Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend
in Karmiel"
April 9th 2021 -Volume 11 Issue 26 27th
Nissan 5781
I woke up this morning to the sound of pigeons outside my window. I wake up
most mornings to the sound of pigeons outside my window. They are noisy. I can't get rid of them. They also make a
mess there. I won't elaborate. A few months ago outside my window sill in my
office next to my bedroom there was a nest there with eggs in there. I was
excited that I might be able to do the mitzva of sending away the mother birds
and taking the eggs, but the eggs were smashed. Echhh.. or Iccchhhsaa as
Israelis say- why? I don't know. Needless to say I'm not a fan of pigeons or
birds.
Now Israel though at this time of the
year though is the home of lots of birds from all over the world. In fact,
every spring and fall there are over a half a billion birds that fly through
Eretz Yisrael as the migrate back and forth from Europe and Asia to Africa. Africa
is kind of like the Catskills or Orlando for birds it seems. There a tons of
birdwatchers that I have met, back in my tour-guiding days, at the Hula valley
nature reserve where the birds kind of hang out and chill takin in a little
Israel on their journey.
Birdwatchers are strange people. I hope
I'm not offending anyone here. They really do look like they do in the movies.
They have funny hats with pins, five binoculars and a camera or two around
their necks and they get more excited about seeing a red horned cockatoo then
Jews get when they hear there's a Chulent Kiddush in shul. It's dangerous to
get into a conversation with them while they are watching birds. It's worse
than talking in a library, despite the fact that the birds are a mile away. Ahhh
but when they're done watching, they will show you pictures and tell you all
types of things about birds and the things that they do… It's like meeting a
new bubby with her photo album of einiklach. You're not getting out of there
anytime soon…
I don't get it. What do they see in birds
that I don't? Yes, there are some pretty ones and interesting ones. It's
fascinating perhaps to watch them fly and to think about the journeys they
have, the sites they see, the people they poop on. Sorry about that, but that's
the way my mind works. I've seen too many bad 'pigeon-by-the-Kotel'
experiences. Yet they are Hashem's creations. There are over 10,000 different
species (did you know that Birdwatchers actually keep checklists of how many
they've seen) and over 400 billion birds in the world. Contrast that with only
8 billion people. That's 50 birds per person. And we can't even eat most of
them as our parsha this week teaches us. In fact, besides the handful that we
have a tradition about the rest are all trayf. Who needs so many birds?
I heard an amazing shiur a few years ago
from Rabbi Daniel Glatstien (that ended up turning into a 5 year annual Parshat
Shemini series) in which he went through an incredible journey from Reb
Yehoshua Heller a 19th century student of Reb Yisrael Salanter and
Rav in Vilna in his classic work Beis Tefilla through the parsha of birds. Are
you guys ready to take off and fly with me? Buckle up, because I promise you
that you will never think about birds the same way again. In fact three times a
day these birds will change your lives.
It all starts with a story in the Talmud
Yerushalmi in which one of the sages of the Talmud described his challenge of
keeping his concentration during Shemona Esrei. It's hard. I always tell people
that I think of my best sermons and compose my best songs in middle of
davening. The satan works hard to distract us in our intimate conversations
with Hashem. He scared of our prayers it seems. Cryptically the Talmud
continues and tells us that the great Sage Shmuel had a solution.
Yerushalmi Brachos (2:4) "Ant mani
efrochayu"- I would count birds.
As I said cryptic. You gotta love gemaros
like that. I've heard about counting sheep to fall asleep. But the only birds
I've ever counted are how many BbQ wings they put in the 1/2 kilo container
that I ordered at New Deli. It sure didn't seem like 16. But counting birds to
help you pray?! What is that all about?
