from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
November 4th 2022 -Volume
12 Issue 3 10th of Cheshvan 5783
Parshat Lech Lecha
“I”
tinerary
It’s probably one of the most frustrating
things for tourists of mine. They want to know what we will be doing. What are
we going to see? What will we do? Where will we explore. What will our day be like?
I understand them. It’s in fact only normal to expect a planned worked out
itinerary for the day or days they will be paying a lot of money to me to guide
them for. For most of them, this is not a trip they do all the time. It may
even be a trip of a lifetime. They have all different ages in their family that
are coming along. Different needs and expectations and even different interests
and places and activities that some may want to do and others may not. So, let’s
go over some ideas, they say to me. Send us some sample itineraries and we can
hash it out and send it around our group and decide. When’s a good time for us
to have a group call and discuss all our options. Unfortunately for them
though, Rabbi Schwartz doesn’t really work that way. Yup, you guys got stuck
with the one tour guide in Israel that really avoids making itineraries for his
clients. You’ll just have to bite your lip and trust me, I tell them. But one
thing, I guarantee- if you do, you will absolutely have the best day of your
lives.
Let me explain a bit where I’m coming from and
why I feel this way. Why my tour guiding planning Modus Operandi has shifted
and changed. Why over the years I feel that itineraries are really the big
enemy to a great tour. And if you stick around until the end of this first part
of the E-Mail, then you’ll even see that Hashem pretty much feels the same way,
why this is really the secret of an incredibly rich and successful life, and
even how this all ties into the Bar Mitzva of my son Tully this Shabbos and my
bracha and wishes to him.
But first before we get to all of that, and
the way that I convince my tourists to just go with me on this- besides the
fact that for the large part they are either return customers that already had
an amazing time, is that they’ve come to me from previously satisfied and even
ecstatic customers that have told them that they really need to have the Rabbi
Schwartz tour when they come to Israel if they want to do it right. So, I have
a bit of credibility before I start generally speaking. Yet at the same time I
assure them that one of the secrets of a Rabbi Schwartz tour-and it really
doesn’t matter who I tour, because I really take all types of families, large,
small, religious, non-religious, in towners out of towners; everybody- is that
every day will have the basic four ingredients within them. Each day will have
some history in it, it could be Tanach, Mishna, Talmud, Romans Crusaders,
Modern Israeli history. Each day has some type of nature in it to take in the
beauty of the land of Israel. Perhaps a hike, or trail, or farm or overlook or
water. Each day will have some fun activity, which could be jeeping, Atv, rapelling,
speedboating, rafting, camel rides, donkey rides, chocolate factory, workshops
and hands on activities. And finally, every day will have good food. Very
important. Some tour guides can find you the hardest hikes in Israel. I’m the
one that knows where all the best mehadrin restaurants are. The optional
fifth is of course holy sites and graves of tzadikim, but that I
generally only do for prayers, Shacharis, Mincha, Mariv or after daylight
hours. I’m not going to make any of my tourists go on the tour my parents made
me go on when I was 10, when I thought that the entire Israel was just dead
people and Tehillim all day.
So depending on my tourists, we have a bit
more chocolate, more salt, more pepper, more honey, but at the end of the day I
guarantee everyone will get something out of the day and most people will get
everything. See, once they know that, then most of my tourists are comfortable.
They don’t need more details or a specific plan. Because in truth that’s all that everybody
really wants out of a great touring day in Israel. Usually at that point they are
ready to sign up and trust me. Which of course is the best decision they’ve
ever made.
Now what is my problem and issue with making
itineraries and specifically telling people what we will be doing? Am I just
lazy, or too busy or can’t be bothered with hashing out all the nitty gritty
details and specifics? The answer to that is probably yes. I am busy, thank God.
Finally, after a year and half of sitting on the couch during Corona waiting
for you guys to come back. I’m swamped, in fact. I am a bit lazy and don’t have
patience really to plan these things out as well. But it’s more than that as
well. Itineraries are the enemy, I’ve learned. Life is much much better when
you have no idea what’s going to come next. If you don’t believe me. Look at
this week’s Parsha. Think about the first commandment we find Hashem giving to
our forefather Avraham on his first tour to Israel. Lech Lecha… Go for
yourself from you father’s land, your birthplace el ha’makom asher areh’ka-
to the place I will show you. What’s the itinerary? You’ll find out when you
get there, Avraham. Meantime get on the minibus, we’ve got a trip and journey
to make.
