You''ll See When You Get There- Parshat Re'eh 2019/5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

August 30^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 47 30^th of Av 5779

Parshat Re’eh

You’’ll See When We Get There

“So where are we going next?” they want to know. “We’ll see…” is my extremely unhelpful, non-informative and pretty frustrating answer. “But what are we going to do there… see there… how long till we get there… is it going to be fun….???” We’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see…I’m not going to respond. I’m not going to give in. Children are certainly persistent, but they have never messed with Rabbi Schwartz. I’ve done this too many times and I find there really is no point in letting my tourists know what is next on our schedule or what I have planned for them. In fact, quite the opposite, or punkt fakert, not knowing what is next to come makes the day even more exciting, makes the experience of discovery even more fantastic and of course it’s fun to drive children crazy.

Now, the smart parents generally trust their tour guide and don’t try to figure out what’s next either. When their children turn to them, generally in frustration with their stubborn guide, and ask them what we will be doing today, they shrug their shoulders and are happy to be absolved of any nudgy, endless questions. Because as you know the answer to what we are doing next is not the final one… It will continue with “what is there… is it fun… how long will it take... what will we do after that…” and on and on and on…Yet there are some parents who their children seem to have trained very well to do their bidding and they will ask me on the side if they are smart in a hushed tone “No, but really… where are we going next…?” Guess what…? I’m still not telling… I’m sparing you. Trust me it’s for your own good.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I am giving you a surprise itinerary. We worked out the general idea of the things that we will be doing on your trip to Israel. You know it will have all of the 4 ingredients of your classic Rabbi Schwartz tour. There will be history, whether it’s Tanach, Mishna, Romans, Crusaders, Modern Israeli wars, some era to give you a feel of the long historical connection we have in this land of our ancestors. We will as well have some nature. It could be a hike, a trail, a overlook or farm something to give you an appreciation of the incredible beauty and nature of Hashem’s favorite country. Number 3) we will of course have some fun activities. It could be jeeping, rappelling, rafting down the Jordan, chocolate making, winery, camel, donkey or horseback riding. We got it all. And of course finally we will have good food. There are tour guides that might find you the hardest hikes in this country. My forte is that I know where the best mehadrin restaurants are. I find most of my clients appreciate it better that way.

So you definitely know already what we are generally doing. You drove me crazy to give you an itinerary. You just really never paid much attention to it. You forgot what it said. You just don’t know what is coming next. Listen to me. Trust your guide. Relish in the not-knowing. Bask in being able to tell your kids “I have no idea…, it’s not my job to know today. Bother the tour guide….” You are patur/ exempt from having to answer the children. That’s what you’re paying me the big bucks for. Don’t nudge me to tell you. First of all I probably won’t tell you. Second of all, you’re kids will be able to smell that you know what’s coming next and they will not leave you alone. And of course the most important reason not to know… Because it’s the way the Torah teaches us is best to appreciate something.

And here we have come to this week’s Torah portion. Although the truth is you don’t really need this week’s Torah portion to teach you that idea. You should know it by now.  There is one place we have been longing to get to for the past 40 years that we have been drayzichen arim in the wilderness for, and at least 3 books of the Torah have gone by telling us that we will come to it. Do you know what that place is called? Not telling you. But there are Cannanites and other people living there. Where will we go there? Again not telling you.  It shall remain nameless but its location has been pre-determined in our Divine itinerary. I’m just not telling you where it is. In the words of our Divine tour guide “It will be the place I will show you” . But, when will we get there..? You’ll see… What will it be like? You’ll see… Are we almost there? Maybe.. You’ll find out…

The truth is that all the way from the beginning when Hashem told Avraham to bring his son, Yitzchak, up as a sacrifice.

Take your son, your only son, the one that you love, Yizchak, to the place that I will show you and bring him up as an offering.

 Hashem could have made this much easier. He could’ve just as easily said ‘Bring Yitzchak to Yerushalayim to the temple mount and sacrifice him there.’ But He doesn’t. He doesn’t tell Avraham, which son right away. After-all he has two. He considers both of them his only son, he loves them both… OK, fine I’ll tell you. It’s Yitzchak. This is harder than pulling teeth out of Rabbi Schwartz when he has a bowl of chulent sitting in front of him. For some reason it seems from the get-go, Hashem likes secrets and surprises. He’s not telling us the name or location of what will be the most important place on the world.

