Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
October 13th 2025 -Volume 14 Issue 48 21st of Tishrei 5786
The Happy Hostage Willow Dance
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There are no jokes this week. There is no "Eras and People in History in Israel" column. No Tour Guide questions of the week. There's no music clips or cool videos. Not even any Rabbi Schwartz's compositions. There's not even any sponsors. There's only one thing. Joy. Simcha. Ach Samayach. That's all there is. That's the only thing there is. Hashem promised us that is the experience we will have on Sukkos, and we've waited a long time for that day. But it's here. It's today. It's unreal. It's mind-blowing. It's, as we said in Kadish on this special day of Hoshana Rabba. L'Eila U'leila- higher and higher. Od yoter tov v'od yoter tov!
As we davened Shacharis with tears of joy, my phone kepr dinging and dinging and dinging, and no I wasn't going to turn it off. Each ding was a shofar blast of joy. It was another Hoshah Na. Another step closer to redemption. Children returning to their mothers. Fathers to their children. Husbands to their wives. Brothers to their awaiting family. For two years we had davened, we had cried, we had stayed up nights, attended endless hafrashot challot and took on kabbalot, resolutions. We gave so much charity. We united with heart and soul and we felt the pain and longing for their return. Some demonstrated in streets, some said tehillim, some put up empty chairs, wore yellow ribbons, responded on social media. There were others that took up guns, others left their families for months, over 1000 gave their lives, their children, their fathers, their sons, their loves to save them. To bring them home. There wasn't a Jew in the world whose heart and soul wasn't connected in some way or another to our children in Gaza. For us there was no one else in Gaza. There was only them.
The Navi tells us that in the times of Ezra and Nechemia the Jews that were captives of Zion returned to Israel for the holiday of Sukkos, and there was no joy like that since the time we first came into the land of Israel. It wasn't that they didn't have Sukkos beforehand or celebrate it. But there was never a time when all of Klal Yisrael together felt and experienced the same joy that they felt that year. That's they were all united in that return. That there wasn't a Jew that didn't feel something in his heart that connected him to one another, to his nation, to Hashem. That's the essence of Sukkos. That's ach samayach. Only One Joy.
I noted in my shul this morning how powerful it is this holiday of Hoshana Rabba. How amazingly appropriate it is. How I understood and felt something I never did before today. This day is called the Yom Arava- the Day of the Willow branch. It is the day that everything revolves around putting aside all of the other species and take that gi'klapped, smashed, beaten, hurt, broken willow branch. It is the only one of the four species that doesn't have and flavor any taste, any fruit, any smell. Our sages tell us it represents that Jew that doesn't have any good deeds or any Torah knowledge. Maybe someone so far away from the truth, from the light, from real Jew that they thought they had friends in Gaza. That thought that Simcha could be found at dance festivals on Simchat Torah, that never really tasted the deliciousness of a Torah life, of the esrog. That never absorbed or ever had a whiff of the delicious aroma of the good deeds of the Hadassim. That never appreciated a tzadik. That never felt loved or joined together by every Jew, by our entire family. That never stood in the glorious shade of Hashem or felt his love and protection perhaps until they spent 738 days with Him alone in a tunnel in Gaza. That is the Arava Jew. And Hoshana Rabba is his day. It's our day.
It is today that we put lay everything else. All of Klal Yisrael puts to the side it's Lulav, it's tzadik, it's esrog, all of our fights, all of our differences, all of our superiority, the different rankings we have between each other looking at each others merits, kippah, hats, smells and tastes. We put that all away. The captives of Tzion have returned. The Aravos are here. We each pick up that most special and loved of branches and hug them tight. We've been davening for them for so long. We've missed them so much. We knew that we couldn't experience real and complete joy without them. We never allowed ourselves to forget them. They were "al rosh simchasi" at every wedding, at every party, at every holiday and every prayer. And we take those aravos and we rejoice with them. All of us. Nothing else matters. Just those gi'klappedeh hoshanas. Those starved, thirsty, dried out worn and weary leaves and branches, that we hold so dear to us and understand that our final sealing, our gitteh kvittel, our final judgement always hinged upon them. Upon us embracing them. That our "ach samayach" that the sense of feeling only one emotion. Of feeling joy. Pure unadulterated love of Hashem, love of our nation and hope for the entire world.
The word for these willows is non-coincidentally aravos. Arvus is our responsibility for one another. It is kol Yisrael areivim zeh la zeh. We are bound to one another. There is a famous Gaon of Vilna that is quoted that says that mitzva to only feel happiness -of ach samaych is one of the hardest mitzvos to achieve. How can one have only one emotion? For 7 days straight to only feel simcha, to only feel joy and blessing. How can one accomplish that. To a large degree there is really only one thing that makes people upset, really. It's not when things go wrong. It's not when things don't happen the way that they were supposed to. We can all get over that. We believe that Hashem is good. That all that He does is only the best. That He's always there and watching out for us. He's our Father in heaven. He has ahavas olam for us. We may not always we feel it, but at the end of the day, as we see from all of these hostage families, they never once lost faith in Him. There wasn't a moment that they didn't turn to Him. The thing that prevents us from feeling happiness isn't Him or what He does. That's not it.
