from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
September 11th 2026 -Volume 16 Issue 45 29th of Elul 5786
Untangling the Ram
Click here below for print edition
(Weekly Newsletter - Rosh Hashana 2026 )
But what kind of man or Rabbi would I be if I didn't share at least one amazing thought before we went into this special High Holiday season and particularly Rosh Hashana that falls out on Shabbos. As I'm sure everyone that went or heard any shiur this year during the past month knows that years when we don' blow shofar on Rosh Hashana are big significant years, when things go either very bad or very good, but either way, it's a big year.
Even if you didn't go to any shiurim you remember the last time this happened which was only three years ago; the year when this war started just a few weeks later. It's not often that this happens with such a small gap of three years. The last time was 2006 and 2009 which were the year that the Lebanon War started in 2006 and the first Gaza war in 2009. Here we are 20 years later and this time it was the opposite, first the Gaza war and now we're back in Lebanon. Who knows what this year has in store for us. One thing, is for sure, it's gonna be big.
So what is it about this Shofar-less year that makes it so big? What's our avoda? What's going on in the heavenly realms? Well to answer that we have to understand what the Shofar is all about in the first place. See as we all know it goes back to the Akeida; the binding of Yitzchak. That took place on Rosh Hashana and it's the Torah reading that we read. I found one source that seems to suggest that it might have even taken place on Shabbos. The Shem Mi'Shmuel seems to write that Avraham got there on the "third day" because the three days before Shabbos and the three days after Shabbos are all coming from that energy of Shabbos.
Now the truth is it would seem if I wanted to remember the merit of the Akeida and bring it up before Hashem and I had to come up with something, I don't think the Ram's horn which he took after the whole binding story would be the first or even the last thing on anyone's list. I mean, what's the connection? Seemingly the merit we want to recall is that Avraham bound his son and held a knife over his head to ready to nullify every bone and emotion in his body and his soul for the will of Hashem. What would you think is a good way to recall that memory before Hashem? If you asked me I'd go with a gartel. Let everyone tie a rope around themselves. Or how about wave a knife around. Although these days they probably wouldn't let you in shul with it. Maybe it's just to lie still on the floor. Perhaps just wrap your son in your talis. Of if we like food symbols, which it seems is a big thing on Rosh Hashana how about eating a rams head. Actually I think people do that. But why not make that the key to all of Rosh Hashana? What's with the horn?
The truth is the whole story with the ram's head being stuck there almost seems like an afterthought of Hashem. Avraham was disappointed that he couldn't kill his son. He had this tremendous avoda that he worked himself up to, this huge madreiga of sacrifice and it was pulled out from under him at the last minute. Imagine someone flying into Israel for Lag Ba'Omer and finding out that he can't go to Reb Shimon. Well at least he's in Israel he can tell himself. So second best he'll go to the Kotel. Maybe Reb Shimon's soul will be there as well… If not he can just daven to Hashem… He's always good in the clutch. Maybe Hashem will even put in a good word by Reb Shimon for him. Sorry… I couldn't resist. It's Erev Rosh Hashana and I'm still so bad….oy… So much teshuva do I have to do…
But what if he went to Kerister or Uman and then found out the roads were closed and couldn't get to Reb Shayalah or Rebbi Nachman. That would really suck. I mean he's in farkakteh Ukraine or Hungary. The land is full of the blood of his ancestors. Everyone there hates him and wants to kill him, just like their grandfathers did to yours again and again. It's miserable weather. Hashem isn't there really at all because all the kelipos are out of there already a long time ago. He's got Eretz Yisrael all the time on his screen and Ukraine not so much… Yeah, that would really stink and that's what Avraham Avinu must've felt like when the angel and Hashem told him not to continue with that sacrifice of Yitzchak. It's like an angel telling you don't go to Uman, once you're there already.
So Hashem through him a bone or a ram to be more precise. And that ram's horn becomes the symbol of our holiday. It's that which elicits the mercy of Hashem and moves Him from His chair of judgement to the throne of mercy. What's it all about? And why specifically the horn of all things? You've been listening to the Shofar for many years, don't you think it's time you asked this question? Perhaps on this year when we don't have the shofar it makes sense that we notice it's absence and it's the best time to perhaps appreciate it like we never did before. Because whenever we don't have something anymore it's when we can first really appreciate what we lost.