OK so here’s my problem with itineraries. The truth
I believe is that it’s Hashem’s problem as well. And if you understand this, I
believe it can really be a life-changing experience in every area in life. The
first is that I’ve found is that whenever we begin to discuss itineraries, my
tourists want to know the entire tour before we even get there. So, let’s say I
tell them that we will go to Rosh Hanikra. They then want to know what they’ll
see there. What will we do there? What I’m going to talk about. They want the whole
tour before we even get there. The problem with that is that first of all, telling
you what it will be and what we will do is never going to be as amazing and
seeing it for yourself. There are some places that are just so magnificent and spectacular
that words don’t really do it justice. You’ve just got to see it to appreciate
it. The second thing is that the experience of seeing and discovering it for
the first time without knowing what it will be is an amazing experience in of
itself. You don’t want to know what’s going to happen at the end of the story
in a book or movie. Part of the “chavaya” is the “Wow!” when you
see it all open and unfold in front of you. And I don’t want to take that from
you, so I’m just not telling you.
The next reason why I don’t tell my tourists
what we are going to do particularly if it’s a larger group, is that everyone
else has a different idea of what they think we should do, what they heard from
a friend will be great, what a trip for Israel would be incomplete unless they
did it. Inevitably what that means, since we can’t do everything, is that
someone will be disappointed. Ahh… we should’ve done that instead. We missed
out on this. Why didn’t we go here or there? Along the same lines as well is that the day
never works out according to plan anyways. We get a later start, the weather
isn’t what we thought it would be, we spent more or less time in one place or
another, or we hit traffic. If they had a plan and a schedule then what happens
is that we will inevitably not end up doing something that was on the plan and
they will feel, that we missed out. Shucks, we should’ve done that. I told you
guys to come down earlier or not to dilly dally at those shops or take so many
pictures. Someone is going to be disappointed. If on the other hand we never
had a plan. So we never miss out on anything. We just used after minute doing
and seeing and enjoying and experiencing the best day of your life in Eretz
Yisrael.
Moving along on reasons not to have an itinerary,
is that what happens when you have a plan and when you have some type of fun
activity (which as I said we always do) that’s the only thing that the kids are
thinking about all day. Are we going to make it in time for the chocolate
factory? When are we going Jeeping? Should we change yet for our rafting down
the Jordan? When is the camel rides? They don’t appreciate or enjoy or allow
themselves to be totally inspired by the rich history and story of Masada, or
the shuls of Tzfat, or places of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs or the sages of
the Mishna because all they can think about is the farkakteh speedboating ride that
was on the other itinerary or the Atv’ing through the desert. They’re too
nervous we’re not going to get there in time, and they’re too concerned that they
will miss out on the activity. If they never know what’s on the schedule
though, the opposite happens. They enjoy everything that we’re doing during the
moment and the thrill, excitement, and surprise when they finally find out
towards the end of the day that we’re going jeeping, horseback riding or
sliding down waterfalls is even more fun. Why would I take that experience away
from anyone?
But perhaps the most meaningful and even
holiest reason not to have an itinerary pre-planned and to just trust your tour
guide is because there is an incredible satisfaction and relief to be able to
know that you truly don’t have to worry about anything. You’re in good hands. I
have your back. And your front. And your kids. Your food, your fun, your
inspiration. I’ve got you covered. Your kids will be asking you the entire day,
what’s next? Where are we going? What are we going to see? What’s the plan? And
for many of you, for the first time in your lives, not have to tell them
anything. I don’t know. Ask the tour guide. He’s in charge. You will feel that
burden of the need to always have an answer, a plan, a response and a
discussion whether we should do this or that, whether we should go here or
there lifted from your shoulders. You can just sit back and enjoy the ride. You
can look out the window and take it all in. And the truth is, isn’t that what
life really should be like anyways?
