May their memory be Baruch (blessed)-Acharei Mos-Kedoshim -Zikaron

Insights and Inspiration

from the 

Holy Land

from 

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

April 25^th  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 25 –3^rd  of Iyar 5772

Parshat Acharei Mos/ Kedoshim

May Their Memory be Baruch (blessed)

One by one the cars pulled over to the side of the road. Many people get out of their cars and stand next to them in silence. It is 8:00 PM on Yom Hazikaron- Israel’s memorial day and I pull over as well. The radio station I had been listening to begins to recite psalms. Tehillim as a merit and in honor of the soldiers who perished in all of Israels wars and its civilian victims of terror. I listen to the numbers. 22,993 soldiers- 126 this past year alone, 2,477 innocent civilians, 10, 524, bereaved families, 4,992 widows and 2,396 orphans. That we know the exact number of each one and name is incredible. But even more touching and truly heart-wrenching is to hear the audio-biographies and memories of the loved ones that have been carved in my brain and heart as I listen to their stories as I drive home.

“Yishai was just a boy. He loved nature and animals. There was nothing he loved more then hiking through the hills and streams of the galile. I spoke to him at 7:16 PM and promised to cook him his favorite supper when he came home the next day. At 7:33  august 2006 we were told he was killed in Lebanon. Until today whenever I make that special rice stew I cry.”

“As I was sitting Shiva for my son Ilan, I went into the next room and put on some classical music and closed my eyes and imagined it was just the two of us sailing in our boat that he loved so much. I felt him next to me, smiling… laughing…I felt him there with me. I miss him so much.”

“My husband Yoram was so brave. Me? I am a scaredy cat. Maybe that was what attracted me to him. Whenever he would go out on Miluim I wouldn’t sleep. He would call me each night and reassure me. I still here his voice. ‘Don’t worry Danya, I won’t leave you alone’…Our boys are just like their father. The oldest one remembers him and now serves in the same brigade he did. He calls me as well. And when he does I pretend I am hearing Yoram again. ‘Everything will be alright…I will come home soon…”

In America Memorial Day was never somber. Sure we know that Soldiers died in wars and we should remember them. But the majority of the country went shopping or to the beach. In Israel it is personal. It is real. I have often noted how unique it is to Israel that when one goes to the graves of our sages and other holy sites to pray one can find an inordinate amount of secular Jews there davening/praying- places that in America one can’t possibly imaging the average secular Jews frequenting. Yet here it is different. For the prayers that are said by these sites are of mothers, fathers, brothers and children who have family serving in the army, perhaps on the front lines or in Gaza. They are prayers of families of soldiers to Hashem that their boys/men don’t become a number.

This weeks Torah portion of Achareis Mos-Kedoshim begins with the statement

“And Hashem spoke to Moshe after the deaths of the sons of Aharon when they came close before Hashem and they died.”

The commentaries note they seemingly needless repetition of the fact that they died; being that it already says a few words earlier that Hashem was speaking after their deaths. The previous Rebbe of Lubavitch comments that what the Torah is emphasizing in this statement is that the deaths of  the sons of Aharon was because they were not able to complete the process of bringing that inspiration of drawing near to Hashem to its completion. ‘And they died-’ their lives of connection didn’t bring the fruits in this world that they were meant to have been.

I recently read a beautiful story from Yitta Halberstam’s book small miracles of the Holocaust (now on aish.com). Its message is one of death that bore fruit. The chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yonah Metzger noted how that one an Israeli soldier is killed the traditional Tahara (the body purification ritual)  is not performed for those that fall and give up their lives for the sake of the protection of the Jewish People and because they are Jews. They are already pure. They are holy sacrifices whose death have meaning before Hashem and on behalf of the Jewish people.

I share with you the story of Baruch Shapiro…

Chaim Shapiro went through the seven levels of hell. He survived four concentration camps not to mention the ghetto and forced marches. He began the War with eight children and a wonderful wife, and in a little over a year, he lost his wife and seven of his children, without ever having the chance to even sit shiva.

He was finally liberated from Buchenwald with his only surviving son Baruch and they wallowed in the DP camps for nearly three years until finally, in 1948, they found place aboard an immigrant ship and arrived in Israel a week later.

Israel, in the midst of the War of Independence, was fighting a desperate battle for survival against overwhelming odds, so Baruch Shapiro volunteered to fight. With no previous training, he was taken to a ravine, handed a rifle, taught how to shoot a few bullets, and sent off to war. Meanwhile, with the stipend that he received from the Jewish Agency, his father Chaim rented a small apartment outside Tel Aviv.

Baruch Shapiro distinguished himself in battle. As part of the Harel Brigade fighting under Yitzhak Rabin to break the Arab siege on Jerusalem, Baruch received a field commission as an officer and was awarded a medal for bravery under fire.

And then, one day, as Chaim Shapiro was sitting in his tiny living room in Tel Aviv, he glanced out the window and saw one of those terrible delegations heading up the path to his apartment.

They say that Chaim Shapiro opened the door before they knocked, and they say that he never even read the telegram, just crumpled it over and over in his hands....

When a soldier in Israel is killed, the army takes care of everything, including the funeral arrangements. Chaim Shapiro had only one request: he wanted his son who had died fighting for Jerusalem to at least be buried in Jerusalem, on Mount Herzl, the National Military cemetery.

The next afternoon hundreds of mourners gathered at Mount Herzl. Most of them had never known Baruch Shapiro or his father Chaim, but they had heard of the terrible tragedy and wanted to pay their respects. After all, what Hitler had not finished in the crematoria had ended at the hands of an Arab bullet; this was the last Shapiro son; the end of a line.

As the coffin was being lowered into the ground, Chaim Shapiro began to sing.