The torah tells us one thing about this ram's horn that it was caught in a bush. In fact the midrash tells us that it was running and getting caught from bush to bush to tree even. It seems that this the only thing we know about the horn that we are using for our Rosh Hashana, that it is the part of the animal that replaces the sacrifice of Yitzchak that Hashem keeps getting caught in a bush or tree. That's what we blow. That's what we want to recall before Hashem. That's what on Shabbos we don't need to blow. And by not blowing it the year can go one way or the other. Hmmmm, let's put those pieces together.'
'
Something incredible has happened in Klal Yisrael over the last three years of war. We've had ups and downs. We've had many of our children that have been sacrificed on the altar of Kiddush Hashem and been martyred in defense of our nation and country. We've had many korbanos that Hashem has taken from us.
Along with that we've had that sound of the shofar blasting and calling to us again and again. Some times it came in the form of terrifying sirens that had us running to our shelters. Sometimes in the calls for unity. The calls for prayer. The return of so many of our children home to Eretz Yisrael. The land itself is calling to us. The children are returning to the Temple Mount where that Akeida took place. This year will probably be the first year where there will be people actually going up there will blow on Shabbos even where there are sources (Reb Akiva Yakov Shlesinger the Tel Talpiyot and talmid of Ksav Sofer that advocated for it and reputedly even got Reb Shmuel Salant and the Aderet to sign on conceptually- chatgpt it like I did😊). There's a return. There's Geula in the air. Jerusalem is rebuilt. The land is flourishing and the prophecies are being fulfilled.
Yet that being said, that horn of redemption in place of the sacrifices of our children is getting stuck in the bush again and again and again. The fighting. The politics. The anti-Torah hatred and persecution. The trust and sumbmission to Trump. To Edom. To the world. There's anti-semitism that we can't get out of. No matter how that poor geula ram is trying to. He's stuck in it. He can't leave. We can't bring that great sacrifice that the world has been waiting for on that mountain top Hashem brought Avraham Avinu and Yitzchak to, because we're too busy focusing on the sacrifice of our children. On our mesirus nefesh for Hashem and on our suffering. But we don't lift up our eyes and see the redemption right in front of us.
And thus comes Shabbos. Shabbos is the day when there are no dinim. There are no judgements. We're invited into the Kings Palace. We welcome His Shabbos bride. We are one with Him. We leave the entire world, and the sacrifices and the binding behind us. We don't need to blow the Shofar because Shabbos is a taste of the world to come. But that's only if we are there. That's only if we leave the sacrifice of our children and troubles behind. That's if we walk over to that bush and grab the ram by the horn and untangle it. The Geula is in our hands. We just need to lift up our eyes and walk over to that bush and grab it.
On most years, we need to blow the shofar to get that momentum to lift Hashem off that chair and bring Him home. We need to overcome that Satan that is sitting there holding that ram back in our sins and telling us that we're not worthy. We need to keep trying to kill more of our children in needless wars. We need to keep picking up the knife. We need to keep being moser nefesh and standing and davening and banging on our chests. We need to get out of the entangled ways that we may have thought the geula needs to come and that is holding us back and realize Hashem has brought us to the Mountain to build Him a home. To dwell with us. To shine His light out to the world. To finally let us and the whole world know that it has a King.
On Shabbos though we don't need that. We're already there. We're in His palace. The ram is out. The Mountain is in our hands. On Shabbos that is Rosh Hashana no one blew shofar anywhere. There was only one shofar that was blown every year that falls out like this one. It was blown in the Beis Hamikdash. Because that's where we all were. That's where our hearts all turned. That's where we were finally redeemed. That's where the inauguration of the Melech Malchei Ha'Melachim is taking place. God willing we should hear it there this year already.
Three years ago this process started. It's like the three days that it took Avraham to get to the top of the mountain. Year three is year. On Hoshana Rabba we say Hoshana Shalosh Sha'os. It's three hours. Three times. It's the hours of the past three Rosh Hashanas. May Hashem finally bring that redemption. May we all hear that blast that He is blowing for us this year. May we all be written in the books of Life, of health, of joy , of peace and of teshuva- not repentance merely, but rather of a true and complete return to our Father, our Kings Table.
