Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
May 8th 2020 -Volume 10
Issue 29 7th Iyar 5780
Parshat Emor / Lag Ba'Omer
Cave-Men
I'm sick of writing about Corona- excuse the pun. It's enough
already. We have heard all the insights. We have done all the introspection.
It's time for something new. How about a tour? Would you believe that I'm
available? I'll even give you a discount. Let's get our minds off of this whole
thing. It's Lag Ba'Omer this week. The day that we celebrate the Torah of Rabbi
Shimon Bar Yochai buried in Meron. Unfortunately, this year it's all closed up
so I can't really take you there. But in preparation for that, check out my
link below for my pictorial Mishpacha off-the beaten-track tour below. Then of
course write them lots of letters to the editor telling them how much you enjoy
my columns. It's the least you can do right?
So I can't take you to Meron. But a good tour guide always has a
back-up plan. How about a little drive not too far away to the village of
Peki'in. There in this Druze village, which incidentally has the longest
consecutive Jewish presence for over 2000 years- {Not Jerusalem by the way
which we were forced to abandon after the Bar Kochva revolt-} is the proud
location of the famous cave where Rebbi Shimon and his son Rebbi Eliezer hid
for 12+1 years. They were quarantined if you will. So don't complain about 2
months, try 13 years…
\
The famous story goes, there were three Rabbis sitting in the mishnaic
coffee room one day talking around the water cooler. Rebbi Yehuda bar Ilai
suggested that the Romans were good for the country. It had been some time
since the Temple was destroyed already and now the Romans in charge of Israel
were fixing up the country. They were improving the failing infrastructure of
the roads, the economy and markets were flourishing with all the new jobs they
had created. They were making Israel great again after almost a century of
depression and economic downturn. Rebbi Yosi, who was sitting there, decided
that it was wise to just be quiet. You'd never find him on facebook or blogs
commenting. He had a Kosher phone. Rebbi Shimon was never one to stay quiet
though. He was an anti-Romer. Whatever they did was just to make themselves wealthy.
They probably have some hidden investments in the road companies and malls they
were opening. Forget about all the shmutz in their personal lives that filled
the tabloids that they were now going to be infecting everyone with. They were
a spiritual plague and they should be eradicated. In the words of Tevye- Hashem
should keep them far far away from us.
Now as we know Big Roman Brother is always watching. And there was
a snitch, Yehuda Ben Gerim, and he told the Romans. The Roman response was to
promote Rebbi Yehudah to be the speaker of the Jews. He was on their team.
Rebbi Yosi was put under administrative supervision down in the city of Tzippori and Reb Shimon and his son Reb
Eliezer fled over here to Peki'in to hide in this cave. They buried themselves
up to their necks and drank from the spring that was there (it's still there in
Peki'in although not by the cave, because of earthquakes it got shifted down
the mountain) and he ate from the carob tree that was there. I don't know what
was the worst part about the whole thing but I think it was eating carobs all
day…
12 years were up and he came out and according to the gemara he saw
someone running to work. He got so incensed that one would waste the precious
time that we were given in this world on the mundane ho-hum of making a living
that he pretty much fried the guy. Hashem sent him back to the cave for another
year and after the next year he was allowed out to rejoin the society. By the
way according to the Aruch Hashulchan, the day he came out of the cave was on
Lag Ba'Omer; the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer. Oh and by the
way this story can be found in tractate Shabbos on page 33. Oh and one last
thing, since the beginning of the Talmud in tractate Brachos until this story of
Rebbi Shimon on page 33 of Shabbos can you guess how many times Rebbi Shimon
says a law? You got it… 33. You gotta admit that's pretty cool. But you see
that's just the first part of it.
See, there is another story about how Rebbi Shimon made the pretty
bold claim that if the whole world was found to be guilty in heavenly judgement
and deserving of punishment, he and his son could just get on the other side of
the scale and weigh it down to the side of mercy. And even if his son was on
the wrong side, he alone had the heavenly power to free us all of punishment.