Yigal Yadin himself, the IDF Chief of Staff (who would later discover Massada) stood by Chaim Shapiro's side.

And as the coffin was being lowered into the ground, Chaim Shapiro began to sing.

People thought he had lost it; Yadin put his arm around Chaim's shoulders and someone ran to get him some water. But he shrugged them all off, and again, began to sing. People had no idea what to make of it, so finally Chaim Shapiro looked at them and said:

"You know, I have been through a hell the likes of which most people cannot imagine; I lost over seventy relatives in a little over a year, including seven children, my wife and parents. I have no place to mourn them, no grave; they are ashes in the skies over Europe, and I have no idea why they had to die.

"But this son, at least this son, I know why he died. He died so we could have a home for the Jewish people in the land of Israel, and he has a grave, here on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. And that is not a reason to cry, it is a reason to sing."

When Chaim Shapiro finished speaking, he began to sing once more, and grabbing people's hands, to dance.

And as the flag-draped coffin of Baruch Shapiro was lowered into the ground, three hundred mourners began to sing and to dance against the setting sun of the Jerusalem sky...

The next time you visit Israel, go to Mount Herzl, Israel's National Military Cemetery, her Arlington. And when you walk through the wide stone gates, walk up and then down to the right where the graves from 1948 lie, and you will find the lonely grave of one Baruch Shapiro. Close your eyes there, and you will understand perhaps, why the Jewish people will never be destroyed.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Have a meaningful day, a festive Yom Ha’atzmaut and a spectacular Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK!!

YOUTUBE CLICK first this could be you or donate above…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIbEHwNA3ik

Army base in the Golan with chaylim this yom ha’atzamut!!-

Hello all,
This Thursday, bring a warm family experience to our chayalim that are
remaining on their base on Israel Independence Day. The Young Israel of
Karmiel together with the international Young Israel movement and Standing Together would like to invite families in the North for a meaningful Yom Ha'atzmaut opportunity. At 10:30 am we are invited with our families to an army base in the Golan to bring cheer and support for our troops and to give the soldiers stickers of support. We are asked to bring bags of snacks and sodas as well, if we can. The above organizations have sponsored the burgers and franks for the soldiers and we can assist in the
preparation and mangal- BBQ.

Please note that there is a limited amount of meat so families that wish to
join in the eating should bring their own grill and meat.

If you are interested in joining please contact Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
Via email Rabbschwartz@ yahoo.com
Or preferably by phone at 050-597-0649
Thanks so much and have a happy Yom Ha'atzmaut!

RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“What did you see in heaven? I saw those who are low here high there and those that are hled to be high here are low there? Who does this refer to? The Martyrs of war (harugei malchus). As it says Jewish Martyrs none can stand in their presence (in heaven).”
Talmud Bava Basra  10b

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Rabbi Schwartzes YouTube Yom Ha’zikaron clip of the week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oFt3El4qf0

First of All- Tazria Metzora 2012

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"

April 20^th  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 24 –28^th of Nissan 5772

Parshat Tazria/ Metzora

First of All

It is one of the oldest questions of all time. It asks the secrets of the universe. Scientists, archeologists, evolutionary theorists have all weighed in on this one. Yet, it seems there is still no consensus as to the true answer. I have explored this question extensively (at least 7 minutes or so on Google) and I have weighed the different approaches. It is truly inspiring to see how much work and time has been spent by seemingly intelligent individuals to discover the answer to the all time perplexing imponderable. I will share with you my conclusive research, and with that a Torah approach. You can then make your own judgment as to what truly came first the Chicken or the Egg.

Now according to Professor Randy Garner, the esteemed Dean of Houston University, and one of the premier experts on the topic, the egg most certainly came first. Chickens, according to him, evolved from reptiles that after millions of years learned to fly and as everyone knows reptiles lay eggs. Thus the chicken came from an egg first. Chicken opponents argue that only a chicken can lay an egg and therefore the reptile egg is not a real egg in relation to the question at hand. Others argue along those lines that nobody would have named the egg a chicken until it became a chicken so therefore the egg wasn’t an egg until the chicken came into being. To paraphrase the old question; if an egg is born and there is no chicken around to name it, is it really an egg?

There are other chicken protagonists that point out a very compelling proof that the chicken obviously comes first. After all take a look in any dictionary the letter C will always proceed E. Simple enough. Yet for me the answer was always quite obvious- What came first? The answer… whatever the Rebbetzin decides to serve. And years of Shabbat experience clearly shows that she would never serve an egg after a nice Friday night Shabbat BBQ chicken. Even the egg cooked over night in the chulent and mixed in the chopped liver Shabbos day precedes the serving of the chulent. Now if egg comes before chulent, wouldn’t it stand to reason it comes before chicken.

Jokes aside, though the Torah does seem quite clear that on the 5^th day of Creation Hashem created birds, fish and all creepy crawly things… imaginably chickens are included in that. No mention of eggs. So just as Man, created on the 6^th day, was seemingly not born an embryo in the traditional Biblical narrative, one can assume neither was our good friend, the chicken. Now I hope the readers of my weekly E-Mail have better things to do than to ponder this great question. But once I have your train of thought going in this direction, I will share with you a similar, however non-nonsensical question, posed by our great Rabbis on this week’s Torah portion that they wish for us to ponder; a question that again may seem simple enough, but perhaps not. Namely, what came first Man or Mosquito? The Medrash at the beginning of this week’s portion gives the classical decisively Jewish answer… it depends.

But first let’s backtrack. The Torah portion this week begins with the laws relating to the birth of a Jewish child. It includes the laws of purity and circumcision and then extends its discussion to all areas of achieving human holiness and purity. The Talmud notes how these laws follow last week’s discussion of the laws of Kosher and pure animals to teach us a lesson.

