Insights
and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
May 24th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 33-19th of
Iyar 5779
Parshat
Behar/Bechukosai
Day off- Day on
But what do you do in your spare time? Do you have any? I’m not talking to those of you that are retired in Boca. I know you’re busy worrying about your children and grandchildren living in Israel. I mean the rest of you; the harried mothers holding down the fort, many of you balancing work and family. The fathers desperately scrambling to make ends meet, pay astronomical tuitions bills and meet community responsibilities. The teen-agers and colleges students with their exams, social lives, and studies or in Israel army or yeshiva duties. So you have a day off, maybe even a few days, whatcha gonna do with it? How about if you had… get ready… a whole year off? Did you ever dream of such a thing?
Well it may not be such a foreign concept. Well at least for those of us living in Eretz Yisrael. You guys in the diaspora should keep dreaming. This week’sTorah portion- in the diaspora- of Behar teaches us about the mitzva of shemitta in another 2 and half years. God willing Mashiach will be here and you will join us, but even if god forbid if he isn’t it will be a year off for all the farmers at least. So better start upping your Farmville game. But seriously imagine that. In the times of the Temple most people were involved in agriculture and for a whole year they didn’t work a bit. What did they do?
Well for those of you in suspense, we here in Israel that are a parsha ahead of you have the answer. It is in this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Bechukosai which in a regular non-leap year is read together with Behar. It begins with the mitzva of studying Torah.
Vayikra (26:3) Im Bechukosai teileichu- If you
will walk in my statues and you will observe my commandments and fulfill them
and I will give rain in tis time and the land will give its produce….
Rashi notes that walking in the statues cannot be a reference to the
fulfillment of the commandments as that is stated afterwards. Rather it refers
to the mitzva of laboring in Torah. What are Jews meant to be doing shemitta?
Laboring in Torah. Joining a yeshiva. A shiur. Finishing Shas. Writing a book
on a Torah subject. A few books, perhaps. The main thing is it should be
something of labor and it should be Torah.But the Torah portion is not talking about shemitta; those of you that actually open the book and read through the Torah portion, rather than trust the E-Mail rabbi, might protest. Ahhh but it does. You just have to read carefully.
See the end of the Torah portion is the Tochacha, the rebuke and admonition of the Jewish people and the terrifying punishments that will befall us if we don’t follow the mitzvos. There is a theme through all of them. It is the number 7.
The beginning of the rebuke numbers 7 sins and in exchange for that there will be 7 punishments. Rashi notes that they are a slippery slope and one leads to the other. This is how he enumerates them.
Rashi ibid (26:15) 1) He did not study, 2) he did not perform 3) he abhors others that performs 4) he hates the Torah scholars 5) he prevents others from performing commandments 6) he renounces the mitzvos 7) he renounces Hashem.
The parsha continues to the point where the Torah itself tells us that the problem is 7.
Vayikra (26:21) If you behave casually with
and refuse to heed Me then I shall lay a further blow upon you-seven like
your sins.
And just in case you didn’t get the point yet.
Vayikra (26:27) If despite this you will not
heed Me and you behave toward Me with casualness, I will behave toward you with
a fury of casualness; I will chastise you, even I 7 ways for your sins
Vayikra (26:34) Then the land will appease its
shemitta years during all the years of its desolation, while you are in the
land of your foes; … whatever it did not rest during your shemitta years when
you dwelled upon her.
His answer is revolutionary. He notes that the Torah seems to be mixing two things together and of course this is not coincidental. On one hand it tells us that the punishments will come because we are not toiling in Torah. On the other hand, it tells us that it is a result of the non-observance of the sabbatical year. What is the connection? The answer he says is that Hashem is giving us a year off for one purpose. It’s not to catch up on the housework, it’s not to go on that long, promised and delayed family vacation (or safari J), it’s not even to spend quality time on community projects. It’s to toil in Torah. It’s to immerse oneself entirely in the study of our holy works. And this is where the Jews that lived in Israel during the Temple period missed the boat.
See they certainly did not work on their fields. There was no need to. Hashem provided enough crops in year 6 to last them for three years. But rather than take that great bounty and realize that they have enough in the bank or storehouse to last them and go back to Kollel. They wasted their year. They woke up late, rolled out of bed, played some shuffleboard, maybe cracked a book or a Torah E-Mail that they had backlogged for a few years and thought they would get to one day when they had an extra hour or so to read through the entire thing besides the jokes on the bottom. But they didn’t toil. They didn’t sweat in it. It therefore never permeated them as it was meant to for the next 6 years. That’s called not observing the shemitta. That is called being casual with Hashem.
