Insights
and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
November 23rd 2018 -Volume
9 Issue 8 15th Kislev 5779
Parshat
Vayishlach
So I got
a question sent to me last week from a magazine. If you won the powerball
lottery and were going to give the money to only one charity where would you
give it to and why? Now I didn’t get the premise of the question. Why would I
give it all to charity? Why only one? I didn’t question the fact that I should
win of course. That was understood that it was time for my lucky numbers to
hit. I’ve got bills to pay. Lots of causes that I would give to. Hungry, chulent
-deprived children that need to eat. But that was the question. I didn’t answer
it. I had too many tours last week and I had to get my E-Mail out and to be
honest I didn’t really have a good sharp and funny answer, believe it or not.
The truth I don't believe that there is is one
cause that deserves more than another. There are thousands of causes out there
that one should share the wealth with. I’m fundamentally opposed to people that
only give to one cause. Probably because the Young Israel of Karmiel is usually
on the bottom of most people’s list followed by sponsorship of my weekly
Insights and Inspiration. Hint hint… One of the things that I learned from my
Uncle Mendy is that everyone should get a check, a donation at least a shekel
or two. The Torah tells us that you should not hide your eyes from your brother
in need. Don’t walk by quickly and avert your eyes. Don’t pretend you're in
middle ofdavening when the shnorrerr comes by
during services with his hand outstretched. We both know that a second ago you
were thinking about your meeting later in the day, whether it will rain or not
on your tour today, or about the incredible game you watched last night. Hand
him something and get back to your prayers.
But what about the big money? That major yerusha- inheritance
you want to leave over. What will your legacy be? What building or cause do you
want to have your name on after 120 years. Is it a yeshiva? Is it a chesed organization,
is it a cause that no one else seems to care about. A library perhaps, a
Hatzala ambulance? Those are questions that rich people have to deal with
towards the end of their lives. It’s not just about their honor or legacy, it’s
about the message they want to send to their children about who they were. What
was important to them. What they should learn from and carry on. This is a big
deal.
I always note when we go to some places in
Israel and we see Mosaics on the floors in shuls with names on
them from 2000 years ago, how amazing it is. Memorial plaques are not a new thing.
In the shul in Tzippori from 1600 years ago, the period of the Mishna and
Talmud, there is a dedication on the Mosaic that says “May he be remembered
for good Yudan son of Isaac the Priest and Paragri his daughter, Amen, Amen” Wow!
Talk about getting your money’s worth. Not a bad investment. I had a friend of
mine who was fundraiser, or a “director of development” as they like to be
called. He told me how one can know if they are built for that kind of work by
when they walk into a building what they do. He said that the first thing he
does is go over to the memorial and dedication plaque. He actually reads the
names and he reads the causes and interests of the donors that are there and he
then makes notes for himself what their particular interest is. Whether it is
medicine, technology, a library, a kitchen, he now knows what angle to “hit
them up” for. I usually look for the bathroom when I come into buildings,
or the vending machines. I guess the job wasn’t for me.
The king of fundraising was the Rav Yosef
Kahaneman, the Rav of Ponivzh. Two quick and famous stories about him. The
first was about this man who would only donate to his school if the students
would learn without Yarmulkas on their head. He said no
problem, and he opened up a girls school. The second was about this man who no
one seemed to ever be able to get money out of. The Rav, after months of
persistent nudging was able to get an appointment with the commitment not to
ask for any monetary donation. The Rav met the man and as they schmoozed he
told him how impressed he was with the large portrait that was on the wall of
his father. The Rav asked if he could have the portrait to put up in the
yeshiva library so that everyone that studies would be inspired upon looking at
the portrait of his saintly father. The gentleman was flattered and acquiesced.
The Rav then continued and said OK so now we have to talk about the library
that still needs to be built…. Yep. Best fundraiser eveeer.
If what you choose to have and name is meant to
define your priorities than in this week’s Torah portion we have a unique and
perplexing insight about what our forefather Yaakov decided to name. The Torah
tells us that when Yaakov was heading home to Israel from the house of his
father-in-law and uncle Lavan he stopped along the way
Bereshis (33:17) And Yaakov went towards
Sukkot and he built a house and for his cattle he madeSukkot- barns and
therefore he called the place Sukkos.
Now doesn’t that seem strange? Here he is
building himself a house a compound, a dwelling place and a city for his huge
family. Of course he needs a place for the animals, so he builds them sheds.