“Just as man's formation took place after all animals ... so too, the laws pertaining to him are set forth after the laws regarding animals."

In short, the order here parallels the account of the original story of Creation. But what is the significance of this order? The Midrash elaborates the implied moral lesson:

"If a person merits, he is told, 'You came before all of creation'. And if not, he is told, 'the mosquito came before you'."

So now I ask you, dear reader, once again, which came first the Man or the Mosquito?

The Medrash though seems to be perplexing. Why does the order of Creation change if man merits or not? Doesn’t the Torah itself teach us that animals and crawly things were created on Day 5 while man was on Day 6?

The Kedushas Chaim answers this puzzle with a powerful lesson and insight. What he suggests goes to the essence of the nature of humanity. What are we really? Are we highly developed and evolved animals (most of us that is) that have the ability to survive, eat, and dominate the rest of the animal world; A super king of the earthly jungle? If so, then guess what? Hashem tells us ‘you guys are last, in the Creation. Mosquitoes are more important than you.’ There is however one part of us that preceded the mosquito; one thing that differentiates human existence from that of its lower counterpart creation. It is that when Man was created, Hashem blew within him the spirit of life. He granted us a soul. There is an eternal part of each one of us that preceded all of Creation; the piece of Godliness that resides within us all. If we identify ourselves with that holiness, than we are the essence of Creation. We came first. If not, mosquitoes, chickens and eggs all have more significant value then us all.

We are in the period of Omer right now. It is a time when we are told that we are meant to elevate ourselves, as our ancestors did so long ago, on the road to Sinai. Can we ever imagine being able to hear Hashem speak to us? Could they? As slaves, human-work dogs, highly developed human mules? No way. But they- we- were freed. We’re not animals. There’s a soul, a piece of God, in us longing to reconnect and hear that voice once again. When we read about the laws of purity of man, during this season, the Torah reminds of that lesson. We are the pinnacle and essence of Creation. We don’t have to and shouldn’t identify ourselves any longer by the physical and animalistic tendencies instincts that will inevitably push us to the end of the line. We’re Children of God. His voice, his Torah, is still resonating within the fiber of our beings. We just need to push it and us to the front of the line and let it shine. We have 36 more days to make it to the top. Let’s climb that mountain together.

Have a Great Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Talmudic Experience Katzrin- One of the coolest things about Israel is how one can at anytime just take a step out of our 21^st century hi tech world and turn back the clock and walk back thousands of years to the same places our ancestors once dwelled. Katzrin is one of 10 synagogues that have been excavated that were in the Golan from the period of the Mishnah and Talmud. Mentioned numerous times in the Talmud the katzrtin Talmudic park is an excellent place to get a feel of what life once was. The guides at the park are bedecked in clothing of the period and by pre-arrangement can demonstrate the oil making on the press there, bread baking and pottery making. An hour tour there can include visiting the re-created house of rav avun and ancient synagogue from the 6^th century (built on the ruins of a 4^th century one) One can see the bima and where the geniza once was and the steps leading up to where the ark was. There is also two films that can be watched there the Talmudic stories of the “tanur of Achnai” which established the supremacy of Rabbinic legislature- even contrary to voices from Heaven and the tragic story of Rabbinic sage Elisha ben Avuya or Acheir who was excommunicated when he lost faith.  Down the block is the Golan archeological museum stay tuned next week for the scoop on that J

RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted

Albert Einstien

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Rabbi Schwartzes YouTube Yom Ha’zikaron clip of the week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5sE4BaoCcM&feature=related

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The Mourning After- Shmini 2012 (for americans)

Parshat Shmini

The Mourning After

There were a lot of questions by our Pessach Seder. Hey, with 11 Schwartz/Golding/ and Schwartz grandchildren of questioning age and a fun Seattle Rabbi offering between a dollar to 5 dollars per good question- if you pay them they will ask. Even if Zaydie is dozing off the questions still kept coming. But it was the after- Pessach Questions that have me thinking more. It seems that a few dollars were well spent. The children want to know.

“What Sefira are we holding this year?” “Do we observe the first half until Lag Ba’Omer or the 2^nd?” “Why can’t we listen to music now?” “Don’t some people not listen to only live music?” “Are tapes and CDs’ also out?” But then we got to the best question “Are we supposed to be sad during sefira, Daddy?”

For those not familiar with what I’m talking about, I’ll give you a brief background. The Talmud tells us that this period of time between Passover and Shavuot is a period of tragedy for the Jewish people.

It was said that Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of disciples from Gabbatha to Antipatris; and all of them died at the same time because they did not treat each other with respect. The world remained desolate until Rabbi Akiva came to our Masters in the South and taught the Torah to them. These were Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yose, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua; and it was they who revived the Torah at that time. A Tanna taught: "All of them died between Passover and Shavuot". (Yevamot 62b).

There are different opinions as to when the custom to observe mourning during this period of time took hold. Some suggest it was in Talmudic times (7^th century) other suggest it was in the time of the Geonim (the 10^th century) with others suggesting that many of the customs of mourning developed in the times of the Crusades (12^th century) as a response to the post-passover blood libels and pogroms that took place during this season(see Aruch Hashulchan). Even the details of how to mourn during this time are disputed. Some have a tradition that they only died for 33 days which begin on Passover until Lag BaOmer, others count the 33 days from after the festive month of Nissan until Shavuot. Yet there are others that have a tradition to observe the mourning for the whole time. Even the process of mourning has differing customs Observant Jews traditionally do not get married during this time frame, nor do they listen to music, nor do they shave or take haircuts in the same way that traditional mourners behave. But do mourning customs mean that we’re supposed to be sad? I’m not sure.

It is certainly a strange time for these restrictions and behavior. After-all, until these customs were enacted it seems like this was a more festive or certainly an exciting time on our calendar. We just left Egypt as we celebrated Passover. We are now heading to Shavuot the day of the giving of the Torah. This is such an exciting period that the Torah commands us to count every day and week until we arrive there. There are different levels of acquisition of Torah that are outlined in Pirkei Avot- Ethics of our Father that we are striving and growing in, during this period of greatness. Why mourn? How do we balance these seemingly contradictory pathways?

Perhaps the answer could be found in the Torah portion that is read this week, usually in the period of Omer. We are told about the day of the coronation of the Mishkan- the Tabernacle of God. Hashem has finally forgiven our sin of the Golden Calf. All the Jewish people are gathered on this great day and then tragedy strikes. Two of the children of Aharon the High Priest, are struck down for a mysterious violation of bringing a “foreign fire’ on the altar. Can you imagine the horror ,… the pain.. the grief of Aharon. This was to be his day; the day when a new, great era of achievement would finally be realized. But instead it had become the day when he must bury his two sons.

Moshe turns to his brother and tells him it is upon this it said that with my closest ones I am sanctified. And the verse tells us Aharon in turn is silent- VaYidom Aharon. The commentaries all struggle to define Aharon’s silence. Some see it as a resilient acceptance of Gods’ will. Others suggest it is a external attribute and control, an almost impossible feat for the one person who is defined and chosen for his deep emotional love for each and every Jew, who was chosen particularly for that love, to be the one with whom all Jews may be blessed with the Priestly blessing. Yet the Maharal suggests something even more powerful. He sees Aharon’s silence as an expression of incredible spiritual achievement. Aharon moved beyond the sphere of words. There are no words to describe the revelation and deep connection Aharon achieved in that moment of witnessing the strong, painful and powerful hand of the Almighty. He transcended words. At the moment, that he could have felt most distant from God, he heard Moshe’s true words of consolation and felt closest to God. Closer then he had ever felt. Rashi points out, that the Torah right after this incident tells us that Hashem appeared and commands Aharon directly, Without Moshe. For Aharon had become like Moshe in his connection to God at that moment. He was one and closest to Hashem through his experience and tragedy.

The great Rabbi Akiva as well, lived at a time when he felt the Redemption was imminent. The Temple had recently been destroyed, but hope was certainly close, with the great revolt of Bar Kochva who was doing a fantastic job of knocking down the Romans and rebuilding Israel . It was a time of joy. Just like after Passover is, for every Jew that has gone through a Pessach Seder singing Next Year in Jerusalem . But then it failed. His students lost the opportunity and died. Like Aharon the moment of greatness and potential could have turned into tragedy and hopelessness. But as the Talmud, for which our customs and observances of the Omer period draws itself from, tells us. He didn’t give up. He utilized the moment to move closer. He laughed while other sages cried. He built forward rather than throw up his hands. For he knew that the real closeness to Hashem can sometimes, come even more from experiencing and recognizing the hand of God in tragedy, than from celebration and festivity.

Pessach is over. The redemption still hasn’t come. Do we just move back into our lives as we plan for the next holiday? Do we just go back to work? Back to Chametz bagels, pizza and chocolate cake and hope that next year it will happen? Hope that we can grow enough by Shavuot so that maybe we will merit it then? Jewish custom guarantees that we don’t. We have to mourn a little during this time. We have to contemplate as Aharon and Rabbi Akiva did about how to transcend our lives and move to an entirely different sphere. Turn off the music. Scratch that beard. Think about the tragedy of Rabbi Akiva’s students lost opportunity and think about our own. And than crack that Ethics of our Fathers wide open and move towards Sinai. Move towards Jerusalem . It can happen this Year still. We just have to feel we need it. Let’s count those days together.

Have a Great Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

The Third Cup- Passover 2012

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"

April 6^h 2012 -Volume 2, Issue 22 –13^th of Nissan 5772

Passover/ Pessach

The Third Cup

What do you think about when you hear the word “redemption”? How about when I talk to you about being “saved”? Admit it. These words make you feel uncomfortable. A little Christian, maybe?  I believe it was Rav Hutner ZT”L who once complained about how the Christians stole Tanach from the Jews- after all they can quote Isaiah and Zedekiah better than most Jews; as the Jews stopped learning these works. But have they also stolen the notion of Geula? Is it Jewish-ly Incorrect to talk about being redeemed? I hope not. There’s a lot of Matzah and cleaning that has gone into celebrating this upcoming holiday and I for one want to make sure I know what this holiday of redemption is all about.

The truth is, even leaving the Christians behind, we need to examine an even deeper or fundamental question about Pesach. As a recent Oleh or even examining the state of the Jewish people, do we really feel we are lacking redemption today? I can understand during the times of past, holocaust, persecution, wandering Jew-homeless with nowhere to go, that there was a sense of longing for our homeland. But today thank God after thousands of years we have returned to Eretz Yisrael. We have an independent Jewish State, although not perfect. But when was it ever perfect? Yes, we have some anti-Semitism, some missiles flying here and there, the fear of a nuclear Iran looming, but in the far recesses of our day to day lives. Over-all we are home with the freedom to learn, study and serve Hashem. Sure it would be nice to have a Bais HaMikdash our Temple restored, but somehow I think that urgency of being redeemed from the dire “Egypt-like” slavery and persecution days seem to be behind us.

There is a story told of Rab Yehoshuah Leib Diskin, the Rav of Brisk, who settled in Eretz Yisrael in the early 20^th century after fleeing the terrible situation in Europe. As he was celebrating the first Seder in Eretz Yisrael and began to sing the traditional Seder refrain and conclusion of “L’Shana Ha’Ba B’Yerushalayim- Next Year in Jerusalem” he was asked by his son what his father’s intent was in this song.

In years past we longed for Jerusalem, but now we are here, why are you asking for next year to be in Jerusalem? His father answered “Son, yes we are here this year, but as you know the situation is dire, people are starving and we suffer daily threats. We ask Hashem that next year we should merit remaining here and being here as well.” But that was then. Today I don’t think anyone thinks that Israel is not here and ours for keeps. In fact I noted to someone that I believe we are living in an era that for the first time in thousands of years of Aliyah to Israel, Jews are moving to Israel for financial reasons. There is a great sense of opportunity and entrepreneurship over here. It requires a lot less to live. Minimal tuitions for schools, subsidized health insurance and more affordable and secure real estate (at least in the North), so what redemption are we really missing?

One last question, after all it is the holiday of questions. We have four cups of wine and a fifth for Eliyahu that we are told represent the five terminologies of redemption mentioned in the Torah in regards to our Exodus. V’Hotzaisi- I will take you out, V’Hitzalti- I will save you, V’Goalti- I will redeem you, V’Lokachti- I will take  you, V’Haveisi- I will bring you  (to the land). What would be lacking without that middle one of redemption? Let’s say Hashem would have taken us out, saved us from the Egyptians, taken us as his nation (through giving us the Torah) and brought us to Israel. What would we have been missing? Mah Chaseir? What is that third cup really about?

It is fascinating when we examine the verses and ritual of the Korban Pesach/ the Phascal lamb. Right before the final plague of the death of the First Borns, Hashem gives us this commandment to take a lamb- or a goat, roast it-without water, dip its blood and put it over the doorposts-Pehsach (with the letter Taf) and eat it together as group. In return Hashem will be Pascah (skip-Rashi or have mercy-targum) over us. This seems to be the prelude to us becoming the first-born of God. Rabbi David Fohrman, one of my favorite contemporary Torah scholars and biblical commentators, notes that it is fascinating to note the similarities between the Korban Pesach offering and many of terms and storyline that led to us coming down to Egypt in the first place. For if we trace back our history to the narrative of the sale of Yosef. Yosef was elevated to the level of the first born by his father Yackov- symbolized by the  coat of colors-Ketonet Pasim ( note the Peh Samach of Pesach connection) . After being sent by his father to check on the sheep they are jealous of him and throw him in a pit- without water, Yehudah, the leader from the children of Leah then says “what gain will we have by killing him and covering up his blood”(similar terminology by pesach lamb of covering the Nefesh), they then remove his coat dip it in the blood of a goat and sit down to eat together. It’s also interesting to note that the word utilized by the Phascal lamb is that the blood should be taken from the threshold- Saf, which is the same letters as Pas- Yosef’s coat of colors and also the letters of his name.

What to make of all these connections? What the Torah is suggesting perhaps, is that the means for the Jewish people to achieve redemption and become the first-born of Hashem is to rectify the sins and scars that remain of the past-when they unjustly tried to take the birthright. The Torah repeatedly cautions us as we leave Egypt to be careful in how we treat our slaves. Having been slaves ourselves and been persecuted, we are the most prone to pass that same abuse on to someone else, in the same way that someone who has been abused in some form can become the abuser. One cannot just “move on” without dealing with the trauma of the past in a constructive meaningful way. There are many holocaust survivors who tried to forget and never talked about the trauma they had been through, yet those scars keep showing up. They never went away.

Geula/redemption is the process which Hashem promised to take us out. Yackov, who tried to take the birthright from his brother (also through goats-and our sages say on Pesach night), and his children as well wanted the birthright for the right reasons. To serve Hashem. To bring his Name to the world. Yet the energy they invested was negative. The only way we could become the true representatives of Hashem is by doing it the right way. We have to revisit that earlier murky past.  Relive the blood, the sheep, the goats, the coats, the no-water, the sitting together and eating and channel it into the true earning of rightful role. Only then can we become the first-borns. Only then can Hashem be Pas-ach on us (using that same word of the symbol of the birthright the Ketonet Pas-im. When we take that blood from the Saf-the blood of Yosef and redeem it.

Which brings us to our Seder today. Yes, we have Eretz Yisrael, we have our freedom. We have the ability to learn and grow close to Hashem and bring his Name to the world. But yet, something is missing in what seems to be this almost perfect world. What is missing is us. Why are we not waking up each morning with a special closeness to Hashem? Why are we not running around dedicating ourselves to building a country that would only serve to make His name great; To create a home for him that he would gladly and speedily return to? The answer is because we are still lacking Geula/ redemption. 2000 years of exile has made us cold and stagnant. We have been freed, we are no longer being persecuted and that seems to be enough for most of us…most of the time. We have V’Hotzaisi, V’Hitzalti, V’lokachti V’Havaisi. But we are still lacking the V’Goalti. We are missing that inner sense of redemption that makes sense of the past and that allows us to rectify it and appreciate and move to our new roles. We still need to be redeemed.

The truth is there is one time a year when I know I feel that sense. When I believe we are meant to feel that inspiration. It is Pesach night by our Seder. Usually it around the time of the third cup; the cup of Geula. We have read through the majority of our Haggadah. We asked our questions, we re-experienced slavery, we tasted our Matzah, our Maror, our festive meal and we tasted what it must have felt to be fully redeemed. As we say our grace after the meal and thank Hashem for the Eretz Hatova and we pray for the return of Jerusalem, for the sending of Eliyahu Ha’Navi, we are now ready to lift up our third cup and make a blessing of redemption. We know what it feels like. We want it back. We want it now. Its time for us to not just come home but to be inspired and capable of being that home. Not just once a year… but every day… all the time. Home with You. Your first-borns. May each of us merit this year and this Seder to taste that redemption and may we celebrate together redeemed in Yerushalayim Ha’Bnuya.

Have an inspired Pesach,

Chag Samayach

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

This weeks insights and Inspiration E-Mail is sponsored by Deborah Cole of Kirkland Washington  in appreciation of the weekly inspiration and in honor of the olim that have moved to the North of Israel!

Thank you!

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RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Free stuff- There is nothing cooler than free stuff. If it’s free its cool. If it usually costs money and now it is free..it is even cooler the following is a list of places sponsored by Bank Ha’Polaim in honor of Pesach that is free for the holiday for Yom Tov Tiyuling pleasure

List of Sites with Free Entrance:
• Ben-Gurion’s hut, Sde Boker
• Treasures in the Wall Museum, Acre
• Wilfred Israel Museum, Hazorea
• Eco-Kinneret laboratory boat
• The Aqueduct, East Talpiot, Jerusalem
• The Archeological Experience, Emek Tsurim, Mt. of Olives
• Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa
• Haifa City Museum
• Derech Ha’etz park, Shadmot Dvora
• Old Yishuv Court Museum, Jerusalem
• Museum of Water and Security, Nir Am
• Rishon Lezion Museum
• Mane Katz Museum, Haifa
• International Stone in the Galilee Symposium
• Deer Forest, Moshav Odem, Golan Heights
• Ein Harod Museum
• Parobot, robotic dairy, Kfar Yehezkel
• Dan Sewage Reclamation Center – eco-art exhibition
• Massuah Holocaust Museum
• Corinne Maman Museum, Ashdod
• Ashdod Museum of Art, Monart Center
• Hai Negev, Revivim
• Israeli Museum at Yitzhak Rabin Center
• Reuven Rubin House, Tel Aviv
• Gan Guru, Nir David - Sakhne
• Haifa Zoo
• Botanical Gardens, Jerusalem
• Armored Corps Memorial, Latrun
• Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem
• Joe Alon Bedouin Culture Museum, Negev
• First Aliyah Museum, Zichron Yaakov
• Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art
• Air Force Museum
• Haifa Museum for Israeli Art
• National Maritime Museum, Haifa
• Umm el-Fahm Art Museum
• Ghetto Fighters Museum, Lohamei Hagetaot
• Janco-Dada Museum, Ein Hod
• Nachum Gutman Museum, Tel Aviv
• Golan Antiquities Museum
• Katzrin Park
• Petah Tikva Art Museum
• Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan
• Tel Aviv Museum of Art
• Museum of Pioneer Settlement in the Valley, Yifat
and Katzrin Park
FREE ENTRANCE!

RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It is extremely difficult for a Jew to be converted to christianity, for how can he bring himself to believe in the divinity of - another Jew?
Heinrich Heine

RABBI SCHWARTZES FAVORITE YOUTUBE PESACH SONG OF THE WEEK
BYE BYE MR. PHAROAH GOOD-BYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpT7LtMQQXQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

and on a more serious note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eVMfNQskWc

Ani V'Atah- You and I- Tzav/Hagadol 2012

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"

March 30^th 2012 -Volume 2, Issue 21 –6^th of Nissan 5772

Parshas Tzav/ Shabbos Ha’Gadol

Ani V’Atah

So there we were. Sitting around a campfire on the beach of Eilat at the end of our four day tour for my course through the incredible hills of Eilat and overlooks of Egypt and Jordan a week before Pesach; the perfect end to a perfect week (that didn’t include any Pessach cleaning- my wife is a tzadeikes-it’s rough training to be a tour guide). We were an odd looking group. The widest mix of Israel. Old, young, Native Israelis and olim from Russia, America and Europe, Ashkenazim, Sefardim, Yemenites, Jews that were raised religious that are Chareidi or religious Zionists and Jews that had become religious later on in life, even converts and of course secular Israelis. Yes, an odd mix of Hashem’s chosen people; his children. Yet gathered around the campfire that evening we were all family. We were one and we were home.

Boaz, our guitar player, began to play. There is nothing like a good Kumzitz to bring a group together. We sang songs to Hashem of the wonder of being in Israel, songs from the psalms of King David, songs of the Rebbes from Shlomo Carlbach and back. Dillon and Simon and Garfunkel even made an appearance (with an Israeli accent of course-Da enser mai frrrend eez bloweeng in da weend). And then Boaz began strumming an Israeli song from Arik Einshtein I had never heard before. Yet it was easy to learn and before you knew it the clear skies of the Eilat hills were filled with the singing of our group.

The  simple words of the song are (which you can hear by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-xL_etajKs ) Ani V’Atah-

You and I will change the world, You and I, and then all will come. They said this before me, It doesn’t matter- I and you will change the world.

You and I will start from the beginning. If it will be rough-it doesn’t matter, it’s not a big a deal.T hey said this before me, It doesn’t matter- You and I will change the world.

You and I will change the world, You and I, and then all will come. They said this before me, It doesn’t matter- You and I will change the world.

I’m sure everybody there had a different understanding of who the “you” in the song might be. For some it might be their spouse, for others it’s a song they sing to their children. For me it was a song about Hashem. What is the change the world needs? Surfing this song  on the net (for your listening pleasure, of course-oy the things I wouldn’t do for you J) I found that some saw in it a song of peace, other Israelis changed the words to Ani VHa “tank” My and tank and I will change the world. I saw others that saw as a song about the environment and others for the legalization of marijuana. To each their own. Yet what is fascinating to me is that upon hearing this song two thoughts occur to a person. One he recognizes that the world needs to be changed or fixed. And second that we have the capacity, drive and  even inspiration to do it. Now when the song is over and you go back to your “real life” those thoughts might go away. Yet for just those few moments around the fire in the beauty of Hashem’s world everything seemed possible.

This Shabbos is known as Shabbos Ha’Gadol; The great Shabbos. It is called that because of the words of the great Haftora we read

 Hinei Anochi Shoeleiach Lochem es Eliyahu Hanavi.Lifnei Ba Yom Hashem Hazeh Ha’Gadol V’Ha’Nora. Behold I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem.

These are the final words of the books of the prophets. They are words of a world that needs to be changed. But how will this change? The prophet describes a world that feels is doesn’t need to be changed.

“Return to me and I will return to you” says Hashem. But you say “for what shall I return”… You have spoken harsh against me… but you say “ Have we spoken against you?”… You have said  “It is useless to serve Hashem, what gain is there for having kept his watch”.

The world is the way the world is. Hashem is reaching out to make this a greater world and mankind seems to feel it can be fine by itself. And then the prophet says.

“Then a man will say to his friend those who have the awe of God and Hashem listened and heard and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear Hashem and give thought to his Name. they will be a precious treasure to me says Hashem on the day which I bring about …. And I will return the hearts of the fathers with their children and the hearts of their sons with their fathers….”

  How will this happen? When a man says to his friend. Which man? Which friend? Ani V’Atah- You and I.

Over three thousand years ago this Shabbat our nation was a nation without hope. Slavery was the world that we knew. It was a God-less world (big G) with many gods (small g). A world that believed in any person or being that would bring them or do for them but one that would never have a relationship with its true Maker. Our ancestors changed the world this on Shabbos Ha’Gadol we took the phascal lamb of the Egyptians- their ultimate god of this month of Aries and slaughtered leaving it all behind for an unclear future with our True creator. Who did this Ani V’Atah, each individual… each family… one nation.

There were many that said it couldn’t be done…a slave had never gotten out of Egypt the world empire. V’Lo Mishaneh- it doesn’t matter… You and I will change the world.  Will it be rough? Wandering through the desert? Standing up to a world for principles we know are true, for a faith that is un-popular and to follow the commandments that may at first seem challenging and immense? It doesn’t matter. It’s not a big deal. Ani V’Atah will change the world.

Pessach is always in the season of spring.  A few weeks ago the skies were gray, the earth was barren and the days were short. But Pesach is here the world is born again anew; Green, sunlight, plants and trees. The world is changing as it does each year in this season and that is meant to inspire us. It is Hashem saying” I am returning to you will you return to me?” Will you and I change the world and bring that Great Day? As we sit down to our Seder this year and remember the incredible miracles and love of the beautiful world of potential that we actualized, let us turn to our spouses our children, our families our community and the world and answer as one man to his friend “We are ready- Ani V’Atah”.

Have a great “Great” Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

Timnah Park- Having been to the beautiful park for the first time this past week I can tell you it is truly a breathtaking experience. The Park located just north of Eilat is a geologists (which I am not) playland. The incredible rock formations from Solomons pillars (although most agree that king Shlomo had nothing to do with them) to the beautiful “mushroom” rocks formed by the water erosion and salt corrosion (I think I got that right) is awesome. As Timna is one of the most ancient sites of the world civilization where most archeologists agree the development of the use of copper as well as iron began  (whose underground mines you can crawl through) as well as as many ancient Egyptian and Midianite hieroglyphics and temples are in the area. Besides the multitude of hikes that are available in the area there is also a great campground with paddleboats, activities for children and a real to scale replica of the Tabernacle/ Mishkan with all its vessels. Being in the desert in the Mishkan right next to the Yam Suf/ Red Sea a week before Pesach…It doesn’t get better than that…

RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Why is Pesach 7 days (or eight in the Diaspora)? There’s no way I’m doing all this cleaning for just a one day holiday…”
One of my harried congregants..

Rabbi Schwartzes favorite YouTube Pesach song of the week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRWNrk7FxG4

Where? - Vayikra/Ha'Chodesh 2012

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"

March 23^rd  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 20 –29^th of Adar 5772

Parshas Va’Yikra/ Ha’Chodesh

 Where?

“How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?”- Elie Wiesel Night

 “Why do you pray?" he asked me, after a moment.
Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?
"I don't know why," I said, even more disturbed and ill at ease. "I don't know why."
After that day I saw him often. He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer. "Man raises himself toward God by the questions he asks Him," he was fond of repeating. "That is the true dialogue. Man questions God and God answers. But we don't understand His answers. We can't understand them. Because they come from the depths of the soul, and they stay there until death. You will find the true answers, Eliezer, only within yourself!"

 
"And why do you pray, Moshe?" I asked him. "I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.” Elie Wiesel, Night
 

“And I, the for­mer mys­tic, was think­ing: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve de­ceived You, You chased them from par­adise. When You were dis­pleased by Noah’s generation, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom lost Your fa­vour, You caused the heav­ens to rain down fire and damna­tion. But look at these men whom You have be­trayed, al­low­ing them to be tortured, slaugh­tered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? They pray be­fore You! They praise Your name!”  Elie Wiesel, Night

I have been reading as you can see. The truth is Elie Wiesel’s book are some of the most leafed through copies of books that I have. As you know I am not a morbid person at all and am certainly not someone that is death or holocaust obsessed. I don’t even like to take tours or groups to Yad VaShem when they visit in Israel- even on fast days. Yet somehow as a Rabbi when I am confronted with people that are going through times of challenge or tragedy, there are not many books that I find to be more of an inspiration and a reality check then the heartfelt words that pour from the pages of his books.

As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, who didn’t talk about it much, I always wondered what it could’ve been like. I watched my grandparents who were devout religious Jews, live with a strong faith in Hashem; despite each of them having suffered the loss of their families and the world and humanity that they once knew. At the same time I spoke with many individuals throughout my years that used the Holocaust as a proof that it was impossible that there was a God. As Primo Levi a contemporary of Elie’s and an author (who was raised secular before the war) wrote

“Either God is God and therefore all-powerful and hence guilty of letting the murderers do as they pleased, or His power is limited, in which case he is not God”. Yet Elie seems to be unable to fathom a world without God. He struggles with Him. He questions and he screams and yet he somehow knows and understands that Hashem is there. Hashem hears. He sees. He listens and cares. Why the holocaust happened? He has no answers. But unlike Primo the one thing the Nazis could never take from him was his faith that there is a God in heaven.

This week we begin the third and center book of the Torah. We have the birth and creation of the world through the formation of the Jewish Nation in the first two Books. And we have the progression of the Jewish people towards the Land of Israel and the reiteration of the many commandments that we are obligated to observe in the last two Books. The book of Leviticus/Vayikra contains all of the commandments that relate to the service and sacrifices in the Tabernacle and the eventual Temples. For many this is unfortunately the “boring” part of the Torah. For others particularly animal rights activists (or people that hate to see a good steak go to waste without anyone enjoying it) they find the concept of animal sacrifice offensive, outdated or even pagan. Yet observant Jews each day pray for a return to that day when we will once again bring sacrifices to Hashem. Each Jewish holiday we pray for a return to Temple where we might offer the holiday sacrifices. And at times of joy and times of sorrow and tragedy we remember and recall the glory days of when the Temple where we offered those sacrifices once stood.

Why is the return to the service of the Temple so fundamental in Jewish thought and prayer. What makes this the centerpiece of the entire Torah to the extent that our sages in times of old would begin learning with young children the Book of Vayikra as their introduction to Judaism? The answer, I believe is that our sacrifices are statements and a recognition of my personal connection to Hashem. My internal struggle with right and wrong, with times of tragedy and times of thanksgiving would all be brought to the “palace” of Hashem. A simple trite prayer to ask for help or forgiveness would not suffice. We were in a real relationship with Hashem and we would stand before the Kohen/Priest and watch as an animal was slaughtered, its blood sprinkled and portions of it would be eaten, shared or burned depending on the offering. Our actions and the things that happened to us were never “just the way things are”. The slaughter and the sacrifice attested in an unbelievable way to the significance of our relationship with Hashem. The awe of living in such a world was immense. Hashem could never just be ignored or even worse relegated to the “spiritual” moments of our lives. Jews lived with a sense that their lives were significant to the degree that if they messed up, forgot Hashem and sinned they would have to bring that sacrifice and go through the process of re-connecting. If they failed to do a mitzvah, if they were saved from a dangerous situation, if they had a joyous occasion, the birth of a child, first crops, you name the event there is a connection to Hashem that would always be more than just words or blessings but something concrete that would leave an impact and memory as one came to the Temple to connect to Hashem. That is truly the centerpiece of the Torah.

This past week many of us were shaken out of our world by the horrific murder in Toulous France. Others have shared with me the tragedy of the passing of their Rosh Yeshiva Rav Sheinberg this past week. Other individuals I know have been going through their own challenges with sickness, livelihood and other challenges.  It is so sad. So heart wrenching. So difficult “Where is God?” The answer is He is waiting for our korbanos, our sacrifices. He is waiting for us to want Him in a real way. He wants so much for us to wish for the day when we will have Him in our life in all that we do. Where we appreciate that our lives and everything that we have and undergo and are meant to accomplish is all to get close to Him. Sadder than all the tragedies is when we live in a world bereft of that perfect existence that is not more than a few heartfelt prayers away.

We are leaving the month of Adar this Shabbat. It was the joyous month when we celebrated seeing Hashem’s miraculous hand that saved us from the Holocaust of Haman that was meant to be. We see Hashem from the hiddeness. This month we enter the Nissan the first Jewish month. It is the month of the revealed salvation of Hashem. It is the time when we brought our first national sacrifice and renounced the godless life of Egypt and threw our lot with the Almighty becoming the Nation chosen to bring that revelation and the beauty and glory of a God-filled life to the world. Our sages tell us that just as we were first redeemed in Nissan so to the ultimate redemption come in Nissan. May we merit that this coming month Hashem brings us that final redemption.

Have a perfect Shabbos and a blessed new month of Nissan (not the car),

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

 RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

CROCO LOCO- Yes, we have it all in Israel, even crocodile farms.  Now what do crocodiles have to do with Israel you ask? Well in ancient times we have testimonies of crocodiles living in Israel. Particularly as we come to the holiday of Passover and we read the story of Pharoh and Moshe throwing the staff to the floor where it turns into a tannin- which is a crocodile (not a snake as many mistranslate it) Croco loco might be a great place to visit this Chol Hamoed to bring the story home to your children. Established in 2006 this crocodile farm raises crocodiles in order to repopulate the species and control the poaching that threatened them for their very expensive skin (up to 30 thousand dollars for some nice ones). The tour of this really cool farm will share with you many of the cool facts about crocodiles, their different layers of teeth that constantly re-grow, their miraculous skin that absorbs the heat and helps them cool off, their eating habits (once every few days-as they digest it all leaving just clear white excretions with almost no waste..) and your children or you can even be pet the baby crocs. Located in the beautiful south of Israel in the Arava and not too far from the Dead Sea Croco-Loco is agreat place for fascinating exploration of one of Hashems most incredible species.

RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.
Dan Quayle

(can you believe this man was our vice-president?)