Insights and
Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
"Your friend in
Karmiel"
March 21st
2025 -Volume 14 Issue 21 21st of Adar 5785
Parshat Vayakhel / Parah
Post-Purim-Parsha-Passion-Parah-Preparation
There’s really
nothing like Purim. I know it’s over already, but I’m still flying high.
Especially this past year with the whole 3-day Purim thing here in Eretz
Yisrael. It’s just a weekend of fun of singing, of drinking and most of all for
me of loving, laughing and giving. All Jewish holidays are fun and special. But
Purim brings out the neshoma. The soul of the Jew emanates on all
levels. It doesn’t make a difference if you’re religious or not, sefardi or
Ashkenazi, Israeli or American. Old or young, male or female. Purim is for
everyone. There’s really only one criterion to celebrate Purim, you just have
to like to be happy.
Now admittedly,
there are people, my wife being one of them that are not big fans of the
holiday. I don’t think that has so much to do with not wanting to be happy,
rather I believe it’s more to do with having spent too many Purims being busy cleaning
up after drunk yeshiva guys and husband jumping up and down on furniture and
making a lot of noise, preventing her from experiencing that true inner
happiness of the day from being realized. I get that. Alhough I assured her
that a shot or two might make it easier for her to make it through the day and
even a little happy as well. But she’s more the take-a-nap-to-fulfill-the-ad-d’lo-yada
obligation type. And if she’s happy not knowing… so am I.I drink enough for
both of us anyways…
Yet with Purim
over, we turn to the next upcoming holiday, In case your wife hasn’t informed
you yet, Pesach is around the corner. Only we Jews, or a God with a real sense
of humor, would make a holiday where you can’t have any chametz in your home
just a few weeks after a holiday when everyone in your neighborhood brought you
boxes and boxes of cakes, cookies, hamantash and every other conceivable pastry
and bread. In another three weeks those overflowing cupboards will have only
matzos and potatoes in them. Our mission to prepare for the Redemption is to
finish it all up. To leave Egypt with only matza on our backs. If you can do
that, you’re redeemed. You can become the nation that gets the Torah on Sinai.
If you can’t… then stay in Egypt or America with their meat boards and croissants.
You’re not worthy of being redeemed. So avoda number one for these
intermediate weeks is to eat a lot of nosh. Like the quail that Hashem sent us
when we left Egypt and complained, it should be coming out of your nose and
ears and you should be begging for a piece of matza.
Avoda number 2 for Pesach is to start getting ready to come to
the Bais Ha’Mikdash. Since it’s not yet built though, part of that job will be to
brush up on some of your construction skills. It’s time to get on that plaid
lumberman shirt of yours. We’ve got a Temple to build.
Now, I know that
some of you more yeshivish type are hoping for that Bais Ha’Mikdash to come
down from heaven, land on that golden pimple that’s desecrating our holiest
spot and hopefully smash some of those infidels underneath it. Yet it certainly
seems that there is a mitzva to build the Temple ourselves as well. Some
commentaries explain the conflicting midrashim of its building, by explaining
that we start the work and Hashem will finish it up, Alternatively they explain
that Mashiach has to come first and tell us where it will go, but we will do
the building.
Reb Chayim
Kanievsky fascinatingly enough explains that the Mikdash from Shamayim that
will come down is only if we don’t merit for Mashiach to come before the final
time. Only if that god forbid has to happen, will Hashem have no choice but to
send it down from heaven. Yet, if we merit though we can build it ourselves
even before then. He therefore explains that’s what we mean when we daven that
the Mikdash should be built bi’meheirah bi’yameinu- we are asking that we
should merit to build it, rather than the Temple that is already built up
in heaven just waiting to land down. We want the one that we will build!
That still needs to be built. That’s the one we are davening for! Pretty cool…
Yet, to be
honest, despite my overconfidence in my building skills and abilities due to my
early kindergarten years of making Lego houses, although to be more accurate
back in my days it was those Lincoln Logs if you’re old enough to remember
them, frankly construction was really never one of my strong skills. I don’t
think it’s most Jews’ either. We’re more the contractor who outsources to some minimum
wage illegal aliens type. Since our days back in Egypt we developed a genetic
allergy to hammers, nails and drills. A goy gets a skill saw from his wife for
his birthday, a Jew gets a new watch. Most of us don’t even really build Sukkas
anymore. We just reuse the one that we had the year before and rearrange the schach
or bamboo, or buy a pre-fab one. So the question is if Hashem has a Bais
Ha’Mikdash sitting up there anyways, what’s really the point of us having to
build one? I could understand that if He was looking for critiques afterwards
about how He could’ve done a better job, then hey, we’re really good for that. Jews
could always tell Him why He should’ve used this material or that one, or how
He should really have put the Menora over there, or how He overpaid for those
curtains, because I know a guy that knows a guy that could’ve gotten Him a
break. We’re great at that… But the actual building? I mean He should know us
better than that… If He was looking for builders, He should’ve chosen the
Mexicans.