I remember when I was in yeshiva finishing off High School, I asked my Rosh Yeshiva why it was so important to go full time to Beit Midrash. Why couldn’t I just go part-time to yeshiva and then in the evening go to college or nights school, as my parents were hocking me to. I would probably never be a Rabbi anyways. Famous last words. I would probably just be a working baal habos- a layman. I would make a living and of course have a daily seder to study. What was wrong with that?
Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really that interested in going to college either. But to be honest it wasn’t because I was so interested in learning. College was just a pain in the neck of more boring secular studies and tests and exams and homework that I was pretty relieved to finally be done with. But regardless of my personal desires or lack of interest, I wanted the answer. Why was it so important? What was the real reason he was so opposed to it? What was a good reason that I could tell my parents?
His answer resonated with me then and it still does today. He told me that the only way that I would ever become that baalabos, that working/learning layman, that set himself a daily Torah class and session, was if I sat in Beis Midrash and toiled in Torah for a few years first. Otherwise, he said, it will never be a part of you. It will never be something that you feel you need to become who you are meant to. It will never be your water. It will never be your life.
What can I say? Me and my Rosh Yeshiva did not agree on much. I, in fact left (or was left from) the yeshiva not too long after. But those words and that idea sat with me then and it does until today. What is my life about? What is it that I long for? What do I want to do in my spare time or year. The answer is toil in Torah. Open up those sefarim I bought and buy that I hope to get to one day. Explore some of the deeper Torah thesis that always perocolate in my mind. Finish shas. Get a second semicha from the Israeli rabbanut – that has a pretty high standard. Go for Dayanut. The civil laws. This is what shemitta is all about. This is what a Jew is meant to have as his focus.
The truth is one doesn’t have to wait for shemitta. Hashem calls Shemitta his Shabbos. Each Shabbos is like a mini-shemitta. Particularly these long shabbatot. There is no work, there is no worry. It’s a time to establish a seder when you can reach a goal. A torah toiling goal. Shemmita isn’t a year off and Shabbos isn’t a day of the word Shabbos comes from the root Shuv- to return. It is a day to return to our essence. This period of Omer we read about the shemitta and Shabbos cycles. It is 7 shabbatot temimot. 7 complete Shabbosos. Complete, doesn’t meant that it isn’t lacking any days. It means that you have used your Shabboses to complete your entire week. You have refocused your week to revolve around that seder,- that return, that you have each Shabbos. That is how we count up to the giving of the Torah. And in that merit we should all celebrate that upcoming Shavuot holiday in the Temple rebuilt when we can once again begin and celebrate that cycle.
Have a inspirationally accomplished Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Di shversteh arbet iz arumtsugain laidik” The hardest work is to go idle.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q The national watershed
passes in Jerusalem at:
A. Mount Herzl
– Mount Ora
B. Armon
haNatziv – Temple Mount
C. Mount
Scopus – Mount of Olives
D. Ketef Hinom
– Romema
RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/9Dv39cjfC1k – New
Rebbe Shimon by MBD!!!
https://youtu.be/VD6-6G2HDqs
–Beauttiful
Kel Mistater Kretchnif Yiddish with Hebrew subtitles (thank god)
https://vimeo.com/124490496
- My
Uncle Mendy Z”l speaking at Torah Umesorah convention about a topic dear to his
heart-abuse..
https://vimeo.com/268582166- My
eulogy of him at his funeral…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS”
CONNECTION OF THE WEEK
Parshat Bechokosai– Ok, we’re getting closer to
Shavuot the day we got the Torah and the lomdus juices are really flowing! Does
everyone have their lomdus heads on today? Get ready for an incredible lomdushe
shtikel!
This
week at the conclusion of sefer Vayikra the Torah tells us about the mitzva of
Maaser Beheima- the tithing of one’s cattle.
Vayikra (27:32-33) And
the tithe of your cattle and flock.. the tenth shall be holy to Hashem… It
shall not be redeemed.
