Hashana.
The
consolation of the haftorah and the prophet are immense. He paints a world and
an Israel different then we can imagine. The entire land is calling out
Hashem’s name. the hills fall down, the valleys are raised, the grass the trees
the entire land is calling out to greet Hashem as he returns to His land. The
nations, all their threats all their intimidations and resolutions are naught.
They are like dust. Hashem is no mere idol deity. He formed the heavens. The
earth the stars. We are his people. And not a man will be left behind. Seu
Marom Eineichem- Lift up your eyes above and see who has created all of
this. Our sages note that the first letter of those three words spell Shema.
That is what we should know and think about when we recite the Shema. The
oneness of Hashem. His presence on this world and the realization of the final
consolation that we await daily. Is it any wonder then why this is my favorite
haftorah….
Yeshaya
Hanavi Era of Prophecy (780-700 BC)- Yeshayahu was the author of
his own book. It has 66 chapters and it his prophecies that make up the
majority of the haftoras 15 in total. He was considered the greatest prophet
since Moshe and he died (or more accurately was killed by King Menashe) at age
120 just as Moshe did.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S
AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Mt Sinai-
1312 BC- This columns function is
not necessarily to connect to the weekly Torah portion. Rather it is to start
from the beginning and chronologically go through Jewish history and talk about
the sites in Israel where we can connect and speak about those events and
individuals. Yet it is nice when like this week it falls out that we are
reading the portion of the Ten Commandments (the second account in Devarim) and
we are up to the Jews arriving at Sinai. As in earlier weeks I can’t take you
to Mt. Sinai. It is certainly not in Israel and is in the Sinai desert which is
Egypt’s since 1979. As well we’re not sure exactly where it is. Because unlike
Mt. Moriah when man, Avraham brought his son up as an offering to God, which
ultimately became the site of the Beit Hamikdash, our Temple. Mt Sinai, where
God came down to this world to speak with Man, the only time in recorded history
that it took place, is not nearly as significant. The reason our sages tell us
is because this world it is more important what we do and how we act than what
God does. At least from a Jewish perspective.
There is
an accepted Christian and Muslim tradition that Jabal Musa the highest
mountain in the Sinai desert would be the Mount Sinai. There is even a
church Santa Katerina that is there on top. Now our sages tell us that
Mt. Sinai was selected because it was the most humble and not the largest of
mountains so my guess is that it’s not where it is.
Yet there
is no shortage of places in Israel to talk about the Mt. Sinai that count. That
is the myriads of Yeshivot and Study halls throughout the country that the same
Torah that was given 33oo years ago is still being studied. I have certainly
included on my tours some of the most prominent Yeshivas. Ponivizh in Bnai
Brak with its beautiful golden ark, The Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem
perhaps the biggest yeshiva in the world with thousands of students of all ages
learning and arguing and talking back and forth the complexities of the Talmud,
the laws and the insights that we draw from the infinite eternal wisdom. There
are Chasidic Beit Midrash like Belz with its magnificent building or Ger
or Viznitz where one feels he has stepped in a time warp back to Europe
of old as the chasidim argue learn and clarify the laws and the Torah.
Many times I have visited as well Aish
Hatorah which is a study hall full of students who many of them did not
even know they were Jewish as their families had assimilated and they were
raised bereft of any Torah knowledge but their Jewish souls couldn’t be quieted
or put down. I visit the hesder Yeshivas in Gush Etzion, in Mitzpe
Ramon and you see young men with knitted yarmulkas and jeans who serve in the
Israeli army and yet build their foundations on the Torah study that they delve
into and that gives them light in the darkest tunnels in Gaza that they fight
to defend us from. And then I stop into any local Sefardic Shul for Mincha
and Mariv and I see old men and young boys from all over the middle East, Syrian,
Tunis, Morroco and Yemen and they are studying in between Mincha and Mariv,
they are up early reciting psalms. And then I realize and show my tourists, why
we don’t care where Mt. Sinai was. It’s message wasn’t a historic event. It is
an ongoing program. It is alive. It is continuously happening. It is in each
and every Jew and in every city.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S HEAT WAVE JOKES OF THE WEEK
It is
so hot outside I heard the chicken in the oven and when I opened the door to
take it out he screamed close the door it’s hot outside.
It is
so hot outside I that my iphone texted me to take of its guard it’s too hot.
It is
so hot outside I saw a fire hydrant chasing a dog
It is
so hot I caught my air conditioning pointing its vent upwards to itself
It is
so hot outside I saw my fan turn on the air conditioning.
It is
so hot outside I walked through Meah Shearim with an Israeli flag just so they
would pour water on me.
It is
so hot outside I saw a chicken running to the butcher just so they would put
him in the freezer.
It’s
so hot outside I saw someone walk outside to light a cigarette and it lit by
itself.
It’s
so hot outside I walked into an ashkenazis house just to get the usual cool
reception
It’s
so hot outsider that they called up from Gehenom for some technical support.
Answer is D– I
got this one wrong. And I should be somewhat embarrassed but only because I
didn’t remember the gemara inYoma that says they met there. I always remembered
it was in Jerusalem that they met for some reason., or outside the gates of
Jerusalem. Probably heard that from a tour guide somewhere L… So not having Jerusalem as a choice I did the process of
elimination thing. I figured it couldn’t be Antipatrus which is currently Tel
Afek near Rosh Haayin, because that city was built by Herod, and named after
his father a hundred or so years later. I also eliminated Sartaba which I knew
had a Chashmonai fortress and was built by Herod later as well. Which left Gaza
and Jericho. So I went with Gaza figuring it was a port and made more sense to
come for Greece that way. I was wrong. It seems that Josephus writes that
Antipatrus was built on the remains of and earlier city there that was the city
that the Talmud says they met. Although it was not called Antipatrus back then,
obviously. But the Talmud does call it that. So… I can’t really argue that the
question is incorrect. Ah well… I probably would have skipped this question on
my exam. If I could have.
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