Have a Ksiva V'Chasima Tova- a blessed sweet year,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“An oks hot a lange tsung un ken keyn shoyfer nit blozn."- An ox has a long tongue but can't blow a shofar
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
15. The name of the figure who appeared next to Jesus YOSHKA and Moses at the Transfiguration, according to Christian tradition, is ___________.
Which of the four figures below appeared earliest in history?
A. Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai)
B. Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto)
C. Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman)
D. Ha'ari (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria)
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/melech-rachamon – My amazingly beautiful Melech Rachaman composed for Pesach but certainly appropriate for Rosh Hashana the day of our King.
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/haneshama-lach - For all the Selichos my glorious Haneshoma Lach arranged by Dovid Lowy and sung!
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/hashem-melech-r-ephraim-fina – This song could and should go for at least a half hour. Hashem is our King… My Hahsem Melech song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYyiqmoWKxA&list=RDKYyiqmoWKxA&start_radio=1 –Kemepehs latest K'hodaato wow!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWbTnK16YWI&list=RDxWbTnK16YWI&start_radio=1 – And here's a whole Two hours of Fried's Yomim Noraim… wow just put it on and listen
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK AS WE START THE SECOND Temple Era!
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE ROSH HASHANA JOKES OF THE WEEK
There is this atheist swimming in the ocean. All of the sudden he sees this shark in the water, so he Rick wanted to get into the Shul. In Gants Hill, London on Rosh Hashanah, but without a ticket they don't let you in.
Rick pleads, 'Look, I just want to give a message to Morris in there.'
The man at the door says, 'Sorry sir, you've got to have a ticket.'
Rick replies, 'Just let me in for one minute, then I'll be right out.'
'Alright,' says the man at the door, 'but I better not catch you praying.'
There was a shul (synagogue) that was looking for a baal tokea, someone to blow the shofar. A man came to try out but did a terrible job. He asked for a second chance but was told, “Sorry, YOU BLEW IT.”
A man came home on the first night of Rosh Hashana with a brand new tire. His wife asked him, “What in the world is that about?”
He smiled and explained, “In our family, we have a minhag (custom) to eat tires on the first night of Rosh Hashana as a siman that we should have a GOODYEAR!”
Irving worked at a Jewish deli and bakery, and he loved most of his regular clientele, except for one guy...... this guy would *always* haggle over how much he should spend, even for things that had a fixed rice clearly marked on the menu board.
One day, the guy comes in, and says, "I want to buy your finest loaf of egg bread for Rosh Hashanah. I have a crisp five-dollar bill for you, Irving, my good man."
"Five dollars? What, do I look like a yutz? A loaf costs $7.95, and that's a good deal. My wife bakes that herself; it's hard to get it perfect, but she does!"
"I know, that's why I only want to buy from you. But surely $5 is a fair offer. Come on, Irving, we've known each other along time..."
"No! My prices are my prices. I can't have separate prices for individual customers!"
Stunned, the customer shoves the money back in his pocket and shrugs his shoulders. "I... I just don't believe it," he mumbles as he walks out the door.
Irving's wife walks up to her husband just as the customer exits. "Honey, what was that all about? You look so upset!"
Irving stammers, "I can't stand challah cost deniers!"
Hetty has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience, during which she sees God and asks if this is the end. God says no and explains that she has another 30 or 40 yeas to live. As soon as she recovers, Hetty figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years, she might as well look her best. So she stays in the hospital and has a face lift, liposuction, Botox – the works.
But tragedy strikes just as Hetty is leaving the hospital, she is knocked over and killed by a car. When Hetty arrives in front of God she asks, "I thought you said I had another 30 or 40 years."
God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."
23 year-old Emma is very excited. Last night her boyfriend proposed to her and she is about to tell her parents the good news over breakfast. "Mum, Dad," she says excitedly, "You know Joshua, the new boyfriend of mine I met only a few weeks ago? Well, he wants to marry me and I think he’s just perfect for me."
"Mazel tov darling," shouts Fay, as she rushes over to Emma and gives her a big hug and kiss. "I’ve been waiting for such news for some time."