But seemingly that doesn’t seem to be too important. Imaginably he built a shed
to keep his lawnmower and golf clubs, and he probably dug wells or cisterns to
drink water from. Maybe he even made a playground or park for the kids. The
Torah doesn’t tell us that. i't's not important. So why does it tells us that he
made barns for cattle?
Now, realize that naming something isn’t a
simple thing. If the Torah records it, it was significant. I’m sure he had a
whole ribbon cutting and naming ceremony. He probably went to the mikva,
gathered the whole family together made a Kiddush when he gave it its name.
A chulent Kiddushcertainly.. Can you imagine their shock when
he pulled the sheet off the plaque and revealed the name. Huh? , I'm sure they
said to one another. There seems to be a lack of priority over here. Why not
name it after his house and his family, rather than for the cowshed out in the
back. Is this his legacy?
To make this even more perplexing, I’ll tell you
a little secret. Our forefathers never lived in houses. They lived in tents, as
the Torah repeatedly tells us. So what was this house that he built? The Ramban
suggests it was fortress to protect his community from Esau. Yonasan Ben Uziel
says, amazingly that it was a Beit Midrash- a study hall. A
place where he and his children could learn, could daven, could
come close to Hashem. And yet the city is nor named after that either. Welcome
to Farmville, or Barnville to be more precise; the legacy town of Yaakov.
Rav Shlomo Brevda, one of the legendary
maggidim, who passed away a few years ago notes that it was precisely because
of the Beit Midrash that he chose to name the city after the
temporary barns and huts for his animals. Yaakov wanted to send a message to
his children that no matter where they live, no matter what they do they should
always have a place of Torah, a place of refuge from the forces of Esau. The
way to do that is by recognizing that all of your material pursuits are
just sukkot. They are just housed in temporary dwellings. In
shanties, that after sukkos will be taken down.
It is certainly important to have a place to
keep your stuff. Your animals, your possessions are a gift from the Almighty
that are meant to be your tools and gifts that you use to build up His name in
the world. They are perhaps even more important than the tents where you sleep
at night, which didn’t even get a mention in the verse. Yaakov himself earlier
in the parsha risks his life to go back and pick up his “small
vessels” that were left behind and it is then where he encounters the angel of
Esau. But recognize that your possessions are merely temporary. They need to be
housed in something temporary until we get back to Israel. Your Beit
Midrash should be permanent; in a house wherever you go. That’s your
center. But your stuff? Stick em in the barn. That is the important legacy that
Yaakov left his children. That he left us.
Perhaps one of the most identifiable things
about Jewish communities are its synagogues and study halls.
Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishkinosecha yisrael- how wondrous are your tents, Yaakov, your
dwelling places Yisrael.
Where ever you go in the world one can see the
glorious remains and the money, effort and dedication Jews put into building
and honoring their shuls. The Diaspora museum in Tel Aviv has
an incredible display of shuls from every nook and cranny that
we have been exiled to. I don’t want to take away from that. But, l’havdil, goyim have
invest a lot of money into their “houses of idolatry and worship” as well. It’s
natural. You have a nice house, you want to have a nice shul -and
perhaps not feel so guilty about your nice house. Yaakov is telling us quite
the opposite. The beauty and niceness of you Synagogue or Beit Midrash is
of a secondary priority and its greatness can only be appreciated by the
simplicity of your own home and the austerity and modesty in which you live and
the possessions you have. Do we realize that all we need are tents? That the
car that you drive, the Black Friday purchases that you make are truly status
symbols. And it really it ain’t a very high status if its function and its
“bells and whistles” are meant to scream out to the world what you view to be
really important to you. Who you really are.
We live in a world of unprecedented affluence.
Yet we are in exile still. Even here in Israel, Esau is all over. He has no
problem with our fancy shuls, as long as we they are part of
us living the American dream. That we dream of that picket fence, the newest
phone, the permanence of our physical structures and that we wake up really
early the day after thanksgiving to God for our great nation and express that
by buying more and more stuff. I’m speaking to myself as much as to you. That’s
what I usually do here. It’s not an easy to avoid the siren calls, the endless
tempting emails, sales, and “deals”. But I have a legacy to live up to. My
forefather Yaakov named a city to teach me that legacy. I hope I can live up to
it.
Have thankful, 'White' Shabbos,
This weeks Email is dedicated in honor of the wedding the aufruf
and wedding this Sunday IYH of my brother-in-law Judah Isseroff to Elisheva
Goldberg of Seattle Washington. We are so excited and can’t wait to dance by
your chasuna. Mazel Tov to the Parents, grandparents and the entire mishpocha.
May the two of you build a beautiful bayit ne’eman bi’yisrael. And hopefully
one day soon in eretz Yisrael as well J
Mazel Tov!
******************************************************************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Dos leben iz di gresteh metsieh—men krigt es
umzist.”- Life is the greatest bargain—you get it for nothing.
RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/z_aKQax7_kw
– Yonatan Razel and Avraham Fried sing
Kotonti from this weeks parsha… magnificent
https://www.chabad.org/519460- is there anyone my age that can read parshas vayishlach
without singing this song from 613 Torah avenue?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB5hYK0-__k- Black Friday Commercial cute…sad… real…
https://youtu.be/mgq7Ya-sqbM
A heavy metal, klezmer and Mizrachi version
of Carlbachs Vnisgav from this week’s Torah portion- not sure what that means?
Click!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q “Magic Carpet” is a name given to
the Aliyah of Jews from:
a. Ethiopia
b. Morocco
c. Bulgaria
d. Yemen
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS”
CONNECTION OF THE WEEK
Parshat Vayishlach– Perhaps
one of the most essential questions that lamdan asks is me’heichei
teisi- Where do you know this from? Who told you? How do you see this?
Nothing should ever be taken for granted when learning and studying. It is
perhaps the most glaring differences between Judaism and other religions that
demand things should be accepted by faith. Judaism encourages questions. It is
in fact the highest goal to ask, to seek, to find answers. Hafoch bo v’hafoch
bo dkulo bo- turn it over again and again for everything can be found in
it. The skill to break out of that mold of just reading the Torah, the Talmud,
or any other holy text is what differentiates the lamdan from the
average guy. And the satisfaction of finding that answer is only experienced by
one that plugs away at finding those answers.
In
this week’s Torah portion when the Torah tells us of Yaakov’s journey from his
father-in-laws house to Esau it says
Bereshit (32:23) And
he took his two wives and the two maidservants and his 11 children and he
crossed over the river Yabok
Now
for those that were keeping track last week of the births, there were in fact
12 children born already the 11 boys
(Binyamin had not yet been born yet) and Dinah. So Rashi on the verse
notes
And Dinah where was
she? She was placed in an box and locked in front of her in order that Esau
will not see her and therefore Yaakov was punished since he held her back from
his brother, perhaps she could have returned him to good. And therefore she
fell into the hands of Shechem
Now
there is a lot to learn from this Rashi. It can be a treatise on itself, on shidduchim,
on brothers, on punishment, on sticking girls in boxes… But the lamdan
starts before all of that. The Gaon of Vilna asks how did Rashi know that it
was Dinah that was missing. The verse tells us just that there were 11
children. It doesn’t specify boys or girls. Maybe it was another one of the
kids. Me’hechei teisei? How do you know?
So
he answers brilliantly that there is a Talmud tells us that the reason why the Beit
HaMikdash was built in the portion of the tribe of Binyamin was because he
was not there when the brothers bowed down to Esau. All the other brothers
bowed down and therefore the Temple which was meant to withstand the force of
Esau could not be built in their portion. So the GR”A notes that if there was
another one of the tribes that were not present than the Temple could’ve been
built in their portion as well. So it must be that Dinah, who did not have a
portion, being a woman she would go to her husband’s portion, must have been
the one that was not present.
Rav
Dovid Soloveitchik Shlit”a notes that we see from this an incredible lesson
about what flattery to a wicked person can do. Binyamin didn’t bow not because
he was righteous. Not because he refused to. He just wasn’t born yet. More
likely than not, if he was there he would’ve bowed as well. His father Yaakov
did as did his brothers because they felt it was pikuach nefesh their
lives were in danger. Yet flattering a rasha, a wicked person, justified
or not, does something to you. It changes you and as a result of that the Temple
could not be built in their portion.
It
is an incredible insight that the lamdan can derive by asking the right
questions and following the path that it takes you down. And it is certainly
something to reflect upon when one must be politically correct as to the toll
it may take upon your soul.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S
AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Daughters of Tzlefchad-
1272 BC- one of the more interesting little
stories in the Torah is that of the Daughters of Tzlafchad who approach Moshe
and request permission to inherit the land of Israel. Their father had died and
had no sons. And they wanted to inherit
his portion. Moshe turned to Hashem, Who then granted them their fathers
portion. They agreed to marry only people from their own tribe though so that
their portion will not fall to a different tribe after they pass, as any
children they have would be members of the fathers tribe. It’s a powerful story
on many levels. There is the incredible respect our sages attribute to these women.
