from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
"Your friend
in Karmiel"
June 23rd
2023 -Volume 12 Issue
37 4th of Tamuz 5783
Parshat Korach / Chukas
The True Jewish Stereotype
It’s a conversation I have been having a lot lately with
some of my tourists. It might be lashon hara… there aren’t too many
Torah E-mails that afford you that opportunity. But I guess it’s something that
is widely assumed so I’ll just throw it out there. It usually starts out with this frustrated
look. “What is it with these Israelis?” And then the litany of
complaints and stereotypes all come out. They’re aggressive. They’re in your
face. They have no idea about customer service. They’re always trying to hustle
you. I usually cut them off at that point and say “Oh you mean they’re like
New Yorkers?”
Now don’t get me wrong, I get just as frustrated as the other guy
when the taxi guy drops me off a block
away from my house because he doesn’t want to have to turn around. Or when I
come into the bank and they charge me to deposit money in my account- even when
I use the ATM. Or when the guy who’s supposed to fix my car by yesterday hasn’t
gotten around to it yet. He had a bar mitzva to go to instead. Or when… or
when…. or when…
But that same Israeli stereotype-game is a dangerous one. See,
because everybody will play it against you as well. Oh those chareidim they
are such…. Oh those mizrachnikim are not even… Sefardim are like this,
Ethiopians are like this Baal Teshuvas are like that and don’t get me started
on those Lakewood guys… I know each chasid has one about the other
chasidim as well. Satmar are like that Belz are like this
Gerrers are soooo… and Lubvitchers.. don’t even ask… And those are just the religious
Jews and stereotypes But even as an orthodox Jew as we look at those who are
not observant we stereotype them; conservative, reform, liberals, unaffiliated
reconstructiadox and whatever new denominations I haven’t been updated on.
How do you feel like when
you’re put in that box? Can you find yourself in any of these conversations?
Are you a Boro Parker? No I’m from Flatbush. Not really Flatbush… Kensington.
I’m not really a New Yorker, I’m from Monsey, from Tom’s River or Jackson- not
Lakewood. I’m not really an out of towner I went to New York yeshivas. I’m not
a typical BT- I was frum for many years. Yes, I’m from Passaic but I was
actually raised frum and my parents were too.
You can’t even tell. The Sefardim are really the only ones that pretty
much are good with their stereotypes. Yeah I’m Syrian, what do you wanna make
of it?!
OK now that I’ve offended everyone, I want to tell you a little
Rabbi Schwartz tour guide and Kiruv –Rabbi-who-has-lived-everywhere secret that
I have learned from spending a lot of time with all types of Jews. Everyone is
different and everyone is the same. What I mean to say is we all have our
little nuances our own individual idiosyncrasies. We’re a little more or less
like others that are similar us. But we’re all pretty much in the same boat.
But to those that aren’t from “the tribe” guess what? They look at us all as
exactly the same. Particularly and dangerously the ones that have always wanted
to kill us. The Nazi’s didn’t discriminate what material your kippa was made
out of or whether you wore one at all. Neither did the Cossacks, the Romans and
shhhh a little secret neither will Hamas, Hezbollah or the Alt-right nutty
shooter who will come into a synagogue not indifferent if it is a conservative
one in Pittsburgh or a Chabad one in California. They don’t care.
This is because they really see the one thing that is true about
all of us that we sadly don’t. Sit back for this one and hold on to your hat,
yarmulke, shaitel or bald head for all I care. They see that we are all holy.
Yup all of us. Religious, not religious, black hat, Satmar, unaffiliated,
liberal, neo-con. We’re all the nation of Hashem. We all have that holy spark
that can never be extinguished. And that is what they are out to smother out,
whether they can verbalize it or are even conscious of it or not. And you know
what they are right.
Now don’t feel bad if you don’t see that in all of us; if you feel
that there are Jews out there, that putting them in the same sentence as the
word holy, would make about as much sense as the words vegetarian and chulent
in the same sentence would. You won’t be the first to miss that. In fact, none
less of a figure than our greatest leader ever Moshe Rabbeinu might’ve missed
that as well about us. Huh? Let’s take a look at the parshiyot and an
incredible idea brought by quite a few of our sages and Rabbis and maybe even
learn and be conscious of two descriptive words used in the Torah to describe
our holy nation.
The two words that I am referring to are the words kahal
and eida. Literally translated a kahal or kehilla is a
gathering of people while eida is generally translated as a
congregation, which if you think about it really is people congregating or
getting together. The difference though, Rav Charlap in his monumental work Mei
Merom notes, is that kahal is a joining together of individuals they are
defined by their gathering. Eida
on the other hand comes from the word eid-to testify or a witness. It is
l’olam va’ed it is eternal. It is od-more than the
sum of all of the parts. When the Jewish people are described as a kahal
we are a rabble whereas when we are an eida we are not individuals
anymore we are identified as a whole that bears witness to the define spark and
the light and power we all share to reveal Hashem in the world.
For most of the book of Shemos and prior
to our receiving the Torah the term for the Jewish people as a whole was am
Yisrael- the nation of Israel. After Mt. Sinai and most notably in the book
of Bamidbar we find more and more this issue and concept of the Jewish nation
becoming the eida. The book of Bamidbar begins with the mitzva to count
the heads of adat Yisrael. The portion that describes the spies that
were sent out tells us that they returned with their report to the eida
of the fearful challenge that the conquest of Israel would entail. If we
would’ve revealed the spark of Hashem in each of us we could’ve done it no
problem. But instead the eida cried. We didn’t see ourselves as such.
And thus Hashem wanted to destroy us. He would rebuild the eida from
Moshe. But after Moshe talks Hashem down it is only spies that become their own
eida. In their deaths and the deaths of all of those that mourned with
them in the wilderness. There would be a testimony still. The next generation
will enter the land and be the eida in their place. The testimony would
continue. It is after-all eternal
It is no wonder that this story finally brings us to this week’s
parsha, for those of you diaspora Jews that are still waiting to come into the
land, where this concept of eida and kahal come up once again.
Korach tells Moshe if indeed we are all holy and all one eida then why
is there a need for Kohanim/ priests. He organizes the ‘kriei eida’-
literally the most notable of the congregation but the term also represents the
essence of the fight. We are all ‘kriei haeida’-called eida. We
are all equal testifiers. ‘Kol ha’eida kulom kedoshim’- the entire
assembly, every Jew is holy. Hashem is in us. Why do you view us as merely a ‘kahal
Hashem’- a gathering of people that would therefore require a leader and a
priest? Moshe once again falls on his face.
Moshe however speaks to Korach and his eida.
This is Korach’s eida. This is not Hashem’s testimony. This is once
again a separate congregation. You can either be the eida of Hashem and reveal
his name by taking your place amongst the nation, or they will be the
testimony, as the meraglim were, in their deaths. He implores them they
were chosen from the eida. They can be the representatives of the eida.
Don’t rebel against Hashem’s command. Hashem’s plan and command was that at
this point it was meant to still work through Moshe. We are not in Israel yet. The time is not yet
ripe.
The rest of the story is Hashem removing the eida of
Korach. They got swallowed by the earth. There can only be one testimony in
this world. It is the eida of Hashem not Korach and not his eida.
The eternal mitzva is given not to be part of Korach and his eida. They are
part of the Torah and live in infamy crying ‘Moshe is true and the Torah is
true’ from the ground below.
The eida rebels though they complain against Moshe.
Bamidbar(17:7) Vayehi bhikahel ha’eida- and it was when
the congregation gathered on Moshe and Aharon and they turned to the ohel
moed- the tent of the assembly. And behold the glory of Hashem appeared…
Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon remove yourself from this eida and I
will destroy them in an instant!
It is all about the eida. Will we be an eida of
Hashem? If not then there is no point.. We cease to exist. We get chopped off
in a plague. Aharon at the behest of Moshe takes the ketores incense
that represents every type of Jew all the 31 11 flavors, from the sweet
to the pungent and the plague stops. The epilogue of this story is with an eternal
testimony-eidus lmishmeres- a testimony to safeguard. The staff of
Aharon will blossom the other staffs did not and those staffs then become the
eternal sign that we are all cut from a tree and we all have staffs to lead
each tribe with, but all the tribes are part of the eida of Moshe and
Aharon the Kohen. The holy eida of Hashem.
Which finally brings us to this week’s portion Parshat Chukat,
read this week in Israel, which begins with the mitzva of the purity of Parah
Aduma- the Red cow and then jumps ahead to the last devastating few months
before we come to the land of Israel. The placement of this seemingly unrelated
portion of the purity from coming in contact with death through the sprinkling
of the ashes of the cow upon the impure, is not coincidental or bad editing.
Neither is the title of the parsha, Chukas- a decree where an explanation isn’t
given for it, nor, as Rashi notes, is one meant to search out a reason for the
mitzva. The title is never just about the first mitzva, rather it is the secret
of the entire parsha and perhaps of our entire journey in the wilderness and
the essence of the Jewish people that we have been talking about.
The narrative after the parah aduma tells us poignantly
that
Bamidbar(20:1) The children of
Israel, the entire eida, came to midbar tzin on the first month and Miriam died
there.
Rashi notes that the Torah in telling us that we are an eida
at this point, and not merely saying that ‘the children of Israel came’,
is telling us we are ‘eida hashleima’- we are complete. All those that
were meant to die in the wilderness have died. We are ready to go into the
land. The moment that Korach had foreseen had arrived. The time when we would
finally enter the land as Calev and Yehoshua foretold, and we would reveal
Hashem that is within us and our enemies would flee from us was ready to be
realized. We were ready to become that holy testimony of Hashem.
There is a hitch though. With the dying of Miriam the water supply
that came miraculously from their ‘traveling rock/ well’ comes to an end. The
people are, rightfully so, concerned. They didn’t need a tour guide to warn
them about becoming dehydrated. Moshe and Aharon however at this point miss the
boat.
Bamidbar (20:6) And Moshe and
Aharon come to the Ohel Moed from the presence of the kahal.
Moshe and Aharon, don’t see them as the perfect eida of
Hashem. In their eyes, Rav Charlap suggests, they are still a kahal- a
gathering. This is their mistake. Maybe it is PTKD that has stifled them. Post
Traumatic Korach Disorder, of course. Hashem was surprisingly not angry at the
people though this time. Because in fact the time was ripe. They were the
people of faith. They were ready to graduate and be taught the next lesson. He
thus tells Moshe, quite calmly
Bamidbar (20:7) gather the eida
and take your staff you and Aharon and speak to the rock before their eyes and
it shall give its waters. You shall bring forth for them water from the rock
and give drink to the eida and their cattle.
If Moshe is meant to speak the rock, what is the point of bringing
the staff? The answer is to show them that the staff will no longer be
necessary, suggests Rebbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. The point was to show
them that as they enter the land and they take their role as the people of
Hashem. They don’t need the staff. They don’t need Moshe. They don’t need
miracle workers and intermediaries. They just merely need to reveal the spark
of Hashem and tap into their inner holiness and the water will come forth from
the rock naturally. The enemies that their parents were so fearful of when they
spied out the land ‘sar tzilam’- they will lose their shadows. The lands
that would eat up its inhabitants will flourish and produce just for them. We
will have come home and the light of Hashem that each of possesses will shine
out to the world.
But Moshe and Aharon didn’t get it.
Bamidbar (20:9) And Moshe and
Aharon gathered the kahal- the gathering to the rock.
They didn’t see a perfect eida. A nation that was ready to
bring out the testimony of Hashem to the world. They saw a rabble, They saw a kahal,
a gathering. Israelis. And they spoke to them as you would to an Israeli, who
you didn’t see the holiness inside of them
And he said to them ‘Listen now O
rebels shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?
Reb Levi Yitzchak said, well of course if the Jewish people are
not an eida then talking to the rock won’t work. It will only respond to
nation that are there to reveal the testimony of the Creator to the world. The
rock needs to be hit to produce water when we’re not seeing the holiness. If
the nation feels that they are really rebels rather than a holy embodiment of
Hashem in this world than the rocks won’t respond to our voices, our souls. And
thus Moshe had to hit the rock. And the water came out and fed the eida.
And Hashem then told Moshe and Aharon that they will not be able to bring the
kahal into the land. Because that is what they saw them
as; a gathering of different people with a shared religion and some great
customs and some nasty habits, who like to kvetch a lot, but not a united
testimony of Hashem in this world.
It is for this reason, by the way, why Esau/Edom does not let us
into his land. If Moshe had been successful in using and teaching us that
together we possess the power of the voice of Yaakov then we would overcome the
sword of Esau. But Moshe still raised his hand to the rock. He did not sanctify Hashem and teach them
that lesson of faith that can be found in the entire nation as one. Esaud/Edom,
thus responded that he was not scared of us. Moshe would not be bringing us
into the land. The time when we actualize becoming the complete eida of
Hashem was missed.
The Torah portion is called Chukas because it is the whole
portion. It is something that is an incredible, almost unexplainable decree of
Hashem. Each Jew is holy. We each share a spark that is pure and all of our
sins, like the sin of the golden calf can be purified by the ashes of the
mother cow. The baby has that spark of the mother inside of it. And the root,
that DNA can always be traced back and purified from where it came. We all come
from one tree. There are branches that fall off and there are leaves that need
to even sometimes be pruned . But the tree is eternal. The entire congregation
is the tree of Hashem. Each Jew has that holy spark. Each Jew has the power
when we become that eida to bring forth water from a rock with his
prayers. When he is part of his people. When he sees that every other Jew has
that same connection he does. If we miss that about each other than we are
missing the tree of life and the blossoming almonds that sprout up from us.
This past week was the yartzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I’m not
a Chabad chasid. At times I was even against much of chabad’s
actions and ideologies. However, there is one lesson, one teaching that he
revealed and that has become the legacy he left over to the world. It is this
lesson that every Jew is holy. Our nation will never become that eida
which will herald in the Messianic era as long as there is one Jew left that
has not been connected to our congregation. His life’s mission was bringing that
message to every Jew. To tie them to Hashem with teffilin, That every
Jewish woman should light that Shabbos candle and spark. That each Jew should
reveal that love and bond we share rather than the differences that divide us.
May we live up to that great legacy and may we finally become the adas
Hashem, our Father has been waiting for.
Have an peaceful and holy Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
This
week's Insights and Inspiration is sponsored by Reb Chaim Klein as a zechus and
in loving memory of his grandfather Reb Dovid Shmuel ben Reb Moshe Yosef Z’L
who’s yartzeit is the 8th of Tamuz this Tuesday. Reb Dovid Shmuel a
holocaust survivor, was a tremendous Talmid Chocham, whom Reb Aharon Kotler
himself enjoyed speaking with as he served as the cook for many years (after he
had moved to the States from Eretz Yisrael where he served in the IDF as a cook
and in Ponivizh Yeshiva!). He had a very popular restaratunt in Boro Park and was
known for the Chesed and free meals he would provide for the needy as well as
for Tomchey Shabbos.
May his
neshoma have an aliya and may he continue to be a tremendous meilitz yosher for
his family and descendants who hold is legacy and memory as a constant
inspiration.
Tihei
Zichro Baruch!
************************
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
““A
groyse oylem, un nito eyn mentsch..”- A crowd of people, and not one real
person among them.”
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
27) The site
where Flavius Josephus surrendered himself to the Romans is called:
What
characterizes the topographic structure of the central lower-Galilee?
A) mountain
ranges and valleys
B) low rounded
hills
C) spurs of
basalt
D) a wide
valley surrounded by mountains
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/good-shabbos
- This
song is really the one that you need to start off your every week with… Here it
is again my Good Shabbis Good Shabbis Good Shabbis song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ltx_lo13qA –Hamin HaSela Hazeh- An oldie from Aharon
Razel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHzHoDlJYLU
– Motty Illowitz looking for a world
we all treat each other as equals.. beautiful Yiddish song andeerish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSvjxsPEYdI – Fantastic Classic
old London Boys Concert… Mostly because Im singing the song Vechi Yadov Shel Moshe (at 6:58) or more connected to this
weeks portion vechi nachash meimis umechaye…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU0G5FiiFJ4
– The latest hilarious Bardak with surprise guest appearance of my good
buddy… No spoilers… you have to watch to see… its worth it.. And everyone in
the system here will laugh at their politically incorrect “Admissions Committee”
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR
PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
The Prophet Cries - 670 BC- The era of the Kings of Israel begins its downward spiral. After Yehoram’s
meeting with the Shunamite woman when he heard of the miracles of Elisha,
he still refuses to cave to him despite the salvations. Along with him the
Jewish people follow, continuing the worship in the temples erected by Yehoram’s
great great grandaddy Yeravam.ben Nevat. It escalates with Geichazi,
our sages tell us, even encouraging this worship making the golden calves
erected by Yeravam speak and fly magically.
Elisha tries to come after to Geichazi to
return him to him after excommunicating him, but Geichazi flees to Aram
which is modern day Syria. Elisha, though travels there after
him where he has one of the most terrifying prophecies that we are told about.
One that has him bursting out in tears and crying.
