Insights
and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
February 22nd 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 21-17th
of Adar I 5779
Parshat
Ki Tisa
We were running programs in each synagogue. We had lunch and learns in the local universities William and Mary and ODU (Old Dominion University- at first I thought, with their confusing southern accent, they were saying Ol-der minyan University, and I told them I was looking for the younger minyan). Rabbi Adler, our smiley red-cheeked Kollel Rabbi even got into the WASP-y private schools, Norfolk Collegiate and Norfolk Academy, and started Jewish fellowship clubs there. The local Jewish community school had asked us to start running voluntary programs for them as well. And the Sunday school we started in the Orthodox shul had led to the development of for the first time in the community an Orthodox Day School. Pretty impressive for one year. Yes, I was proud. Proud of my Kollel Rabbis, proud of the community, and yeah proud of myself.
See, that’s why you need to have a Rebbi. B”H I have a good one. He knows just what I need to hear and how to say it to me. This is an art that not too many people have been able to master. Much to my parents, teachers, wife and kids frustrated attempts have revealed. I’m not an easy nut to crack. So as I was waxing on to him about how incredible everything had been going over here. How we were turning the city on its head and really making tremendous inroads on all fronts. He rolled his eyes a bit and gave me his very unimpressed
“Nu Nu…”
Huh? I was taken aback. We were literally Kiruv Rock stars. Didn’t he get it? There wasn’t a door we weren’t knocking down. There was no organization that had accomplished as much as we did in such a short period of time. What was I missing? But that’s why he’s my Rebbi. He knows how to push that button that would make me ask. Why wasn’t he impressed?
The answer he gave me has been one of the most important I ever received from him and it is truly one of the most powerful perspectives to have in life.
“We have a rule in life” he began “Anything thing that is important, holy or meaningful will only come through challenge and adversity. There are no easy streets to greatness. If things are going easy and smooth and doors are just popping open right and left that means that there’s nothing significant at the other side of that hallway. If there was than there would be something there to prevent you from getting there.
This is particularly true in matters of ruchniyos- spiritual pursuits. Hashem created a satan whose job is to challenge you and make you struggle to achieve any spiritual goal. If there’s no push-back, it’s a sign that the satan isn’t too nervous of the “accomplishments” you are toting. If he’s not impressed. Why should I be?
Come back to me, when they start throwing you out of places and slamming doors in your face. Then I’ll know that you’re really doing something meaningful.
Pop. Boom. There goes that balloon that was sailing over my head. It was a powerful lesson that not only carried me through the challenges that inevitably popped out further down those hallways of Virginia, but through anytime I’ve ever faced adversity in my life. It’s a lesson I believe that really was revealed to our ancestors and sheds light on one of the most troubling episodes in the Torah in this week’s Torah portion; the sin of the golden calf.
Whenever anyone reads this portion the question shouts out at us? How could they have? What were they thinking? 40 days before, they were standing at Mt. Sinai and they heard Hashem say ‘I am Hashem your Lord who took you out of Egypt’ and 40 days later they’re dancing around a calf made out of gold singing that the cow took them out of Egypt. How after all the miracles that they witnessed upon leaving Egypt, the plagues, the splitting of the sea, the battle of Amalek, the daily manna that they were eating, could they “cheat” like this? In the words of our sages it’s like a bride from under her chupa committing infidelity. What is going on?
Our sages, seemingly troubled by these questions, blame it on the Satan. They tell us how the Jews got nervous when Moshe didn’t return by the time they had calculated the 40 days he was meant to be there were up. It seems they didn’t really get the concept of Jewish time yet. We were new to it. Since then we have more than made up for it, as all who have been at Jewish weddings know… So what did the Satan do? He appeared to them and asked them where Moshe was.