One for their incredible passion and love for the land of Israel that motivated
them to “speak up”. Secondly that they did not protest, they did not march or
demonstrate rather they approached Moshe and asked what the will of Hashem was.
They were willing to accept whatever was granted to them. As well heroically
they pretty much narrowed their marriage search writing off 11/12th or 92% of their prospects
by agreeing to only marry from their own tribe.
These topics are things that I discuss
when we talk about the various women and their roles in Israel. Most notable of
course is when I am at Robinsons Arch in the Old city and we
discuss the protests that go on Rosh Chodesh with the Women at the Wall and the
Women for the Wall, and the “debate” and tragedy of the politicization of the
holiest place on earth for egalitarian agendas. As well when we are at Har
Hertzl and I speak by Golda Meir’s grave and we speak about how
Israel was the third country in the world to have a Female prime minister. As
well as at the grave of Hannah Senesh, Israel’s heroic parachutist and
paratrooper who was murdered saving Jews in World War II and her poems about
her love and passion for Israel. The topic became even more relevant recently
with the election of a female mayor in Beit Shemesh and how the chareidi
parties actually supported the female non-religious candidate in Haifa.
As well I like to point out women’s part
in building the land. Whether we are at various Kibbutzim around Israel and
early settlements in which women had an essential part of growing planting andn
restoring the land to its biblical abundant glory. Chatzar Kinneret where
they had a farm to train women how to work the fields is an awesome place.
Finally I always mention when we visit Beit Haddasah in Chevron
the story of the heroism of the women who barricaded themselves in the building
for months until the Israeli government allowed us to return to Chevron and
build. Truly it is in the merit of the holy women that we have returned to our
land.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S BLACK FRIDAY JOKES OF THE
WEEK
What
do Black Friday shoppers and the Thanksgiving turkey have in common? They know
what it's like to be jammed into a small place and stuffed!
Black Friday = Broke Saturday
Black Friday = Broke Saturday
How
can you tell which one of your friends got a good Black Friday deal? Don't
worry they'll let you know.
All
this Spending on Black Friday. You better make sure ya'll pay
the electric bill first or next Friday will be Black Friday too
If
you're going shopping on Black Friday, please be considerate... By turning your
phone horizontal before recording any fights.
Why
do Mormons get married on Black Friday? Because they get 2 for 1.
Why is Donald Trump getting rid of
Black Friday? Because he wants an All White Christmas.
Freida was driving home on Black
Friday when she saw her elderly neighbor Yentl walking home from along the side
of the road from shopping. She stopped the car and her if she would like
a lift? With a silent nod, the woman climbed into the car. Yentl got in and
closed the door and noticed a red gift bag on the seat next to Freida.
'What's in the bag?' She asked'It's a bottle of sctoch that I got for my husband.'
Yentl was silent for another minute or two. Then
speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said, 'Good trade.'
Yankel had a small Mom and pop
store appliance story and you can imagine his dismay when Walmart which opened
up right to the left of his store and erected a huge sign which read BEST BLACK
FRIDAY DEALS. He was horrified when the next day he saw Target opened up on his
right, and announced its arrival with an even larger sign, reading LOWEST BLACK
FRIDAY PRICES. Yankel panicked, until he got an idea. He put the biggest sign
of all over his own shop-it read… MAIN ENTRANCE.
Answer is D– I got lucky on this one as well. Magic Carpet
is really the only one I know. Well that’s not true, come to think of it
Ethipoia I would remember as well as being Operation Solomon named after Shlomo
Hamelechs meeting with the Queen of Sheba as well. Bulgarian Aliya…? Not a
clue.. Morrocan also didn’t know turns out it was Yachin. But Magic carpet was the
Aliya that brought close to 50,000 yemenite Jews to Israel, Falafel with spicy
charif hasn’t been the same since. Interesting enough is that its real name was
Kanfei Nesharim- or the wings of eagles as the Yemenite Jews had never seen
planes before and they called it thus after the biblical prophecy of Messianic
times and the return to Israel on them. I don’t know who switched it to Magic
Carpet. I like the prophecy connection much more, needless to say.
And the score continues Schwartz is 6 for 6 on this exam so
far.
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