Yet the answer
is that there is actually something that we can bring to the table that Hashem
can’t. I know, He’s a Kol Yachol… and all… and I’m sure if he wanted to
He could figure it out as well. Yet, he already figured it out. It’s why He
created us. It’s why He chose us. The one thing that we can bring that He
really can’t is ourselves. Our neshoma. Our heart. Our passion. Wood,
gold, silver, red dye, blue dye, copper brackets and goats’ hair, He’s got
enough of. But the glue that holds it all together is our heart and our desire
to be with Him and to have Him here with us. The truth is, it’s the glue that
holds us together as well.
This week we
read Parshat Va’Yakhel, it’s the 4th parsha- in case you were
counting- that discusses the building of the Mishkan. It’s an important topic,
it seems. The first two parshiyot, Teruma and Tetzave, are the commands
to collect money and the how to build it. Ki Tisa, besides the story of the
Golden Calf, as well mentions some vesselsand the oil and incense used to anoint
and dedicate it. This week and next’s parsha discuss the actual construction
and accounting for all the gifts. There is no other subject that is discussed
as extensively in the entire generally ink-thrifty Torah that’s usually very
cheap on words. Most non-construction- oriented Jews like myself, whose eyes
gloss over on reading these parshiyot know this well. Yet, it’s so
essential and perhaps so repeated because Hashem understands that we need to
get excited about this. It’s the essence of the world, the Torah, of Creation
itself. It’s about the building project that we are soon about to embark upon.
So, let’s take a minute to at least start getting in the mode.
The more
kabbalistic seforim, bring down in the name of the ARI”zl that each of
these four primary parshiyot correspond to one of the four letters of the name
of Hashem, the “yud” and “hei” and “vav” and “hei”. That’s a bit
too deep for me. Yet on a simple and basic level the function of the
Mishkan/Temple is the revelation of Hashem here in this world. It’s the
creation and formation and realization of the joining of heaven and earth. Much
like the creation of Man, back in the Garden of Eden and the birth of a baby.
The first act is
the bringing together of all of the parts. That’s Teruma- that’s the gift and
uplifting.
Va’yikchu li
Teruma- take for me an uplifting
Ma;eis kol
ish asher yidvenu libo- From each man
who’s heart donates.
Those words are
very similar to that of the description of a marriage.
Ki yikach ish- when a man takes a woman.
Hashem wants our
heart. That’s what we bring to the table. Donations and commitments to give it
all to Him. Yidvenu Libo- We give him our heart, our passion, our love.
Titzave is the
parsha of the connection. The word “tzav” actually means connection.
It’s the parsha of the Kohen and his clothing. They are the veins that will
transmit the life force of that spirit in the body. The Mishkan itself is the
physical body while the Kohen is the ladder up and down by which we connect to
Him and Him to us.
In Ki Tisa that
life force is blown into us. It’s Moshe going up the mountain. Like a kallah,
a bride on her wedding day. It’s us being uplifted. It’s our heart of those shekalim
donations, it’s the umbilical waters of the kiyor, the breath of life of
the incense and unfortunately as well it’s the misplaced passion and singing
and dancing for the Golden Calf. But it’s singing and dancing nonetheless.
It’s a bloody and painful parsha, as most
births are with Levis killing the sinners of the Golden Calf. Our nation
experiences contractions. We tighten up and get smaller, before we expand again
on that first Yom Kippur with our atonement, the second Luchos, and the
revelation of the 13 attributes of mercy, the Name of Hashem that becomes
imprinted upon us and that will always hold us out in the worst situations,
bringing us back to where we need to get to. Nine months after that first 17th
of Tamuz is right after “Purim”. It’s the 17th of Adar. We’re ready
to be born and Mikdash is almost ready to be innaugurated on the first of
Nisan. The Shechina is ready to descend.
Which brings us
to this week of Va’Yakhel. The week when we read and Moshe is commanded
to bring us together as one. It’s of course a shalom zachor and so the
parsha begins with Shabbos. It's bringing us back to Creation. Back to the
world that first was. To the time when the Shechina walked amongst us in
the garden. Shabbos is the day that we are all waiting for. It’s the day of
rest and of blessing. It’s the spark that unites us all. We’re told that on
Shabbos we don’t light a fire, because Hashem is that fire on that day. It’s
His energy that surrounds us and brings us light and warmth. Our work is done.
