Undebatable- Parshat Mishpatim 2019 /5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

February 1^st 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 18-26^th of Shevat 5779

Parshat Mishpatim

Undebatable

Rule number one in Kiruv is Don’t debate. It’s perhaps the hardest rule for a yeshiva guy that is trained for years that everything needs to be argued about, needs to learn. See in yeshiva our bread and butter was the Talmud-the rest of yeshiva food really wasn’t too appetizing. The Talmud is all about arguing, finding the truth, challenging vociferously your point. The best and sharpest arguers are the ones that prevail. They are the ones that are successful in revealing the truth behind the ideas of the text and the secrets of the Torah. We bring proofs, we show precedents we demolish alternative arguments and approaches and in that process the light of Torah is revealed. This is an incredible exercise that works well in the Beit Midrash and has done so for thousands of years. It is not however the best approach to do Jewish outreach with unaffiliated or non-practiced Jews. Incidentally, it doesn’t really work well in marriage. Or so my wife tells me, and I’ve learned not to argue with her. Although she will argue that I haven’t…Sigh….

See, just as you wouldn’t take someone who hasn’t ever been to a gym and show him all these pumped guys lifting weights and do crazy pulls, stretches and whatever else goes on in those places I have never frequented. You wouldn’t stick him under one of those scary mechanical contraptions they have there, and tell him to start lifting or pulling. Similarly you don’t want to attack or jump down the throat of a guy who’s just trying to figure out why we do the things that we do and why we believe in what we believe in. I know that the knee jerk yeshiva guy reaction if someone says “What’s with this kosher thing?’ or “Why do you look down on women and make them cover their hair, or don’t allow them to be Rabbis?” or “How come you guys don’t serve in the army?” is to start quoting text and verse, defending, arguing and pointing out how our lives are better, our women are better, and how Torah learning is really the secret to winning all of our wars. But it’s really a pointless endeavor. More often than not you will accomplish a lot more by saying

“Good question!  Why don’t you join me for some chulent and a Shabbos meal and we can discuss it. And hey, what do you say about dem Mets?

It’s called kiruv for a reason. When we are in yeshiva it’s not about kiruv-becoming close- it’s about learning Torah. Outreach, is about getting close to the person. It’s about caring about him or her. It’s about them becoming close to you and you to them. So that by the end of the process they are not trying to find out about you in as much as they are trying to find out about themselves.  The challenges, that were initially thrown at you become inquiries about themselves. What their own Judaism is or isn’t and what it should be. At that point there’s no debates, rather it is their own self and soul discovery.

That being said, there was one time in my younger earlier years in outreach that I was schlepped into, not a debate, but a panel discussion with a Reform clergy man by a learning group that I used to run in their synagogue. The group that I led, had a book-club and the book of the month was called ‘One People- Two Worlds’. It was a book that was a series of Email discussions between an Orthodox and Reform Rabbi about our differences. So the club, which initially wanted me to debate the Reform Rabbi about the book, agreed that we would instead have a “panel discussion”. See, I knew that you can really never win a debate, because nobody likes to see their Rabbi get slammed and I would then alienate them from me and Torah True Judaism, despite the fact that I would have the most compelling arguments. So instead I agreed to merely discuss our different views of the book, provided of course that he went first.

Now their Rabbi was a sweet kindly old man about 40 years older than me. I believe he was actually raised Orthodox, but unfortunately was not too inspired by what he experienced. So he began the “discussion” telling the crowd how he felt that it was a terrible book. He didn’t think anyone should read it. No real points were made. Nobody will change their opinions. And the truth is Orthodoxy today is really just like the Sadducees of old. They are literalists. The Torah and Judaism has always evolved. The Rabbis changed it throughout the generations. The Torah Orthodox Jews practice and that the Rabbis of old practiced was in no way similar to the Torah that Hashem gave. They changed it and were entitled to change it and they continue to do so. And so the truth is that Reform are really the true practitioners of “Torah Judaism” which is according to his definition, the continual process of evolving the Torah. Orthodox Jews, on the other hand are just stuck in their old ways. Ouch!

So there I sat in front of a full room of people looking at me like some primitive caveman awaiting some scathing rebuttal and defence of our age-old heritage and tradition that this guy pretty much trashed. They expected me to be a yeshiva guy. Rule number 2. Never give a crowd what they expect.
So I began telling the crowd that as opposed to Rabbi S. I would never tell anybody what to read and not to read. I think it’s important to learn about other people. I think what keeps us apart from one another is really the ignorance of what the other people believe in and why they do the things that they do. I didn’t read the book to be convinced of someone else’s beliefs or faith, but to appreciate them better. Where they were coming from. As that was the case, I thought it was an excellent book that I think everyone would gain out of reading. And with that introduction the crowd warmed up and started smiling at me, nodding at this very open and pluralistic black-hatted rabbi that sat before them J.