You know we tour guides or Pro-Israel advocates (which should be one and the same thing, although bizarrely enough it’s not necessarily true) like to make a big deal of how the name Jerualem isn’t mentioned once in the Koran. The Muslims made it up. It’s a bubbe meihseh that was created for political reasons to put the caliphate of Jerusalem on par with Mecca and Medina. Something about a magical horse tied up on a ‘corner place” or “al aktza” (from the Hebrew word katzeh. Well guess what, tour guide and Israel advocate, Yerushalayim isn’t mentioned in the Chumash, at least the five books as the specific place of the Temple either. Just don’t tell the “squad” about this, OK. But why not?

We have a saying that a question is half an answer. Well, here’s another question. There is a mitzva in this week’s Torah portion of

Devarim (12:5) The place that Hashem your God will choose from all the tribes to place His name- Lishichno tidrashu u’va’asah shama- You shall seek out His resting place and you shall come there.

There is a mitzva to seek out the place of the Mikdash, our Temple. We are meant to discover it. Thus the Torah can’t tell us where it is. We have to find and discover it ourselves. Rashi notes on the command to bring Yitzchak up for the binding, that Hashem didn’t tell Avraham right away in order to make it dear and beloved to him. Every step there is anticipation. Every step there is longing, will I be there. What will it look like? How much longer…

For the same reason Rabbeinu Bachaya suggests Yerushalayim isn’t revealed. Everyone knew where the Akeyda took place. Everyone knew where the mountain in Jerusalem was, but Hashem hid from us that it was the place where the Beit Hamikdash would be built. He was tour guiding us. He wanted to keep trying to find the place. To long for it and ultimately be entirely awed when we get there. King David ultimately reveals the place, and then Hashem confirms it. We had arrived. And the joy and excitement was exactly what our Tour Guide had hoped for.

We enter the month of Elul this week. Our vacation is over. (Well actually, my vacation just begins…). Sefardim will begin getting up early next week and begin saying selichos before davening to prepare for the High Holidays. Even us Ashkenazim begin to recite the psalm 27 of L’Dovid  Hashem Ori after morning services when we blow the shofar. That Psalm concludes with the words and mandate that should be our focus this entire month. (And is also a great Diaspora Yeshiva Band song- that you will being to hum as soon as you read the next words…)

Lulay He’amanti li’ros b’tuv Hashem b’eretz ha’chayim- If I had not believed to look upon the goodness of Hashem in the land of the living!—

Kavey el Hashem- long for Hashem

Chazak v’ametz libecha- strengthen and make your heart courageous.

V’Kavey el Hashem-And long for Hashem.

Rav Charlap notes that it is longing for Hashem itself that connects us to Hashem. The more we long, the more we await to see His presence. The more we search Him out and seek His home in the “Land of the living”. The one place that is only true life. The Beis Hashem- the House of Hashem that Dovid Ha’Melech’s only request was to finally see and reside in. Then Kavey El Hashem. We will find ourselves longing even more for Hashem. We will be connected in that holiest of ways. We will be able to bring that holiness down to the Land of Israel and to the Beit Hamikdash. The longing is the glue. The can’t-wait-to-get-there, is what unites us with the shechina. Elul stands for Ani l’dodi v’dodi li- I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me. It is the month of cholas ahava- when we experience that love sickness for the Almighty. For those of you that took a tour with me this summer, you know how to anticipate something and how exciting it is when we get there. We are prepared and longing. For those of you that haven’t… I know you’ve been longing for the Beit Hamikdash. We are still in the 7 weeks of consolation from the destruction of our Temple that we mourned not three weeks ago. Tzion is also awaiting consolation. She is waiting for her inhabitants to seek her out. May this Elul see her deepest desires and ours realized.  

Have a magnificent Shabbos and a bleesed Rosh Chodesh Elul

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Dorten iz gut vu mir seinen nito.”- The place where we aren’t- seems good.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/ZQRtBwvk-1s    – Gorgeous Song by Leibowitz brothers arranged by Ari Goldwag Elokai full of heart

https://youtu.be/YeiCh4T82WI   – The one and olnly Pumpedisa with a monkey and Voltzwagon Bus new hit Modeh Ani  awesome!

https://youtu.be/Cr4Rk5pldkw   -Classic Zushe with this new hit. I’m not a Zushe fan, not my style music but for those of you that are check this out it’s as holy as it gets… Lyrics in english: "Until it shall be, that the flame can arise from its own accord".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV1CCVkK_OA   – Diaspora Yeshiva band Lulay He’amanti in honor of Elul sung by Ruach… Wow! This is a golden oldie… Do you know I used to work for Ruach…?

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q   A burial site for dogs was discovered in:
A) Gaza and Ashkelon
B) Gath (Gat) and Jaffa
C) Acre (Acco) and Haifa
D) Ashkelon and Jerusalem

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Re’eh– Being a lamdan pays off. Not only in the incredible insights that one uncovers by examining the text of the Torah critically and paying attention to the nuances of the commentaries. Sometimes it pays off in the additional reward one can achieve for doing the mitzvos, such as when you uncover an insight that can transform your perspective and appreciation of the service of Hashem that you are doing. That’s the real payoff.

In this week’s Torah portion the parsha begins with Moshe telling us about the blessing and curse of life and death and following the mitzvos and the consequences of not observing the Torah. The Torah uses a language that isn’t precise. Here, take a look.

Devarim (26:11-13) Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today. And the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods, which you did not know.

Note how when it describes the blessing it just says which you will ‘heed the mitzvos’. The curse on the other hands it says that you will not heed and ‘you will turn away from the way Hashem commanded us’.  As well, there is a seemingly inexplicable Rashi on the words ‘the blessing’- that says ‘on the condition that you will heed’. What is he adding that I wouldn’t have understood from the text itself?

The Kesef Nivchar explains quite brilliantly that there is a law that if one has good intentions to do a mitzva however it doesn’t work out for some reason, then Hashem considers it as if he has fulfilled the mitzva. He connects the machshava- the good intentions, with the action that hasn’t been fulfilled. However, this is only if he had the right intent. On the other hand, if someone plans to sin and it doesn’t work out for him, Hashem does not punish him. You are only held accountable for sins you commit. Not for actions that never took place.

With that idea he explains our verse and Rashi. The blessing one achieves if he merely heeds the commandment. Tishma’u- He heard it and plans to fulfill it. Rashi notes this is on the condition he is tishma’u- as long as he hears it and plans on fulfilling it. The action is not required to achieve the blessing merely the heeding is sufficient. On the other hand, if one does not heed the commandments that only will not bring him the curse. He has to ‘turn away from the path’. He actually has to do the sin or the action that is turning away for Hashem to be punished. The mere not heeding will not do you in.
So often we try to do something and we miss out on the mitzva. We feel bad. Don’t worry we still get reward. On the other hand sometimes we have thoughts that aren’t the greatest. We feel guilty about them. We feel down on ourselves for feeling that way. Don’t worry. Thoughts will not get you any curse. There is a saying that the Goyim seem to have gotten wrong. I will paraphrase it to make it correct. The road to Hell is not paved with bad intentions only bad actions. On the other hand the road to heaven is the one that is paved with good intentions. For those intentions are considered as if we fulfilled the commandments.

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

Shamgar Ben Anat the 3rd Shofet 1125 BC – We don’t know much about this elusive Shofet/ Judge/ leader. In fact all he gets is about three verses of face time. His entire “reign” was for one year. But it seems in that year he was able to repel many Philistine attempts.

He is perhaps most famous for his weapon of choice an ox goad or prod. In the good old days when a field was plowed by oxen then the farmer would stand behind the ox who would pull the plow with a yoke attached to its neck and the prod would keep the ox moving as it was a big stick that was pointy at the end that he would keep nudging him with. I’m not sure if there’s anywhere in Israel where you can see this process as we pretty much use tractors today. But in Kfar Kedem in Hoshaya where you can experience the Talmudic experience they show you the yokes and the process of ancient farming which is pretty cool!

The significance of this as his weapon of choice is two fold. The historians suggest that the Jews being under the rule of the Philistines were prohibited from sharpening weapons, thus this was all they had. We Jews were always good at making do with whatever we could get our hands on. Many of the wars during the pre-war State were used and fought with farm instruments the kibbutzim had to protect themselves against the Arabs. The ethical message of this weapon of the Judge was to send the message to the Jewish people that all of our troubles with our enemies were merely prods from Hashem to keep us on the straight and narrow when we were straying from the path of Torah and Mitzvos we were meant to remain on.

The navi is not clear what tribe he was from and where he ruled. However the Seder Dorot suggests he was a Kohen perhaps from the city of Anatot which in Mateh Binyamin right near Wadi Kelt and the Prat spring that’s a great water hike. It seems though from the next story of Devora and Sisera which took place that he lived in the North of Israel as it seems to connect the two stories. I guess one more connection one can make is that Israel had a supreme court judge Meir Shamgar in the 1980’s. His original name was Meir Sternberg, but under Ben Gurion’s advice took a more Biblical name. He certainly was no Shamgar Ben Anat, but hey it’s cool to have judges of Israel once again with biblical names. May we merit to have the same provide the same biblical leadership we long for.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE JOKES OF THE WEEK

1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION..."Just wait until your father gets home."

2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING...."You are going to get it when we get home!"

3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE..."What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don`t talk back to me!"

4. My Mother taught me LOGIC..."If you fall out off that swing and break your neck, your not going to the store with me."

5. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE..."If you don`t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

6. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD..."If you don`t pass your spelling test, you`ll never get a good job."

7. My Mother taught me ESP..."Put your sweater on; don`t you think I know when you`re cold?"

8. My Mother taught me HUMOR..."When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don`t come running to me."

9. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT..."If you don`t eat your vegetables, you`ll never grow up."

10. My Mother taught me about GENETICS..."You`re just like your father."

11.My Mother taught me about my ROOTS..."Do you think you were born in a barn?"

13.My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE..."When you get to be my age, you will understand."

14.And my all time favorite... JUSTICE..."One day you`ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....Then you`ll see what it`s like." 

How can you tell elephants love to travel ? They always pack their own trunk!

Why did the witch stay in a hotel?  She heard they had great broom service!

 Where do sharks go on vacation? Finland!

 Where do sheep go on vacation?The Baaa-hamas!

Where do hamsters go on vacation? Hamsterdam!

How do rabbits get to their holiday destination? By hare-plane!

What did the pig say on the beach? I’m bacon!

Where do cows go on vacation? Moo York!

What did the Pacific Ocean say to the Atlantic Ocean? Nothing, it just waved.

Yankel from Williamsburg puts up a sign that says "BOAT FOR SALE". Yoily, his friend says, "But Yankel you only own a house and a car". "Dat's right" Yankel responded "And dey are boat for sale"

Berel Greenblatt left the snowy city for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip in Atlanta and was planning to join him in Florida the next day. When Berel reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick e-mail. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, he did his best to type it in from memory.

Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly Rebbitzin whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving Rebbitzin checked her e-mail, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor dead. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

 Dearest Wife,
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Your Loving Husband 

P.S.: Sure is hot down here.

Izzy owned a small deli in Stamford Hill, in London. One day, a tax inspector knocked on his door and questioned him about his recent tax return. Issy had reported a net profit of $250.000 for the year and he wanted to know all about it. "It’s like this," said Issy. "I work like a maniac all year round and all of my family helps me out whenever they can. My deli is closed only five days a year. That’s how I made $250,000."
"It's not your income that bothers us," said the taxman. "It's the business travel deductions of $80,000 that worries us. You entered on the tax return that you and your wife made 28 business trips to Israel, Italy, Switzerland, France, the US, Hawaii, and the Caribbean Islands. What are all these business trips about?"
"Oh," said Izzy, smiling. "I forgot to tell you that we also deliver!"
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Answer is D–  OK this is two weeks in a row that I got a question wrong. I’m still pretty far ahead and I think I passed the point where I know I passed the exam as you only need a 65 score. But still it’s annoying to get questions wrong and this question is one that I had no clue for. Not only did I not have a clue but I googled the answer and couldn’t find it there either. See I knew that Ashkelon was one of the correct answers. First of all, it’s mentioned in two answers that’s usually a good sign that it is correct. As well, although I missed our tour of Ashkelon in our tour program, I remember reading about how the largest ancient dog cemetery is there. Now I didn’t remember anything about dogs in Jerusalem, and I figured that Gaza was a philistine city as was Ashkelon so that was probably the ancient custom there. Turns out I was wrong. How do I know? I posted it on my Tour Guide Whatsapp group and the consensus was that by the City of David there was indeed an ancient Persian period dog burial site that was found. Oh well… So the score is Schwartz 34 and 8 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.