No, my friends, the only thing that prevents us from feeling entirely happy is one thing and one thing only. It's other people. Yeah… they're a pain in the neck, those other people. They are not like me. They did this to me. They did that. They're stupid. They're spiteful. They don't get it. They're wrong. They hate me. They hurt me. They drive me crazy. They upset me. They make me not happy. If it was only me and Hashem, we'd be good to go. I'd be happy all the time. But those other people. Especially those other Jews. They just can't stop getting under my skin. They somehow always manage to ruin my really good happy day.
Yet in there my friends is the problem and there my friends is the solution. Because for us to really feel happy with Hashem and to make Him happy, we have to understand that He loves all of us the same. That we are all His children. That He's not coming to the party as long as we don't invite one of His children. That the Temple was destroyed the Talmud tells us because one Jew, Kamtza, wasn't invited to the party. That all of the Lulavim, Esrogim, and Hadassim were perhaps at the party and maybe even a few token aravos, that were doing teshuva, but that one last arava, that one last Kamtza, he could stay outside of the Sukka. He could stay in Gaza. We didn't feel that we needed him home. And that doesn't work. Because Hashem's name is not complete, until we are all there. Until we're just like we were back in the beginning when we became a nation at Sinai with the Torah, when we were all embodied in Adam Ha'Rishon in Gan Eden. When we were all one tree. A tree of life.
So we went through a process together. On Rosh Hashana we all came before Hashem and anointed Him our King. We recognized that we need all of us. We don't talk about our sins. Just our desire to see Him. To be one with Him. We hear that sound of the Shofar and we remember that moment at Sinai. We recall the binding of Yitzchak and all of our ancestors, our children, our parents, our loved ones that sacrificed their lives al kiddush Hashem. That walked with Ani Maamin on their lips. That sand together Hashem Echad. And we all understand and daven that we should be the generation that finally merits to reveal that Kingship to the world. We didn't send out the invitation list to this inauguration. Hashem did. Maybe He didn't trust us to invite everyone. He called us all before Him to justice. He made it clear that we are all before Him. And that's how the process started.
After a week of teshuva and introspection we arrive at Yom Kippur. On that day, it is us that send out the invitation list. We bring out the Torah scrolls and we stand as a court and announce that we are "matirim li'hispallel im kol avaryanim"- we can daven with all of the sinners. We are one nation. We have all sinned. In the times of the Beit Ha'Mikdash there was on Kohen Gadol and we were all embodied with him. The day of Yom Kippur itself is an atonement. At the middle of the day that red string that was hanging that symbolized all of our sins turned white. We were all forgiven. We were clean as the day we were born. Every action, every sin, every impure thought, all the lashon hara. It was all gone. We were literally born again. But not just me. Every single one of us. Not me and y very little minor sins, but even the worst sinner of Israel, who perhaps didn't even show up to Shul. He is also forgiven. It's one white string and it tells us that all of us were forgiven. And guess what? If you don't believe that he was forgiven, then you can't really believe you were as well… After-all it's the same string for everyone. So now post Yom Kippur we are all on the same page. We're all new borns. We all don't have any sins. V'Amech kulam tzadikim- we are all righteous and now we can start being happy. Because Sukkos is here.
And now comes the fun part. Because until now, all I could really do is invite and permit these aravos/ sinner Jews to daven with us. To come to Torah classes with me. To sit in synagogue with me and maybe even to hear shofar and put on tefillin. But can I be happy with them. Can I dance with them in one Sukkah. Can I eat with them for 7 days straight? Sleep with them? Live in the same hut. Do I see them in the clouds of glory, or am I still putting them Mi'Chutz La'Machaneh- outside of the camp and the tents. Because if you are that you're not fulfilling your primary mitzva of the chag. You're not ach samayach. You still don't have arvus. You still are letting them prevent you from being entirely happy and you're not letting the Shechina come home. For He is a hostage with them to, as long as you don't bring them Home.
So each day we bind those aravos again and again to us. We are all together. We're all still exiled from our home, from our Temple, as a Sukkah is still exile. But we are together. We need to be together in the Sukkah first in Galus before we can come in On Shmini Atzeret and be alone with Him in our House. In His House. On those 7 days of Sukkos as we bind closer and closer together the 70 cows of the world all come to see us. They want in our Sukkah. They want to celebrate with us. For the feel the approaching unity of the world. They know and have always known since Amalek's first attack on us that as long as there are Jews left out of the tent, the Name of Hashem will not be complete and we will never get to the Holy Land. Haman knew it as well when he saw our divided nation. And so did their descendants before Simchat Torah 2 years ago today.
So we spent two years getting to where we are today. On the Ushpizin of Yosef, who the Torah tells us was held in a tunnel in Egypt for years as a hostage, as a prisoner, forgotten and forlorn, the word came Vayehi Mikeitz shnatayim yamim- and it was at the end of two years to the day, that Yosef was sent out of that pit and was redeemed. He was elevated to Hashem. He said besides Hashem there is no One else. Ein Od Milvado. On that day of Yosef's Ushpizin the word came that our aravos would be brought home. We would be One. He would be One. This morning we put down everything and we just danced with our Aravos. We watched family after family uniting. The children coming home to their Father. And we realized then, that they are our family. They are our children. They are our Aravos. They are the most precious gift. They are our simcha. We were complete. There is nothing else between us and the geula. Between us and our Father. We're ready tonight to go back to Sinai as one man and with one heart and take those Torah scrolls that we took out on Yom Kippur for the Tzadik and permitted the aravos to pray with us. But rather to take those Torah scrolls and dance with them. Dance with all of us. One circle. One nation. One world complete. One Home for all of us. The Father is Home. The family of Yackov is together.
Va'yehi Byishurun Melech. And when in Israel there is that King.
B'Hisasef roshei am- when the gather of all of the world leaders come to Israel. Look at Israel. Watch this return. Watch this ingathering; this reunion.
Yachad Shivtei Yisrael. The tribes of Israel are together. The redemption is finally here. That is V'Zos Ha'Bracha. That is tomorrow. The day after. It's eternity. The day of Simcha Olam- of happiness forever.
If there's one thing that we see from today, is that the redemption can come in a blink of eye. That our prayers are answered. That parents and children are meant to be together. That our Father is returning us. That the time for the returnees of Zion is here. That Hashem has brought back our Aravos. He has sealed us for a good year. All we need to do right now is to only be happy. To be happy with the only real happiness that doesn't need anything else. It just needs everyone. So let us dance. Let us sing. And let us not stop singing. The song of Hatikva is no longer our song. The song of Hashem Melech is our new national anthem. Our King forever and ever.
Have the happiest Hoshana Rabba, A gutten Kvittel and may we merit to dance forever with Hashem,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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START OFF YOUR YEAR RIGHT THIS YEAR WITH YOUR WEEKLY RABBI SCHWARTZ'S LATEST BOOK!
It's here! TOUR TORAH! Every week a few essays on each parsha connecting it to Eretz Yisrael and Tour Guiding!
We start the Torah cycle again. You know you want to be inspired about Eretz Yisrael. You want to come here. You want to make sure your family is inspired as well. And of course you want to help me and my shul out!
So… , I turn to you once again with a special incredible offer and request! As many of you know, last year I was privileged to publish my third book. My first two books "The Most Book you'll ever Read About Pesach" and it's sequel "The 'Next' Most Enjoyable book You'll ever read About Pesach", baruch Hashem sold out very nicely and have already been in their second run. But last year I published what really I believe is a most amazing book and work. It is called "Tour Torah" and this volume one (of what will hopefully be five and maybe more) is on Sefer Bereishis, that we will begin reading again after the holidays weekly. The book goes through every parsha with a few essays each sedra, connecting it to Eretz Yisrael and tour guiding. As well each week has different sites in Eretz Yisrael that connect to the parsha.
The book is fun, inspiring, entertaining with your usual Rabbi Schwartz wit, wisdom and inspiration insights that you've never heard or seen before. If one of your kabbalos/resolutions this new year of 5786 was to feel more connected to Eretz Yisrael then this is the perfect edition to your collection and is amazing to read at your Shabbos table with your family. The costs of the publication of the book have been sponsored and donated generously, therefore all of its proceeds of your purchase and donation will go directly to our Shul and programs and allow me/us to continue to do our amazing work here sharing the light and insights of our Holy land with Klal Yisrael and assisting the families that move here and have been affected by the war as well.
So on that note every donation of $54 or more to our annual campaign will receive a free copy of "Tour Torah" that is not available in stores only right here through this campaign. Donations of $86 or more (for the year 5786!) will receive Tour Torah and one of our Pesach Books and $100 will get you all three! Anything above that is just the tremendous knowledge and joy of helping and partnering in this exciting campaign and extra merits before Yom Kippur by celebrating the new "bank" Hashem has blessed you with.
Your US tax deductible credit Card donations can be made on the following link
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Thank you all again for all your support and may you be blessed with a gutten kvittel, and happy sweet New Year!
Warmly,
Your friend in Karmiel,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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