The King of Aram at that time was Ben
Hadad. The truth is many of the kings in Tanach share the same name, in
fact some say and explain that the names of the kings are really generic. There
are a few Pharaohs of Egypt, a few Yavin’s of Chatzor a few Avimelechs
of the Philistines and Gerar and Ben Hadad as well is a standard
King name that some Syrian kings. Interestingly enough we find two
Jewish Kings as well reigning at the same time as well with the same name the King
of Yehudah after his death is Yehoram as well as the King of
Yisrael in the North is Yehoram or Yoram the son of Achav.
Neither were good Kings.
The King of Aram sends his general Chazael
to ask Elisha if he would recover from the sickness he was suffering
from. This was as well a black stain on the Jewish people and Kings. The goyim
respected Elisha more than the Jews did. When he comes Elisha has this
vision. He sees Chazael slaughtering Jews, men women and children and destroying
our nation burning down our storehouse and killing them brutally by sword.
He tells Chazael cryptically that Ben
Hadad will die and not recover from his illness, however he advises him not
to tell him. Better let him live out his last days thinking he will live. Then
he tells him that he will be King after him and that he is destined to do
terrible things to our nation. Chazael denies that will ever happen, but
he goes off and according to some opinions in our sages is the one that actually
kills Ben Hadad smothering him with his blanket. The end is coming for
the Jewish people and Elisha is the only one that seems to feel the pain
of the upcoming horrors.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE AMERICAN
JOKES OF THE WEEK
Signs you are in America
a pizza can get to your house faster than an ambulance.
-- there are handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
-- Sick people must walk to the back of the drugstore to get their
prescriptions, while healthy people can buy cigarettes in the front.
-- Banks leave both vault doors open, but pens are chained to the
counters.
-- Expensive cars sit in the driveways and useless junk fills
garages.
-- people use voice mail to screen calls and call waiting to catch
every call they might miss.
-- Drive-Up ATM machines feature Braille lettering
A recent Survey found that when the question was asked “what’s your
opinion about the food scarcity in the rest of the world?” Each nation had its
own response.
- Russia: “Opinion? What’s that?”
- Africa: “Food? What’s that?”
- Europe: “Scarcity? What’s that?”
- USA: “rest of the world? What’s that?”
Imagine if Americans switched from pounds to kilograms overnight. There
would be mass confusion.
Why are so many americans stupid? Cause they shoot the ones that go
to school
What is the difference between Americans and IT support? Americans
don't have troubleshooting.
Why do Americans go fishing with a gun? So they get the whole
school.
Do u know why Hashem created wars? to teach Americans geography
What do you call a worker in America that will work hard for
reasonable pay and never whine? An immigrant.
9 out of 10 Americans are stupid... I'm so glad I'm in the 1%.
An American couple is driving through Canada and stops at a gas
station to fuel up. As the man goes into the station to pay, his wife calls out
to him, “Ask them where we are!”
So the husband walks in, pays, and asks, “By the way, where are
we?”
To which the attendant answers, “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.”
The man goes back to his car and the wife asks, “Where are we?”
“He doesn't speak English" replies the husband.
President Biden ordered an F16 missile attack to destroy the
Chinese spy balloon. Americans are thrilled. It's the first thing he's done to
combat inflation.
True Story-On a recent trip to Washington, D.C.my friend overheard
a patriotic father pointing out a well-known building to his son. "You see
that triangular-shaped octagon over there? That's the Pentagon.
If someone who speaks two languages is bilingual, and someone who
speaks many languages is multilingual, then what do you call someone who speaks
one language? An American.
True story-“I’m American and I’m sick of people saying USA is the
stupidest country in the world. Personally I think Europe is the stupidest
country in the world.”
Another true story- An
American tourist last summer asks me quite innocently: "It's the 4th of
July tomorrow. How do you guys celebrate it here?" OYYY.. I love America.
********************************
The answer to this week”s question is A - Got this one right as well, despite the fact I don’t really tour Yodefat too much-although it’s a pretty great site many tell me. I guess I need to find to get back there and check it out. But it’s where Jospephus describes a Masada-like story where all his men were killed by one another (mercifully) rather than fall inhands of Romans. Lots were taken and he chose the last lot and rather than kill himself as he was supposed to do after killing the last ten men, he surrendered to the Romans in order to write the history books of the Jews. The story takes place in the central lower Galil which of course is called the galil because of the rolling hills and valleys that make up its topography. So another right one for me and the score now stands at 20.5 for Schwartz and 6.5 for Ministry of tourism on this exam so far.
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