Cornered- Parshat Toldot 2019 /5780

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

November 29^th  19 -Volume 10 Issue 6 1^st Kislev 5780

Parshat Toldos

Cornered

Eran- that's an Israeli name by the way, sat up all night. He'd had enough already. He looked back and questioned the past 3 years of his life and all he had been through. He was a vintner, not exactly like the great Torah commentator Rashi a thousand years ago. He wouldn't exactly call himself religious even, although he believed in God. But he always felt connected to this oldest of beverages. The main drink of our ancestors and the one that is used for all of our rituals. He felt it a privilege to be able live in the Land of our forefathers and he wanted to make wine just like they did. In the 90's already the Galil and Golan areas and even Jerusalem and the Hebron hills were producing grapes and wine on the same hills and valleys that our ancestors did 3000 years ago. There was one frontier left. A place where no one dreamed of moving to and making it flourish again it was the unclaimed last bastion of ancient Jewish life that was still unpopulated and barren and empty. Welcome to the Negev.

One of the amazing things about Israel is that we have every type of terrain in this tiny little country of ours. We have cities and metropolises. We have beaches, hills, valleys, streams, and lakes. We have volcanoes, we have snowcapped mountains and we have the Dead Sea. And of course we have the largest part of our country almost 60% is Negev, dry rocky desert. Much of the Negev may not even be part of the original biblical borders of Israel although there were certainly Jewish life there. Our forefather Avraham lived in the Negev for a period of time, the northern part was within the borders of the tribes of Yehudah and Shimon and in the times of Shlomo Hamelech the Jewish extended all the way down to Eilat. Even in the second Temple the Chasmonaim Kings expanded into this Southern territory of Israel. Yet for thousands of years this region remained empty and barren. Bedouins, spice traders made their way through the Spice trails here but there wasn't much Jewish life back here. Eran wanted that to change.

His inspiration began when he saw a report of an archeological dig that discovered ancient wine making presses and production that took place in the area thousands of years ago. Wow, he thought, wouldn't it be amazing to once again plant and produce wine in the same land. He did some geological surveys and discovered that the incredible dry and cool climate, the elevation and the earth would in fact be ideal to grow grapes. The government as well, at the time, were looking to expand Jewish life in the Negev and he availed himself of the subsidies and grants to buy land and begin the process of producing the first wines grown in the Negev desert. But as our sages tell us Eretz Yisrael is niknis bi'yisurim- it is only acquired through painful tribulations. Nothing good comes easy certainly not the best place in the world, Hashem's chosen Land.

Government bureaucracy in Israel is certainly legendary combining the ineffectiveness of its early socialist roots, the always I'm-smarter-than-you and don’t- tell-me- how-it's-supposed-to-be-done stiff neckedness of our wonderful nation, and the general unhelpfulness of the lazy middle eastern culture into one big package of pain in the neck frustration of getting anything done in this country that only the truly determined can survive. Once he got through all of that, he labored, planted and finally produced his first crop of grapes only to find a herd of camels eating them all up. He chased them away, but planted again, but once again he found the camels back again. He put up fences and perimeters. Nothing was working until he realized that the local Bedouins were the ones causing this damage. So night after night he and his wife took shift guarding their crops.

One night he caught a group of the Bedouins getting ready to do damage and steal his poles he confronted them. Unabashedly they informed that this was their land and he should leave. He showed them his titles and government permits. They were about as interested in that as I am in the green garnish on a platter of New York Deli cold cuts at a bar mitzva. (I kind of miss those-shnitzel and rice can only take you so far). They told him that the land was theirs. They were there first. He should leave. When he went to the local police, they apologetically informed him that there was nothing they could do. So he went back and guarded his stuff. Night after night he would chase them away, but somehow they kept managing to get in. After a bit of research, he realized that he had planted himself on that ancient spice trail, that was today being used as a modern day drug trafficking trail from Egypt up into Israel. The Bedouins were not going away.

On this night a group of three Bedouins pulled up to his farm and told him that they could solve all of his problems, they would offer protection of his fields and grapes. He would be able to do what he wanted, although ask for is for 3000 shekels a month for their "services" and he would be good to go. A lesser person at this point might have just caved and paid it out writing it off as your traditional Israeli "bakshish", "protektzia", "grease the squeaky wheel" operating expenses that traditionally make things happen in this neck of the woods, although from what I understand these days it's cigars and champagne that sometimes get our Prime Ministers to work on your behalf… But Eran was not someone that was going to cave. His heart and soul were in this land and he wasn't going to pay another blue shekel these crooks. He sent them off and for the first time since he started this process he turned to Hashem and he cried and he prayed.