I then continued and said

“I’m sure Rabbi S. who is much older, experienced and wiser than I am, has a basis for what he described as being the difference between Orthodox and Reform. I’m sure he can share with you what his basis for that analysis is. I can only share with you what my experience is and what it has led me to conclude. Now the general education of an average Orthodox Jew really begins in nursery where it starts with about a half day of Jewish studies for 6 days a week. From there we move on to elementary and high school where in addition to the 3-4 hours a day of our secular studies we would study texts that were written mostly 2000-3000 years ago that described the practices of our people. In High School the daily schedule of a religious student begins at 7:30 to pray and then he begins his studies at 9:30 until 1:00 every day with advanced classes in commentaries and the laws and ‘lifestyles’ of the Jews in the past 1000-1500 years from texts that were written then. They continue from 2:00 until 3:30 doing the same thing and after secular studies in the evening they once again hit the ancient books for another hour or two at night. About an average of 8 hours a day.

After they graduate High School, Torah study for most of my friends, then becomes a full time occupation. We entered Beit Midrash where we had the same morning hours as in High School but in the afternoon instead of our secular studies we learned Talmud from 2:30 or so until 7:00 PM, picking it up again at night time until 10:30 or 11:00 PM. This is the schedule of most orthodox kids, of which most don’t even plan on becoming Rabbis. There are plenty that do go to university and get college degrees but that is usually at night school, after a full day of studying the Torah texts from over the centuries.

 I would say at least half of my friends continued studying after marriage as well, spending a few years of full time Torah study, while their wives and families helped out and supported them. But most don’t become Rabbis. It’s just what we could call a basic Torah education that they continue their entire life pursuing. The ones that become Rabbis obviously stay on even longer for a few years to cover areas of Jewish law and practical Rabbinics. I think it is fair to say that the average Orthodox Jew by age 30 has about 20 to 25 years of, upon average, 6 to 8 hours a day of constant Torah study. That’s about 75,000 hours.

{Contrast that with becoming a tour guide, how I make my living, which took only 2 years and was about 1400 hours of my life.}

“Now I’m not sure exactly what the level of Torah education for the average Reform Jews or even Reform Rabbi that was raised in that system is.”

(I do know. They’re lucky if they have 500 hours total their entire life of Torah study. The average Orthodox elementary school graduate has spent more hours learning seriously Jewish texts than the 65-year-old practicing Reform Rabbi. They knew that as well, which is why there was no point in me even saying it.)

It with that experience that I can say that I believe the Judaism that I am practicing is 99% identical to the Judaism practiced 100 years ago, 95% identical to the one practiced 500 and 800 years ago, and pretty much the same that was practiced 1500 and 2000 years ago. Sure there are new innovations. There was no electricity, no cars, no I-phones or internet. There wasn’t even Shlomo Carlebach or crockpots to make chulent in. So yes, the way we may practice our Judaism might seem different as a result of the new advances (?) in society. But the actual observance of our faith is primarily the same as when Hashem gave the Torah on Sinai with the addition of the Rabbinic laws that culminated during the second Temple 2000 years ago. I say that, after spending a good 30 years of my life for usually a good 5- 10 hours a day of reading (learning) books from authors and Rabbis that describe precisely the way they were practicing their Judaism and I can tell you that what Orthodox Judaism is practicing is almost indistinguishable from what all of our ancestors practiced.

Needless to say Rabbi S. didn’t respond and was grateful that this was not a debate as well.

This week the Torah begins a new page. It seems the story part of the Torah is over. With parshat Mishpatim we begin the law-book part of the Torah. It is pretty much laws, laws, laws for the rest of Shemos and Vayikra with a break for the Golden Calf and Mishkan building. Yet the Parsha begins Vi’eileh ha’mishpatim- And these are the laws. Although Rashi quotes our sages that the ‘and,’ which is used to connect to the previous portion, is there to show us that these laws were also given at Sinai, there is perhaps a deeper and far longer termed connection between the portions that teach us about our laws and practices and the stories of the first part of the Torah we completed in Bereishis and Shemos.

Our Torah, our law, our practices are not just commandments that we are meant to fulfill. They are all parts of the story of our people as well. The ox that gores and how we react to that, the first fruits that grow and what we do with them, the slave and how we treat him, our enemy who needs us, the food on our plate, the Shabbos and holidays we observe, are all a continuation of our experience at Sinai, our experience in Egypt, of our forefathers and their covenants and of Adam in the garden. We are so careful about everything that we do, because we appreciate how long that chain and story has gone on and been waiting for us to take our role in it. Just as that revelation at Sinai had eternal world consequence, these laws and how we abide and live by them have that same monumental significance.

I don’t think I ever appreciated how much Torah learning we are so fortunate to have been given until I stood up there on the podium with that book club and the words came out of my mouth. Did you? (That’s one of other benefits of kiruv work, by the way, I can’t count how many times I felt that I was merely the fulfillment of that biblical story of Hashem opening up the mouth of Bilaam’s donkey and the words He wanted me to say just came out.) I don’t think Jewish children and young adults for millennia have ever had the opportunity to dedicate so much time and so many years to solely learning Torah that our era of affluence and the modernization of the workforce allows us to do. Kids don’t have to peddle papers on street corners, young adults aren’t schlepping water barrels or working in fields from morning to night.

So we learn and we learn and we learn and we take it for granted. But we are a dor de’ah- a generation of unparalleled knowledge. But with that learning and knowledge comes perhaps a forgetfulness that it is not just about the law or even the learning. We are living a story as well. We are playing a part in a continuation of Har Sinai.  The Netziv in his work Ha’Amek Davar notes when Moshe warns us never to forget the revelation of Horeb /Mt.Sinai in Devarim, that Moshe was nervous that perhaps from the pipulo shel torah- the arguing and studying of the Torah we will come to forget the story that is behind it. We forget that it is not just mishpatim-laws but it is the story of our people that started on Sinai and continues with every action and mitzvah we do. Perhaps we all need a bit of kiruv in our learning. To move past the law-book and reconnect with our story. Our ancestors, and our children’s. Stories are always a good thing and ours is the longest and best. That my friends, is undebatable.

Have a joyous Shabbos Mevorchim Adar!

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Durchlernen gants shas iz a groisseh zach: durch lernen ain mideh iz a gressereh zach.”– To learn the whole Talmud is a great accomplishment; to learn one good virtue is even greater.

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/BiWI-XtajuQ  – UK’s Chief Rabbi with over 5000 kids singing Shtar’s Lecha Dodi in honor of Shabbos. Fantastic!

https://youtu.be/sqXx1DMcSCs    -Great new song by Eitan Katz ‘Chazak’ straight from Shamayim!

https://youtu.be/2kwUZxycsN4    - Ata Echad- by Ari Goldwag, he claims its an oldie of his but don’t remember hearing it before. I really like it and Tully does to!

 https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/techelet-mordechai  - And for what will certainly be numerous posts this double month of Adar. My Techelet Mordechai composition to start getting in the Purim mode! Enjoy!!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q The accepted etiquette in a church is:

A. Not to enter with sandals

B. To remove head covers (hats)

C. Not to cross your legs

D. Answers b. and c. are correct

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Mishpatim– There are no synonyms in Hebrew. It’s what makes it a lomdushe language. Baalabatim- those are people that are the opposites of lamdanim, don’t appreciate or focus on the nuances between the different similar words. I’ll give you an example. How do you say with him in Hebrew? Anyone? So there are those of you, I imagine most of you, said imo. Others though might have said ito. The truth is you are both correct, but that’s because in English it doesn’t’ really reflect the nuance. lashon ha’kodesh though, our holy tongue certainly does. The lamdan knows what the difference is the baal habos, probably not so much.

As this is a lomdushe column, I will show you not only the difference in translation, but the nafka mina- the practical difference that comes out of it.

In this week’s portion the Torah tells us that if you see the donkey of your enemy weighed down under his load.

Shemos (23:5) Azov ta’azov imo- you should surely help with him.

Now Targum Onkelos, which is the Aramaic, usually precise, translation of the Torah, written by the Mishna period sage and convert, Onkelos translates the verse that

“one should remove what is in one’s heart and unload with him.”

Now that seems a far stretch from an exact translation of the text. So the Shoel U’Maishiv notes that Onkelos is in fact being precise. For the verse utilizes the word imo rather than ito. See imo implies with him. Imo, on the other hand is ‘together with him’. Ito is really the Hebrew connecting word es. Imo is with, a stronger more similar connection. Thus, when a lamdan like Onkelos reads the verse he understands that the Torah is not merely telling you to lift with him, but that you should be on the same page as him, it should be fully together. Remove the complaints in your heart against him.

There is another place as well, where this makes a difference. The Torah tells us that when you borrow an animal you are responsible in cases of the accidental death or injury unless

Ibid (22:14) Ba’aluv imo- the owner is with him.

Which in that case he would be exempt.

Rashi notes that it means of course that he is with him in his work. Meaning that he’s not merely standing there with him. Again how do we know this? The Sifsey Chacahmim points out it is because of the choice of words imo vs ito. Imo always means together in a similar way.

There are other places in the parsha that it uses this word. Can you find them? Are you a lamdan or a balabus?

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

The Battle of Ai 1272 BC  Ai Ai Ai- I don’t know where that phrase of mourning comes from, but whenever I read about the story of Yehoshua and the battle that took place there, I can’t seem to get the phrase out of my mind. It was a truly an ai ai ai type of battle in both the positive and negative sense of the phrase.

