Jingle Coins- Parshat Vayakkhel / Shekalim 2019/ 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

March 1^st 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 22-24^th of Adar I 5779

Parshat Vayakhel / Shekalim

Jingle Coins

So besides being a tour guide as you know I also am privileged to have a shul here in Karmiel. The shul thing though, is not a money maker. I don’t know if shuls were ever meant to be. It actually costs me money. Baruch Hashem as our congregation has grown and people contribute, and thanks to the many of you that send in donations and sponsor our weekly E-Mails it costs me less. I appreciate that. So does my tzadekes wife who keeps our books, while her fiscally irresponsible husband strikes ahead living out his dream of having a congregation in Israel and creating a unique place where charedi, daati leumi, americans, russians, ethiopians, chabad and even some secular Jews find their place and join together to serve Hashem and to connect with one another. It’s a chulent of Jews and I like chulent.

Now we don’t have membership in our shul. I was never a fan of the ideology of “pay-to-pray”. I view all of Israel as “members in good standing”. Those of you tourists that visit, are also included in this not so exclusive club. Big donors, small donors, no donors and even shnorrers all have equal status. There’s no board of directors, no president or vice president or secretary or treasurer. It’s me paying the bills with the help of the donations I receive and the International Young Israel behind me for moral support and to clear the large grants that we receive. I’m good with that. I feel privileged to be instrumental and part of providing such a fantastic place that brings Jews of all stripes, colors and kippas together and to create a place and environment in our Holy Land that attracts the 10’s of olim that have moved here and made it their home.

The benefit of the not being hired by anyone is of course I can’t get fired. See Ma, I finally figured out how to hold down a job J. As well, the shul really runs- at least when I’m around and not running around the country on tours- according to the vision that I have for it. Shabbos we daven nusach sefard, obviously the only correct and proper nusach that self-respecting haymish people should daven. Although during the week it’s whoever gets up for the amud that davens in his own nusach. Friday night is Carlebach style, Shabbos morning we have 8:30 Shacharis- which for Israelis is the equivelant of an American 9:30 Minyan as I have the latest minyan in town. We have the blessing for the State of Israel and the army (although not for those that don’t talk during davening part… hmmmm- tircha d’tzibura….(?)). I speak like an American style Rabbi after kriyas hatorah- but I speak in Hebrew. And we have of course a chulent kiddush after davening each week. When asked what the concept of the shul is I tell people that the idea is that there should be at least one thing that everybody has to complain about. To meet that basic Jewish need. Everyone has to give up something to come to our shul, whether it’s the nusach, the mi shebeairachs, the speech, the singing but at the end of the day through doing that it brings us all closer together.

Now I’m not a greedy guy. And I feel very strongly as does aforementioned fiscally responsible spouse that I should share this tremendous merit with my congregants. I shouldn’t hoard for myself, all the divine brownie points and the incredible for all that nachas Hashem has in shamayim every time He looks down at our shul. So I compromised. Twice a year I make appeals for about a week or two after davening each morning. The times of year that I do that are before Purim and before Rosh Hashana. Rosh Hashana, in order to give people some extra merits before the High Holidays and before Purim to share with everyone the joy of holiday giving. It wasn’t difficult to figure out the good times to do this. Every year as we approach Purim we introduce the joy of Purim with the reading of parshat shekalim- the additional torah reading that was read that enjoins every Jew to contribute his half shekel for the daily sacrifices that were brought in the Temple. Now although I told my shul when I started my appeals two weeks ago already, that in a leap year when we have two months of Adar we are told that there is no difference between the first Adar and the 2^nd Adar besides for the reading of megilla and the gifts to the poor. This would imply that the annual adar appeal should happen in the first month of Adar as well as the second. Because obviously the mitzvah to increase happiness begins in the first Adar and you can’t really be happy until you partnered with us in our shul endeavor. Yet we don’t read the portion of shekalim until the 2^nd Adar. We want to read it closer to Purim and closer to Pesach and Nisan when the new sacrifice fiscal year begins again.

Yet this year we read this parsha two weeks in a row. We read it Ki Tisa last week with the mitzvah of shekalim and we read it this week with the supplemental parsha of shekalim again. In fact, from almost three weeks ago by Mincha of Parshat Tetzave we already started reading it. I don’t think there is another parsha that is read that many times consecutively. It’s like the gabbai tzedaka walking around the shul cling cling clinging the pushka. Have you given yet?

Now getting up after davening each day and making a short appeal is not a fun thing. Not for me and not for my congregants. They have to run out and get to work or Kollel and no one wants to hear a short speech asking for money. I try to make it entertaining though, I share a cute vort, a story a joke, some inspiration some guilting, in my inimitable cute Rabbi Schwartz way that you all love- or not… It’s good for two weeks or so, but this year when I started a month early in the first Adar it was certainly getting tiresome. They were glad that they had the past week off though. See when I’m on tours and not in Karmiel, like this past week, there’s no appeal. It’s another reason why I started early this year because I’m not going to be around much the week or so before Purim as I have tours and I really didn’t want to deprive my congregants of this twice a year opportunity to partner with us.

When I returned this morning and gave my shpiel about how sorry I was that I was not around this past week, I told them that I had sent a messenger in my place to make it for me. Did they hear that gabbai all week long? They looked at me strangely and I told them that I certainly did. See as I was driving around Israel this week I heard the thunder and lightning and storms all week along. Didn’t they understand what that was? It was Hashem jingling the pushka upstairs for them to put the money in! He was sending rains of bracha because he wants you to have what to put in our pushka. The thunder is the clanging of that Divine charity box and the lightning is sparks of fire that come off those heavenly coins as they bang against each other. It’s time for shekalim.

Now in case you think I am making this up, the midrash in fact tells us that when Hashem commanded the Jews to give their half-shekels to atone for their sins and souls, Moshe had a hard time understanding it. So Hashem reached under His Heavenly throne and pulled out a coin made of fire. So as you see from this Midrash, what does Hashem have hiding under His throne? Shekels. Like a good Israeli that doesn’t trust the bank system here, Hashem keeps His coins right under His chair. So as I said the thunder and lightning? That’s Hashem clanging His coins together.

Now this is a strange midrash. What is so difficult for Moshe to understand about a half shekel. It seems like a pretty simple concept. Although some suggest that perhaps Moshe had a hard time understanding how a half coin could atone for sins. But there are lots of things that atone that are probably just as difficult. An animal offering a flour offering, even teshuva how does all of that work? In fact, I’m only aware of two other times that medrash tells us Moshe didn’t understand something. When it comes to making the menora and when Hashem explains to him what types of insects are kosher and which ones aren’t. In both cases I understand why Hashem had to show him what they looked like. They’re complicated. But what’s so complicated about a shekel? As well, you can ask what it this whole coin made out fire thing? He didn’t show him an insect made out of fire. And why really does Hashem have these coins under His throne?

The answer I heard once is pretty incredible. A coin and fire are two opposites. A coin is a solid tangible thing. Fire is intangible. It’s hot, it can’t be held it has not form. How do you have a coin of fire. The truth is there is something else like that. You know what it is? It’s us. See, who are we? We are certainly not our bodies. As our bodies change all the time. Sometimes I’m fat, sometimes I’m on a diet and not as fat. I once had hair. Now not so much. When we die our bodies are still there but ‘we’ are not. We are actually a soul and body connected. Now a soul is something like fire. It is intangible. It has no form. Yet our body which has a form when it is joined together with that soul that is who we are. It is called us. The Baal Haturim tells us that shekel is the gematria of the word nefesh- a living being. We are in fact the living breathing fiery coins of Hashem.

There is an interesting halacha about the half shekel coin. Everyone has to give it. Rich, poor, old, young, man and woman. The daily sacrifices can’t be brought until every last Jew has given his or her half shekel. Let’s say someone doesn’t have any money. He has to sell everything he has to make it happen. Let’s say, he doesn’t want to give it? We force him to. And this is not typical like when a person doesn’t want to do a mitzvah we force him until he “says he wants to- ad sh’omeir rotzeh ani”. Here we take it even if he is screaming that he doesn’t want to give it. He’s that bad. Moshe didn’t understand this. How can that be? What type of atonement is that? Hashem showed him the fiery coin. In each Jew there is that pure unadulterated spark that can never be tainted. Each Jew is a shekel of fire. That is what I have under my throne. You may not see it. He may look like the worst unaffiliated, anti-religious, evil Jew and person. But if he is still breathing than he has that holy pure untainted soul inside of him. He is a coin of fire. And not even you, Moshe, can bring the daily sacrifice until you see that he is that half of a shekel that connects to My other half up here under My throne.

So it has been a blessed winter here in Eretz Yisrael. Hashem has been clanging all winter long. The streams are overflowing with rains of blessing the Kinneret is filling up. We have an extra month of simcha; an extra month to bask in the joy of knowing that inside of us is something that is so pure and holy; that it is half of a coin that is sitting under the throne of our Father in heaven. All we have to do now is express that joy. Reveal that spark. Reach into our pockets and connect it to Hashem. We don’t have a mishkan or daily sacrifices to give that half shekel to. But we do have our shuls, the place that we pray and our daily prayers are in place of our sacrifices. In the merit of us answering the call of shekalim, May Hashem then bring us to the next stages of the elimination of Amalek, the purity of the Red Heifer and the month of redemption.

Have a holy fiery Shabbos!

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Tsedokeh zol kain gelt nit kosten un gemilas-chassodim zolen kain agmas-nefesh nit farshafen, volten geven di velt fil tsadikim.”– If one could do charity without money and favors without aggravation, the world would be full of saints.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q A commemorative site for female combat troops is found in:

A. “The joined control position”

B. Palmahim

C. Akhziv

D. Nitzanim

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/techelet-mordechai – You really won’t have a great Purim Seuda unless you learn this song and sing it again and again! My Techelet Mordechai

https://youtu.be/hyBFpPL0REw   -New Ari Goldwag song Hafachta!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJyQnlX8X30  – Purim Rock of the ages Love It!!!

https://youtu.be/yM6zs91Khns -In honor of Shekalim- what song do we need to hear? Gelt By Lipa fo course!!!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Vayakhel– What’s is preferable having or doing something faster or doing it with better quality in a finer or more precise way? This is a debate Israelis and Americans have. Americans like fast food Israelis will never eat food that is sitting and waiting and is not first starting to be prepared when they walk in. How about mitzvos? Is it better to do it with alacrity- zerizus- for my children and seminary girls at the table that don’t speak English, or is it better to do it slower, carefully and making sure it’s all perfect? I think many of you would probably say the latter. But that’s because you’re Americans. But what would our sages say? These are lomdushe klers- dilemmas. And if you are a good lamdan you try to ‘proof-it-out’ from some biblical source. This week’s Torah portion actually gives us a great one.

We are told in the parsha that the leaders of each of the tribes brought their gifts for the mishkan which consisted of the shoham and filling stones. However, when writing the word nesi’im the Torah leaves out the last yud in the spelling. It’s missing a letter. Rashi notes this and brings the midrash to explain

Rashi Shemos (35:27) Rabbi Nathan said: What prompted the princes to donate for the dedication of the altar first [before the rest of the Israelites] while [in contrast] they did not donate first for the work of the Mishkan? This is what the princes said, “Let the community donate what they will donate, and what[ever] they are missing-we will complete.” Once the community completed everything- the princes said, “What are we to do?” So they brought the shoham stones, etc. Therefore, they brought [donations] first for the dedication of the altar. Since at first they were lazy [i.e., they did not immediately donate], a letter is missing from their name

The Shai LaTorah notes that the problem was not that their rationale. It’s nice and commendable to say you will cover whatever deficit in the budget there is. It is because they were lazy, the midrash is telling us. They didn’t act with zerizus. They didn’t jump and do it as fast as possible.

He quotes the Chasam Sofer who suggests that the act of doing something quickly even if its not perfect is actually a disagreement between Avraham and Sarah back in Bereishit. When the angels come to visit Avraham tells Sara

Bereishit (18:6) Hurry and knead 3 se’ah of un-sifted flour, sifted flours and make cakes

Well is it sifted or un-sifted? So the midrash tells us that Avraham told her use un-sifted just make it fast! Sarah however like a good baalahbusta would never serve un-sifted flour put it through 13 sieves to make it clear. She wanted it to be good. What happened? She became tamei-impure in the interim and the whole thing had to be thrown out. {Now she was certainly not expecting to become impure- as an older woman who had not been tamei for years this was not something she ever dreamed would happen, and it was miraculous} See sometimes listening to your husband and doing it fast is better.

The Chasam Sofer explains that this is in fact what we say in Eishet Chayil each week.

Tzofiah halichos beisa- v’lechem atzlus lo sochal- She anticipates the needs of her household, and the bread of idleness, she does not eat.

Because Sarah was anticipating the needs of her guests. She wanted to make sure it was perfect. The bread of idleness. The bread that was delayed and not served fast like Avraham asked was not eaten.

Cool! Let’s hear it for fast food!

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

Chatzor and the battle of the North 1272 BC – So after Yehoshua conquered the lower plainlands and Negev and killed the 5 Kings he headed back to Gilgal to rest. Meantime here nt he North Yavin the most important remaining Canaani Kings decides this is his chance to attack. He puts together alliance with all of the Kings of the Shomron, the Hermon, the coastal city of Doe both sides of the Jordan and even up to Tzidon in Lebanon. Hashem told Yehoshuah he had nothing to fear.

The battle took place by a place called Mei Merom and Yehoshuah shmoddered them chasing them north and south. He went to Chatzor and burned down the entire city. Despite the fact that they didn’t do that by other cities Chatzor as the instigator and the largest King needed to be taught a lesson. And with this the North became ours.