The Shechina is here. The pasuk telling us,
Va’yikaleh
ha’am mei’havi- and the nation completed
bringing, recalls that creation, that first Friday when
Va’yichulu
Hashamayim v’eis ha’aretz- and Hashem
completed creating the heaven and earth.
V’hamlacha haysa dai’yam- and the work
was enough. We’ve done our melacha. We’ve brought our part. We’ve given
our heart and passion. And we go back to Creation when Hashem finished all His melacha;
His work.
Vi’haya
Ha’Mishkan Echad- and the Mishkan became
one. It’s like man and woman back in the Garden that became one. The baby is
ready to be born. Each person that was nisa’o libo and nadva rucho-
that’s heart was uplifted and spirits contributed that were bound with it.
Va’yavo’u ha’anashim
al ha’Nashim- and the men came with the
women.
Kol nediv lev- they each brought their heart, their passion. Their
wedding rings and jewelry. It’s a chasuna. It’s a pidyon ha’ben
when we all put our jewelry on that pillow of the baby as we redeem him. Is
there any other time when Jews throw so much jewelry, then on a pillow with a
baby on it, or when the kallah hands out her Jewelry to all her friends
before she walks down the aisle…? So much love. So much heart and spirit. For a
house is being built, a baby is coming into the world.
It’s a
Tenufat zahav
la’Hashem- a waving and uplifting of that
gold to Hashem. The gold that we misplaced and the passion, heart and dancing
that we use and sang for those golden calves and false gods. Now they were all
here in the Temple. We’re home. The Shechina is home. The eternal Shabbos is
ready to be experienced.
It's not only
the weekly parshiyot that are getting us into the mode though. The four
supplementary parshiyot that we began reading before Purim as well
hearken us to this mission. Shekalim is that heart of our donations. Zachor
is the igniting of our national memory; our brain. It’s the eradication of
Amalek. It’s the fighting against us our common enemy that is trying to prevent
the Name and throne of Hashem from coming together and being complete. It’s the
simcha and joy that we experience when we come together to fight against
that enemy. When we stand up and stand together side by side with even the Jews
that were “outside of the camp” and the “clouds of glory”, because
we realize that they are also our brothers and sisters. That Amalek doesn’t
care what their religiosity level is. What type of hat or Kippa they wear or
don’t. What their political leanings were and who they voted for. Whether they
served in the army or not. Amalek, Haman and Purim remind us that we possess
the power and we were given the mandate. We can unite. We can become one and reveal
the One.
As we read in
the Megilla,
Li’kahel - to gather together and unite. To get to Va’yakhel.
vi’laamod al nafsham- to understand the essence of our nefesh. To
appreciate how precious and holy our souls are. The passion and love that
Hashem has implanted in us and is waiting to be brought to Him. Zachor
is that bloody parsha of our birth and the contractions that brings us to the
world. That lights up our brains.
Which brings us
to Parah. It’s the holy purifying waters. It’s our spiritual amniotic
fluids bursting forth and removing the impurity of our exile. It’s mayim chayim,
the water of life, like the water of Creation that the world was filled with.
It’s the blood colored wine of Purim that has become purified, clear and
translucent revealing the spirit of Hashem floating amongst us. It’s the
purification of those waters Moshe made us drink after the golden calf. The mother
has atoned for its child. The red passionate cow has been directed and humbled
into the service of Hashem. His house can be built. We are one with our Creator
and Nissan, the parsha of Chodesh, the month of Redemption, has finally
arrived. But this time forever.
On Pesach we
have the bris. That covenant. We exit the bloody doorway through those mezuzos.
It’s our birth canal. The angel of death doesn’t touch us. It skips over us.
We’re being born. Our doorway touches the Almighty’s. Our home is His Home. His
first-born has come to the world. His light can now shine forever. His name,
now complete, rests on us and within us. The eternal Shabbos has arrived.
Yes, Purim is
over my friends. On Purim, we didn’t light a menora, we didn’t sit in a Sukka,
we didn’t blow a shofar. We sang. We danced. We celebrated us. We were omeid
al nafsheinu. We found ourselves and our simcha. Our joy at being alive and
of revealing and priming up that joy and that heart that we will bring to
Hashem. Hashem doesn’t appear in the Megilla. On the last holiday before
Pesach, before the first month of our new era, it’s us that had to appear. It’s
our heart, soul and passion that had to be revealed. May this Pesach, we
finally merit to bring it all back to Him in the Bais Ha’Mikdash rebuilt.