After the fantastic battle in Yericho, the city of Ai was the next stop. It was a smaller city then Yericho and Yehoshua sent out spies out to check it out. They came back and said that it would be easy and there was not need to send out more than a few thousand men to conquer it. No need to send everyone to fight and it would be better to send a message that even a small Jewish army had the protection of Hashem to conquer it. The problem was that they didn’t realize that the Divine protection had left them because the sin of Achan taking the booty of Yericho. 36 men were killed in that battle and the Jews fled.

After taking care of the problem of Achan (see last week’s column) Hashem tells Yehoshua that he has nothing to fear He will give it in their hands and they should wipe em all out like Yericho but this battle they were allowed to keep the booty. Yehoshua then came up with a fantastic battle plan. He took 30,000 men and split them up. A small group of 5 thousand would lead the city of Ai out of the city and pretend to retreat towards the midbar- wilderness. The city chased after them and the rest of the army came from behind burned down the city and killed everyone. Meantime when the King of Ai and his soldiers saw what was happening they would turn back and be hit by the army from both sides in an ambush. All along Yehoshua held out his spear, just as Moshe had raised his arms in the battle of Amalek.

All went well, the city was destroyed the King of Ai was hung and the city of Ai was razed to the ground as an eternal tel.

So where is this place and battle? I’ll be honest I’ve never toured there. Not the safest place to go off road trekking. Yet with a bit of research it’s not too hard to find. The Torah tells us where Beit El is and this east of it. We have uncovered the ancient city of Beit El which is south of the modern city of Beit El, in the Shomron. If you go to the East of it and a bit south on the other side of Highway 60, a bit north of the Psagot winery I take people to there are a bunch of Tels- piles of rocks of a destroyed city, one of them was even called A- Tel which Archaeologists have associated with Ai which tanach tells us was left as an eternal tel.  Highway 60 is part of Area B where we share security with the Palestinian authority. Off -roading it is not recommended. The enemies that try to kill us still live there. Where’s Yehoshua’s spear when you need it?

Incredibly enough as I finished writing this I just saw posted on my tour-guide whatsapp group that my good colleague Gili Haupt went on histalmiyot today on Kvish Alon Highway 458 in the shomron. and they pointed out a different place where they Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun felt was the place of Ai called Ain Samiya and they actually saw it from the road. So hey, there’s an extra bonus for you that I just learned today.

  

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S DEBATE JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Several centuries ago, the Pope decreed that all the Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Italy. There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal. He would have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, they could stay in Italy. If the Pope won, they would have to leave or convert. The Jewish people met and picked an aged, but wise, Rabbi Moshe to represent them in the debate. However, as Moshe spoke no Italian and the Pope spoke no Yiddish, they all agreed that it would be a "silent" debate.

On the chosen day, the Pope and Rabbi Moshe sat opposite each other. The Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Rabbi Moshe looked back and raised one finger. Next ... the Pope waved his finger around his head. Rabbi Moshe pointed to the ground where he sat. The Pope then brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. Rabbi Moshe pulled out an apple.
With that, the Pope stood up and declared that he was beaten ... that Rabbi Moshe was too clever and that the Jews could stay in Italy.

Later, the Cardinals met with the Pope, asking what had happened. The Pope said, "First, I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there is still only one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger around my head to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin. He had me beaten at my every move and I could not continue."

Meanwhile ... the Jewish community was gathered around Rabbi Moshe.

"How did you win the debate?" they asked.

 "I haven't a clue," said Moshe. "First he said to me that we had three days to get out of Italy , so I gave him the finger! Then he tells me that the whole country would be cleared of Jews
and I said to him we're staying right here."

"And then what?" asked a woman.

"Who knows? " said Moshe, "He took out his lunch so I took out mine."

 A young scholar from New York was invited to become Rabbi in a small old community in Chicago. On his very first Sabbath, a hot debate erupted as to whether one should or should not stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments. The next day, the rabbi visited 98 year-old Mr. Katz in the nursing home. "Mr. Katz, I'm asking you, as the oldest member of the community," said the rabbi, "what is our synagogue's custom during the reading of the Ten Commandments?"
"Why do you ask?" asked Mr. Katz.
"Yesterday we read the Ten Commandments. Some people stood, some people sat. The ones standing started screaming at the ones sitting, telling them to stand up. The ones sitting started screaming at the ones standing, telling them to sit down..."
"That," said the old man, "is our custom." 

Yankel, looking for a free meal entered a wedding hall and joined the "Friedman" wedding. He went over to the buffet piled his plate high with petit fours from one table, kebobs, stir fry and veal chops from another table. While thoroughly enjoying himself a man approaches him and says, "Hi my name his Chaim are you on the bride or grooms side."