The Maharsha suggests it is because of the suffering he had in the cave. I had
a "friend" of mine that told me recently it wasn't that he was just
cooped up in the cave. He was stuck there with his kid… I didn't understand
what he was talking about…
But to be brutally honest, which I generally try to be- but the
longer I am in lockdown here I'm find is becoming easier and easier, I never
really got this idea. I don't know about you, but I never bought the concept
that someone else's suffering has the power to alleviate me of my sins. Maybe
it's all those years I spent knocking Christianity's ridiculous claims.
Although it is true that they got most of their ideas from us. But I just felt
there has to be something deeper in this idea and statement of Rebbi Shimon.
And being that he was someone that always spoke the truth- Roman chips fall
where they may, I guess perhaps my pursuit of the truth or at least a deeper
understanding of this story, gave me a little bit of extra divine help to find
an incredibly powerful and deep idea that I recently shared with my tourists-
you guys today, when I visit that cave of his in Peki'in.
It was about two years ago on Lag Ba'Omer when I was heading up to
Meron and I saw this small flyer that had some ideas and Torah about Rebbi Shimon.
I've since lost that flyer and no idea where it came from. I generally don't
read these things. But there on the bus, stuck in traffic, I leafed through it
and boom it was a revelation. Recently I've tracked down some of the ideas and
sources so I'll share with you what I've got.
Besides Lag Ba'Omer there is another day that has become popular in
to visit the grave of Rebbi Shimon. That day is the 7th of Adar the
day of the passing of Moshe Rabbeinu. The Ari'Zl tells us that Rebbi Shimon possessed
the completion of the soul of Moshe. Whereas Moshe revealed the written and
oral Torah to the Jewish people, Rebbi Shimon revealed the hidden secrets of
the Torah; the kabbalah. As well just as Moshe had to flee for his life from
the Egyptians after being snitched on by a fellow Jew, so did Rebbi Shimon. The
Chasam Sofer even points out that Lag Ba'Omer (without the vav in omer)
is the same gematria as Moshe. Oh and one last thing… Rebbi Shimon's claim and
power to get forgiveness for all of the Jewish people being obligated… remember
how after the golden calf Moshe did the same thing?
Now do you know how Moshe was so confident that he would be able to
get forever forgiveness for the Jewish people? He asked Hashem to reveal His face
to him with that revelation he knew he would always be able to turn the tide of
harsh judgement for us. What's the secret? What can we say or do to be able to
stop this global punishment? Hashem put him in a cave and he revealed to him
what we are familiar with as the 13 attributes/ middos of Hashem. Remember "Who knows Thirteen" by
your Pesach Seder. If we attach ourselves to Hashem and imitate His ways then
we will be forgiven. Hmmm the number 13 and cave sounds familiar? Haven't we
heard it before? That's right ladies and gentleman Rebbi Shimon was in the cave
for 13 years.
The Livnas Sapir, from Reb Dovid the son of the famous 13the
century Rebbi Yehudah Hachasid, ups this idea a notch as he brings from the
Zohar that the cave that Rebbi Shimon was holed in was in fact the same cave that
Moshe received the 13 middos in. (Yes, I know that Moshe was outside of Israel
and Reb Shimon was here- but Hashem could move these things around. He was in the
cave for 13 years because each year he learned another one of those Middos of
Hashem. Once he had these in his back pocket he was able to return to the world
and could then, just as Moshe, find the path to forgiveness for everyone.
The number 13 finds itself in other areas as well. Each morning
when we recite the first part of davening of the korbanos sacrifices. And for
those of you that have never had time to say it in Shul and thought that
davening starts with Baruch She'amar or Hodu- these are the pages
after brachos before pesukei di'zimra. You don't have shul
anymore so it wouldn't hurt to start saying it. Those prayers conclude with the
13 different methods of logic from which the Torah is derived. Again the sefarim
tell us that each one of those methods correspond to each of the 13 attributes
of mercy. Remember how Rebbi Shimon left after 12 years and got all upset about
the man that was so busy with this world and missing out on the real important spiritual
world? Well the last of the 13 attributes that Rebbi Shimon hadn't learned is
"And if there are two verses that contradict each other one
must look at the third verse to reconcile the two"
Rebbi Shimon saw a contradiction how can we live a physical
existence and at the same time strive for the spiritual. It didn't make sense.
In fact there is a Talmud in Brachos (and a great new song I composed down
below to its words) that tells us Rebbi Shimon says if a man is busy plowing,
planting, reaping, winnowing what will become of the Torah? The man becomes
burnt up from this fire of spirituality emanating from Rebbi Shimon. It's kind
of like the bright light that came out of Moshe when he came down from talking
to Hashem that he had to hide. (The rays of light by the way were called hod-and
lag ba'omer is hod she'bhod- but we'll leave that for now). So Hashem
sends him back to learn that last attribute. To resolve the contradiction. It's
the last attribute of mercy. It is v'nakeh- and I will cleanse you of
all sin.
The story concludes with Rebbi Shimon coming out and seeing a Jew
running with two myrtle branches. Perhaps not far from this cave we are
standing in front of. He asks him where he is running and what they are for and
the man responds it is for Shabbos. One is for the positive mitzva to remember
Shabbos and one for the negative commandments to watch and not violate Shabbos.
Rebbi Shimon then blesses him. Rebbi Shimon comes out to a world preparing for
Shabbos.
The Zohar tells us that Rebbi Shimon is very connected to Shabbos. The
mitzva of Shabbos is used as the introduction for all of the holidays in this
week's Torah portion (I just had to sneak that traditional phrase into this week's
Email-and you thought I forgot). This is despite the fact that it is not technically
a holiday. The reason for this because Shabbos is the source for all of the holiness
in the world. On Shabbos we are a bit like Rebbi Shimon in his cave. No work,
no worries, food from Hashem, basking in spirituality, Torah and our family. We
are meant to draw that holiness to the rest of the world. Shabbos is the gift
of Moshe we recite in our Shabbos davening. And we take that holiness and bring
it into the week by preparing for it with love. Rebbi Shimon saw this on the Lag
Ba'Omer he came out and he recognized the holy spark in each Jew can become the
holy of holies in this physical mundane world if we have the Shabbos to
reignite that spark. It resolved the contradiction between the two worlds.
Shabbos is the day of the root tashuv- return. We come back to our
source. We return to our Father.
The redemption will come Rebbi Shimon teaches us when the Jewish
people will observe two Shabbosos we will be redeemed. In other places it says
that if we observe one Shabbos it will be enough. I saw once suggested that
Rebbi Shimon wasn't arguing he was discussing the two aspects of one Shabbos.
The two myrtles. The Shabbos of zachor-always remembering and enjoying
the Shabbos and celebrating our holy day and the Shabbos of shamor-
removing ourselves from the outside world that pulls, draws and tempts to
define us. Become Shabbos yiddin. Become students of Rebbi Shimon. The
past two months all of our Shabbosos have been different. We are not in
Shul. We don't have our friends. We don't have the Rebbetzin's Chulent Kiddush
(ya thought I wouldn't get that in as well didn't you?). It's been more
sublime. I don't think anyone is defining themselves anymore by the outside
world. We have become Rebbi Shimons Cave students. May Hashem let us out of our
caves by this Lag Ba'Omer as he did to our Rebbi. And may we finally bask in
that holy light we have been longing for so long.
Have a doubly holy
Shabbos and an amazing Lag Ba'Omer
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
********************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
" Hit
zikh, du host zikh shoyn eyn mol opgebrit!"- Be careful, you got burned once already!
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
26) A Roman
triumphal arch can be seen in:
A.
Caesarea
- Yodfat
- Jerusalem
- Beit Guvrin
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/ppovWxuFfTw - Totally
awesome Od Yeshvu Malchus choir Acapella porch minyan Corona version… Gives the
song a whole new meaning…
https://vimeo.com/413256679 - If you have time (and who
doesn't?) and want to see an awesome video this is a special video of a
collection of never before seen footage of tens of gedolim/ great Jewish Rabbis
from the last 100 years..
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/rebbi-shimon-bar-yochai – In honor of Lag Ba'Omer my latest
composition and release!! Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai Omer… One of my most
magnificent compositions with vocals and arrangements by the extraordinarily
hartzig talented awesome Dovid Lowy- (non-acapella)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZCsdn4k6R0
– Very cool Lag
Ba'Omer historical footage 1950's Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNwEbXrP9pE
– Aharon Razel Lech
Ami Chadarav- My Nation go in your room
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK
Parshat Emor-V'Kidashto-
Honoring a Kohen- Here's a mitzva that a lot of people do regularly and are not even aware
that they are fulfilling a biblical commandment. It's also one that one can
easily fulfill and we miss out on our chance. Not anymore! The Torah in the beginning
of this week's Parsha shares with us the mitzvos of Kohanim. It concludes with
a mitzva for the Jewish people to sanctify the Kohen. The Talmud tells us that
this mitzva is fulfilled
Gittin (59:) The
kohen should open first (liftoach rishon), he should bless first, and he should
take a nice portion first"
So every time
we bentch after eating and we honor the Kohen to lead is in bentching we are
fulfilling a positive commandment. We are showing that we hold his position to
be sacred. Similarly, when we give him the first Aliya to the Torah when we
read it in Shul he is as well being honored by the congregation. (May we be
able to get back to fulfilling that one very soon god-willing when we return to
our shuls).
So this is definitely
a positive commandment when it comes to fulfilling positive commandments. What
about regular things? So like all Jewish things there will be a debate. It
revolves around that above talmud's cases of "opening first" and "taking
a portion first". Some suggest that means only by Torah gatherings he
should be the first speaker and by mitzva meals or maaser or even
tzedaka he can take first. But not necessarily letting him go in line before
you in the supermarket. Others suggest that those cases are even by regular day
speaking and meals a Kohen should have first dibs. The Magen Avraham seems to
say we should be strict about this and always give a Kohen first dibs and show
him honor. He wonders why people are not strict about this as well. So it's not
just us… He suggests that perhaps it's because maybe our Kohanim are not of
clear lineage. But he still maintains people should be strict about it.
Now there is
another aspect to this mitzva as well. The Torah tells us that he should be
sanctified even against his will. Seemingly Rashi notes this teaches us that if
a Kohen is defiling himself in some way we are obligated to keep him pure. The question
is if this law applies to giving him honor as well. Are we allowed to ask a
Kohen to do us a favor, to serve us, to shlep things? Or can a Kohen forgo his
honor? So in general the consensus is that besides for Torah reading where he
cannot give up the first Aliya he has the right to forgive the honor. By Torah
reading if he wishes not to get the Aliyah he must step out. However, that does
not necessarily include menial or degrading labor. That the Meshech Chochma
suggests would be prohibited according to all opinions. However, he got paid or
got some benefit out of it then it would be fine. As he is doing it for his own
good.
One last
hopefully never practical aspect of this law that I saw this week is in regards
to saving lives. A Kohen has precedence. So if god forbid there was only one
ventilator in the hospital the Kohen would get it over the Yisrael. However
that is conditioned on the Kohen being on equal Torah level as the other
person. For the law is that when it comes to life saving and other areas of of
precedence a Talmid Chacham comes first. So if you're a Kohen reading
this become a talmid Chacham… And we Yisraels will be happy to honor you
all the time even above other Rabbis if that's the case. But even if you're not
one. Each time we honor you it is because of you being our connector to Hashem.
Here in Israel we feel that more so than in the States because they bless us
every day. So a little bit of honor back is the least we can do for all that
bracha you bring us.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN
ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Eli the Kohen Gadol and
sons 929-831 BC
– Talk about perfect timing. This past week on the 10th
of Iyar was in fact the yartzeit of the Kohen Gadol that followed Pinchas and
who led the Jewish people for forty years; Eli Hakohen. Eli was the forth in
line from Moshe then Yehoshua then Pinchas to be the bearer of the tradition
from Sinai. He lived in Shilo where the Mishkan was until his death at
age 98. He was a tzadik
and loved by the people. His children Hofni and Pinchas…not so much… The Navi
tells us that their behavior made him age young and they cut they ultimately were
the cause of the curse that would always follow his family.
As opposed to
the young boy Shmuel who as we mentioned was brought up in the home of Eli and
was considered righteous and worthy of prophecy. Chofni and Pinchas were rotten
apples. See… sometimes it's not the best solution to keep the kids at home. As
well sometimes the parents could be righteous but their children not. This
seems to be a repeated message by most of the great people from our Patriarchs
and down in Jewish history. What did they do already? Well it depends on how
you read the navi. Literally the verses tell us that they didn't "know
Hashem", they would demand parts of the offerings that they didn't deserve
and send young "hit-men" that would grab the sacrificial food that
people would bring as offerings for themselves. As well the navi even suggests
that they would "lie" with women that were waiting to bring
offerings. Oy... a shanda…
Now the Talmud doesn't
take that last one so literally it suggests that it is just a euphemism. What
they did was ignore the women who would bring their offerings for childbirth
which were burnt offerings and make them wait and sleep over in Shiloh until
they would be seen. There was no gain for them in bringing these offerings
anyways, no kickbacks so to speak, so they delayed them. This caused the women
to be away from home longer than they needed to and thus it was considered like
they lay with them.
Eli go two
warnings about them. First Elkana, the father of Shmuel brought Eli a prophecy
of doom that his line would be cut off and no one will live long. Even more
dramatic that his two children will be killed on the same day. Eli confronted
his sons, but its nisht ge'helfen. He was speaking to a wall. As well, Shmuel's
first prophecy ever as a young man as well was Hashem telling him to tell Eli
that his sons would die and no atonement or sacrifices will help them.
We will
continue with the story of the fate of Eli and his children. But interestingly
enough the Talmud tells us that Abaya and Rabba were descendants of Eli. They
both lived about 1300 years or so after this story and curse and they both died
young. Rabba who was primarily involved in Torah study lived until 40 and Abaya
split his time between Torah study and good deeds live until 60. Eli's grave is
not certain where it is although it's in Shilo. Abaya's kever though can be
visited and I pass it regularly it is right outside of Tzfat by Biriya
next to his contemporary and protagonist Rava. And of course this a story I like to share
with people when we are there.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S AND EVEN MORE TERRIBLE CORONA JOKES OF
THE WEEK
FUNNIEST MEME's of the WEEK
8-year-old
Yanky to Mommy "It's a school bus Mom, Stop calling it the "answer to
your prayers"
When we reopen
the school the yeshivas be like: All masks must be black with no logos,
pictures, designs or fancy trimmings, no exceptions!
My 16-year-old
with the best How-will-the-pandemic-change-society insight: We''ll never get
off for snow days anymore now that the teachers have and know how to work Zoom
The lockdown is
tightening. Now with the rainfalling we can't even go out to the porch
Cinco De Mayo
finally falls out Taco Tuesday only to be canceled by a virus named after a
Mexican beer.
Yoily in
Villiamsburgh to Moishie in Lakewood. "It's not fair! Trump gets to have a
secret service… Why can't we?"
You never
realized just how anti-social you are until there's a pandemic and your life
just hasn't changed that much.
I think my feet
are shrinking every time I look straight down I see less and less of them…
Gardening season
is off to a great start. I planted myself in front of my computer weeks ago and I've already grown noticeably
You have to at
least admit enjoying watching airlines lose 30 billion dollars after they charged
me $30 to check my bag.
I just heard
about these giant murder hornets on the News. Should I buy more toilet paper?
Remember Rebbi
Shimon Bar Yochai davened for 12 years in quarantine without a minyan just to
make sure he didn't get killed. And then when he came out and someone got
killed he went back in and didn't daven with a minyan for a whole nother year…
I'm just sayin…
Well my
resolution not to talk anymore in Shul has been going great. I'm 7 weeks without
breaking it once!
**********************************
Answer is C– I got this one right by mistake a
little bit. I guessed Yerushalayim although I didn't know of a roman victory
gate there. I knew there was one there and there is a pillar that remains
there. I certainly was pretty sure there wasn't any by Caesarea Yodefat
certainly not and I didn't remember any by Beit Guvrin either. The answer was
correct, but the Roman gate wasn't by Shaar Shechem it was by Aco Homo on the Via
Dolorosa in the Muslim quarter. I don't guide the Arab quarter much and pretty
much deleted much of my tour guide course info from there. But hey I got it
right. So that works so the score now is Schwartz 17 and 9 for MOT (Ministry
of Tourism) on this exam. So I'm back in passing score range!
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