Reb Yehoshua reveals the fascinating
connection to us. He notes that despite the fact that we only eat birds that we
have a tradition for (as we're not exactly sure of the translation of many of
the names of the birds in the Torah which specific birds they are). The Torah
enumerates the ones that are officially halachically non-kosher or
tamey-impure. Can you guess how many there are? You got it 19, just like the
number of blessings there are in our daily amida, which is called shemona Esrei
{which really means 18-but a 19th blessing was added calling for the
destruction of heretics}. Now the truth is if you actually count there are more
than 19. In fact in the list in this week's parsha there are 20 and in the
similar (but not the same) list given in Devarim in Parshat Re'eh there are 21.
But he explains that as well as we shall see.
So the theory he presents is that each
bird corresponds to a blessing in Shemona Esrei. If we know, count and think
about the birds then it will give us a deeper appreciation and inspiration to
our prayer. It's why Hashem created them in the first place, after all… Now
although my E-mail is never shy about going too long… I'm certainly not going
to make you hold out to get to the jokes as I go through all 19 blessings. But
I will share with you a few and the truth is you can start thinking about and
connecting the rest of them on your own if you like in the many prayers you
will daven from now on. Or you could just TorahAnytime.com Rabbi Glatstien's 6
shiurim on the subject. But let's get started and see how far we get. I'll try
to crack it down to a nutshell although there is so much more depth to each one
than I'm sharing.
The first three blessings of Shemona
Esrey are meant to correspond to our Patriarchs; Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov
and their attributes. Avraham exemplified love and kindness. Yitzchak is
strength /gevura and judgement/ din. While Yaakov is a blend of both of
those in a midda known as splendor/ tifferet or emes. The first
three birds that we have are the nesher-which has been mistranslated as
an eagle but more likely a vulture, the peres- according to Chabad
translation it's a kite which is some type of bird of prey- and the ozniya-osprey
(sea hawk- I dunno ask a bird watcher OK…). Now what do we know about these
birds and what's their connection?
Very simple. Rashi tells us that the
nesher is the bird that flies the highest and that it is therefore not fearful
of any predator birds from above. It only is fearful from arrows being shot
below. It therefore carries it's young on it's wings to protect them thus
showing that it is willing to take the bullet for its kids. In fact one could
almost look at the bird acting as a shield for its children. Did I say the word
shield? Yup, that's the conclusion of the first blessing Hashem is the shield
of Avraham. The midrash tells us that out of the tremendous love for Avraham
Hashem promised him that when his descendants (us) would be sent into exile.
Hashem would come with us to protect us. This is despite the tremendous
desecration to God's name when we are far from our home and the nations of the
world hurl arrows of scorn on us and our God. Hashem is like our nesher- our
holy bird that is watching and protecting us.
The next blessing about the strength and
judgement of the Hashem is the bird that is called the oznia- do you know what
another word for strength is? Oz. We say in Psalms Hashem oz l'amo yitein-
Hashem gives strength to his people. In fact the Ibn Ezra notes that the bird
was given this name because of the strength it posseses. A quick wiki search
told me that they are in fact a uniquely strong predatory species. So when say
the second blessing of the strength of Hashem. Think Ozniya- or OZprey if you
like.
The third bird interestingly enough, the peres-
is a bird that tears apart it's prey. The word lifros in Hebrew is to take
pieces. As we mentioned the third blessing which corresponds to Yaakov takes a
little bit of the blessing of and kindness of Avraham and a little bit of the
purity of judgement and strength of Yitzchak and blends them together. That is
holiness. Holiness is being able to bring Hashem down and reveal his rule in
this world through his mercy and his judgement. Thus when we say the third
blessing what better bird than the one who's name is all about taking those
pieces. Now the truth is that in the Torah the order is that the peres is
between the oznia and the nesher, which would make the blessings out of order.