The Torah portion this week tells us an incredible story about the first of those special type of prayers that Eran offered. The parsha tells us that Yitzchak and Rivka after they had been married for 10 years and didn't have any children realized that she was barren. Rashi notes that unlike his father Avraham and even his son Yaakov, he was unable to take another wife or maidservant to marry him and produce children because since he was brought up a sacrifice by the akeida, he was sanctified and couldn't have a maidservant wife. So Rashi tells us that he went into one corner and prayed and Rivka went into the other corner and prayed.

There are a few puzzling things about these Rashi's. Did Yitzchak and Rivkah not pray for the entire 10 years that they would have children. Wouldn't anyone pray once they got married to have kids? Rashi as well seems to note that it was because he couldn't take another wife that they both went to pray. Really?! Is that what it took? And why does Rashi tell us they prayed in the corner? Who cares if they davened in their shul, in their kitchen, living room, study or in Uman? What does this make a difference?

I heard an incredible insight explaining a similar story in the Talmud in Ketuvot (62:). It tells us that the Rebbi Yehudah Hanasi married his son off to the daughter of Rebbi Yosi Ben Zimra. They got married and then he went off to study for 12 years as it seems was the agreement and custom back then. Lock in the marriage when they're young and they'll finish the deal after the learns a bit. When he came back they tried to have children and realized she was infertile. So the Talmud tells us that the two rabbis discussed the options. He couldn't take another wife because then it would look bad that he kept her waiting for 12 years like this. He couldn't take another wife because then people would shame her and say she is only his mistress. So therefore there is no option. So they decided to pray and she had children. Once again this is a very strange story. Why do they have to go through all the options first? Did not the great Rebbi and Rebbi Yosi not understand what seemingly every one of us does; that we should daven.

The answer is that there is prayer and then there is prayer. As long as one feels that there are other options on the table, their prayers will not reach the ultimate sincerity. They won't hit home the way they are meant to. For them really to accomplish the maximum, that they are meant to one has to feel that they have nowhere else to turn. They are in a corner. There's no right, there's no left. Their back is against the wall. That was the reason they eliminated all other options before their prayer. That is why Yitzchak and Rivkahs prayer after 10 years were the most heartfelt when they realized he couldn't take another wife. That's why it tells us they davened in the corner. And that was the prayer of Eran that fateful night changing night.

The next morning Eran's phone rang. It was an old buddy of his from the winery in the North and he was calling to ask him how he was doing. When he shared with him his plight, his friend revealed that the real reason he was calling was because he had a met a group of other families that wanted to join him in the Negev and also open up wineries and plant grapes. They didn't know how to work through the beuracracy and they wanted him to help them. They would pay him for his efforts and they would work together to build a stronghold there. Interestingly enough one of these friends had a buddy in the ministry of agriculture and they paid a visit to the troublesome Bedouin village. The friend was actually an inspector in charge of livestock issues. He walked into the village lights ablazing and demanded to see the immunization forms for the hundreds of sheep and goats they were raising, which of course they never had. He then informed them that by law he was obligated to kill all of the sheep as they pose an environmental threat. As he picked up his phone to make his call the Bedouins started pleading with him. He offered them a onetime chance that he would not report them and call down the cattle liquidation squads if they insure that the fields and crops of Eran and for that matter all the new farms that were planting would stay safe. They of course immediately agreed. The rest is history.

I sat there this week looking out at this lush green acres and acres long oasis in the desert sipping the Chenin blanc Eran poured for me. There are about 4 or five other vineyards in the area all of which are producing the finest and most delicious wines that haven't been produced here for millennia. He still does not wear a Kippa, although his wines are mehadrin min hamehadrin best tier Kosher. He tells me that the local Rabbi tells him that he is a tzadik when he comes every so often to put on teffilin. But he says that of one thing he has no doubt. Hashem answers our prayers when they are heartfelt. We have a father in heaven that is waiting for us to turn our hearts to Him and understand that besides Him there are no other options. I raised my glass and thought about our return here to Eretz Yisrael. It is not enough. that we have a home, a refuge, a place to settle a country even to shine out the light to the world from. We need our Father back here as well. He hasn't yet sent Mashiach perhaps because we still feel we have other options. Our backs are not yet to the wall. We're not in the corner. We have entered the month of Kislev. It is a month of miracles. It is the darkest Shabbos of the year this week and it is in that dark corner, in that darkest of months that the light of miracles and of the dedication of the Temple can break through once again. May we merit to have our millennia of prayers for that day finally answered.

Have festive Shabbos and a miraculous Rosh Chodesh Kislev,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Besser alter vein aider alter koiches " - Besser alter vein aider alter koiches.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/5RNoy6i02Cg  – Check out wine growing in the Negev

https://youtu.be/og74Y4ak-Bc  –Beuatiful song Tefilas Chasan snag by Simcha Jacoby the composer at his own chasuna..

https://youtu.be/zDX6La0Iq_4   - Birkas habanim for Yitzchaks blessing this week by Ohad live!

https://youtu.be/G1wzuNozYPg - Rosh Chodesh Kislev song by Eli Marcus

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

3) A stream that flows into the Jordan River:

A)    Taninim

B)    Tirza

C)    HaBesor

D)    Alexander

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

U'Lovdo B'chol levavchem – Tefilla/ Prayer- In the Shema paryer we recite the verse that we are obligated to serve Hashem with all of our hearts, our sages derived that the service of the heart that we are obligated in is the mitzva of prayer. This is a biblical commandment. Now as we all know we Jews have a mitzva to pray three times a day. Those prayers however are not the biblical obligation. In fact they were only established a mere 2000 years ago when the Temple was destroyed. They are rabbinic in nature, they were established in place of the sacrifies that took place in the Temple. So what is biblical prayer. Maimonides defines this obligation as a daily obligation where one thanks Hashem, asks and requests their needs, and praises Hashem for the gifts He has given.  As a result of this obligation not being dependent on a specific time frame, it is a biblical obligation on men and women to pray. Now even the Ramban /Nachmanides who disagrees with the Rambam and understands that daily prayer is not biblical in nature agrees that when is in a situation when they feel that they need something there is a biblical commandment to turn to Hashem and ask for it.

Prayer not only can be offered in whatever language one wishes, but it is in fact preferable to daven to Hashem in the language you understand rather than just reading words out of a siddur that one doesn't understand. Hebrew is of course our holy tongue and the words that our Rabbis established for the prayers that we recite certainly have extra depth and meaning and even power to incorporate all the thoughts and feelings that we need to have them received. It is worthwhile to use a siddur and learn those prayers, however one should not use their davening time to practice their Hebrew reading skills. Talk to Hashem, he's waiting for your conversation. As well if one does not have time to pray the entire prayer, something came up, they're sick, whatever… one should not just give up. Talk to Hashem it's a mitzva. A biblical one. As well if you have to shorten your prayer, no need to feel bad. You have fulfilled a mitzva by merely talking to your Father in heaven. I think that this concept is such a critical one in understanding the essence of what our biblical obligation is versus our Rabbinic obligation. Don't get me wrong I think that we should daven three times a day. We are obligated to fulfill our Rabbinic mitzvos as well. But they don't define or take away from the most important mitzva and the essence of the value of our biblical obligation.

Now if one feels that he or she has certain needs or are in a bind more than once a day, it would seem that we have an obligation to ask Hashem each time. That's a good thing, by the way. Not only are we meant to understand that no situation is hopeless. There's always a heavenly door that we can knock on. But we get a mitzva and reward for knocking on that door. There is no prayer as well that is ever turned away. Sometimes the answer that we may receive is not the one that we think we are looking for. But Hashem knows what's best for us. It is always the right answer.

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

Yiftach HaGiladi 982 BC –Now unfortunately many of the stories of Tanach took place in areas that I cannot take people to and show them to. See we have two tribes Reuvein and Gad that lived on the other side of the eastern side of Jordan River, which today is being "occupied" by Jordan. However as we drive along  Highway 90 from the Dead Sea up to Tiverya through the Jordan Valley it is the perfect place to tell the incredible story of one of the stranger of Jewish judges; Yiftach

Our sages tell us that Yiftach in his generation is like Shmuel was in his generation. Shmuel was a great man and scholar, Yiftach was pretty much not as we shall see. But it is a lesson for us to no neccesarily look back and say none of our leaders and sages are as great as the generation before. There are no Chafetz Chayims Gaon of Vilnas or even Reb Moshe Feinstien. Every generation will have the leader that they deserve and need to respect them as much as those in Shmuel's generation respected him.

Who was Yiftach? He was the son of the "mistress" of Gilad who basically chased him out their home so he would not inherit with them. He went off and hooked up with some "empty" people, he words of the Tanach, or losers as certain presidents of the United States might call them. He settled in a land ironically called Tov- good. Some suggest that this was what they called the area outside of Israel as it was not obligated in tithes. The Talmud Yerushalmi seems to say it might have been the city of Susita is on the eastern side of the Kinneret in the lower Golan Heights. Although the brothers chased him away, divine irony always wins and in the end they came running back to him when they were under attack and being persecuted for 18 years by those Amonite marauders that would attack them from Jordan. Amon, by the way is near and where the city of Amman the capital of Jordan today is named after.  It took the Jews getting rid of their idols first for Hashem to give them their salvation. Interestingly enough their cries and prayers for salvation were not enough. Hashem wanted their repentance. But ultimately when they did get rid of them all Hashem gave them the idea to approach Yiftach for help.

We'll pick up next week with the end of the story.

  

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S JEWISH WINE JOKES  OF THE WEEK

A guy came to a rabbi, and said “please save my marriage.”

The rabbi asked what happened? And the man said: “I was honest.

“I was out for a drink with the wife last night. I finished two bottles of wine. And I said, ‘I love you.’

“‘She asked me, ‘Is that you talking, or the wine talking?’

“I said, ‘It's me........I'm talking to the wine!’

 Berel was the town shikkur/drunk. Once he got on a bus one day and sat down next to a priest.

The drunk stank of wine, his shirt was stained, his face was all red, and he had a half-empty bottle of wine sticking out of his pocket.

He opened his newspaper and started reading. A couple of minutes later, he asked the priest, "Father, what causes arthritis?"

The priest replied, "Mister, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, and contempt for your fellow man."

"Imagine that," the Berel the drunk muttered. He returned to reading his paper.

The priest, thinking about what he had said, turned to the man and apologised. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"

"I don't have arthritis, Father," said Berel, "but I just read in the paper that the Pope does."

  

What did the grape say when it was crushed? Nothing, it just let out a little wine.

It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full. There's clearly room for more wine.

Every box of raisins is a tragic tale of grapes that could have been wine.

The secret of enjoying a good bottle of wine:

1. Open the bottle to allow it to breathe.
2. If it doesn't look like it's breathing, give it mouth-to-mouth.

  

A priest was driving down the road one day when got stopped by a cop.

The cop smelled alcohol on the priest's breath and saw an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He said to the priest, "Father, have you been drinking?"

The priest replied, "Only water, officer."

The cop then asked him, "Then why can I smell wine?"

The priest looked at the bottle and said, "Good Lord! He's done it again."

 "

The Jewish Chronicle had heard that Benjy was coming up to his 108th birthday so they sent one of their reporters to interview him.
"How do you account for your longevity?" asked the reporter.
"You could say that I am a health nut," Benjy answered. "I have never smoked or drunk alcohol, I am always in bed by ten o'clock, I’ve been going to Israeli dance classes since I was a teenager and I've always walked three miles a day, even in rain or snow."
"But," said the reporter, "my uncle Shlomo followed exactly the same routine and he died when he was 70. So how come it didn't work for him?"
"All I can say," replied Benjy, "is that he didn't keep it up long enough." 

The drunken wino was stumbling down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot in the gutter. A cop pulled up and said, "I've got to take you in, sir. You're obviously drunk" The wasted wino asked, "Ociffer, are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?" "Yeah, buddy, I'm sure," said the copper. "Let's go.". Obviously relieved, the wino said "That's a relief - I thought I was a cripple."

There's nothing to whine about with these wine jokes - they're grape! In fact, they're di-vine; a barrel of laughs, you might say!

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Answer is B–  Got this one right too… I very easily eliminated nachal taninim and alexander both of which I knew are know the coastline near each other. Alexander they cleaned up and has great turtles over there and Taninim as well has a lake I've taken tourists too fishing I believe. Besor I wasn't sure about, but I knew that Tirtza is in the Shomron and so assumed it flowed down to the Jordan Valley. In fact it is the biggest stream in the Shomron area. Basor turns out is by Obdat near Midbar Tzin where I just was yesterday. And that flows down through Gaza to the Mediteranean. So I guessed right Tirtza is the right answer putting me ahead of the game with the score being Schwartz 2 and 1 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam.

Wake Up!- Parshat Chayei Sarah 2019 / 5780

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

November 22^nd  2019 -Volume 10 Issue 5 24^th Cheshvan 5780

Parshat Chayei Sarah

Wake Up!

We've all fallen asleep in class. It happens. I could be a late night studying or partying depending on your predilection or the yeshiva you attended. It could be in that subject or with that teacher or rebbe that just seemed to drone on and on in that slowww….monoooo….toooone… voiiiiccee…that just brings down those eyelids like a ton of bricks. It happens to the best of us. I would even say it's part of the process of learning. 

I remember reading once about a great Rabbi who used to tie his payos/ (sidelocks) to the ceiling in order to keep himself from falling asleep. Every time his head drooped he would get yanked up. Ouch! I was inspired by the story because I told myself Wow! See even that great Rabbi used to fall asleep in class. I had a Rebbi once that wanted to teach us that inspiring lesson in a 'hands-on' way. His hands on my payos when I was sleeping in his class. That was the first time I cut my payos short enough that he couldn't grab them…Ahh.. the good old days of Jewish education, when the Rebbeim cared enough about you to beat you… I'm just waxing nostalgic…sorry…

On the other hand a good monotone teacher or Rebbe can be incredibly helpful I learned. See, there was one period in time when I was having a hard time falling asleep. For weeks I was just tossing and turning. It took some time until I found the perfect solution. I put on a tape (another remnant of my nostalgic youth; my young readers you can google cassette tape to see what that is) of my mashgiach's weekly class and within 3 minutes, by the time he said the "in this week's Torah portion it says…." Zzzzzzzz…. I was out cold. It worked so well I was even scared to keep his tapes in my car for fear that I might put it in by mistake and fall asleep at the wheel. The worst was when I was giving a class myself once to a group of students and I quoted something this Mashgiach had said to me and by mistake I called him Rabbi Melatonin, instead of Rabbi Miller. Ouch! They never let me live that one down.

As a Rabbi myself for many years, I sympathize with those that fall asleep during my sermons. Hey, If I wasn't up here speaking I would probably be dozing off myself. Or in the Kiddush club…. shhhhh. I really don't have a problem with it. I mean sometimes the snoring can be a problem, but I'm usually loud enough to overcome that. I even see it as a challenge. Can I make my sermons entertaining enough, interesting enough and when all else fails loud enough to keep that guy in the back seat awake? I do a lot of interactive back and forth questions to the crowd to keep them engaged. I walk around up and down and use hand motions to keep their eyes moving. I even jump up and down and bang on the shtender to express myself, of course, just so his eyes don't close. When all else fails, a good joke that has the whole shul laughing will usually wake him up as he turns to the guy next to him and asks what the joke was. You've been that guy too, don't deny it.

Well don't feel so bad. This is not a new problem. As Shlomo HaMelech says "There is nothing new under the sun" In fact, the Midrash tells us that no less of a teacher than the great Rabbi Akiva had a problem with his students falling asleep in class.

Bereshit Rabbah (58:6) “Rabbi Akiva was sitting and preaching and the public was falling asleep. He wanted to wake them up. He said, ‘What enabled Esther to rule over 127 provinces? It was the fact that Esther was a descendant of Sarah, who lived for 127 years that enabled her to rule over 127 provinces.”

Hey, if they were falling asleep in the class of Rabbi Akiva, then you can fall asleep anywhere, I guess. Now I'm not sure if Rabbi Akiva's riddle would have woken me up. A good joke, a bang on the bima or a tweak on my payos or ears were challenging enough to wake me out of a good shluf… But I guess his students were a little more inspired, or maybe Rabbi Akiva was just a bit more interesting or intimidating to sleep in front of.

But still I imagine if Rabbi Akiva thought this would wake them up, it might be something to keep in my arsenal to use one of these days. What is the connection between Sarah and Esther? Is he merely pointing out the interesting "coincidence" of the 127 connection or is there perhaps some deeper connection? Something that might inspire them to wake up in shiur.

Now the truth is there are actually quite a few similarities between Esther and Sarah (who's death and lifespan is the beginning of this week's Torah portion if you were wondering what the connection is). Sarah actually means princes as Rashi tells us, she was originally called Sarai.

Rashi (17:15) you shall not call her name Sarai: which means “my princess,” for me, but not for others. But Sarah, in an unqualified sense, shall be her name, that she will be a princess over all.

So both of them are connected to an expanded royalty. Both were actually taken against their will to the house of the King. Sarah by Pharaoh and Esther to Achashverosh. In both cases they don’t represent their true selves. Sarah says she is Avraham's sister and Esther doesn't reveal her Jewish identity.  As well they are each praised for their beauty. Avraham says to Sarah “Now I know that you are a beautiful woman”. Esther is “Beautiful and fair to look at”. Both as well seem to have a stronger wisdom than the men in their lives. Avraham is told “everything that Sarah tells you, listen to her voice”. And Mordechai “did everything which Esther had commanded him”.  Sarah is of course the mother of all Jews giving birth to the first Jewish child in Israel and who never leaves the Holy Land. Interestingly enough, Esther's son with Achashveirosh Darius ultimately becomes the conduit to allow the Jews to return after our exile and rebuild the second Temple in the return to Zion.

So there's a lot of connection between these two incredible women. If anyone is falling asleep at your Shabbos table while you are reading this perhaps challenge them to come up with more. Why did Rabbi Akiva choose the 127 countries connection and the years of Sarah?

The Shemen Hatov offers an incredible insight he notes that in the itemized description of Sarah's years Rashi notes that it says "one hundred years and twenty years and seven years were the years of Sarah". Now although the Torah is not Misphpacha magazine which is worried about my always extended "word count" for my columns, the Torah doesn't use extra words and could've easily written one hundred twenty-seven years. Rashi notes that all of them were equal for good. She was free of sin like one who is twenty and hasn't reached the age of punishment and was a pretty as 7-year-old girl. What does that mean that they were all equal for good. So unlike the way that most of us think of time and our lives as a continuum, we believe that each day Hashem is mechadesh b'tuvo b'chol yom tamid- Hashem renews the world each day. Each day is a new fresh creation. Each day has a new purpose and is a new beginning. Our job is to maximize each day individually and connect it to its heavenly purpose. Hashem is revealed in time, in space and through each of us when we elevate each day with our actions and through overcoming the challenges that He sends to us each day.

Each one of Sarah's days were maximized. When she died at 127 it wasn't just an accumulation of over a century of service. Her accomplishments that made her beautiful when she was a child, her grace, her sweetness reflected the true inner beauty that Hashem gave her to shine to the world. It was the foundation that led to the challenges that beauty could bring as she moved into her adolecesent and more mature years and she overcame those as well without any sin. When she died each one of those days and challenges were all there with her leading each day to be another and another day to be the incredible mountain of holiness that Hashem each day built anew upon. She brought them all together.

Esther who ruled over the world and who's reign ultimately led to the building of the Temple as well merited to rule over 127 countries because like her ancestor she was a queen. She had that ability to unify all the different components in this world under one Kingship- the kingship of the Melech Hakavod- the King of all glory, which of course in gematria is 127.  Their lives were that of  zeh keli v'anvehu- This is my God and I will glorify  Him- as well gematria 127. Their beauty, their challnges, their rise to royalty reflected that inner spark that each day and each part of their lives was always connected to shamayim.

Rabbi Akiva lived in one of the darkest periods. The period the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash and our exile and the ultimate devastating defeat of the Bar Kochva revolt. It was the Dark ages of Jewish history and we've had plenty of them. One living in that period just wants to roll over and go back to bed. It's understandable. Rabbi Akiva needed to wake them up, so he tells them about Esther and Sarah. He tells them how this is not a long dark period, rather this is another new day that Hashem has created with its specific challenge for today. That is the way that the Kingship of Hashem will be revealed today, he told them. That is the way that we can once again return to our Beit Hamikdash. That we can see the Melech Hakavod. But for that you have to wake up. You have to make the most of the day. It's just one day. But it's today. That was what our Matriarch taught us. That's what our Queen dictated to us. May we see the day when Hashem's throne is once again returned to His palace.

Have a royal Shabbos and a miraculous Rosh Chodesh Kislev,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Shlof gicher, men darf di kishn" - Sleep faster, we need the pillows.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/ForS09KA29o   – In memory of the Kedoshei Har Nof and my friend Aryeh Kupinsky My composition Avinu Malkeinu

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/rivkah –Another Rabbi Schwartz compostion Rivkah Achoseinu composed last year in honor of my sister Rivky's wedding from this week's Torah portion

https://youtu.be/KxnqgaJAvPE  - Gad and Benny Elbaz Shmor Sheirit Yisrael with children honoring holocaust survivors

https://youtu.be/2xX6QQAAfDo  – Itzik Orlev beautiful video and song Lo Nishbar

https://youtu.be/BVEc-bV9Dxk – And of course Shabbos Chevron is not complete without Dedi's Chevron

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

2) A rabbi associated with the restoration of Tiberias:

A)    Chaim Abulafia

B)    Haim Farhi

C)    Haim Ben Attar

D)    Shimon ben Shetach

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Mipnei Seiva Takum Vhadarta Pnei Zaken'- Honoring the elderly- The Mitzva quoted above is not until Kedoshim (32:19) however in this week's Torah portion we are introduced to the first elderly person. Huh? How's that possible Avraham lives almost 2000 years from creation weren't there old people before him? Our sages tell us that there weren't. In fact this the first time that the Torah tells us that someone got old.

Bava Metzia (87.) V'Avraham Zakein u'Ba Bayamim- “Until Avraham there were no signs of old age. Whoever wished to speak to Avraham would [often] speak to Yitzchak, and one who wished to speak to Yitzchak would [often] speak to Avraham. Thereupon Avraham prayed for mercy, and old age came into existence”

So if you have any problems with the signs of aging you now know who to blame for it all…

But looking old is more than just a way of finding the right person to talk to. The commentaries explain that Avraham, as in everything that he did, appreciated that there is a mitzva to honor the elderly and he understood that it would only be possible if there was a visible difference, a nice white beard, wrinkles of wisdom, and perhaps an even receding hairline.