Yankel looks up from his plate of deliciousness and responds, "What!? They're only married five minutes and they're already fighting?"

The Israelis and Arabs finally realized that if they continued fighting, they would someday end up destroying the world. So they sat down and decided to settle the whole dispute with a dogfight. The negotiators agreed that each country would take five years to develop the best
fighting dog they could. The dog that won the fight would earn its country the right to rule the disputed areas. The losing side would have to lay down its arms. The Arabs found the biggest, meanest Dobermans and Rottweilers in the world. They bred them together and then crossed their offspring with the meanest Siberian wolves. They selected only the biggest, strongest puppy from each litter, killed all the other puppies and fed them the best food . They used steroids and trainers in their quest for the perfect killing machine. After the five years were up, they had a dog that needed iron prison bars on its cage. Only the trainers could handle this beast.

When the day of the big fight arrived, the Israelis showed up with a strange animal. It was a nine-foot-long Dachshund. Everyone felt sorry for the Israelis. No one else thought this weird animal stood a chance against the growling beast in the Arab camp. The bookies predicted the Arabs would win in less than a minute. The cages were opened. The Dachshund waddled toward the center of the ring. The Arab dog leapt from his cage and charged the giant wiener-dog. As he got to within an inch of the Israeli dog, the Dachshund opened its jaws and swallowed the Arab beast in one bite. There was nothing left but a small bit of fur from the killer dog's tail.

The Arabs approached the Israelis, shaking their heads in disbelief. "We do not understand. Our top scientists and breeders worked for five years with the meanest, biggest Dobermans and Rottweilers. They developed a killing machine."

"Really?" the Israelis replied. "We had our top plastic surgeons working for five years to make an alligator look like a Dachshund.

True Story- Rabbi Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik was sitting on a panel with Cardinal John O Conner. O Conner turned to the Rabbi and said “look I’m wearing a Kippa and your wearing a Kippa. Whats the difference between the two of us?”

Rav Soloveitchik without batting an eyelash said “ I’ll explain dear cardinal. You wear a red kippah but you are in “the black” I wear a black Kippa but am unfortunately in “the red”

************

Answer is D–  I was only about 90% sure about this one. I wasn’t sure if they were tricking or not about the crossing the legs thing or not. As American churches are generally not “makpid” about it. But I figured that Israelis are generally frummer when it comes to these things- at least when it comes to other people’s religion. And of course the answer was D. The head covering removal is pretty well-known. In fact, Reform synagogues- which were founded adopting the customs of the churches with the organs and mixed seating also mandated that you remove your yarmulke when you came in for services. REAL STORY- when I moved to Virginia the female cantor of the Reform synagogue, who was really a pure neshoma, told me that when she got thee job as cantor she almost got fired the first week as she refused to pray without a kippa. They eventually gave her an exemption. Pretty wild! But anyways still keeping a pretty good streak here as the score is Schwartz 14 and 1 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.

Sleeping Beauty- Parshat Yisro 2019/ 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

January 25^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 17-19^th of Shevat 5779

Parshat Yisro

Sleeping Beauty

I don’t sleep much I have a lot on my mind, tossing and turning, tours coming up, bills to pay, schedules to balance, projects I need to work on, sermons and articles I need to write and give and you guys of course.. Yeah, all those thoughts that get pushed to the side during the day time, as I’m running around the country and sharing the beauty of our holy promised land, seem to pop up in my head the second I hit the pillow and try to close my eyes. I remember about twenty years ago talking to my Uncle Mendy one morning, and I asked him if he slept well that night, after a long previous day. His response still echoes in my ears, that I can only now begin to appreciate. He said “Oib ich shluf iz shoin gut- If I sleep it’s already good”. I can now say that I relate. Four  to five hours a night and man am I grateful.

I attribute my lack of sleep, to a large degree, to the fact that I must have used up all my sleep zechusim-merits to when I was in Yeshiva. Then I could sleep. A bagel was nothing to me. {For those non Yeshiva educated out there’s benefit and translation- a bagel is sleeping around the clock}. There was nothing like a good winter Friday Night when you can crawl under your covers by 8-9 o’clock and wake up the next morning and hey- it was still 8-9 o’clock. Maybe even 9:30…or 10? AM of course. Yeah, So I used up all my sleep merits back then. Now it’s just tossing and turning and of course after a while just getting up and heading down to my computer and composing this E-Mail to you. Now you see why there’s so many spelling and grammatical mistakes. I can write with my eyes half shut, but fuggetabout editing.