Natural Heeling- Parshat Eikev 2019 /5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

August 23^rd 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 46 22^nd of Av 5779

Parshat Eikev

Natural Heeling

Yair is a friend of mine. But he’s a bit different than you and I. We live in the city or the suburbs. We have a house. We get our food from the supermarket or lately it seems more often than not at hotels for breakfast, falafel and pizza stores for lunch and some nice restaurants for dinner. Oyy the rough life of being a tour guide. We spend an inordinate amount of time on our phone and computer. We have children that see Dadddy do that and can’t wait till they grow up and do and have all that too. In fact, a few years ago I took my little 5 year old Tully along with me on Friday afternoon to Tzfat, and showed him all the sites. What most enthralled him though was all the free drinks and ice creams many of my frequent restaurants and kiosks were giving me and him as we passed by-in appreciation of the frequent customers that I’m there with. At the end of the day Tully warmed my heart when he turned to me and said “Daddy, I also want to be a tour guide like you”. After a few minutes though he began to ponder and turned to me with a more somber and concerned look and asked “Do I have to be fat to be a Tour guide…?” Oyy…Good question, my son… good question.

But anyways, back to Yair. Yair is different. He is not fat. In fact he is skinny. He does not live in a city, suburb or even a house. He lives in the forest. Yaar Baal Shem Tov to be precise. He is married with 5 kids. I believe that he might have a computer. His phone is definitely not anything too ‘smart’. He does have a nice piano though, out there in his small home-made shack in the woods. He also has a hand operated washing machine that he’s quite proud of having made. Food? Well, Yair and his lovely wife Tovi and their children are vegans. They only like to eat what’s natural. Unlike me who also likes natural though I define it as food that doesn’t bite me when I put it in my mouth, they only eat things that comes out of the ground. No milk or cheese either. “Just like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden” he tells me. He does have goats though, but that’s just because he like the sounds that they make. The water they have on good days comes in from a pipe that runs a few kilometers from a natural water source nearby. It gets clogged up, but they don’t need so much. “Vegans, don’t really sweat” he tells me. He does have solar panels that provide some electricity for their lights. He feels like he’s cheating a bit by doing this, and even points out to me that even the energy efficient LED bulbs he has attracts bugs, which natural fire wouldn’t- he claims. Although I remember getting bitten up by all the campfires I used to go to. But maybe because those mosquitos also wanted a taste of those hot dogs or s’mores that I had just eaten, that of course wouldn’t be found in Yair’s ‘natural’ lifestyle. Yet, Yair explains guiltily, that although he’s still cheating with that electricity, it’s because he’s originally a city boy, (raised in Telshe Stone) and his still in the process of weaning himself off of that as well. As I said Yair’s different than you and I.

Is this fair for his children? He asks me is my lifestyle, our lifestyle fair for ours. I visited him this past week and asked him if I could bring anything. He asked for two bags of ice cubes. It was after all 115 degrees outside. I can tell you, though I have never seen children so enthralled with ice cubes though in my life. It would’ve taken me buying my own children a brand new I-Phone with unlimited data and texting to get even half the excitement that filled Yair’s home. Ice cubes… I can tell you that Yair’s children (all but the oldest incidentally born ‘naturally’ in the forest) are some of the truly happiest children I have ever met. Each day they come home from school excited over the different activities that they do. Renovating their bedrooms with newer and prettier stones that they fine, carving out wood, making pottery art taking care of their goats, and running freely through the mountains of the Galilee with their pet dogs. When, their father comes home all of the children come running up to see him and greet him, excitedly showing him all they have done each day. My tourists that I brought with me to visit him, remarked how they only wished their children would look up for a minute from their computers to even nod at him when he walks into their room. So, his words echo in my mind, is our lifestyle truly being fair to our children? Fair to ourselves?