The Chinuch explains that the idea behind the mitzva is that Judaism recognizes that the function of this world is to accumulate wisdom and understanding and one that has seen many years and experiences in life is worthy of being shown respect in order that the world appreciates the value that we place upon that. This is a truly fantastic idea if you think about it. Most of the world when asked why honor the elderly might tell you because they are infirm, weak and you are younger and stronger than they are. But the Torah tells us just the opposite. The mitzva to honor the elderly-seyva- in Hebrew is connected to the mitzva to honor the zakein- the elders which are not old people necessarily but rather zeh shekana chachma- he who has acquired wisdom. The halacha in fact is that an elderly person who may be totally unknowledgeable- an am ha'aretz and even a sinner we are meant to show respect to. For they have lived a life of experience and it is that we are showing honor to.

Now how old does one have to be to get the royal treatment? The Mishna in Avot tells us that one acquires wisdom at age 60 and reaches the age of seyva at the age of 70.  So to honor a wise person it really is any age, however if he is not a chacham then it would seem to be that until the age of 70 you don't go those special privileges and that is in fact the halacha. However, the AR"I Hakadosh understands that the mitzva to honor the elderly is even at the age of 60. So if you're a bit of a Kabbalist you can start at age 60. The Mitzva includes of course honoring both elderly men and women and even non-Jews. For what is being honored is not even necessarily the person but rather the appreciation of his age and his experiences.

Interestingly enough I have seen some halachic authorities that based on that difference between the honor due to a wise man based on his Torah learning and his accomplishments and an elderly person where one is honoring their age note halachic ramifications. A talmid chacham is allowed to forgive his own honor. A Kohen on the other hand is not as the honor is not for him, rather it is for his priestly status. Similarly, an elderly person the honor give may not be towards him but rather for his age and one can suggest he may even not be permitted to tell you to sit back down. It's not his prerogative. As well the mitzva for the elderly is only to stand up before them when they get come within four amos of you; as it says mipnei seyva takum- rise before the elderly. The zakein which is the wise man on the other hand has a mitzva of v'hadarta to honor him. That would mean not sitting in his seat, not interrupting him and other signs of showing honor to him. Those laws would not apply to one who is not a chacham as those laws apply even if he is not there.

Practically, speaking this mitzva is meant to be fulfilled by standing up as a show of honor when an elderly person comes within his presence. This could be a major pain for someone who is around old people all the time, but fear not it seems that this mitzva is only once a day and in the evening for them. Also if one is in middle of work or rising for them would cost a loss of money one is not obligated to do so. During the recitation of Shema or even bentching when blessing if an elderly person walks in one should stand. The obligation is not just to do the little tushy shuffle that a lot of people do to show honor. Rather it is to stand fully up and to remain standing as long as they are in your presence. Which means of course if you are on a bus and an elderly person walks in you should not only stand up and give them your seat but are obligated to remain standing as long as an elderly person is standing as well before you on the bus.

The Torah goes to great length to show honor to the elderly. The sifri tells us that Reb Shimon Bar Yochai says that in the world to come Hashem will show honor not to the kings and to the prophets but rather to the elders and it is a kal va'chomer if Hashem will show them honor then for sure us of flesh and blood are required to show honor to them.

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

The end of Avimelech 1041 BC  So after Avimelech took control of the city of Shechem having murdered his 69 brothers on one stone he ruled for three years. But the curse given by Yotam was ultimately fulfilled. Our sages tell us that the unity of evil-doers is not a unity. They will come together for specific shared "interestim" as they say in Israel, but ultimately you can always count on the fact that they will turn around and betray each other. And that's what happened.

The people of Shechem that had previously backed Avimelech turned against him and his army. They found themselves a new hooligan to follow Gaal Ben Eved. He wasn't Jewish and there's nothing like a good goy the Jews always feel that can do the job better than we can. They lay ambushes and start looting people coming around Shechem. Ultimately Gaal, who makes fun of Avimelech and Gideon his father tries to bring them back to the good ole biblical days when this area belonged to Chamor the children of Shechem. The goyim were here first and we should honor that. Sounds familiar? That turns one guy, Zevul, off. He snitches to Avimelech and Avimelech comes with his army and divides them, as his father does into three divisions. Some attack and kill the men of Shechem that are out in the vineyards in that area. I always like to point that out to my tourists when we pass by vineyards near Shechem. The others wait outside of the city for Shechem. Zevul was able to challenge Gaal to leave the city and Avimelech took care of him pretty quickly. He then attacked the city burned it down and plowed it with salt so that nothing will ever grow there. The remaining members of Shechem ran up to the tower to hide and Avimlech went up to Mt. Tzalmon which some suggest is Har Eival outside of Shechem where he chopped down a big tree placed it on his shoulders encouraging his men to do the same. They then schlepped them down to the tower and set them on fire killing the 1000 men women and children inside. This was the fulfillment of the curse of Yotam about the fire that comes out of the thorn bush that will eat up those who supported the murderer of his brothers.

