Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
June 6th 2013 -Volume 3, Issue 32–28th
of Sivan 5773
Parshas Korach
The
Rule of Three
This is
not a country for the shy, meek or faint of heart. If you want something done in
Israel you need to ask for it loudly and forcefully. If you are told no, the old
time natives will tell you, that you have to ask again more forcefully. Despite
what it may seem from the lack of smiley customer service representatives in
this country, things do get done. You just have to demand it. It took me some
time to understand this, coming from the free-market customer loyalty plans of
America. Until someone (our electrician-who never showed) explained it to me.
"If you really need something done than you should yell about it- and if
you're not yelling about it, than you probably don't need it- so than why are
you bothering me" Yet it's amazing what can get done here once you learn the
dialect of the country. What I always found funny was that after every customer
service call I would receive these annoying SMS's texts asking me to fill out a
survey about how I rated there service. I would never respond. And they would
send them again and again...I finally YELLED in caps in a response SMS and they
seemed to be satisfied. Another fruitful conversation in the holy
land.
We are a
stubborn people. We are an argumentative people. We are a nation that thinks
we're always right and we expect others to know that about us. The truth is,
despite our minority and most persecuted nations status we have been right and
the banner bearers of truth, knowledge, wisdom and innovation more than any
other nation in the history of the world. Yet when it comes to us dealing with
one another- another MOT (Member of the Tribe) we can't seem to imagine that
they may also be part and parcel of this great wisdom filled nation. We're
right- we get it-the other guy is wrong- they missed the boat. It ain''t easy
living in a country where everyone feels that they're right 100% of the time.
But it's our home, our family and we learn to acclimate.
This
week's Torah portion, Parshat Korach, brings to the forefront the story of the
arguing Jew. Our nation has traveled from Sinai and it's been a sad and
difficult journey to follow since. The memory of us standing as a
nation-"K'Ish Echad B''Leiv Echad-Like one man with one heart" is long
gone. Truth be told it was probably the last time in our history when we
are all right...all complete... all one. Since we left Sinai three Parshiyot ago
it's been downhill. We have the story of the Jews complaining about food " we
miss all the free fish, melons and veggies we used to eat in Egypt (we Jews
always remember the free mealsJ)" and we
complain about the Manna. Hashem responds with more meat than we can handle and
wipes out the complainers with a plague.
Next stop
we have the tragic story of the Spies, the leaders of the tribes, who for fear
of losing their positions and of coming to the Land where they would have to
conquer and build the country instead of the cushy leadership roles they had in
the clouds of glory in the wilderness, spoke Lashon Harah and badmouthed the
land and even Hashem's ability to bring us there. The result the spies die, the
Jews who lost faith die in the wilderness over forty years and Tish'ah B'Av
becomes a day of mourning and tragedy for the rest of our history.
Just when
you thought it couldn't get any worse we open up this weeks portion of Korach
where we have our first major rebellion against the leadership of Moshe. Korach
and his followers each with their own agenda challenge Moshe and Aharon's
leadership. "The whole nation is holy" we were all by Sinai, we heard
Hashem speak to us, we were all given the Torah, we are all a "kingdom of
Kohanim and a holy nation". Why you should you be the chief? Moshe tries nicely
to talk them down, bring the peace, see if there was any way to even get them to
realize the error of their ways. Maybe he should have tried yelling louder.
However finally realizing that only Divine intervention could ever solve a fight
between Jews, he held an incense/Ketores bake-off with the loser having to
literally eat dirt. Hashem-giving new meaning to the statement "another one
bites the dust"- opens up the ground, swallows the challengers up into the earth
and destroys the rest with fire. For a nation that thinks it's always right, we
seem to be getting a lot wrong. What is up with us?
The great
Rebbe of Slonim, the Nesivos Shalom, suggests that these three Parshiyot contain
in them, what I refer to as the rule of three. The Mishna in Avot tells us that
there are three sins or more correctly pursuits, that take a man out of this
world- Ha'Kinah, Ha'Ta'avah, V'Hakavod- Jealousy, Desire and Honor. In
contrast to that our sages tell us that the world rests upon three pillars,
Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chasadim- The study of Torah, Service or prayer to
Hashem, and acts of kindness and generosity. The rule of three. The three
pillars of the world are the antidote and contrast to the three that take one
out of the world. Kindness counters the self-focused pursuit of jealousy, Prayer
infuses one with humility and prevents the pursuit of honor and the study of
Torah has the power to channel and elevate ones base desires and lusts into a
Godly expression of one's essence and soul.