But if you understand and appreciate that it's put there to show us that it is
the bird that is taking a bit from both of them then you understand why the
Torah put it right in the middle of them despite being in a different order in
our prayers. You gotta admit this whole thing is very cool…
Let's do two more, we're only on page 3
of the E-Mail. The next bird is really really cool. See according to the Talmud
the Da'ah and the Ayah which are the next two birds listed are
really the same bird. Which is why there are 19 birds although 20 names are
given. Even more interesting is that in the list in Devarim of non-kosher birds
it has three names for this bird the Ra'ah, the Aya and the
Day'ah. Now that's strange…But one thing that immediately stands out is
that fourth blessing is the one for De'ah for knowledge. Which sounds like this
bird…whatever it is. Even cooler than that, Reb Yehoshuah points out-although
that's not his exact word, is that if you look at the bracha there is also that
2:3 separation in the two parts of the blessing.
Ata chonen l'adam da'as
u'mlamed l'enosh bina- you graced man with knowledge
and mankind with understanding.
So we have da'as and bina, in the first
part of the blessing which is the introduction and praise of Hashem. The second
part though, (at least in nusach ashkenaza) not only mentions the two things
knowledge and understanding but adds in a third intelligence- sechel. As well
it changes da'as knowledge to de'ah knowing.
Chaneinu mei'itcha de'ah, bina'
v'haskel- grace us
with knowing, understanding and intelligence.
See how that works? Like the first bird
name who changes from da'ah to ra'ah the knowledge changes from da'as
to de'ah. Then the aya is the same in both Devarim and Shemini as
is the bina in the two parts of the blessing. Finally the end of the
blessing adds in haskel-intelligence and Devarim as well adds in the da'ya
that wasn't mentioned in the first part of the blessing. C'mon you gotta admit,
counting birds is really awesome!
There's no room to go through the rest of
them. I'll just mention that the next blessing teshuva corresponds to the
oreiv-raven who chazal tell us starts out as young babies white and then turns
black. Just as the Baal Teshuva becomes dirty with sin and needs to return to
that pure state. The Bat Ha'ayana the huge ostrich is known for it's cry and is
the only bird that is called the daughter of the ya'anah which is a reference
to it's egg. Just as a sinner has to cry for their sins and there are big sins
who's tuma can be seen from afar and those eggs where the sin is not that clear
but they can grow up to be pretty big. You've got the Chasida- stork that is
the blessing of Shema Koleinu how Hashem hears our prayers. Because the bird is
called a chasid who prays and who also always is tovel in water, like going to
the Mikva before prayer. Listen to the classes, find the sefer… it's good.
I'll just end with the "bird"
that is mentioned last and corresponds to the final blessing of peace. Except
that it's not really a bird. But the truth is I heard from someone once that
the Torah wasn't listing birds. It was listing "ofot"- flying
creatures and this guy definitely fits into that category. See the last animal
mentioned on our bird list is the Atleif- the bat. Remember that little
guy from Wuhan that gave us our most memorable year and half. He certainly flew all over the world like no
one else. Yeah, well guess what blessing he corresponds to? You've got it-
shalom- peace…. If you'd like to see Rabbi Heller's pshat and connection it's a
little bit deep. I'll share with you a beautiful thought that I once heard.
Now despite what you may have heard about
bats being blind. They're not. In fact, some bats actually have even better
vision than humans and can even see ultraviolet light. However bats don't move
or fly based on the way they see things. They move based on the reflection of
their sound of other things. That is what guides them They hear the voice
bounce back and that is the way that they move. Do you want to know the secret
of peace and harmony? The final blessing in shemona Esrei tells us it is
Barcheinu Avinu kulanu k'echad b'ohr
panecha- bless us all as one with
the light of Your countenance
Ki' b'ohr panecha nasata lanu toras
chayim, v'ahavas chesed u'tzdaka' u'vracha, v'rachamim, v'chaim, v'shalom- because with the light of Your countenance you
have given us a living Torah, a love of kindness, charity, blessing, mercy,
life and peace.
All of peace comes when we are not guided
by our own light but rather by Hashem's light. We hear the living Torah
bouncing off of Sinai every day. We hear that voice of Hashem. The bat lives in
the darkest of places and caves. He doesn't need light. He hears the voice of Hashem
bouncing off everyone and everyplace. He is the only bird, that really isn't a
bird. He's a mammal. He nurses his bat children in that darkness as a mother
does. He is that final bird of peace and the last bird of our prayers.
I hope you enjoyed this short essay and
it inspires you as it has me. People always say that I fly threw shemona Esrei
when I daven. Perhaps now I can fly on the wings of these holy birds. May all
of our tefillos soar as high as birds to our Father the Divine Birdwatcher in
heavens. He has his camera and his binoculars and is looking out for us. Ask
Him anything you'd like.
Have a sky high soaring Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
***************************************************
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" Az men zetst a feygele in shtaygele arayn, veys men nist
tsi es lakht tsi es veynt." - Everything revolves around bread and
death -When you put a
bird in a cage, you don't know whether it's laughing or crying.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
23)
A distinctive architectural feature of the Crusader construction:
A)
Triglyphs
B)
Mukarnas
C)
Elbow column
D)
Corinthian capital
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/iag6S6i5244 – identifying Kosher birds from OU! cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QbL9c_XrtE - Birds do Funny things!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYzruSW4dA
- Top Ten Terrifying Birds- not for those
who don't like nightmares…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk3S8CDWlEg – not the best
rendition.. but a must for this weeks E-Mail "The little bird is calling"
classic song
Leah
walks into a pet shop and says to Hymie, the owner, "I want to buy
a canary."
"We have many types," says Hymie, "is there any
particular one you’re after?"
"Yes," replies Leah, "its got to be a very good
singer. I'm prepared to pay good gelt (money) for a great singing bird."
"Lady, I’ve got the very one," says Hymie, "I’ve been
in this business for a long time and this bird has the best singing voice I’ve
ever heard. We don’t call it ‘Pavarotti’ for nothing. I’ll get it for
you."
Hymie brings the cage, places it on the shop counter and says to Leah, "Just
you listen."
With that, the bird begins singing one beautiful song after another. Pleasantly
surprised, Leah murmurs, "What mazel (luck) - this canary really can
sing."
But then, a few seconds later, Leah shouts out, "Oy Vay, this canary’s
only got one leg. Are you trying to cheat me, or what?"
Hymie calmly looks at Leah and replies, "Lady, do you want a singer
or a dancer?"
Until
the agency received the following letter from a camper:
Dear
Sirs,
While
camping last week I shot one of your birds. I think it was a crow. I followed
the cooking instructions on the leg tag and I want to tell you it was horrible.
Moishe received a parrot for his birthday. The parrot was fully grown, with a very bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was a swear word; those that weren't were very rude.
Moishie tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying polite things
and playing soft music anything he could think of. Nothing worked. He
tried yelling at the bird, but the bird got worse. When he shook the bird, it
got madder and ruder.
Finally, in a moment of desperation, Moishie put the parrot in the freezer. For
a few moments he heard the bird swearing, squawking, kicking and screaming and
then, suddenly, there was absolute quiet.
Frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird, Moishie quickly opened
the freezer door. The parrot calmly stepped out onto Jimmy's extended arm and
said, "I'm sorry that I offended you with my language and my actions,
and I ask your forgiveness. I will endeavor to correct my behavior."
Moishie was astounded at the bird's change in attitude. Before he could ask
what changed him, the parrot said, "May I ask what the chicken
did?"
What’s the
difference between Bird flu and swine flu? – For one you get tweetment, for the
other you get oinkment.
*********************************
Answer is C- Another one wrong for me and I really should have gotten this one. I knew it wasn't Muqarnas which is Mamluk architecture (all those honeycomb indentations in a mosques domes). And Cornithian is obviously Roman and Greek architecture. So it really should have been easy. I should've known that Triglyphs were as well Roman. They are the three prism circles on all the columns. But I had forgotten what elbow columns were and guessed that one. They are those corner columns that have leaves on them in almost all Crusader complexes. I see them all the time, I just thought they had a different name. Oh well… another one wrong. So the score is now 16 for Rabbi Schwartz and 7 for the Ministry of Tourism on this exam.
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