But don't worry Avimelech got his just desserts as well. His resounding success over the city of Shechem enticed him to attack the next city Tebez, which is today a city north of Shechem called Tabus. It's under the Palestinian authority today so stay away. Once again Avimelech lays siege on the city and the people who seemingly should have learned by now ran up to their tower. However this time as Avimelech came to burn down the tower, a woman dropped a huge millstone on his head. Mortally wounded, Avimelech told his officer to kill him- so no one would say that he was killed by a woman- and thus he died. In his death he was paid back for having killed all his brothers by sword on one stone. The stone and sword came back to get him it seems. And thus ends another tragic era in Tanach.

Next week it gets even more dramatic with the story of Yiftach, stay tuned!

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S JEWISH SLEEP JOKES  OF THE WEEK

The new Rabbi was in the middle of a sermon when he suddenly beckoned to the shammes to come over.
The Rabbi said to him, "That man in the third row is asleep. Wake him up." 
The shammes replied, "You put him to sleep. You wake him up.”

 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 Gabbay, "but your snoring is keeping everybody else awake." 

A reform Rabbi was having an argument with an orthodox Rabbi.
He asked him, “Why don’t you let the men and women of your congregation sit together as they do in my congregation?”
The orthodox Rabbi (who had a mischievous sense of humour) replied, “If you want to know the truth, I don’t really mind them sitting together at all. The trouble is, however, that I give sermons and I can’t have them sleeping together.”

Moshe was talking to his psychiatrist. "I had a weird dream recently," he says. "I saw my mother but then I noticed she had your face. I found this so worrying that I immediately awoke and couldn't get back to sleep. I just stayed there thinking about it until 7am. I got up, made myself a slice of toast and some coffee and came straight here. Can you please help me explain the meaning of my dream?"
The psychiatrist kept silent for some time, then said, "One slice of toast and coffee? Do you call that a breakfast?

"

Ben Cohen had been drinking at a pub all night. The bartender finally said that the bar was closing. So Ben stood up to leave and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand one more time; same result. Ben figured he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that would sober him up.
Once outside, Ben stood up but fell flat on his face again. So he decided to crawl the 4 blocks to his home. When he arrived at the door, Ben stood up and again fell flat on his face. He crawled through the door and into his bedroom. When he reached his bed Ben tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into bed and fell sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He was awakened the next morning to his wife, Yente, standing over him, shouting, "So, you've been out drinking again!"
"What makes you say that?" Ben asked, putting on an innocent look.
Yente replied "The bar called - you left your wheelchair there again."

Its 3:00 A.M. and Goldie wakes up to see her husband pacing the floor."Melvin, why can't you sleep?" she asks him.

 "You know our next door neighbor, Sam. I borrowed $1,000 from him, and it's due tomorrow morning and I don't have the money. I don't know what I'm going to do." Melvin replies.

Goldie gets out of bed and opens the window. "Sam," she shouts, and several times more, "Sam, Sam."

Finally a very groggy Sam opens the window opposite her and yells back, "What, what is it...it's 3 AM, what do you want?"

Goldie says, "You know the $1,000 my husband owes you? He doesn't have it."

She then slams the window shut, turns to Melvin and says, now you go to sleep, and let Sam pace the floor."

  

And of course the old classic… A Rabbi dies and goes up to the gates of heaven. Before he's let in, the angel in charge has to consult with God for a long period of time if he deserves a place in heaven. As the Rabbi is waiting, an Israeli bus driver approaches the gates of heaven. Without a second thought, the angel who was consulting with God let the bus driver through. The Rabbi points at the bus driver and yells, "Hey! How come he gets in so quickly? He's a simple bus driver, while I'm a Rabbi!"

The angel explains, "Dear Rabbi, you don't understand. When you would be giving your sermon during the prayer services, your whole congregation would fall asleep. When this bus driver drove towards Tel Aviv, all his passengers would be at the edge of their seats praying to God!"

wife.

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Answer is B–  If last week was a hard geology question this week was an easy Jewish Rabbi history question. This one was a no brainer. Anyone in the old city of Tiverya can see the first Shul and building in the rebuilt Ottoman city of Tiverya was the shul of Reb Chaim Abulafia who was persuaded to move back to the Tiverya from Turkey to start the city anew. Haim Farhi was the Jewish adviser who helped save the city of Akko from Napoleon, The Ohr Ha Chaim Hakadosh lived in Jerusalem and I have no clue why Shimon Ben Shetach one of the earl Tanaim is even thrown into this question. But the game /test continues evening up the score to Schwartz 1 and 1 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam.