Arav-Us- Sukkot Edition 2020/ 5781

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

October 2^nd 2020 -Volume 10 Issue 49 14^th Tishrei 5781

Sukkot

Arav-Us

It was an intense Yom Kippur this year. Most of the shul didn't or couldn't come. The Ministry of Health allowed only a limited amount of people. Many of our congregants were in isolation or sick. It was just 10 of us. It was the first time that I ever recited Yizkor alone in the shul. It was just me and the souls of all of my departed relatives. My father olav hashalom, whom I never really knew, my grandparents; Babby, Zaiydie, Saba, Savta, my Bubby Zeldy. My uncle Mendy, Uncle Henry and Auntie Franka. I remembered and davened for all of my passed congregants, students, friends; The Bob's, Run, Irene even Avi from my favorite restaurant in Tiverya who passed away right before Pesach. Perhaps Hashem spared him the pain of seeing his always open doors shut from this pandemic. I felt all their souls with me this year. Alone. The departed, me and Hashem.

 

I spoke before Ne'ila and I told my shul that this year was an entire year of Ne'ila; of lockdown. The stores were closed, the shuls, the schools. We were all locked up. We were na'ul. And so this Ne'ila was the nei'la of all ne'ilos. We say in kaddish during these days li'ayla u'li'ayla. Higher and higher. The nei'la brought us closer and higher than we have ever gotten. It's just us alone and Hashem. All locked up together.

 

Yet, I told them, that to go into that cheder yichud with Hashem there is one condition; only one ticket to that will allow us to enter that holy room with Him. See, on Rosh Hashana we are judged. Hashem has three books open in front of Him. The book of the tzadikim- the righteous, the reshaim- the wicked and the beinonim-the in-betweeners. Most of us are pretty sure we're not tzadikim. On the other hand, we all hope and pray that our sins don't outweigh our mitzvos and that we're not considered reshaim. So we pray very hard and do teshuva so that we make it into that middle-book. We ask Hashem to forgive us for all of those big sins that we know we have done. The little ones we figure we can deal with later. As the saying goes when they get up to burning me for those minor sins, I'll know that the worst is behind me already.

 

There is one problem with that plan though, you see. It only lasts until Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur there are only two books opened; The beinoni book is gone.  It's been sent to recycling. It's out of print. There are only two curtains before Hashem at Ne'ila. Curtain #1 Tzadikim, curtain #2 Reshaim. Which one will it be Schwartz?

 

On the entrance to Auschwitz the Nazi's ym'sh hung a big sign it said "zeh haShaar la' Hashem tzadkim yavo'u vo- This is the gateway of Hashem, the righteous shall enter here." They were right. Anyone that passed through those gates was holy. They were tzadikim. Those are the only ones Hashem lets into His special abode.

 

Hashem doesn't want to be alone in His palace with anyone that has dirty clothing. He doesn't even want anyone with any small coffee stains on their shirt. (How do people manage to drink their morning coffee without getting one? Can somebody please tell me?  After that you can tell me how to eat spaghetti and meatballs as well without getting stains). Hashem only allows those in who are totally clean. No big sins. No small ones. White as snow. Clean and pure as a new born baby after a bath. But don't worry so much, about those stains because He is the best laundromat you'll ever find. He actually does it all by Himself. By hand…with our tears and our teshuva. We just need to tell Him where and what those stains are. We need to tell him that we choose Curtain #1. That we don't want to be beinonim anymore. We are tzadikim that just need to be cleansed.

 

And so on Yom Kippur we walk through those gates together, just like our ancestors did back in Auschwitz singing Ani ma'min be'emuna shlaima- We believe with complete faith.

 

{That by the way is the fourth shlaima, that I left out in my last E-mail, thank you UZ for pointing that out to me- and thank you to the 28 people that pointed out to me that Ka'eileh is only recited on Pesach and not Sukkos- I don't know what I would do without your corrections…but an accompanying donation would be nice as well J}

 

We believe with total faith that we are tzadikim, although stained. We want to be pure. We want to return. We want your Kingship. We want to come once again into your room. La'chazot b'noam Hashem-u'lvakeir b'heichalo- to see Your pleasantness and to visit your Holy abode. And with that we began Ne'ila. "Ashrey yoshvai va'sayecha..." As I said it was intense.

 

But now YK is over. I've eaten numerous times already. I've probably sinned already quite a few times. I've drunk my coffee and go those stains back again. I'm not flying high like I was in my kittel, without shoes, after 25 hours of not eating or drinking and just praying and repenting just a few days ago. I'm no longer screaming Hashem hu ha'elokim again and again with every fiber of my body. I'm just Schwartz who is not sure if he's even a beinoni anymore.  And so we come to Sukkos and I'm feeling a little farklapped, a little like an arava…

 

But there's good news. See, this Sukkos I have declared is the year of the willow branch. The arava, is the simplest of the four species we take together with our lulav, etrog and haddasim. But unlike those other minim that have either smell or taste or both, the aravot have neither. It's got Covid-19. The arava as well is shaped like our mouths and lips and this is the year, that we were more focused on covering up that part of our face than ever before. We are mouthless. Our aravos lips have been g'klampped shut. It is the year that we couldn't smile at others. Our learning, our talking, our breathing were all hampered. We realized that perhaps like the simple humble willow branch that has no fruit, we as well perhaps we're not as righteous as we thought we were. We're no esrogim. And finally just as the arava never really lasts that long once you take it out of water-despite the best efforts of those vacuum packed plastics, wrapping them five times in moist paper towel, aluminum foil and putting them in the fridge overnight. They just wilt and lose that fresh green leafy look they had the day after Yom Kippur. They look g'klapped. Yeah… just like us…

 

But there's something else about the arava. Rav Shach would tell people that worked in Jewish outreach or in education to be careful with people who jump very quickly and make huge life changes in a very short period. I think they use the term "flip out". You know the bochrim in yeshiva that hear a few good lectures and they quickly start throwing out everything they had that was tamey. They start burning the candle all night learning and davening these long tearful shmona esreis, Or those Baalei teshuva's that put on the black hat and adopt a totally shomer torah mitzvos lifestyle in a few life changing weeks or after a good weekend Discovery seminar (do they even do those anymore?). Be careful, Rav Shach would say, Aravos grow the fastest of all of the species, but they are also the first to wilt and die. They don't last. Rav Moshe Feinstien also said similarly that only a convert has to accept the entire Torah at one time, for most of the rest of us it is a lifetime of growth and progress at a slow balanced steady state. But we are aravos. We jumped at one shot through that holy door, but now what?

 

And thus Hashem has blessed us with this incredible holiday of Sukkos. A holiday that is really all about the aravos. Or for punny titles sake- the Aruv of us. The holiday comes after we have walked through His holy gates- His se'u she'arim of Yom Kippur, as a nation that was committed to being righteous tzadikim. He tells us after we came through that gate to the New year. That he really doesn't want us to fast that often at all. He wants us to wear shoes that are planted on this earth. He wants us to build huts. He wants us to take the p'soles goren 'vyekev, those left over branches and shrubs in the field and place them as the roofs on top of our heads so that He can peek down at us all the time. That we can see Him always. He wants to watch us eat and drink and sleep. He loves to hear us sing ( particularly Rabbi Schwartz songs J) To spend family time with our kids. He didn't create us as angels. He's got enough of them up there. He created us His aravos down here.

 

The ticket to get into the house was that we desired to be tzadikim. That we were brave enough to walk through those gates. That we cried and prayed that we should merit to enter. That desire is the reason why he loves us so much. It is why we are are'iv- sweet and pleasant, as in the bracha we say each about learning Torah- V'ha'arev lanu es divrey Sorascha- Hashem should make the Torah sweet to us. Shlomo Ha'melech describes Hashem's love for us Hashmi'ini es koleych- Let me hear you voice, he tells us. Ki kolech arev- because our voice is pleasant and sweet. It is beautiful. Because the voice of the arava, the sound that comes out of those holy lips are the ones that may not smell, they may not taste, they may not have deeds or Torah, but they know how to sing. They know how to tell Hashem how much we love Him and how much better we want to be. It is certainly "lip service". But that lip service comes from the deepest place in our hearts. And that is what is most precious to Hashem.

 

So Hashem commands us on this special holiday to take our poor aravos. Our sweetest and most pleasant-odorless and tasteless- wilting willow branches and tie them together with those tasty date palms and aromatic myrtles and bring them with the holy esrog and shake them all together. Shake them in the Sukkah because you are all in My house. You all share that one desire. Ana Hashem Hoshiya Na, Ana Hashem Hatzlicha Na. We all want to be saved, we all want to be successful in our resolutions. We all need Him. We sing and march around and around for 7 days. The esrog has the heart that desires it, the lulav the spine that resolves to be better, the hadasim, the eyes, that turn in hope to Hashem, but is only the arava, the lips that can express it. That can bring that deepest desire out to the world. That doesn't have any accomplishments, any Torah, any deeds that he can pat himself on the back about. That needs Hashem's help the most and that knows how far he is from being that tzadik and wills it more than anything. Maybe that's why they're called "Will"-ows…

 

This is the year of the arava because more than any other year we have discovered a longing for Hashem. We couldn't come to shul to daven and so we longed for our shuls. Our yeshivos and batei midrash we're closed and we longed for them to be open. To return to learn again, to daven again, to smile again to hold hands and dance together. To get hugged and to see Hashem. We longed for the pleasantness of the days of old-but then we came to understand that the days of old weren't just meant to be the "pre-corona" days.

 

We conclude each Shmona Esrei with the words v'arva hashem…ka'shanim hakadmoniyos..that Hashem should take our offerings once again and they be sweet to Him like the days when His palace was on the Temple Mount. When we could come see Him onn Pesach, on Shavuos and on Sukkos. Those were the three times we would all come to Yerushalayim. When we would bond together with all of our brothers and sisters and proclaim our love, and his Kingship. This year more than any other year when we couldn't do that on Pesach and Shavuos it hurt so much more. We desired by the end of those holidays we would be back there. He would be back here. Sukkos is the last in that triumvirate of pilgrimage holidays. V'Sei'arev lifanecha asiraseinu- May all of the beseeching of Your holy aravos be sweet and accepted before You. Hashev shechinascha l'tziyon- return Your holy presence to Zion. May we sing and dance together in that Sukkas Dovid hanofeles rebuilt this last holiday in this incredible new year. Without any more masks.

 

Have a happy glorious Sukkos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 " Faran dareh gvirim un fetch oremeleit."- Rich men are often lean and poor men fat.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

 47) HaMizgaga Museum (Glass Factory Museum) is located in:

A. Yeruham

B.  Haifa

C.  Kibbutz Nahsholim

D.  Zichron Yaakov

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09d0i1yWyxk  - Mordechai Shapiro's latest video Ein Od Milvado…Elka loves it lots of fun!

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/ushpizin  – No Sukkos is complete without at least once singing my most hartzigeh composition and the only song I know of that is soulful for Sukkos!- Ushpizin- sung and arranged by my dear friend Yitz Berry!

 https://youtu.be/jJdSsIsfdFw   – My old friend the great Yossi Newman (of YBC fame) with his latest collaboration with this fun Ki hu livado composition

 https://youtu.be/ku7QQqcn4jY –Berri Webber with EN3RGY knocks it out of the park with this rocking hit Hinini!

 RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

 Sukkkos– V'Samachta B'chagecha- Rejoicing on holidays. It's the song that never ends for the next 8 or 9 days. You can listen to my hip hop version below. The mitzva seemingly as read is for us on Sukkos to be ach samayach- only happy. Sukkos is the time to tap into that fount of joy. Perhaps this year more than any year in the recent past this will certainly be challenging particularly here in Israel under lockdown. But is this mitzva a biblical one or rabbinic one and what does it mean to be happy? How do we order or command an emotion?

 So in fact our sages tell us that the Torah is not commanding our emotion rather it is telling us that we need to engage in acts that bring happiness. True Simcha Rav Soloveichik, derives from the Rambam can only be in front of Hashem in the Temple. In fact, the opinion of the Ramban is that the biblical commandment can only be fulfilled by the bringing of the special chagiga peace offerings in the Beis Hamikdash. The Rambam in the laws of Yom Tov the commentaries understand seems to hold that the biblical obligation can be fulfilled with all manners of simcha. To eat meat and drink wine, to buy new clothing and jewlery for the women and to distribute goodies to the children. The Shaagas Aryeh and Reb Chayim Brisker understand that there is a general mitzva of simcha which in the times of the temple needed to be fulfilled by offerings. However when that is not possible the mitzva still remains to rejoice and it is done through all things that bring joy; the things that can help him enjoy Yom Tov and celebrate it.

 Reb Moshe Shternbuch explains that there are two aspects of the mitzva of simcha. There are acts of simcha, such as the eating or the gifts, or in the times of the Temple bringing the offerings. Yet the Gaon of Vilna suggests that there is an emotional mitzva as well. One must feel happy and joyful the entire Yom Tov. One is forbidden from being sad, angry or anything that might detract from feeling the joy of Yom Tov. Even one who is sick is obligated to be happy. The Gaon is quoted as saying that this is one of the most challenging mitzvos. But imagine the incredible sense one must have of 8 days of pure joy.

 Interestingly enough although generally women are exempt from time bound mitzvos, such as Sukkah and Lulav, the Shaagas Aryeh tells us that they are still obligated in Simcha. He suggests this is because the time bound mitzva- (zman grama) is only for action mitzvos not mitzvas of the heart and thus the obligation for them to be joyous and engage in things that would make them happy is also upon them. The Shevet Halevi tells us that any way that one can make the yom Tov happier, even if it is with trips and family time in honor of the day would all be a fulfillment of the simcha. Certainly dancing at simchat beit ha'shoeiva and music is part of the mitzva…. Just not this year. In fact, the Chazon Ish it was known would sing special yom Tov songs at his holiday meals because he saw that since the eating of the meat and wine was a biblical obligation of joy in place of the offerings in the temple, they should be accompanied by songs, just as the Levites would do for the offerings in the Beis Hamikdash. So maybe there really is a point to the endless v'samachta b'chagecha singing. Did you ever think that your zemiros could be a positive commandment? But if you really want to do it right, check out my Ushpizin song below… That's singing l'mehadrin…

 

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

 Zif Shaul vs Dovid Part II- 878 BC- The chase is on. Nov has been taken down by Shaul's command via his general Doeg and Dovid flees to a place called Midbar Zif. It's right outside of Kiryat Arba and Chevron today, a place called Tel Zif. They have cool caves and springs there. In fact in honor of Sukkos, they found over there coins that were made from the time of the Bar Kochva revolt with "for the freedom of Yerushalayim on one side and the Lulav and four species on the other side.

 There Dovid met his brother in law and best friend Yonasan and Yonasan once again warned Dovid he was in danger and that he and Shaul both knew that Dovid was going to be the next King. They parted tearfully and swore they would always be there for one another.

 Now the people that lived in Zif were actually from Dovid's tribe of Yehudah and were even descendants of Caleb ben Yefuneh who was granted the city of Chevron. However unlike their alteh zeydeh who didn't speak lashon harah on the land of Israel with the other spies, they headed right over to Shaul to tell him where Dovid was hiding. Perhaps having seen what happened to the Kohanim of Nov, they got nervous. But regardless they came running to Shaul and Shaul actually demands that they show him exactly where he's hiding out.  The Ziffites are totally on board and they even bring Shaul to exactly the hill where Dovid is hiding. It is as this time that Dovid composes his psalm 54

La'minatzaych ba'neginot a maskil of David.

When the Ziphim came and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding with us?"

O Hashem with Your name save me, and with Your might avenge me.

O Hashem, listen to my prayer, incline Your ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers rose upon me and violent men sought my soul; they did not place God before them forever….

 Dovid however had moved a little further east to Ma'on, which is non-coincidentally right next to the modern yishuv of Ma'on South of Chevron. There I actually have visited quite  few times with tourists of mine. I have a good friend there that is one of those hilltop youth guys. Sweetest man in the world who also is a sofer. They are settling the land in the most real sense of the word and they stand guard over this ancient tel where Jewish life flourished even in 2^nd Temple times as we have uncovered a fantastic shul there with gorgeous mosaics. And that's where Dovid was hiding with 600 men while Shaul was on the other side of the hill with 1000's and the Ziffites.

 Hashem however once again came to Dovid's rescue. A messenger (or malach) came to Shaul and told him that the Philistines were making trouble once again. Shaul struggled with his personal interests and opportunity to get Dovid versus his national duty to defend his people. A struggle that many leaders who shall remain nameless seem to be challenged with… But ultimately he leaves. And Dovid stands to live another day and completes his psalm with the words…

 Ki- mikol tzara hitzilani, v'oivay  ra'asah eini For He saved me from every distress, and my eye saw my enemies.

 Think about that next time you say this kappitel…

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE SUKKOS 5781 JOKES  OF THE WEEK

 Anyone know if Shul's will be open this year for Sukkos? I need to know how much to pay for my Esrog…

 So the Gerrer Chasid's wife is all upset at him when he comes home with his Esrog after hours of shopping for it. She doesn't understand.

"It took you a half hour of meeting with me before we agreed to get married and the Esrog took you 6 hours to to decide which one you want?!"

 "What don't you understand," he said, "with the Esrog I walk together on the street…"

 Because of the lockdown regulations this year, guests are not permitted in your Sukkah. In place of Ushpizin we will be doing Ushpi-zoom.

 You are not allowed to be caught in a sukka that is not yours. So all the Kollel guys are chipping in with 5 shekels to be partners in each others Sukka.

 If they keep the schools closed after Sukkos, I think that the parents will find a vaccine faster than the scientists…

 Will the guy that usually has the custom to poke his neighbor in the eye with his Lulav please make sure that his Lulav this year will be at least 2 meter long so he can stand socially distanced away.

 I'm in a lot of trouble with this Corona. The government doesn't want me at work. My wife doesn't want me in the house and the police don't want me in the streets.

 My Lulav was just flown in from America. Unfortunatly it isn't allowed out of it's protective case for 14 days…

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Answer is C –  And another one right!  This is not an easy one. The glass museum is certainly not a well visited site. Although in truth I have been to this former glass factory founded by Baron Rothschild to make bottles out of the beach by the nachsholim/ Dor sandy shore to use for the bottles of wine that he was making at his vineyards in Zichron Yaakov and other settlements. It's actually not too bad of a museum. One can see some real Avoda Zarah there, a little bit about Napolean as well. The reason I've been there is because that's where the Techelet people run their tours where you go snorkeling for the murex trunculus. And I've done that wuite a few times. So while waiting for them to show up I've stopped off at this museum.  Otherwise I would haef no clue. So now we stand at  Schwartz 36 and 11 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam. Only 3 more questions left…