Have a parah-fect Shabbos!
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
************************
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Gelt iz
keilechdik—amol iz es do, amol iz es dort. - Money is round, it rolls away from you
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
12. The first kibbutz established on the shores of the Dead Sea is
______
What is the main reason for the Dead Sea’s high salinity?
A. The soil in the Judean Desert area is salty
B. The high temperature causes a high evaporation rate which
increases the percentage of
salinity
C. Underground mineral springs in the northern basin flow into the
Dead Sea and salt the water
D. Israel and Jordan are pouring brackish byproducts back in from
the
Dead Sea Works
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/lo-lanu
- My
Lo Lanu, the song sung by Chanania Mishael and Azaria in this week’s Daf Yomi…
See column below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_DeWoSuGMc
- From Nova to Meah Shearim Barak’s
journey… Fascinating…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6CDlzDSHzM
-
A Shwekey and Lipa collaboration Kadisha! Wow!!! Beautiful…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnTuxWPHHck
– For the Rebbe Reb Meilichs Yartzeit… today!!
Aderaba classic Green with Abish!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR
PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Chananya Mishael V’Azarya- 598 BC – Last week we began to speak about Daniel/ Hasach having gone into exile
to Bavel during the exile of Yehoyakim. Well, being that Hashem always connects
this column to timely topics, for those of you that learn Daf Yomi, this week’s
blatt talked about three other exilees during this period. None other than Chanania
Mishael and Azaria. They were three young men from the tribe of Yehuda who
were taken into exile and were raised in the palace of the King. They became
vegetarians the Talmud tells us so as not to eat the non-kosher food that they
served in the palace. And despite being raised in this non-Jewish environment and
not having flayshig chulent for Shabbos were still able maintain their faith.
Well one day after a winning some huge battles
and seeing his continuing success over conquering Israel, this Babylonian/Iranian
leader Nevuchadnezzar decided to celebrate by making a huge idol to
himself. He builds this 60 amah high (about 150 feet!) idol in what is called the Durah Valley.
We’re not sure exactly where this is although some suggest it’s near the Durah
river not far from the Euphrates. But it is in this valley where the
original Tower of Bavel was built and where eventually the prophecy of Yechezkel
bringing back to life the dry dead bones of the tribe of Ephraim who
left Egypt early will take place. It’s all in the Daf Yomi by the way in
Sanhedrin…
There he has everyone bow down to the idol, but C.
M and A. decide that they’re not doing it. What’s fascinating is that this
is despite them asking the prophet Yechezkel who tells them that they
should in fact bow, and Hashem won’t preform a miracle to save them either.
Yet, they figure they could get away with it by mixing themselves in the crowd.
And their plan could work, until some pathetic Jews snitch on them and Nevuchadnezzar
calls them in and orders them to bow or he chucks them in a firey furnace.We
Jews like usual are always are worst enemies….
They refuse. He chucks them in. It’s shmaltzing
hot and the Jews and guards next to them get burnt up but nothing happens to
them. The Malach Gavriel himself enters in there with them and cools it
off. They chilled in there like they were in an air conditioned apartment in Century
Village in Boca Raton (where I am right now…). When they come out
Nevuchadnezzar starts to sing praise to Hashem. All the nations of the
world do as well and make fun of the goyim that try to destroy us. This is big.
This is really really big. The Malach quickly smacks down Nevuchadnezzar
because if he continues he will out do even Dovid Ha’Melech in his
praise. And no one wants that…
But don’t worry there is not silence in the
room. For there our sages tell us C.H. and M. sing psalm 115 of Hallel. Lo
Lanu Hashem. (you can listen to my song and composition link for it above 😊)
. The gentiles bow to silver
and gold and gods that do not have eyes or ears and listen. But we believe in
Hashem. Yisrael Betach Ba’Hashem. He is our help and our shield. They
continue, with what in our Hallel is the next paragraph. Hashem zicharanu
yivareich- Hashem who remembers us we should bless. Lo ha’meisim ye’hallel
K-ah. The dead can’t praise Hashem. This song we sing comes from them. It’s
said the entire merit of leaving Egypt and the Hallel we recite Seder night is
to recall them as well. So many of our brothers and sisters thrown into ovens
over the years since then, who have not song that song of redemption of
salvation. Yet they went to their deaths with Ani Maamin on their lips. May this
Pesach they be resurrected and sing together with us the Hallel forever.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S CONSTRUCTION
JOKES OF THE WEEK
An Italian, a Scotsman, and a Chinese man are hired at a
construction site.
The foreman points out a huge pile of sand and says to the
large, muscular, Scotsman he says, "You're in charge of
shoveling."
To the slightly less muscular but still large Italian man, he
says, "You're in charge of sweeping."
And to the skinny Chinese man he says, "You're in charge
of supplies."
He then says, "Now, I have to leave for a little while.
I expect you men to make a dent in that pile of sand."
So the foreman goes away for a couple of hours and when he
returns, the pile of sand is untouched. He asks the Italian, "Why
didn't you sweep any of it?"
He replies "I no hava no broom, you saida to the Chinese
guy that he wasa ina charge of supplies, but he hasa disappeared and I no
coulda finda him nowhere."
The foreman turns to the Scotsman and says, "And you, I
thought I told you to shovel this pile."
He replied, "Aye, ye did lad, bit ah couldnae git masel'
a shuvl! Ye left thon wee Chinese mannie in chairge of supplies, bit ah
couldnae fin' him onywhar."
The foreman is really pissed off now and storms off towards the
pile of sand to look for the Chinese guy. As he approaches the mound, the
Chinese guy leaps out from behind the sand and yells…
"SUPPLIES!"
Not all construction work is equally
enjoyable. For instance, drilling a large hole is boring, but fastening two
pieces of metal together is riveting.
Berel was sitting there at the construction
site on his first day of work listening to Mario, a strong young man bragging that
he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making
fun of one of the Berel and some of the older workmen at the site. After
several minutes, Berel had enough. "Why don't you put your money where
your mouth is," he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can
haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that building that you won't be able to
wheel back."
"C’mon Jew, you're on, old man,"
Mario replied. "Let's see what you got."
Berel reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow
by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right.
Get in."
Yankel and Chaim two construction workers are
working on a street. Yankel turns to Chaim and says,
“I don’t want to work anymore, I will act
crazy so the manager sends me home early”.
He then proceeds to tie himself by the feet
and swings around shouting,
“I’m a lightbulb, I’m a lightbulb!”
Sure enough, the manager tells him to go home.
Chaim, seeing the success his friend had,
decided to start packing up his things. The manager asks, “What are you
doing? The work isn’t finished yet!”
To which the Chaim responds,
“How am I supposed to see without a lightbulb?”
Me: I had to quit my construction job
because I wasn’t strong enough for the work.
Friend: Did you give them your too weak
notice?
I never wanted to believe that my dad was
stealing from his job at the construction site... But when I got home, all the
signs were there.
Got a speeding ticket the other day. There was
this sign that said "Construction 35mph ahead".I figured, I had four people in the car ...
A construction contractor buys a 10-foot
Italian Deli submarine sandwich to feed
his crew. It gets delivered a little early, so he sets it out on a table and
goes back to finish up the morning's work. By the time him and his crew get
back to it, though, there's something wrong. Most of the middle sections are
missing, and the two ends have been pushed together, making it only a 4-foot
sandwich.
He turns to his crew and asks if anyone snuck
in to eat the sandwich. One by one, they all shake their heads and deny any
wrongdoing. He's at a loss until one of his guys points out that the company
had hired an electrician to do a bit of wiring that morning. "Of course!"
the boss exclaims, "he's the subcontractor!"
***************************************
The answer to this week”s question
is A B – Ok, so according to the correct answer given
on the answer sheet I got this one entirely wrong. Although I believe that they
are mistaken and I would argue that I’m right. They write that the correct
answer is Ein Gedi or Beit Arava but the truth is the correct answer which I
would argue is Kalya which was established in 1929. Now to be fair to them it
really wasn’t established as a Kibbutz but rather as workers living center or
camp for the Dead Sea products. But Beit Ha’arava which is next to it was really
that kibbutz and was founded later and certainly Ein Gedi which wasn’t till the
50’s wasn’t till way after that. So I believe that I got that one right.
As well the second part of the question is
also a bit tricky. Now it is true that there is a lot of salt there because of
the high evaporation rate. It actually is ten times saltier then the yam
because of that. Yet, it’s also because the ground and sand of Judean desert
maintains that salt because there’s no place for it to flow out to. And thus it
sits there and makes the water saltier. Especially if you’re a Torah believer
like myself that believes that Hashem made the salt happen when he rained fire
and brimstone down on Sodom over there and thus the entire mountains there are
all made of salt. Sooo… Although I believe I got them both right. I’ll
compromise and make this one a 50/50 with them thus making the new score is Rabbi Schwartz 7.5 Ministry of
Tourism 4.5 on this exam so far. Oy….
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