On a
deeper level these three principles really define the three ultimate
relationships we are meant to have and fulfill in this world; Between Man and
himself, Man and God and Man and his fellow man. Jealousy a flaw in ones
relationship with his fellow is perfected by kindness. One's relationship with
his Creator is threatened by a pursuit of one's own personal glory and honor and
tempered by the sense of humility that prayer engenders. And the biggest
challenge to ones satisfaction and personal growth is the never-ending pursuit
of lust and gratification that the incredible experience, light and wisdom of
Torah conquers and raises man up in it's study.
If one
follows this theme, he suggests, we can see it repeated throughout the Torah. He
notes that the first three sins after leaving the Garden of Eden before Avraham
also were the pursuit of these sins and the lack of the principles that form the
foundation of the world. Cain is jealous of his brother, the
Dor/generation of the Flood chases after its lusts and desires in
unnatural ways and the tower of Babel is the sin of honor- with their attempt to
conquer god and becoming the new kings of the world. In contrast to that, the
world was saved-so to speak, by the arrival of our forefathers. Avraham
represents kindness as his life story is abound with stories of his always open
tent, Yitzchak who was bound to an altar is service and who the Torah tells us
prays for children for many years is service and Ya'akov, the father of the
twelve tribes who studied for many years in the tents represents Torah. The
generations of the tribes of Israel that are born are meant to be that
foundation of the world to teach its principles and to unite us all with our
Creator. Our destiny is to form the ultimate three. Hashem and his children, in
the land of Israel.
Yet sadly
enough after that one moment on Sinai, we fall back into that ancient habit. We
desire better food in the sin of the complainers, we fail in our ability to have
faith in Hashem and our place in the land of Israel and give up our own pursuits
in the sin of the spies and finally in this weeks Torah portion the jealousy of
Korach and his congregation divides the nation and literally in that most
visceral lesson of Hashem takes them out of this world.
We have
left the holiday of Shavuot a few weeks ago. That moment on Sinai is fading. The
inspiration has gone with the cheese blintzes and cheese cake. We enter the
month of Tamuz and the summer season that approaches us brings with it the days
of mourning for our Temple. It is a cycle we have gotten used to. But it was not
meant to be an annual cycle of holiday and tragic events. We were meant to and
have the power to bring the Exile to its end, to put us back in the world and be
the light, the source of truth and inspiration that reveals the pillars of the
world to all of Hashem's children. To live in this country and to be the nation
of Hashem is not for the shy, meek or faint of heart. Neither is it to be
arrogant, running after our desires or trying to be right and out do the next
one. To truly merit the land and live up to the role that we were born to fill
we must learn from the lessons of the past and become the nation of Avraham,
Yitzchak and Ya'akov. As we bless the new month of Tamuz, may we truly merit
that this month is one that will bring us blessing and the final redemption that
we have waited so long to achieve.
Have
a magnificent Shabbos!
Rabbi
Ephraim Schwartz
**********************************************
RABBI
SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"My idea of an agreeable
person is a person who agrees with me.
"- Benjamin Disraeali
"- Benjamin Disraeali
*****************************************
RABBI
SCHWARTZ YOUTUBE LINK OF THE WEEK
(
Nachal Charedi-I found it inspiring and interesting-certainly thought
provoking-in Hebrew though)
************************************
RABBI
SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
(answer
below)
The
"Burma Road" was a bypass road forged during the?
(a)
Arab Revolt in 1936
(b)
Independence War
(c)
period between the Independence War and the Six-Day War
(d)
Six Day War
RABBI
SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Kfar
Etzion-One of four settlements
created in the 1920's that formed the Etzion bloc. Originally called Migdal Eder
it was purchased by Shmuel Holtzman who Hebraicized his name to Etzion in the
1930's. The Jews were forced to leave Kfar Etzion in the arab revolt in 1936 and
came back in 1943 and the Masuaot Yitzchak, Revadim and Ein tzurim joined them
creating a block of settlements on the road between Jerusalem and Hebron. On the
day of the establishment of State of Israel in May of 1948 the block was
massacred by the arab populace in one of the most horrific attacks on the
fledgling State. Today one can visit the museum of Kfar Etzion and see an
inspiring multimedia film about the story of Kfar Etzion and the return of the
Jews in 1967 to rebuilding the Gush Etzion today.
Answer is
B-While the Arabs
sieged Jerusalem in 1948 as they held the overlook of the Latrun Fortress, the
Jews led by the first General of the Israeli army, the American Mickey Marcus
planned an alternate route in to save the city through an old shepherds goat
path. The road named the Burma road after the WWII road paved by the US and
British troops to bring supplies avoiding Japan. Eventually Highway 38 & 44
was captured and paved which turned into the main road to Jerusalem until 1967
when the current route 1 came into Israeli control. The paving of the road just
beat the deadline by a few days of the imposed cease fire to Jerusalem and
saving the old city yishuv.
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