Now let’s try to put this into practical, modern day, relatable terms. You have a wedding tonight. You have a place that you have to go to. A Promised Land if you will. You’re meant to be on the road at 6:00. It’s 6:15 PM. You’re still at home standing by the door with the keys looking up the staircase. All the way up that mountain. Waiting and waiting for someone very special to finally decide to come down…See it’s one thing to be nervous and looking at your watch wondering when your wife is going to be ready to leave the house to go to the wedding you’re waiting for. You can work on your anxiety and patience a bit. It’s healthy. But then when someone calls you and says “nuuu when are you coming already… you’re late...” that ups the anxiety a notch. Notice how I said your wife. My wife is never late nor does she ever keep me waiting. She gets that from her mother, whose house I’m going to for Shabbos. Unless she reads this before Shabbos…Shhhhh
The next stage, the satan upped the ante a bit and made the whole world dark. Uh oh… The sun has set. We missed the chupa already. We’re gonna hit rush hour… What’s gonna be? Is she ever going to come down, you wonder? Next he showed them Moshe floating in a coffin. The car is dead. There’s no way you’re going to the wedding or the promised land. Uhhhh... or I should say ubberrrr… There’s is an eitza. You got it. Uber. The Golden Calf. Boom it happened.
But why? Why did Hashem give the satan the power to up the ante? To raise the anxiety level. To “reitz them un”. The answer is because it was too easy until now. Sure they suffered for 200 years in Egypt. That got them the plagues, the sea-split and freedom. But the Torah? The spiritual conquest. The most important gift in the world. That would require a challenge. You can’t just show up to the drive-through Mount Sinai and pick it up. We’re going to have to be challenged to make it real. We’re going to be tempted. We’re going to have dark cloudy days. We’re going to even think we have no other choice but to give up our faith. If we could keep it through that challenge then it will be real. Then you can call your Rebbi and tell him about it.
We failed that test. But don’t worry. The cards were stacked against us. The Talmud tells us a fascinating insight.
Bavli
Avoda Zara(4:) Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: "The Jews
only made the Golden Calf to open the way for repentance. ...
Neither
Dovid was fitting to commit the act (regarding Bas Sheva), nor was Israel
fitting to commit the act (the golden calf). Why did they occur? To tell you
that, if an individual sins, it can be said to him, "Do as the individual
(Dovid)!" If a community sins, it can be said to them, "Do as the
congregation!"
Rashi on the spot explains
"It is a decree from the King that an
opening for returnees should exist.”
I meet a lot of olim. Everyone has a honeymoon period. And then… Boom. Something happens, a few things happen. The Satan is working. It’s meaningful. People get married. It’s all roses until… Boom. The first fight. The first misunderstanding. The challenge. New job? New milestone. The only thing that is assured is that if it is too easy, if you’re doing too amazing, know that you haven’t gotten anywhere yet. The real opportunity for growth is still coming. If you know that in advance it will be a lot easier. Then you can call your Rebbi. If he’s not available feel free to shoot me an E-Mail. Oh and of course include a weekly sponsorship while you’re at it. It’s challenging over here…
Have a perfect Shabbos!
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
********************************************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Tsu zogn un lib hoben kost nisht kayn gelt”– To make promises and
to love don’t cost any money.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q The “security fence” (security barrier) was
constructed following:
A. The Dayan – Abdalla a-Tel
agreement
B. The Yom haKippurim War (War of
Atonement)
C. The 2nd Intifada
D. The Tzuk Eitan (Strong Cliff)
Operation
RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF
THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/bCia_m-EVEA
- Another
23yr Old/ rediscovered song sung by my
friend Moishie Mendlowitz composed by Rabbi ‘K’Bentzion Klatzkow-Chanayni!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qJRgbFeP6A- Great and Funny Evolution
of Jewish Music with Benny Friedman and Meir Kay- awesome!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS”
CONNECTION OF THE WEEK
Parshat Ki Tisa– Wanna
hear a geshamakeh lomdusheh vort? Of course you do. That’s why you
scrolled down this far and stopped along the way to the jokes part of the
E-Mail. Well this week I’ve got an amazing one for you. Pure classic lomdus
from the Rogatchaver Gaon.
The
Torah tells us that when Moshe Rabbeinu came down from the mountain with the
luchos to go see the Jewish people that were dancing around it that Hashem told
him he should go check out. The Torah tells us something unique here about the
luchos
Shemos (32:15) And
Moshe turned and came down the mountain and the two tablets of the covenant
were in his hand; written from both sides from they were inscribed from one
side and the other.
The
Rogatchaver notes that the Torah seemingly needlessly chooses this point to
tell us about how the luchos were inscribed. They were miraculously
written through and through so that each side could be read independently. This
is a pretty amazing thing, yet the place to tell us this would be earlier in
the last chapter where the Torah tells us already about the tablets and
doesn’t’ even mention this.
Ibid (31:18) And
He gave to Moshe when he completed talking with him on Mt. Sinai the two
tablets of the testament; tablets of stone written with the finger of Hashem.
Why
does the Torah wait until right here to tell us that they were see-through?
Like
every good lamdan, the Rogatchaver asks another question with the
knowledge that one question can usually answer a different one. He asks how was
Moshe permitted to break the tablets? There is a prohibition in the Torah that
is derived out of the mitzvah to break and destroy idolatry- that
Devarim (12:4) one
should not do that to Hashem your God
We
are forbidden to destroy something that possesses sanctity. So how does Moshe
destroy the tablets?
The
answer he suggests is that the Talmud tells us that the letters of the Luchos
flew off before he broke them. They were merely empty tablets so it was not a
problem of destroying something holy. The Rogatchaver continues though, that
there is still a problem though. For although they didn’t contain any holy
letters, the tablets themselves where the commandments were written one should
still be considered holy as they were sanctified by having the letters written
upon them. Just like a Torah scroll that the letters got erased still maintains
its holiness.
He
therefore answers beautifully that it is precisely why the Torah tells us over
here, before Moshe broke them, that they were written through and through. The
writing never really took hold in the actual tablets. It did not have the
status of a holy scroll that had something written upon it, because they were
never really written on the tablets rather they were miraculously placed upon
them. It was therefore not a violation for Moshe to break them after the
letters flew off.
Geshmak?
Told you it would be.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S
AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
The Longest Day 1272 BC – We read about WWI in
the Torah with the battle of Avraham against the 4 kings that wiped out the 5
kings. Well welcome to WWII or at least the first major war against the Arab
“Brotherhood” the pagan kings of Canaan. It of course starts with us getting
sucked into a battle that we never asked for. As we mentioned last week the
Jews were tricked into a treaty with the Givonim. In exchange for them
surrendering and becoming woodcutters and watercarriers- basically servants of
the Jews, we would allow them to live. As opposed to the other Kings of Canaan
that were commanded to eradicate after the spurned our overture for peace.
Now the arabs were not
happy with these “collaborators” and therefore an Arab brotherhood coalition
was formed to attack Givon. They consisted of the Kings of Jerusalem,
Hebron, Lachish, Yarmut and Eglon. The Givonim of course came
running to the Jews to defend them and Yehoshuah grabs his army and sets off to
wage war. This war wasn’t merely about keeping our word to Givon. This
war was an affront on the Jews. This was their statement that they would not
allow us to settle the land.
The Tanach is very
descriptive about this battle and there are really a lot amazing places to talk
about this war. My favorite is up by Latrun where you have an incredible
lookout to Emek Ha’Ayalon. As you look down into the valley you can
picture from the North East of you the army of Yehoshua coming from Gilgal
up to Givon (near Givat Zeev) or Highway 443 up to Beit Horon
chasing them down to this valley of Ayalon below us. It is a Friday. We
have to get back for Shabbos. We can’t fight at night because they know the
terrain and we don’t. So Yehoshua does what any reasonable general does. He
stops the sun in its place. Poof. Shemesh b’givon dom vi’yaraeich
ba’ayalon- the sun should be still in Givon- don’t set and the moon
should hold its place over Ayalon. Don’t rise. This is one of the
greatest miracles of all times. Since creation time has never stopped. It’s
amazing what Hashem does for us and for our Shabbos and for our conquering the
land!