"Well I hope he can support you," Issy says to Emma. "What does this boy of yours actually do for a living?"
"He’s a chazan, dad," she replies.
"Well, that’s not good news," says Issy. "I’ve always said that no daughter of mine is going to marry a chazan. If you insist on marrying him, I won’t be there to see it."
Emma breaks down crying and begs her father to change his mind, but to no avail. Then Emma has an idea. She suggests that at least he should go see Joshua in action, in his shul. Reluctantly, Issy agrees.
The following shabbes, Issy keeps his promise and goes to Joshua’s shul to see him in action. Emma is waiting on the doorstep when he returns home and immediately asks,
"Well dad, what did you think of him?"
Issy replies with a wide smile, "Mazel tov, my darling Emma, I think Joshua will make a good husband for you."
On hearing this, Emma cries with happiness. "Oh dad, I’m so, so happy. But tell me – why have you changed your mind?"
"I haven’t," replies Issy, "Joshua is no chazan."
Three rabbis were discussing how to have the best davening experience (prayer) and what the best positions for prayer were. A telephone repairman who was working nearby overheard their conversation.
"Standing and swaying back and forth during the shmone esrei is definitely best," said the first rabbi.
"No," another rabbi contended. "I have the best davening when I’m sitting down saying the shema with my eyes closed."
"You're both wrong," the third rabbi insisted. "The best davening is Kabbalat Shabbat, dancing with my arms outstretched to Heaven."
The repairman could contain himself no longer.
"Rabbis," he interrupted, "the best praying I ever did was hanging upside down from a telephone pole."
Rabbi Bloom enters the first grade Hebrew class. It will soon be Rosh Hashanah and he's there to blow the shofar for them. But before he does, he decides to ask them a relevant question. So hiding his shofar behind his back, he says to the class, "Shalom, boys and girls. I have a question for you. Can anyone here tell me what we will see in shul on Rosh Hashanah but which we would not normally see in shul at other times of the year?"
Little Samuel puts up his hand and says, "I know the answer, rabbi. It's my Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty."
After the Shabbos service was over, Golda Grunberg meets Rabbi Cohen at the shul door with her young son Shmuel.
"Rabbi," says Golda, "I'm sorry my little Shmuel was so noisy during your sermon."
"That's OK, Golda," says Rabbi Cohen. "These things are not unknown to us rabbis. But do tell me how you managed to get him to keep quiet at the end."
"It was quite easy rabbi," replies Golda. "Fifteen minutes into your sermon, I leaned over to Shmuel and whispered in his ear, 'Shmuel, listen to me carefully. If you don't stop making so much noise, Rabbi Cohen is going to lose his place in his sermon, and if he loses his place, he will have to start his sermon all over again!' And rabbi, he instantly stopped making a noise."
Little Moishie Rosenberg called Rabbi Fine, the rabbi of a local synagogue to come by his house to pray for the speedy recovery of his mother who had been very ill with the flu. Rabbi Fine knew the family but was aware they had been attending another shul down the road. So Rabbi Fine asked, "Shouldn't you be calling Rabbi Felder from Shaarei Shamayim congregation where you are members to come by to pray with your mom?"
Young Moishie replied, "Yeah I could but we didn't want to take the chance that Rabbi Felder might catch whatever it is that Mom has."
Shira Fried was in charge of the kids Shabbat program at Congregation Beth Israel. She was teaching the kids about decorum in shul and why it was so important. So she took them up to the main sanctuary at the very back to give her lesson up close.
“Why is it necessary to be quiet in shul, especially now during Rabbi Eisen’s sermon?" Shira asked.
Little Rivka Deutch whispered, "Because people are sleeping.
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The answer to this week's question is A- Nothing like a good yoshka question to be able write ymeach shmeo next to his name. So I actually got this one right as the answer is Eliyahu Hanavi in their stupid made up bubbeh mayseh religion. Hashem should destroy the church on Har Tavor there this year and Chazal tell us it will join with Har Hacarmel and Har Sinai and come to the the temple Mount for trifecta that holds it up. Part II is obviously easy as well. Reb Shimon! So ending off the year with a good score Rabbi Schwartz having 11.5 points and the MOT having 3.5 points on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam
