from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
March 20th 2026 -Volume 16 Issue 22 2nd of Nissan 5786
It's Happening
I don't have days. I don't have nights. It's insane what's going on here. Sirens in the middle of the night. People running back and forth to shelters with sleeping children on their shoulders. Pulling off on the side of the highway to get out of your car while missiles are flying over your head. Up again down again. It's relentless. And yet there are miracles happening daily. It's literally a surreal experience. It's like Mitzrayim before we left. But instead of Pharaoh in pajamas in the middle of the night, it's us. It's like there's this drumroll with the tempo building and building for the "introducing for the very first time to the wedding hall…" Mashiach is here. That's what it feels like being in the Holy Land in this final era. Mashiach's tzeitin…
And that is truly the energy that one feels here. Mashiach is on everyone's lips. From Bibi to the left to the right. Even Jews in America who are fleeing to get back there and missing the show realize that their going to be missing out on big things this holiday. They're leaving, but they know that they're leaving the movie before the grand finale ending. I'm not judging them. I understand them even. It's not fun to be here now. I've had a few tourists that were supposed to come who called me and asked me if they should even bother. I told them, that there won't be any touring this holiday. The only thing they might be able to see is the Bais Hamikdash rebuilt, but it will probably be too packed if that's the case to tour. And I'm happy to bring the Korban Pesach for them. For a small fee of course. But that's only for the ones that bought my Pesach book- for sale down below.
So there's no tourists now. I'm home. I don't think I remember sleeping in my own bed so many nights in a row, since Corona. Or maybe the beginning of this war before I started going down to Gaza every day. Yet, unlike when this war first started and I pretty quickly got involved in running around volunteering and bringing Pizza, BBQ's and Shabbos food and supplies to soldiers. Now there's pretty much nothing to do or volunteer. And to be honest I really don't feel comfortable or safe driving around too far away from my shelter. This is isn't those little play katyusha rockets. These are huge million-ton Iranian ballistic missiles. Those are scary suckers. So I'm at home all day. I'm working on my next book. All my good stuff from the war, already creatively called "War Torah". Hopefully I'll get it out before Bereishis. It will be for sale in the entrance of the Bais Hamikdash. But I'm happy to give you a good pre-sale printing price. As we say in here in Israel. You can buy it "on paper". Contact me, if interested. I could use the money.
So what do I do all day? I sit, I learn, I scroll on my phone, I post statuses. Like a million of them. I speak on the phone. I learn another few minutes. And I eat. Sometimes grab some sleep. As I said there's no day. No night. It's just crazy cycles of passing time waiting for Mashiach. Oh yeah… I think about Pesach cleaning, but not really. I'm too busy. Or not.
One of the cool things I did and saw was this Google photos memories thing. I got one yesterday. It led to a Torah. To an incredible insight. To a different Hallel and even this parsha E-Mail. Get ready here it comes. I think it's amazing. The google photos was from six years ago. Where was I? Where were you? Where was the world? It seems like so long ago. But it was only six years ago. It's when crazy first started.
Six years ago at this time I saw this cute picture of me on my couch where I am right not as well, but then I was wearing a mask. The world was shut down. Corona had just begun. The world was shut down. People were dying. You couldn't leave your house. You couldn't go to shul. Even in Boro Park the first few weeks the oilam was still listening to the rules. Like now, ba'yamim ha'heim ba'zman ha'zeh I was also stuck at home. Nowhere to go. Sending out memes. Scrolling on my phone and learning a bit and eating a bit. Actually back then, I was eating a lot as it was before my surgery. Now it's a lot more memes and a lot less food.
Watching that Google Photo Memory clip, of that surreal experience awakened in me an incredible question. If someone had come to me 7 years ago and told me that the entire world would be shut down and we would all be wearing masks, vaccinating, locked down, I would've told them that they were crazy. They were watching too much science fiction movies. It's not possible. It can't happen. But it did.
Let me ask you another question. If someone would've told me four years ago, that Chamas would barge into Israel tear down our walls. Kidnapped hundreds of people. Burn down Kibbutzim, police stations, that hundreds would die in a day. That there would be massacres. That the great Israeli army would be helpless and our intelligence would be clueless. Once again you would tell me I'm crazy. It's not real. Turn off the TV and stop watching thriller films. But it happened.
If someone would tell me 2 months after the war started, that most of the world would take the side of Chamas. That Anti- Semitism would be at record highs. That Shuls would be attacked, Rallies would be all over the world against us. That we would be condemned all over the world for what was so blatantly the most justified war in the history of mankind. That they could possibly hate us so much. That It's unsafe for Jew to live in Europe. That the most popular boy's name in England last year, was not Muhammed, as it was for the last few years but rather Yihye- after Sinwar, which is pretty much the equivalent of Hitler. And this just less then a century after the Holocaust. Once again, I don't think any of us could really believe how much we could be hated. Yet, it's still going on.
How about this one. If someone would've told you that the majority of the army is wearing tzitzis. That there's not kochi v'otzem yadi- no arrogant secular Zionistic pride there anymore. That the most popular songs sung by soldiers are about Hashem. About Mashiach. About Redemption. That there are full units of Bnai Torah with tzitzis hanging out, learning three sedarim and then fighting in the evenings. That these same units don't even have an Israeli flag flying in them and women aren't allowed in and they're getting Bedatz food. That every other speech Bibi makes as well as many in the Knesset all talk about Siyata Di'Shmaya, about Hashem saving us. About open miracles. That there are really no Zionists left in this country. Not on the right or the left. There's only Hashem's people watching His hand and clouds of glory saving us. Once again, I'm pretty sure all of you would say, that this is really cool AI. But that can't be happening. It's just not real. Yet that's what's going on boys and girls. It's all over the place.
How about this one? If I would tell you three weeks ago, that Israel and the United States would be going in and blowing the dreck out of literal cities in Iran. That leader after leader is getting knocked off and hundreds of their cronies. That we'd be living in a world where submarines and huge ships are getting sunk in the Sea. That thousands of ballistic missiles are falling on us numerous times a day and almost no one is getting hurt. Unless you count insomnia as a casualty event. Which I do by the way. That last Friday like 20 Arabs were killed in a village when one landed and Iran would be shooting at Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Quatar, Dubai. Dubai!! Blowing up their cities. Their hotels. Their resorts. If I told you this three weeks ago. You would've told me I'm nuts. I'm dreaming. It can't happen. And yet here we are.
So now let me throw something else at you. What would you say, if I told you that the Bais Ha'Mikdash would be built in two weeks? Better, than that. What would you say, if I told you that in two weeks all of klal Yisrael would be doing teshuva? That the Attorney General of Israel would be covering her hair with a tichel and lighting Shabbos candles. That Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman just made a chavrusa shaft to do Daf Yomi with Reb Eli at MDY. That the Neturei Karta would be bringing Barbeques to soldiers doing Hashem's work and still wiping out the remains of Amalek. That every Reform and Conservative Jew, and any assimilated Jew in America, yeah.. even the ones with pink hair and the ones that until now have kaffiyehs on their head are all putting on tefillin. Are all saying Shema Yisrael. Are wearing black hats. Are putting on beketches.
Ok, here's the craziest thing of all and perhaps the most incomprehensible miracle and imaginary scenario. What would you say, if I told you that everyone in Lakewood, in Tom's River in Jackson and the Five Towns would in two weeks be contacting Nefesh B'nefesh. Selling their homes. Packing their bags. Shutting down their shuls, their schools, their meat board factories and their pizza shops and would be booking Aliya flights on El Al to Israel. Crazy right? It can't happen. It's not going to happen until Mashiach is here. This could never be. I'm reading too much fiction. I'm learning too much Chazal. It's not reality. But yet, my friends. I want you to pause a second and think about why that's any different than everything else you've been telling me the last few years and even weeks of what could and won't happen. But yet it all has.