Yehoshua then chases
them to Azeka.another fantastic site to talk about this story right by Park
Canada There Hashem hailed stones upon them wiping them out. Finally,
Yehoshua finds out the Kings had fled to Makeda- a place identified as Tel
Beit Makdum- right next to the yishuv of Amatzia near Lachish.
They were hiding in a cave. He yanked them out strung up and killed them and
then buried them that night because even our enemies are the image of Hashem
that should not be disgraced and left hanging. From there we wiped out Lachish
and quite a bunch of the cities in that area- the Shefelat Yehudah or Judean
lowlands, as we were commanded to.
I love this story
because it really has a lot of places that we have uncovered that all have
remains from that period. And many of them have remains that show that there
was Jewish life there not only during the first Temple but from the second
Temple as well. This miraculous battle really led to over 800 years of
settlement in this area. And it is amazing to see how much it has returned to
Jewish life once again as one looks out at the exploding population and city of
Beit Shemesh passing it back and forth on Highway 38 to the above
mentioned sites where these armies were chased and originally conquered.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S JEWISH JOKES OF THE WEEK
Berel a simple peasant in Russia
falls into a lake, and, not knowing how to swim, he frantically screams, “Help,
save me!” But his calls are totally ignored by all present, including a number
of soldiers standing nearby. In desperation,
Berel yells out, “Down with the czar!” At that moment, the soldiers
immediately jump in, yank him out of the water, and haul him off
to prison.
Chaim was complaining about business
to his buddy Sam.
“It’s been just terrible. Monday
I only sold one suit and Tuesday I didn’t sell any and Wednesday was even worse
than Tuesday!”
“Hold on” Sam said “If you
didn’t sell anything at all on Tuesday how could Wednesday be worse?”
“The guy that bought the suit on
Monday returned it”
A motorcycle police pulled over
Sadie while she was driving on the Highway at a very slow pace. When he looked
into the car he saw the lady in the front was as pale as a ghost and the three
old ladies in the back had their eyes wide open and were in shock.
Sadie sweetly told the officer that
she wasn’t speeding and doesn’t know why she was pulled over. The officer
explained that it was just as dangerous to drive too slow on a highway as it
was to drive fast.
“But I was going the speed limit” Sadie said “22 miles per hour
just as it said on the sign we passed.”
The officer smiled and told her that
the sign was not a speed limit sign but that was the number route she was
driving on Route 22.
He was going to let her off with a
warning but then he asked if the other women in the car were alright as they
looked as white as ghosts and haven’t stopped muttering since he stopped her
“Ah don’t worry, they’ll be OK in a
few minutes we just got off Highway 119, that’s all.”
The Rebbi was teaching his young
kindergarten children and he told them the story about how Hashem saved Lot and
his family from the destruction of the city. As they were fleeing the angels
told them not to turn back and look and the wife of Lot did and she turned into
a pillar of salt. He then asked the children if they had ever heard such a
terrible story before.
Little Moishie raised his hands and
said that he had an even worse story.
“My totty was teaching my Mommy how
to drive and as they were driving. He kept warning her not to look back. And
she did and turned into a telephone pole!”
************
Answer is C– This is another easy one. Anyone
here know what the Dayan Abdallah agreement was? That was 1949 after war of
independence. It predates the green line. Yom Kippur also obvious wrong answer.
The green line was established in 1967 when we liberated the West bank. The
fence wasn’t built until the 2nd intifada in 2002. It has since
prevented thousands of terror attacks as the terrorists have to go through
checkpoints when crossing the green line now. Tzuk Eitan the 2nd Gaza
war after the kidnapping and murder of the three boys is way after the security
fence was built. So of course the correct answer is C and the score is Schwartz 16 and 2 for
MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.
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