So the city of Chatzor, by Tel Chatzor is one that we know today. It is in fact one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel and is a UNESCO recognized biblical site. There are many things from different periods found on the tel that was also a Jewish city in the times of King Solomon. However they have found many burnt remains that date back 3400 years to the times of Yehoshua and many smashed Canaanite idols that are exactly as the Tanach tells us.

The harder question is where is this Mei Marom that this huge battle took place? There are some that place it ancient Hula Lake, which was right next to Chatzor. However there are mentions of the Hula independently of that. Others place it near Nachal Pa’aara by Lebanon Israel border where there are hundreds of springs and Yet there are other that suggest it is near Meron, noting the similarities between the names. Regardless the battle took place really over the North here down to Dor right by Casarea as well, so really anywhere in the North is fair to talk about this incredible conquest of the Jews.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S JEWISH SHUL JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Hymie walks into his synagogue with a dog. The shammas immediately comes up to him and says, "This is a House of Worship, Hymie, you know you can't bring a dog in here." 

"What do you mean I can’t?" says Hymie, "Look at him, he’s a Jewish dog." 

The shammas then notices that the dog has a tallis bag round its neck. 

Hyme then says to the dog, "Benjamin, daven for me." 

The dog stands on his back legs and says, "Woof woof, woof," then opens the tallis bag, takes out a kippa and puts it on his head, exactly in between its ears. 

"Woof, woof," says the dog who then pulls out a tallis and puts it round his neck. 

"Woof, woof, woof," says the dog who then takes out a siddur and starts to pray, rocking from side to side. 

"That's brilliant," says the shammas, "totally incredible. You must get him on TV and the movies and you could make millions.” 

"You speak to him then," says Hymie, "he wants to be a doctor."  

Izzy is sitting in synagogue one Shabbat morning when he falls asleep and starts to snore. The gabbai quickly comes over to him, taps him softly on his shoulder and says, "Please stop your snoring, Izzy, you're disturbing the others in the shul."
"Now look here," says Issy, "I always pay my membership in full, so I feel I have a right to do whatever I want."
"Yes, I agree," replies the gabbai, "but your snoring is keeping everybody else awake." 

The synagogue wanted to help their congregation cope better with the stresses of modern life, and decided to offer a course in Time Management. Soon after the course was announced, a member telephoned the Rabbi.
“What time does the course start, Rabbi?”
The Rabbi replied, “Oh... fivish, sixish....” 

An elegantly dressed man starts up the steps of a large temple on Yom Kippur. At the front door, a security guard stops him:

"Are you a member of this synagogue, sir?" the guard asks.

"No."

"Did you purchase a ticket to attend Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services here?"

"No, I did not," the man says.

"I'm sorry," the guard says, "but you are forbidden to enter the synagogue then."

The man is desperate. "I have a very important message to give to Mr. Brian Goldstein. It's a  matter of the greatest importance, an emergency. His wife just had a baby. You must let me in to speak with him."

"Okay, okay," the guard finally says. "I'll let you in. But if I catch you praying..."

After his wife died, an old Jew received a parrot from his sons to keep him company. After a time, he discovered that the parrot had heard him pray so often that it learned to say the prayers. The old man was so thrilled he decided to take his parrot to the synagogue on the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah. The rabbi protested when he entered with the bird, but when told the parrot could "daven" the rabbi, though still skeptical, showed interest. People started betting on whether the parrot would pray, and the old man happily took bets that eventually totaled $50,000.

The prayers began but the bird was silent. As the prayers continued there was still not a word from the bird. When the prayers ended, the old man was not only crestfallen but also $50,000 in debt. On the way home he thundered at his parrot:

 "Why did you do this to me? I know you can pray, you know you can pray. Why did you keep

your mouth shut? Do you know how much money I owe people now?"

To which the parrot replied: "A little business imagination would help you, dear friend. You must look ahead: Can you imagine what the stakes will be like on Yom Kippur?"

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Answer is D–  Absolutely no clue about this one. Even my process of elimination method wasn’t that sure. I’m pretty sure if this was the exam I would’ve skipped this one, as you are allowed to skip 5 questions. I certainly would’ve starred it on the first time around. I eliminated Achziv, because I remember that site for the soldiers that fell in blowing up the bridge there. Joined control position- don’t even know what that it is. Seemingly google doesn’t either but it just sounded like a giveaway answer. I went with Palmachim figured it had something to do with women’s effort and illegal immigration where they were very active in that took place near there. Turns out the answer was Nitzanim commemorating their effort in the first real losing battle in 1948 against the Egyptians by this southern coastal Kibbutz. Another one wrong for me. Ah Well.. Schwartz 16 and 3 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.