Now because we're getting close to Pesach, it's time to start getting into the mode. Let's ask a question. THE question. Why would this last miracle be different than all of the other miracles that happened before hand? Why can't I believe that this will happen, even after I saw all of the other miracles happen. You know, I imagine myself back in Egypt, as we're meant to by the Pesach Seder, and I think about the Jews back then if they were the same way, when they saw the Hand of Hashem so openly. They saw blood and said wow, that's cool". But frogs could never happen. Ok maybe Frogs could happen too, but lice? No way! That can't be. OK maybe frogs, maybe lice, maybe even wild animals and hail and darkness, but First borns. But actually leaving Egypt. Pharaoh actually getting up and telling us that we can go. That for sure can't happen. But it did.
Yet even then… We still weren't sure or have faith that we could leave. That Hashem really really was going to take us out. That we could actually get up and slaughter their gods. Their values. That every Jew could do that. That seas could split. That they'll all die chasing us. I have no doubt that almost all of us despite seeing all of the miracles and the unreal, surreal, mind-blowing stuff going on still couldn't fathom the next step and the next step and the next step. Why not? What's wrong with us?
Why can't I or you believe that every one can do teshuva tomorrow? Everyone. Why do I have more faith in Hamas attacking us? In Corona. In Trump. In us blowing up Iran. In missiles not falling on our head. Thousands of huge ones. In even Bibi giving lip service. But I can't wrap my head around the even small possibility or chance that in two weeks we can all do teshuva. That American Jews can all decide on their own to come home. That the non-frum will leave their goyish wives, their secular assimilated idolatrous godless if not God-abhorrent lifestyles and just connect. Return. Come home.
The real scary answer to that question is because we really don't believe or understand or appreciate the incredible light of Hashem inside of every yid. Inside of each of our neshomas. We don't realize how close even the farthest Jew is to Hashem. We don't chap how karov eilecha ha'davar me'od-how so very close that is to us. How easy and how little needs to occur for it to happen. How little we even need to do for that small spark to ignite into a soaring flame. How ready that Bais Ha'Mikdash is to come down. How the day of our redemption is really here.
We don't realize. Or we can't fathom it, because that means we as well can do teshuva that quick. We can throw all of our garbage away. We can be redeemed of all of our vices. Our yetzer hara's. Of all of the things that have been holding us down and back. We've convinced ourselves that it's too hard for us to do it. So for sure it's going to be impossible for those guys to do it. It's impossible for all of klal Yisrael to do it. It's impossible for all of us to finally come home.
But the truth is. If Hamas could attack us. If we could blow up Iran. If the world could shut down from Iran. If missiles could fall and no one gets hurt. If blood, frogs, lice and wild animals could plague Egypt. If after 2000 years we would still be around. If we could return to our Land. If most of Klal Yisrael is finally living here. If the land is giving its fruits like never before. If construction even in a war year is through the roof- excuse the pun. If Torah is being learned like never before and Jews everywhere are more in touch with their identity of what it means to be a yid, then ever before. Then teshuva is really a very small thing in comparison. Teshuva doesn't mean changing. It doesn't even mean becoming a different person. It doesn't even mean leading a different lifestyle. It means just revealing and returning and perhaps even for the first time returning to what our true essence is. Of who we really are. Yidden, connected and longing for a closeness to our Father. That want nothing more but to sit and bask in His glory. To be one with Home. To finally be at peace.
Last week we concluded, the book of Redemption. Shemos. It ended with the Mishkan/ with the Bais Hamikdash all ready and built. Yet Moshe couldn't come in. We couldn't come in. Sacrifices were on hold. The next book and step begins with this week's new book right before Pesach the holiday of our Redemption. The book is called Vayikra. And He called. It's Hashem calling to us. It's a strange name for a Book about sacrifices. It doesn't really seem to capture the essence of a Book that is all about bringing various sacrifices and all the work in the Temple. The truth is there's another funny thing about the book and title as well. The word Vayikra has a small aleph at the end. It's almost as if one would read it Chazal point out as Vayiker. And He appeared. It happened. In Moshe's humility he made it small. So, it wouldn't seem like Hashem is personally paging him. But perhaps it can be understood on an even deeper level.
The way that we get from the book of Redemption to actually bringing sacrifices is by seeing what's going on as a "calling". It's Hashem calling to us personally, just like He called to Moshe. We have to stop writing off all of the miracles we are experiencing and all that is occurring as happenstance. As the way of the world. As the news cycle. As Trump. As Iran. As Bibi. We have to stop seeing at just cool amazing things happening in "the world" and rather see it as a call to us to come in. To come Home. To return. We have to stop with the humility and stop making that aleph little. We have to stop minimizing the great glory and spark inside of our hearts that is burning in our souls. We have to return to it. We have to realize that it's a call. Hashem is paging us. Not us. Not him. Not Bibi. Not Trump. Not even the secular non-shomer Shabbos Jews, not the one's living in chutz la'aretz and not coming home and waiting on the fence. He's calling me. ME. It's personal. It's a return that I have to do. That I can do. That's right in front of me. That can change the world in two weeks. That is only impossible in my own little mind that is still sleeping and hasn't woken up to the magic and miracles taking place all over. That's how we get there. That's the title of the book that we need to start reading this week.
Yesterday, I recited Hallel and had an incredible insight. We read in the second paragraph, or sing as we do in my shul about the difference between leaving Egypt and the splitting of the Sea versus the Crossing of the Yarden forty years later when we came into Israel.
Ha'yam ra'ah va'yanos- the sea saw and it ran away
Ha'Yarden yisov li'achor- the Jordan river turned backwards.
What's the difference between the two? Why is it that the Red Sea split in two and we walked right through, whereas when we got to the Jordan it didn't split? Rather part of it rose up and like it hit a glass wall and formed a huge wall on one side of us, while the rest flowed downstream to the Dead Sea? As well there's another difference between the two stories. When the sea split, we walked right through, without any stops on the way. Yet, by the Jordan river the Talmud in Sota tells us Yehoshua made a pit stop in the middle. Standing right there with this miles long column hanging over our head, he gave the first Shabbos Ha'Gadol drasha ever. There the Talmud tells us he said to us that if we are ready to go into the land and inherit it all and take the entire thing- meaning killing all our enemies there and destroying all of their idolatrous places, then we can continue. If not we're all going to die there in the Yarden. That's a pretty inspiring drasha, don't you say?
The question is why does he have to do it then? Why couldn't he give it before? Why not when we get to the other side. Why smack in the middle of the river? Why didn't Moshe do the same thing? What changed?
The answer though is mamash what I've been saying until now. Because as opposed to Egypt when Hashem was doing all the work and all the miracle. He was now handing the baton over to us. It was our turn to reveal the spark of Him inside of us. To realize that we have the power to do it all. That He's standing behind us holding up the wall of water from crashing down up us. He's stopping all the missiles from falling. He's making miracles happen. But we have to see that He's doing it for us. So that we can do it for Him.
Had Yehoshua done it before or after the river crossing, we would've just written it off as cool stuff that we didn't think could happen but it did. But we certainly would never of felt strong enough, holy enough, close enough to ever be able to do that ourselves. So he had to stop in the middle. He had to press pause on the screen as that ballistic missile was heading to our house. He had to hold the mountain or river over our head and say look at that miracle happening right now. Look how the incredible, remarkable, unbelievable thing that is happening. Appreciate it. Look up. And now answer me. Do you think you can take the country or not? Do you think that teshuva is so impossible as well? Do you realize that this entire land can be yours? That you can build the Mikdash. That you can bring sacrifices. Take a look at that miracle above you while you're in the river coming in and understand. That you can do it as well. That I trust you do it. That I chose you because you can. And that I'm waiting for you to make it happen.
There is a new Google Photo Album that is waiting for us to create. It's one that we will show our grandchildren when they sit down at our Pesach Seder with the Korban Pesach. It will be one of us getting on planes and moving. It will be all of us dancing and singing. It will be of us slaughtering all of the Amalekites and our enemies unencumbered. It will be of us blowing up Mosques and eradicating churches. It will be of the Bais Hamikdash coming down in fire and connecting with the one we have started building down here on Har Ha'Bayis. Don't think it could happen? Take a look at the memories from the last six years and ask yourself the question again. It's already here.
Have a miraculous and hopefully restful Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
" Hof oif nissim un farloz zikh nit oif a nes." – Hope for miracles but don't rely on a miracle happening.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvOVXLoWcSA – The latest Bardak for yeshivas Bein Ha'Zmanim…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMYaCh4BA4 - The latest TYH Hashem's Army.. The Tzivos Hashem became mainstream…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmD9_l8uoRw&list=RDQmD9_l8uoRw&start_radio=1 - Im really loving this son Abie Rotenberg. This song particularly is magnificent. Efshar…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKS4XWBHbN8 – Just enjoying this new singer and song… "Abba Tov" by Shmulik Suukot…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8G8xH3wQg8&list=RDC8G8xH3wQg8&start_radio=1 – Kind of liking this Vehi She'amda… It’s a new tune by Hershey Eisenbach and Shimmy Sklar
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
25. The communities of Kfar Darom and Netzarim were evacuated as part of a plan called
____________
Which of the following was an area known as the "Security Zone"?
A. An area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israel and the SLA until 2000 for
military purposes
B. The area separating Israel from the West Bank before the construction of the
West Bank barrier
C. The area of separation of forces between Israeli forces and Syrian army forces
in the Golan Heights
D. A strip along the Israeli-Egyptian border, adjacent to the fence, which includes
an intrusion tracking dirt road
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Achashveirosh- 367 BC- Smart King? Stupid King? Royal lineage? Slave? Hero, villain? The King who followed Cyrus and became the ` is a mystery. It's no wonder than perhaps that our masters see in his name in Megillat Esther as mystically being a reference to Hashem. For Hashem as well is a mystery. We can only identify with and understand Hashem as much as our limited mortal intellect can relate to Him. Those with smaller intellects, with less spiritual perception can see and experience Hashem on deep levels. Other's not so much. But ultimately besides for the truth of His Existence everything else we know about Hashem can only go as far as we can understand anything that is beyond our grasp. And thus Achashveirosh who becomes the human embodiment of the Will of Hashem is as well mysterious and unclear.
So where does Achashverosh come from. One opinion in the Talmud is that he was a peasant or stable boy that made his way to malchus because no one else had what it took, namely the check. He Donald Trumped his way to the Persian White House. On the other hand the Seder Olam seems to suggest that he was in fact the son of Cyrus and the grandson of Darius being that Darius married his daughter off to Cyrus. Others say that he was just influential. Maybe he Obama'd his way there by being an activist. As I said a mystery.
His wife Vashti fascinatingly enough was the daughter of Belshatzar. She according to all was an Iranian princess. The problem was she was raised by Koresh/Cyrus that killed her father together with Darius and then brought her to his palace and raised her there. If that version is true then according to the view that Achashveirosh was Cyrus's son then they were pretty much raised together in the palace. That's pretty wild and adds a whole new dimension to their marriage. And perhaps even sheds some light on her disdain for her husband whose father killed her father. Interesting stuff when we put all of the pieces together like that.
But, mazel tov they get married. Very exciting. They begin their reign over 127 countries all over the world from Ethiopia to India. And in the third year of his reign he makes the party. It seems he wasn't a very original guy. His dead father-in law Belshatzar did the same in his third year of reign as well. Each celebrating the end of the unfulfilled prophecy of the Jewish return to Israel and the building of the Temple. But that's a longer clip. Let's take it up next week.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE IRAN WAR JOKES OF THE WEEK
If the was keeps taking out murderous Iranian political and security leadership I am concerned that there will be no one left as a suitable candidate to lead the United Nations Human Rights Council
It's enough already. This morning I blessed she'kocho bi'gvuroso malei olam.
I can't stop crying. They took out Ali Khammeini and then Ali Larigani, I'm terrified who's next Ali Express…?
In High school in Israel they give you choice of a third language to learn. Most of my class chose French because they wanted to travel to Paris. I'm the only one that chose Arabic. And not what's funny is that I'm the only one that can get around there today…
Rosh Chodesh reminder from my grandson's gan- tomorrow please remember that it is Rosh Chodesh and all the children should come to the shelter in white pajamas.
My friend switched his phone back to a second generation phone in order not to get any more annoying warnings. Instead he received a text that he is in proximity of a validated sick person and needs to go into isolation.
For anyone with a Kosher phone that could not experience the Iranian hack on Yeshiva World News they have set up a special call in line on Kol Ha'Lashon for you.
Iranian man sends message to the Mossad- Just so you know my mother-in-law is a nuclear scientist.
It's interesting how many times a night I tell my neighbors have a good night…
Tips for Israelis- How to tell if the noise you're hearing is not a missile being shot down but rather thunder. If the sound you heard on your phone a minute ago didn't give you a heart attack with it's endless screeching. It's thunder.
Israel just hit Iran's Oil stockpile. Great now we're going to have another holiday revolving around oil…
If we're anyways losing sleep at night already. Let's just switch the clocks to Daylight savings and be done with it…
Hilchos Miklat:
One who hears a siren shall go to a miklat. In a house that has a mamad, one may go to the mamad. Some say: a miklat is preferred. Others say: the difference is negligible.
When should one go to a miklat? When the siren goes off. Rabbi Yehuda says, when you hear the pre-alert. Rabbi Eliezer says, if the miklat is near, one may wait until the siren is audible from an open window. The Chachamim say, even a closed window.
One who enters a miklat and hears a boom is yotzei. One who hears a boom before [one is in the miklat] is not yotzei. The chachamim say: one who hears a boom before and after [entering the miklat] is yotzei.
One who hears a boom [while in the miklat] and leaves and hears a boom [outside the miklat] is not yotzei, because the second boom was a sakana.
The talmidim of Rava would leave the miklat only after the [notification saying the] event ended. They asked them: Isn’t waiting ten minutes enough? They responded: we follow Rabbi Yehuda [that interpreted “and you shall live by them” - and not die by them].
Rambam: It is permitted to leave the miklat 6 minutes after hearing the latest boom, and one who leaves earlier is a Shoteh.
Shulchan Aruch paskens like the rambam but the Rama writes that we wait 10 minutes.
Mishnah berura says that of course if an “event ended” notification is received one is permitted to leave, even if booms are still audible, since you can hear them from far away. And even if the notification is received by only one of many miklat dwellers, one can still leave, since cell phone service is often spotty in miklat and therefore we can rely on even the minority.
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The answer to this week's question is A– Keeping on the game here. Kfar Darom and Netzarim were the names of two yishuvim that were part of the Gush Katif Gaza disengagement plan. That's what started this whole mishigas. I know that because I've spent a lot of time visiting the Gush Katif museums and remember all of the places and I pass some of the locations where they were relocated to. Not that I remember. As far as the security line/zone that's Lebanon. That's where we're fighting now. That's the line from the Litani down that we need to reconquer. So both right and the new score of Rabbi Schwartz having a 18 points and the MOT having 7 points on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.