It’s a strange thing sleep though. It’s amazing that Hashem created the world and there’s so much that we are meant to accomplish and do and yet almost 1/3^rd of people’s lives are pretty much spent lying horizontally in a comatose state, dead to the world. It doesn’t seem like a productive way to create a world and mankind. Wouldn’t the world have been better served, if Hashem created us without the need to sleep? I know that there are a lot of Yeshiva guys and even more teenage girls, for whom their bed is their favorite piece of furniture in their house and for whom bedtime is their favorite time of day that are groaning upon reading this. But it’s true. I mean eating is an important time of day as well, but imagine a boss who designs a job where 1/3 of the time allotted for his employees to get their job done they spend eating. I can even understand perhaps that sleeping serves some purpose in humanity’s role in creation. Perhaps Hashem wants us to get a sense that we can start fresh, each day. That each day can start anew. But he could’ve created us like a computer or my internet modem that I regularly have to restart. Hit a button. Hold it down for a few minutes and boom it starts clean again. But 6,7,8 hours a night seems to be a long time to get that point across.

I think about this topic this week, of course because of the fantastic and perhaps most pivotal story in the history of the world that we read about in this week’s Torah portion. I speak of course about the revelation of Hashem and the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. All of us stood together and heard the words of Hashem from ‘His mouth’. We saw the sounds, noises, thunder and world shook. It was the moment the entire world was created for. We didn’t come to this moment though instantaneously. Much of the parsha discusses the preparation for that incredible moment. Three days, of separating from marital relations, purifying oneself, fencing up the mountain, one can imagine the incredible excitement, nervousness and pure spiritual adrenaline that must have been pumping through them. And yet, as all who are familiar with the custom throughout the Jewish world to not go to sleep on the night of Shavuot night the night we were given the Torah, knows. The reason behind this custom, the great 17^th century sage known as the Magen Avraham suggests, is based on a Midrash that writes how the Jewish people slept-in the morning the Torah was given and Moshe had to awaken them. We stay up, he writes, to rectify that sleep. It’s an astounding Midrash and a perplexing custom. How could they have slept in? Not set an alarm clock? Perhaps an even better question is how could they have even gone or even fallen asleep? I don’t imagine they had melatonin back then. I think my wife discovered that. What’s going on there?

Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin offers a powerful and revolutionary perspective. There is a Midrash that discusses four kings of Israel and how each of them made a request of Hashem, each one a greater one than the previous one, and yet Hashem answered all of them. King David, the first of the Kings told Hashem that I can organize and army and lead them into battle and wage war against our enemies, yet I need to light up my darkness, to provide the light that will win the battle. Hashem acquiesced. King Asa was next. He told Hashem that he was capable of forming an army and marshalling the troops to battle but he would require Hashem to wage the war on his behalf. Once again Hashem agreed to do this. King Yehoshafat followed and he told Hashem that he was not even able to get the Jewish people to go out and join the army and wage wars. Maybe there were a lot of Chariedim back then J-no insult intended, I just couldn’t resist. All that he was capable of doing, he said was singing songs of praise to Hashem. The rest, he asked, is up to You. And once again Hashem, came to the rescue. Finally the last King was Hezkiah. He told Hashem I cannot even sing to You, forget about forming an army and going out to battle. I instead, he said will go to sleep and You Hashem should take care of all of the business that needs to be taken care of. The end of that story and that battle that took place Seder night against the army of Sancheirev and his 180,000 troops was that the next morning when the Jews woke up their enemies were all dead outside the walls of Jerusalem by plague. Pretty impressive.

Rav Tzadok explains that the Midrash is not telling us merely that one King was greater or less, mightier or weaker than the previous one. And it certainly can’t possibly be telling us that Hezkia and Yehoshafat’s faith and prayers were stronger than King David, Hashem’s most beloved. Rather he suggests that it is coming to explain and show us the incredible process of how our prayers need to work and to contrast that with our own efforts. King David, the greatest of all Kings certainly believed that all the battles that he won and all his incredible wars all come from Hashem. He said I could arrange armies, inspire an army and even take my sword and wage powerful and incredible wars and that would not for a second give me any sense that I have done or accomplished anything at all on my own. It was all You. I just need you to keep my light burning. Asa on the other hand said Hashem I can inspire and put together an army, and the power to do that I readily understand comes from You. But, if I actually have to go out to battle, fight and pursue an enemy than I am fearful that I will start to believe that it is me, not You that is waging that war. I need You to do it for me. Yehoshafat was even more aware of the frailty of his faith. He didn’t feel comfortable that he could even put together the army and not attribute it to his own charisma, his own inspiration and leadership. All he felt that he could do is say and sing the praise of Hashem afterwards.

Chizkiyah, 100’s of years after King David, distant from even the sense and appreciation that there is nothing that we do, absolutely nothing, that happens if not for the hands of Hashem, turned to God and said that If I even do anything besides go to sleep, I will not truly attribute this victory, this accomplishment to its rightful source. It is all You. All I can do is close my eyes and hit the sack and wake up the next morning and see my enemies decimated. Only when You do it all for us will I not stand any risk of taking some credit for myself.

Hashem created us with one function our Torah tells us. It is come to the realization and appreciation that Ein Od Milvado-there is no other force or power in the universe besides Him. He created us in a way that each night we would have the need and understanding that we can’t keep going. We can’t do it all. We need to close our eyes and He will take over. Even more than that though, He wants us to appreciate and teach us that we can close our eyes and turn off the lights. Our problems, our worries are only there, because we fail to appreciate that He is running the world, not us. Everything that is happening and that will happen is because Hashem wants it to happen. The world is running just right. Sure we need to do everything we can to accomplish, to build, to fix, to earn and to resolve. It’s why we were put here. But that should never be anything we should lose sleep over. The Boss has it under control. Hashem created us this way so that a third of our life is spent in a state when we can’t do anything, while in truth we are being taught what should be the most important lesson of our lives.

The Jewish people came to Mt. Sinai on the eve of that fateful day, Rav Tzadok suggests they achieved that great level. In the greatest act of faith, they went to sleep that evening and they slept like babies. Not a worry in the world. Hashem was totally in control. They understood that there was nothing that they could possibly do to prepare themselves more for that incredible one time in history revelation. They were totally in Hashem’s hands. We find a similar story as well in Tanach. The story of our forefather Avraham’s command to bring his son Yitzchak up to Hashem as an offering, begins with the Torah telling us that Avraham awoke early the next morning. It is telling us that he woke early, our sages point out, in order for us to note that he went to sleep the night beforehand. Amazing. Can you possibly imagining get a good night’s rest after hearing such a chilling command. Knowing that this might be the last evening you may spend with your beloved child and that you are commanded to do perhaps the most distressing thing in the world. Yet Avraham who understood that all that Hashem had ordained for him and commanded him to do was for good, went to sleep with the same peace and calm as if Hashem would have told him to shake a Lulav the following morning. It is all from Him. Hashem’s will runs the world and I am merely a pawn that is privileged to carry out what he commands me. Layla tov.

As I finish this E-Mail, my eyes begin to close. Maybe yours are as well. It’s almost Shabbos. The 13^th century Jewish leader Rabeinu Asher-the Rosh, notes that Shabbat is an acronym of the three words sheina bi’shabbat ta’anug-sleep on Shabbos is a pleasure. Those of us in Yeshiva certainly know that. There’s no sleep like Friday night after our Shabbat meal or Shabbos day after a big plate of chulent. But it’s more than that. The essence of that most special day, the pinnacle of creation is precisely that concept of sleep. We can turn off our responsibilities, our worries and our obligations. Everything is taken care of. Hashem created the world in 6 days and established the day of rest when we don’t have to do anything. We can put ourselves in sleep mode and merely bask in the joy and pleasure of an existence where the Creator is taking care of it all. It’s the lesson we learned that was the prelude to our acceptance of the Torah. It is the lesson that we learn and repeat each week as we sit down to our Shabbos tables. It’s what we spend most of our life doing. How amazing is that.  Truly truly amazzzzzzzzzzz…..

Have a restful Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

““A nacht on shlof iz di gresteh shtrof”” – A night without sleep is the greatest punishment

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/AF_nfazQaek – We take no responsibility for this product. Naptime!- Not recommended at all…

https://youtu.be/_sAwz3pYka4   -Avrumy Weinberg Birkas Kohanim Elka loves this song this week! It’s beautiful

https://youtu.be/I2LMLWn_7ok   - Naaseh Vnishma by Simcha Leiner this weeks Torah portion

 https://youtu.be/_2fuHZpLDfc  - Micha  Shavuot Cartoon Torah medley

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q The term “Dhimmi” in Islam means:

A. Dancing/whirling dervish

B. People of the Jahiliyya period

C. Heretics

D. Non Muslim citizens of an Islamic state

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Yisro– A true lamdan sees a halachic word in the Torah and it clicks a switch that there should be some type of halachic connection over here. Although to the rest of us simple folks it seems like a nice story. Take a look at the beginning of this week’s Torah portion.

The Torah tells us

Shemot (18:9-10) And Yisro rejoiced on all of the good that Hashem did for the children of Israel in which he saved them from the hands of Egypt. And Yiso said Baruch Hashem who saved you from the hands of Egypt and from the hands of Pharaoh.

Key word here is Baruch. Yisro is making a blessing. What blessing is it? The blessing of thanksgiving – Hagomel when one is saved from a trouble.

Once you’ve made that connection the next obvious question is can one make this blessing upon hearing someone else was saved. So if you take a look in the Shulchan Aruch, as the Brisker Rav does, the law is

Orach Chayim (219:4) a man can make the blessing of Gomel upon the good of his friend

The Rema notes on this law that this is not a bracha levatala- a blessing in vain, since it is a blessing of praise on the good of his friend that he is happy about.

The Ta”Z, being a lamdan as well notes that from the words of the Rema it seems he can only make the blessing if he is truly happy and not just saying it for ‘ways of peace’. Even so he should only make it without mentioning the kingship of Hashem.

Now that you got all the pieces together. Let’s look back at our verses. First it tells us that Yisro was truly happy for the good of Israel. Once we know that then it tells us he blessed Hashem. However in that blessing he didn’t’ recite Hashem’s kingship, just as the Ta”Z tells us. And there you have it, what seemed to us to be a simple story, is in fact a halachic discussion. Cool!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Achan and Emek Achur 1272 BC  After the battle of Jericho The prophet tells us that there was one Jew- there’s always one, that took from the booty of the city that Hashem had prohibited. God was no snitcher. However when the Jews attacked the next city of Ai, 36 soldiers were killed and it was a resounding failure. Hashem appeared to Yehoshua and told him that someone had stolen and all the Jewish people were culpable. Yehoshua made a lottery it fell on Achan and he confessed that his greed overcame him he stole 200 shekels, a strip of gold and a Babylonian cloak. They were all taken out with Achan and stoned, burned and buried. A pile of stones were placed on them in the “Valley of Achur- the valley of trouble” and the Jews went on to conquer Ai (more about that next week).

The lessons of the story, which of course all tour guides are meant to share are. 1) If Hashem tells you not do something don’t to it, your decision is not only a personal one all Jews are held culpable for each other and 36 Jews died because of his sin. 2) All Jews are responsible for one another. Really. We can be punished for not preventing someone else for sinning. We’re all in the same boat and if one guy drills a hole we all will sink. 3) When caught confess. Despite the fact that Achan was punished, he was forgiven and earned his place in the world to come. In fact our sages tell us when we recite the prayer of Aleinu each prayer the second paragraph begins al kein nekaveh lecha- therefore we long for you which is the same acronym as AChaN. His teshuva got him a place forever in every Jewish prayer.

So where is this place Emek Achur? Interesting enough it is mentioned in the book of Hoshea in describing the redemption

(2:17) And I will give her vineyards from there and the Emek Achur -depth of trouble for a Petach Tikva -door of hope, and she shall dwell there as in the days of her youth, and as the day of her ascent from the land of Egypt.

The city of Petach Tikva is named after this verse. Not that Petach Tikva is anywhere near this, however the original plan was to build Petach Tikva near Yericho and thus the name was chosen. I do mention this place as well as we visit Kumran, though for in addition to the Dead Sea scrolls that were found there, they discovered a copper scroll that wrote about a treasure hidden in the churbat Emek Achur hidden between two buildings in Emek Achur Modern archeologists place the valley near Hurkaniya not far from Kumran in the Judean desert however in 2005 the Israeli archeologists discovered a stash of golden ancient shekels in East Jerusalem under a house, which meet the copper scrolls description. I don’t know if it is historically correct, but one thing is certain, East Jerusalem is definitely a valley of trouble.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S SLEEP JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Chaim, an Israeli government worker went to the doctor and complained of being unable to sleep.
Doctor: 'Oh! Don't you sleep well at night?'
Chaim: 'Yes, I sleep very well at night. And I sleep quite soundly most of the mornings, too - but I find it's very difficult to sleep in the afternoons as well.'

Two siblings, Sarah was talking to her brother Bobby and asked how come it was that grandma didn’t have any teeth. Bobby in a very knowing voice explained that Grandma had gone to sleep one night with her head underneath her pillow, and what do you know? The Tooth Fairy came and took all her teeth.

 Yankel came to the doctor and told him that he was having trouble sleeping and he assumed that it was because he had High blood pressure problem in his family.

The physician doctor asked him from which side in his family it was from your mother's side or your father's?
"Neither," Yankel replied. "It's from my wife's family."
"How could your wife's family give you high blood pressure?"
He sighed. "You oughta meet 'em sometime, Doc!"

I have a sleeping disorder…it’s called children

Finally a real quote from President Ronald Reagan I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.

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Answer is D–  Yeah, I knew this one too. It’s a familiar term that I knew even before my tour guiding program. Probably from my history studies (which was mostly Rabbi Wein tapes). They did teach us about jervishes as well as what Jahiliya is- not that I remember, or am even interested in googling for your benefit. And I forgot the Arabic word for heretic. But I knew that Dhimmi was the status given to Jews and Christians living in Israel and anywhere under Muslim rule where they had 2^nd class status. They could have their own courts but there were different rules that applied to non-muslims, extra taxes and the like as well. Kind of like in Israel today where arabs are allowed to get away with murder and illegal construction and Jews are still 2^nd class citizens here- just under Israeli government….ahh well.. Anyways the important thing is that the score is Schwartz 13 and 1 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.