It’s a funny word “itinerary”. According to
google it comes from the latin word itinerareum which means journey of roads. To
me it’s all about Lech Lecha- or as Rashi says journeying to the the “I” to
yourself. To revealing something special inside of yourself- l’hana’ascha u’ltovascha-
for your enjoyment or benefit and for your good. Rav Charlap explains that when
someone looks at things wit their human physical eyes then we are limited by
our perception. We think that we “see it like it is”. There’s good and bad in
front of us. Hopefully its mostly good that we see. Yet at the same time our
natural sense is to see the things that are not that great. That didn’t work
out. We find that little black dot, the parts of the trip that weren’t so geshmak.
When one however is not limited by the physical eyes, rather they are seeing
things through the “eyes’ of heaven. If they understand that the heavenly tour
guide had planned and worked out everything just perfect for them, then there
is nothing that went or goes wrong on the trip. There’s only good. Even the
things that might seem at first glance to have not worked out according to “our
plan”, that’s only because we never really knew what the perfect “I” tinerary
for our trip was. We’re silly tourists in life that heard from friends of
ours what we should see and do, but didn’t know that those things weren’t the right
things for us to experience in our tour. Only the Divine tour guide knows how
to create that specialized personal “I” tinerary for us and for our family and
for our life. We just have to trust him and see the places asher ar’ehka-
which He will show us. If we have that faith, then it will not only be l’tovascha-
a good trip, but even l’hanasacha- it will be the trip of a lifetime
that we will enjoy every minute of it.
It’s not only Avraham’s first tour to Eretz
Yisrael that Hashem takes the reigns of Avraham and tells him to trust Him and
see the land that He will show him. In next week’s parsha as well when he takes
Yitzchak up to Har Ha’Moriah where he will bring him for a sacrifice, once
again it’s to “the place I will show you”. A thousand years later when Avraham’s
descendants will come to the land of Israel as well the location of the Bais
Ha’Mikdash is l’shichno tidroshu u’vasah shama- I’m not telling you where
it is. It’s going to be the place I will show you. For forty years in the wilderness
we went to “not-planning-itinerary school to learn this. We left when the
clouds and pillar fire our “tour guides” signal for us to move, told us to. And
the day was over when they rested. The person that understood that the most in
life, though was Moshe Rabbeinu. His one request in life was to be able to see
the land. He wanted to see the good Hashem had for us in the land. He wanted to
be on Hashem’s itinerary. But it wasn’t meant to be for him. That wasn’t part
of his tour.
The truth is though as opposed to itineraries
as I am, I still understand that my tourists need some type of plan and outline
for what our day would like. I mean of course they already know that it’s going
to be good. But they need to know how to dress, what to bring, how to prepare
best to experience everything that we will be doing. Are we doing water activities?
Do they need bathing suits, sunscreen, water? Should they bring lunch? Nosh- that’s always a
yes by the way. They need instructions. Hashem
does that for us as well. Those instructions for our journey in life-or our
tour we call the “Torah” or “Tour-ahhh..” See the “ahhhh” sigh of geshmak is
when we follow it.. It’s the plan that Hashem has mapped out for us how to get
the most out of the incredible trip the neshoma he has given us can get the
most of our sojourn here in this world. It’s the plan for how we will get to Eretz
Yisrael and fulfill His mitzvos in the ultimate way. It’s our triptiks
(remember those?) to the Bais Ha’Mikdash. That journey begins when we get on
that minibus of Klal Yisrael at our Bar Mitzva. It’s our visa to become part of
this incredible tour. It’s when the fun all starts.
One of the cute things that I like about some
of my tourist family trips is that some of them all get these matching T-
Shirts and caps with some family slogan or title on it. The “Greenberg
Israel winter 2022 Israel Trip”, “Tully’s Bar Mitzva”, “The Rocking
Rokach family”, “The Cohen’s love Israel”. Hashem as well has given
us our own unique uniforms. They are the tefillin, that we wear, the tznius
that we dress with and more importantly act with, the Bris Mila that Avraham is
given in this week’s parsha, our tzitzis. They tell the world that we
are on a trip of a lifetime- or perhaps a lifetime that is really merely a
trip. Avraham’s trip is absolutely nothing like he would ever have planned. He
goes to Israel and then has to leave to Egypt, he has wars, he has guests, he
meets angels, he has sees miracles, he becomes wealthy, he grows, he becomes. His
journey, our sages tell us is the journey of all of us. Maa’seh avos siman la’banim.
All of our lives will never be what expected but it is the itinerary that is
made specifically and personally for us. Hashem tells His angels next week that
the reason He chose Avraham is because
Ki yada’ativ l’maan asher yitzaveh es banuv
v’es baieso acharuv v’shomru derech Hashem-
Because I know that he will command his children and his house after him and
they will follow the path of Hashem.
Avraham taught his children that life is following
the itinerary and instructions of Hashem. We are on His path. We are on His
tour. And Tully, I’m passing on and sharing that message with you as well.
Mommy and I are so proud of you. We’ve spent 13
years preparing you for this trip and tour. This morning you put on your tour
tefillin, your uniform, your tzitzis and you came on the bus. May life’s
journey always be l’hana’scha and l’tovascha- that you always
have ha’na’ah enjoyment and fulfillment. That you always see the good.
That your journey brings all of Klal Yisrael and the shechina back to its
final destination. To the Bais Ha’Mikdash gloriously rebuilt. Mazel Tov!
Mazel Tov!
Have a Nachasdikeh Simchadikeh Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
*********
YIDDISH PROVERB
OF THE WEEK
“Az me gait
gleich, fait men nit.”- If you walk straight, you will not
stumble.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE
WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/kum
-
My incredible song from this week’s Bar Mitzva Parsha of the commandment of
Avraham to start his journey of Eretz Yisrael. Get your hiking shoes on for
this one KUM!
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/vzakeynu-lirot-banim
– My Nachas song praying to and praising Hashem for blessing me with children that
follow Hashem’s ways.
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/eitz-chayim
– Finally my song about the Torah- that tree
of life that only brings pleasentness the lekach tov Hashem has gifted us with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHN7q_qePXU
- And for
good measure great new Lech Lecha song by Eli Levine and of course arranged by
my dear friend Yitz Berry!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
16) The first agricultural
settlements of the third Aliya were established in the _________ region
The conditions that allowed this were
A) Good agricultural lands
that had modern farming equipment
B) Accessibility to the
purchase of land and the establishment of contiguous settlements
C) Security and the proximity
to central roads that connected the different populations
D) The historical Jewish connection to the area
with the abundance of archeological remains from the period of the Mishna and
the Talmud
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S
ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
The Final Battle - 718 BC – The tragic life of Achav comes to an
end this week with his final battle against Ben Hadad of Aram. I
say tragic life of Achav, because on the one hand he had mourned and
done teshuva for the murder in which he was complicit of Navos, whom his
wife Jezebel had killed on his behalf in order that he could take his vineyard.
Achav heeded the rebuke of Eliyahu and was given extra years. On
the other hand his greed and confidence led him astray to wage war against Ben
Hadad whom he had spared earlier against the wishes of Hashem and his
prophet Micha ben Imla. They became the thorn in his side and when he decided
to attack them together with the righteous King of Yehudah, Yehoshafat,
once again the prophet Micha warned him that he would die and that the
war would fail. Achav though was fooled by the spirit of Navos that
came back down to the other prophets Tzidkiyahu ben Canana that convinced
him to go to battle anyways. Tzidkiyahu even slaps Micha and Achav
has him locked up and fed animal food until he would come back from battle.
Micha ruefully tells Achav that he ain’t gonna be coming back.
Meantime
as the ready for battle Achav recognizes that he probably has a big
target on his back, as Ben Hadad is out to get him. It is reminiscent of
the various battles of the modern state of Israel as we mentioned where our
mercy on our enemies just lead to their renewed determination to wipe us out
and they come back with a fury. So Achav tells Yehoshafat that he
will be disguising himself as a regular soldier so that they don’t find him
instead of going out in the typical royal gear and chariots. Yehoshafat
though goes out to be bait almost in his regular royal garment. The ploy doesn’t
work though in the big picture.