Don’t’ get worried. I’m not going vegan or moving out to a forest anytime soon. It would be hard to write this weekly E-Mail from there. But my visits to Yair never fail to inspire me. His incredible ability to see beyond the “norm” and to actually have the resolve to do something and be different to live and raise his family in what he calls an “authentic, natural lifestyle”. His love and connection to the Eretz Yisrael and how he doesn’t want to taint that with anything “made in China”, any South American beef, or anything to distract him and his appreciation of what the Torah describes in this week’s Torah portion repeatedly as the “good land”, is one of the most beautiful things I can only aspire to feel. I admire his and his wife’s determination to turn off all the noise, all the media and commercial manipulations, messages and alternative distractions and pursuits that I think we can all acknowledge dominate our existence. The noise is so loud, we can’t hear the sound that I hear at night at Yair’s den, of the earth and land and even of Hashem calling out to me anymore. Somehow “natural” seems tempting even to me.

The portion this week is called Eikev. It’s an interesting name for a Parshaas the word literally means heel. Yes, like on the bottom of your foot. The title for the portion comes from the first verse which uses the word in an entirely different way. The verse reads and

 And it shall be Eikev you will listen to my laws and you will observe and perform them and Hashem your God will guard for you the covenant and the kindness which he swore to your forefathers. And he will love you and bless you and multiply you…

The commentaries all struggle to understand the context of the word Eikev here. Some suggest it should be read in exchange for listening to my laws, others understand the word to mean as a result of following the laws and yet others see it as meaning that as soon as you follow my laws. Rashi however diverts from his usual way of interpreting the verse according to the simple meaning and reads the word as heel. And understands that Hashem is telling the people to be diligent about those simple mitzvahs that one might neglect and step on with his heel. I find it fascinating that our holy language of Hebrew this one word can mean all of the various interpretation. The question is what all the other translations of the word have to do with a heel.

The great Rebbe of Sassov suggests an interesting homiletical interpretation. He said if a person will listen to his heel than he will have these laws and he will guard and observe them. I’ve had long hard day hiking in the desert. And I know what my heels are saying to me. But the Rebbe was referring to something else entirely. The heel is the lowest and hardest part of the body. It has the thickest skin. It’s not easy to get through to the heel. But the heel is the part that most connects to the ground, to the earth. If we listen to the heel meaning try to understand what the most natural state of the world is asking from you to do, instead of just marching forward to wherever the rest of the body wants us to go. Than inevitably we will find that we would observe the mitzvos and bring the world to its fulfillment.

I thought about this idea a lot since visiting Yair. He’s listening to his heel. He only wants to connect to Hashem through the holy land of Israel whose cry to him he is listening to. The natural state of the world sings praise to Hashem. How often do we stop to hear that song? Do we let it touch and move our spirits? Are we treading on holy earth with heavy boots and shoes with our earphones plugged in our fingers texting and our minds online? Have we lost our connection to the beauty of Creation that is waiting for our composition, longing for the blessing that we are meant to bring as soon as we bring that song to its incredible climax? The Torah portion of Eikev is replete with this idea. The natural state of the Land and its blessing is dependent on the mitzvos that we do and the sanctification we bring to the land. The rains will fall or not fall based on our heeding our Eikev. We will win or lose our battles and challenges Eikev. Nachmanides notes that the heel is bent and curved. From the bottom it moves up. It is the natural circle of life and the Torah and Mitzva lifestyle in the land is what will allow the earth and blessing to flow.

Perhaps the most poignant idea that I heard about the Eikev, though is one I heard from Rav Moshe Shapiro. He suggested that generation before Mashiach comes is called the Ekvita D’Mashiach, the heels of Mashiach. For the generation before Mashiach may be the toughest and the thickest skinned and the hardest to penetrate and elicit and emotion, feeling or sensation from. The apathy will be overwhelming. Yet there is one thing that can get through to the heel. That he suggests is a little tickle. It doesn’t need any big booms or slaps. One just needs to tickle it with love and laughter and just watch that heel start to kick and jump. Now you know why there’s a joke in my weekly E-Mail J. We have finished our period of mourning for our Temple. We are in what our sages refer to as the 7 weeks of comfort and consoling. It’s the time for healing. It’s the time when we can get out and listen to our heels as we explore the beauty of the world that Hashem has given us. It’s the time when we can bring a smile and a hug to someone who needs it. All we need is that tickle. Mashiach is awaiting our heels.

Have a relaxing Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Besser a krummer fus aider a krumer kop.”- Better a crooked foot than a crooked mind.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/ZMqomaB3wvw   – Dovid Berg great song Poteach like the singer, the video and the words…

https://youtu.be/hMmfXAdZC1g   – Ki Nacham Tziyon by Gad- arrangements by my friend Yitz Berry! Beautiful song for the 7 weeks of consolation

https://youtu.be/tyejldoEINA  -New Maccabeats Kol Haneshama with camp Kaylie

https://youtu.be/QvMw_b25qfU    – Another Yitz Berry arrangement for Avi Illson SheYavo leibidg!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q   An artifact that distinctly characterizes the Chalcolithic culture:
A) Collared-rim jar (kankan sfat zavaron)
B) Butter churn
C) Axe for torturing
D) Sarcophagus

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Eikev– One of the greatest challenges of being raised as an observant Jew is that we take everything religious for granted. We do it by rote. It becomes uninspiring because it’s the same blessings, same prayers, same Torah day in and day out. Having a lomdushe streak to you though can help us overcome this challenge. A lamdan doesn’t take anything for grant. He appreciates all of the nuances and he thinks about the ideas that can be revealed and bring meaning to those words we recite. Let’s take a look at one.

This week we have the mitzva of v’achalta, v’savata, u’veirachta es Hashem elokecha- That we shall eat, be satisfied and then bless Hashem after our meal. To Bentch! In the blessing that we recite of Al Hamichiya- which is said after eating non-bread grain and fruits of Israel we say the words

U’vnei Yerushalayim ir hakodesh… v’nochal m’pirya v’nisboah m’tuva u’nivarechecha aleha b’kedusha u’v’taharah- And Yerushalayim, the holy city should be rebuilt and we shall eat from it’s fruits and be satiated with goodness and we shall bless on them with holiness and purity.

I’ll be honest I must have said this blessing millions of times and never really paid attention to the words I was saying. But it is perplexing since when do we need to recite blessings with holiness and purity. There’s no need to go to the Mikva before eating a croissant or a rugelach. What are these words referring to, asks the Brisker Rav. In addition, he points out there is a law that fruit trees are not permitted to be planted in Jerusalem (at least in the old city from the times of the Temple). So what does it mean that we shall eat from ‘its’ fruits?

So the Rav answers one question with the other, of course. There are fruits that need to be eaten with purity. They are the fruits of ma’aser sheni the second tithe, of one’s crops where the fruit are meant to be brought to Yerushalayim and eaten, b’taharah, in a state of purity. They are not fruits that were grown in Yerushalyim, but rather the fruits of the Jews from all over the country that would bring them throughout the year to our Holy city and eat them in the ultimate spiritual “State”.

Did you ever think when you were reciting this simple blessing after you noshed down some Kokosh cake or ate a beautiful cluster of grapes here that you were asking to fulfill the mitzva of eating them in Yerushalayim as your ma’aser. See how life changing a little bit of lomdus can be for you. Next time and hopefully every time you make this bracha you will have the inspiration of this fantastic idea, or any other one you may have or come up with as you recite them lomdushly.

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

Ehud Ben Geria the 2^nd Shofet 1205 BC – It’s hot in the summer here in Israel. You know where it’s the hottest? By the Yam Hamelach 400 meters below sea level. But you know what? It was that heat that led to the victory of the ancient Jews against the King of Moav after 18 years of persecution from our neighbors across the Jordan River. That’s something to share with your tourists in the heat!

After the death of Osniel the Jews worshipped idols and sinned, so Hashem sent big fat Eglon the King of Moav to attack them. The significance of him being fat of course was to send a message to the Jewish people that we had become fat and lazy in our ways of serving Hashem. He conquered the city of dates, which of course is Yericho as one can point out to our tourists still today how the sweetest dates in the world still come from this region. Ultimately the shofet of the tribe of Binyamin, named Ehud Ben Geira who was ambidextrous went to visit the King with offerings. Along the way he stopped off at Gilgal where the stones that had been carved out by Yehoshua as we passed through the Yarden were. Gilgal perhaps being the location of the monastery Beit Hujlah, right north of Yericho. Now how is he going to get the King? The answer the Torah tells us is that it was the summer. It was hot. The king was outside in his special locked shaded room. Ehud comes in. He passed through the security check point with his knife on his right thigh hidden. They never thought to check him there because they assumed he was a righty and it would be on his left side. He told the King he had an offering for him and a special message from Hashem. Eglon got up and Ehud-boom! Jammed the sword into his belly and his guts oozed all out. He locked the door behind him and went back to the crossings of the Yarden.

With all of Moav in confusion over the assassination of their king. Ehud used the opportunity to marshal his tribe and the tribes Ephraim both which bordered the Jordan Valley (todays West Bank) to attack and reclaim our crossings to the Yarden. For these tribes as well as Reuvein and Gad which are on the eastern side of the Jordan suffered the most from this Moabite/Jordanian persecution. They were successful in these battles and killed 10,000 Moabites and secured our borders. For the next 80 years it was nice and peaceful in Eretz Yisrael.

I like to share this story as we drive up Highway 90 with my tourists from the Dead Sea to Tiverya. We pass many of the sites and the crossings to Jordan today the Adam and Allenby Bridges. As well this is the site of the battles and incursions the Israel in the Eretz Hamirdafim- the land of the pursuers where Palestinian terrorists would sneak across the Jordan after the six day war in 1968- 1970 and attack Israeli soldiers and settlers there. Some things never change.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE FOOT JOKES OF THE WEEK

Why isn’t your nose 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot

Why couldn’t the two feet get along? Because they both thought they were right.

Who always goes to bed with his shoes on? A horse

How did the bubblegum cross the road? It was stuck to the bottom of the chicken’s foot.

What is the fastest way to go to the moon? Tickle the bottom of an elephant’s foot!

What type of hat does a leg wear? A knee cap.

What did one knee bone say to the other knee bone? “Let’s get out of this joint.”

What are a plumbers favourite type of shoes? Tap shoes

What kind of shoes does a plumber hate? Clogs

If athletes get athlete’s foot, what do terrorists get? Missile-toe.

What does a shoemaker use to repair shoes? Toe-nails

What is the foot capital of Canada? Toe-ron-toe (Toronto).

Did you hear the joke about the gym sock? You don’t want to. It stinks

Did you hear about the American podiatrist and the English chiropodist?  They were arch rivals.

Yankel had broken down on the side of the roah.  He flagged down a passing motorist and asked, 'Can you help me fix my car?' 'Sorry,' the motorist replied. 'I'm not a mechanic - I'm a podiatrist.' 
'Well', said Yankel 'can you give me a toe?'

When you are on good terms with your dermatologist, ask this question: "When you started your practice, did you start from scratch?"

Why did the podiatrist want to change careers? Because he always felt defeat.
Dr. Goldberg the podiatrist was sitting in his office holding his head, when the nurse came in she asked him what was wrong. He looked like he was having a rough day. He said “yeah I started this morning on the wrong foot!”

A man walks into Moshe’s shoe shop and tries on a pair of shoes.
"How do they feel?" asks Moshe.
"Well the left one feels a bit tight," replies the man.
Moshe looks down at the shoe on the man’s left foot and says, "Try it again, this time with the tongue out."
"Well, theyth sthill feelth a bith tighth."
.***********
Answer is A–  Hey, I got this one wrong! I confess 4200 BC is not my area of expertise… Particularly as it predates the Torah’s Creation story and age of the universe of 5779 years. So the Chalcoltihic or “copper” period which according to archeologists and scientists would predate Adam and Eve by about over a thousand years means either they got their dating wrong or they’re missing something in their factors. Regardless two of the answers I ruled out right away. Sacrophagus were Greek and Roman era way later, and even axes for torture would date to the bronze and iron era after. I went with the collar rimmed jugs because they seemed pretty ancient and I never heard or remembered anything about butter churns. I remember Avraham had butter he served to the angels in the Torah and assumed maybe it was a later invention. I was wrong. It seems butter has been around for a long time. Perhaps even a prehistoric time, as they found these churns in Beer Sheva and other Chalcolithic periods around Israel. So the score is Schwartz 34 and 7 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.