Now unlike other tithes that are given
to the Kohen and the Levi, this one is for the owner and his friends to eat with
one caveat of course. There’s always a catch. See the animal had to be brought
to Yerushalayim, shechted in the Beit Hamikdash, its blood and fats
burned on the altar and then it was eaten by the owners within the walls of
Yerushalayim. Our sages actually said that this was done three times a year 15
days before the pilgrimage holidays of Pesach Shavuot and Sukkot- Yes, so right
now! This was in order that there should be plenty of meat to go around for
everyone that would come up to Jerusalem for the holiday. Now imagine if a man
had a herd of a hundred or so sheep or cows. Think of all of the steaks and
shwarmas that he would be bringing up for everyone to eat in Yerushalayim. 1/10th
of his herd. Pretty awesome.
There is another mitzva in the parsha as
well that is a prohibition for someone that has an animal that he sanctified as
a korban/sacrifice to switch it out for another animal and the Torah tells us
Vayikra (27:10) And he shall not exchange it or
switch it, not a good for a bad or a bad for a good one. And if he switches it-
than it (the original animal) and
its exchanged one shall be holy.
So seemingly you lose two animals. In addition,
like any biblical commandment that you violate, the owner would receive lashes
for making this exchange. Now for a bit of lomdus. The Talmud records a
seemingly philosophical global dispute between Abaye and Rava in regarding this
law.
Temura (4b) Abaya says; anything that the Torah
tells you not to do and you violate it and do the act, the act is a valid act.
For if you would think that is not true than why would one get lashes. Rava
said it is not valid at all and the reason he receives lashes is because he
violated the word of the Torah.
So
their debate seemingly is if the exchange is a valid exchange. Abaya says the exchange
works and the proof is because if it wasn’t then why would he get lashes for exchanging
it if the exchange never went through. Rava on the other hand suggests the exchange
would not be valid, if not for the Torah telling us specifically that it is and
regardless he would get the lashes is for his violation of the Torah
prohibition to sell it. Got it so far?
Now
the Rambam seemingly does not rule like either of these opinions. He writes in
regards to the original law that we mentioned of tithing the animals that it is
forbidden to sell the animal and then he writes
Rambam Hilchot
Bechorot (6:5) And it seems to me that the one who sold the animal did not
accomplish anything. The purchaser does not acquire it and therefore the seller
does not receive lashes.
Now
this would seem like neither opinion. According to Abaya the sale should be
valid and according to Rava even if the sale is invalid he should receive
lashes for violating the commandment. So as we say in yeshiva- what’s pshat?
So
the Steipler explains quite lomdishly that one has to understand the
essence of the debate between Abaya and Rava. Abaya understands that when the
Torah prohibits something it is because it does not want the action to take
place. It doesn’t want the outcome. Therefore, if there is no outcome- if the
sale or exchange is not valid there would be no lashes.
Rava
on the other hand works under the premise that the Torah is not as much
concerned with the outcome but rather it does not want the person to violate
the commandment and preform the action. Therefore, it doesn’t make a difference
rather his action came to fruition or not, at the end of the day the man did
the prohibition and thus he is punished.
Now
here comes the chap. Rava only would maintain his position when the prohibition
is specifically on the action. For example, when the Torah tells us he should
not exchange the animal. If he exchanged, he has violated it regardless if it
is valid or not. By the sale of the animal on the other hand if you read the
verse carefully the Torah tells us “It shall not be redeemed”. The Torah
specifically tells us that it does not want the outcome. The prohibition is
linked to whether the animal was in fact redeemed or not. Therefore, in this
case where the sale was not vaild then both Abaya and Rava would agree that
there is not punishment, there are no lashes. Abaya because there was no sale
and Rava because the Torah here did not prohibit the sale, only the result of
the animal being sold, which never happened as it was not valid. And there you
have it!
Did
you get it all? If not wait till Shavuot night, the night when lomdus was
revealed, I’m sure you’ll get it then.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S
AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Division of the Land –Tribe of Shimon 1265 BC –
If I had to say who got the rawest deal of the 12 tribes I think Shimon would
get that prize. For the 2nd oldest of the tribes you’d figure he
would have some seniority and perhaps he would have. But because of his sin
with Yosef and his knee-jerk wrath in wiping out the city of Shechem, much to
his father’s displeasure albeit in response to his sister Dinah’s kidnapping.
Yaakov felt it was a “disproportionate reaction”, is the term I believe they
use. As well the fact that his tribe and its leader challenged Moshe in the
wilderness with Zimri and the Moabite/Midianite women, didn’t favour them too
much. He needed to be kept away from the rest of the Tribes so he was stuck
down in the South by the Negev within the tribe of Yehudah for
safe-keeping.
His portion included the
special city of Beer Sheva in the South, Tziglag which is a city
that King David later fled to, a place called Chatzar Susa- which is
very likely today where the ancient Mishnaic and Talmudic of Susiya gets
its name and is located. As well thy had a city called Rimon, which
might be where Mitzpe Rimon gets its name from although that magnificent
crater is further South then the border of Israel was at that time.
Now despite being stuck
out in the boondocks, our sages tell us that Shimon, got around. It seems they
went into chinuch- Jewish education. Thus they, like their brother Levi,
were spread out all over the 12 tribes and Land of Israel. From experience I
can tell you, working in Jewish education can take you all over the map. Take
it from the Rabbi who ended up in NY, NJ, Iowa, Virginia and Seattle. But this
was a fulfilment of the blessing of Yaakov to the tribe that he will divide
them amongst Yaakov and scatter them among Israel.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S REALLY TERRIBLE WORK JOKES OF
THE WEEK
Two
factory workers are talking to each other one day. The woman says, “I can
make the boss give me the day off.”
The
man replies, “Oh yeah? And how would you do that?”
The
woman says, “Just wait and see.”
She
then hangs upside down from the ceiling.
The
boss comes in and says, “What are you doing?”
The
woman replies, “I’m a light bulb.”
The
boss then says, “You’ve been working so much that you’ve gone crazy. I think
you need to take the day off.”
As
the woman leaves, the man starts to follow her and the boss says, “Where are
you going?”
The
man says, “I’m going home, too. I can’t work in the dark.”
I
have a lot of jokes about unemployed people but none of them work.
So
you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking for. There are 365
days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year in which you
already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. Since
you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving
only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which
counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available. With a 1 hour
lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for
work. You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20
days per year available for work. We are off 5 holidays per year, so your
available working time is down to 15 days. We generously give 14 day’s vacation
per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and I'll be darned if you
are going to take that day off!
I went for an interview for an office job today. The interviewer told me I'd start on $2,000 a month and then after 6 months I'd be on $2,500 a month.
I told them I'd start in 6 months.
I just lost my job as a psychic. I did not see that coming.
I worked very hard to get to where I
am in life. An unemployed university graduate.
Inspecting mirrors is a job I could
really see myself doing.
Sure I’m willing to work longer
hours at work. As long as they’re lunch hours
Then I worked in the woods as a
lumberjack, but I just couldn’t hack it, so they gave me the ax.
After that, I tried to be a tailor,
but I just wasn’t suited for it. Mainly because it was a so-so job.
Next, I tried working in a muffler
factory but that was exhausting.
I wanted to be a barber, but I just
couldn’t cut it.
Then I tried to be a chef–figured it
would add a little spice to my life but I just didn’t have the thyme.
I studied a long time to become a
doctor, but I didn’t have any patients.
I became a professional fisherman
but discovered that I couldn’t live on my net income.
Thought about becoming a witch, so I
tried that for a spell.
I’m aspirin’ to be a chemist.
I managed to get a good job working
for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining.
I got a job at a zoo feeding
giraffes but I was fired because I wasn’t up to it.
After many years of trying to find
steady work, I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no
future in it.
I applied for a job in Australia but
seems I don’t have the right koalifications.
I had a job at MinuteMaid orange
juice. I got fired because I couldn’t concentrate.
I used to be a postman until I got
the sack.
I worked at the bank as a teller for
a while…until I starting losing interest.
I wanted to be a baker,
really kneaded the dough.
I focused on being a photographer,
but nothing ever developed
An
employee is getting to know her new co-workers when the topic of her last job
comes up. One co-worker asks why she left that job.
"It was something my boss said," the woman replied.
"Why? What did he say?" the co-worker asked.
"You’re fired."
"It was something my boss said," the woman replied.
"Why? What did he say?" the co-worker asked.
"You’re fired."
************
Answer is D– This was a shot in the dark. I
really wasn’t sure where the watershed line is in Yerushalayim. For those
unfamiliar with the concept it is the middle of the har hamerkazi- the central
mountain range that runs through the country and where the water flows down on
both sides. I knew it flows near the old city and down King George and Yaffo
and somehow in the recesses of my brain I remembered it was Katef Hinnom. Os
having no clue I went with that as Romema is right off Yaffo by the entrance of
the city as well. Truth is it crosses Mt. Scopus as well as Armon Hanetiziv by
the tayelet as well, but those were the trick answers as the other choice was
wrong. So I got lucky and the score is Schwartz 22 and 6 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam
so far.
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