The
battle takes place by Ramot Gilead which is in modern day Jordan on
the other side of the Yarden. The soldiers of Ben Hadad spot Yehoshafat
in his royal attire and began to attack him assuming that he was Achav. Yet
Yehoshafat t cried out to Hashem and Hashem miraculously saved him. The
troops of Achav heard Yehoshafat davening and realized that this
wasn’t Achav, as Achav wasn’t a big davener it seems. They had
orders from Ben Hadad to focus their attack only on Achav and
thus upon realizing that they had the wrong man redirected their attack towards
Achav’s men. One of the archers of Ben Hadad shot an arrow and it
hit Achav between his armor. Again this was certainly a divine shot directed
by Hashem. As they say every bullet has its destination. Achav is
mortally wounded and evacuated from the battlefield and brought back home to
Shomron where he dies and his blood drips down out of the chariot “in the pools
of the prostitutes and where the dogs licked his blood”. This was a fulfilment of
the prophecy of Micha of what Achav’s end would be like. The people
of Israel though according to the Midrash fled the battlefield however Ben
Hadad’s army did as well and so besides for the death of Achav the
battle was won.
The
story and all of the stories of Achav are usually best told by Tel
Jezre’el in the Jezre’el valley, where Achav’s palace once
stood, overlooking those vineyards that still grow there today. There’s a great
pool there for kids to dip in, however I generally leave out the part about Achav’s
bloody chariot being washed there until after they’ve dipped. Next week we
conclude the book of Melachim I with the story of what happens to Yehoshafat
before we move to the next generation of the Kings of the North and Southern
Kingdoms of Israel.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S REALLY
TERRIBLE TRAVEL JOKES OF THE WEEK
Knock-knock. Who’s there? Cargo. Cargo who? Cargo beep-beep!
Knock-knock. Who’s there? Europe. Europe who? No, I’m not! You are!
Knock-knock. Who’s there? Hawaii. Hawaii who? I’m good! Hawaii you?
Knock-knock. Who’s there?. Norma Lee Norma Lee who? Norma Lee, we
go swimming on Sundays, but today we’re doing a mountain hike!
Knock-knock Who’s there? Sherwood. Sherwood who? I Sherwood like to
leave the hotel and start our tour right now!
How do you know elephants love to travel? Because they always pack
their trunk!
How do rabbits travel? By Hareplane!
Why did the librarian get thrown off the plane? Because the flight
was overbooked!
What happens when you wear a watch on a plane? Time flies!
I don’t want to take my dog on road trips! He can be such a bark
seat driver.
The food on the small aircraft wasn’t good…It was a little plane.
I took four hours to check out of my hotel in Japan. The
receptionist told me, “You really Tokyo
time.”
I love travelling to France.
There’s nothing Toulouse.
Why are the winters so cold in America? I think Alaska local.
I haven’t slept in days
because I am about to climb the highest mountain in the world. I wonder whether
I will Everest.
Mountains are not just funny, they are really hilly areas.
The airline lost my luggage, so I sued them. Unfortunately, I lost
the case.
Don’t love the water? Hiking is great for an altitude adjustment!
When going to the bathroom in the woods, you have to use the
facilitrees.
Want to know our plan for today’s hike? I’ll summit up nicely.
Me: “I’d love to travel more”. The bank account: “Like, to the
park?”
My favourite childhood memory is my parents paying for my holidays.
********************************
Answer is B This one had me stumped and I think I got it
wrong. But I’ll let you know next week for sure. I was pretty sure that the
answer was the Jezre’el valley. I thought it was because of the central roads
which I understood to be the train line of Rakevet Ha’Emek- the valley train
that connected it all made transportation easier to move things and connect all
of the settlements. On the other hand they did have modern equipment then, it
did have good farming land and as well there were many lands that were
purchased. So I’ll hold off on the score until next week to let you know how I did
on this one (or you did) after I poll my tour guiding group and ask them what
they think And thus the score now is
until now as of last week Schwartz 12 and 3
for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam.
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