Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
July 18th 2014 -Volume 4, Issue 37 -20th
of Tamuz 5774
Parshat Matos
The IDF!
It's a wimpy name for an army if you
ask me; The Israel Defense Force. It kind of sets ourselves up for the notion
that we are on the defense and that we will always need an army to defend
ourselves. There were other options when we started. There were in fact three
different forces in pre-state Israel. The Irgun or Etzel (Irgun
Tzva Liumi) which was the Organized National Army and the LeCHi (Lochamei
Herut Israel) The Israel Freedom Fighters. But Ben Gurion and the Hagana
were the strongest of the three so we are left with an army that is named
peacefully the Israel Defense Force. If only the world would see us that way as
well…
But the truth is what we
might lose in our pacifist sounding name we make up for, thank God , in our
unbelievable determination, dedication and sense of self-sacrifice to go to the
end of the world to do what we have to do to protect our country and our
people. I don't necessarily speak about our various governments and politicians
who have sometimes let us down in their decisions that sometimes are too often
influenced by that seemingly endless Jewish desire and fruitless pursuit to be
loved by the world or at least not to be so hated and condemned. I speak rather
about our brave young men and women who are willing and even to a large degree
feel honored to be able to run into the firing line in order to save and defend
our people without any sense of self. The wars of Israel are filled with stories
soldiers who have jumped out of one burning tank to only get into another and
continue the fight, soldiers who have braved all odds and left their families
to collect intelligence that will protect us by living as Arabs in their
countries and gaining precious intel from those that seek to destroy us.
Perhaps even most amazing to the world is how Israeli soldiers and our
emergency services are the first responders in many other countries who need
our help in times of crises and natural disasters. So there we are the IDF-Israelis Don't Fear,
Israel's Dedicated Friends, Israel Dislikes Fighting, Israel Defends Freedom,
Israel Desires Friends, but perhaps most significantly and yet to be fully
achieved The Israeli Divine Forces.
This week's Torah
portion tells us the story of one of the final battles of the Jewish people;
the fight and the destruction of the nation of Midian, who at the scheming of
the Bilaam and the Moabite king Balak who had been unsuccessful at cursing the
Jewish people (remember the talking donkey trick) succeeded in their plan B
against us. Bila'am realized that the way to get the Jewish people is not by
trying to kill us or curse us, rather the greatest way to get to us is by pretending to be our friends. They sent
their daughters to seduce us and lo and behold it worked. Next thing we knew it
as soon as we saw they didn’t want to kill us wadda boom wadda bing we were in
their tents and worshipping their idols… Hashem of course did not like that
plan. In general He has a problem with His children trying to disappear and
shirk their special mandate to bring light to the world. 24,000 dead Jews in a
plague later, which is only brought to an end by Pinchas and his heroic
zealotry, Hashem commands Moshe to avenge those deaths by wiping out Midian.
Jewish blood is not cheap.
I know this story seems
so long ago. I don't just mean historically which actually and sadly does not
feel so long ago, but rather I mean textually. It actually started over two parshiyot
ago and the command to fight against Midian was the beginning of last week's
Parsha almost 5 chapters before the actual battle. It seems that the Torah for
some reason separated the command for the battle with a long seemingly
misplaced cut and paste job of narratives, laws and sacrifices until we get
back to this "jew"cy battle. We know by now that everything in the
Torah including its placements and the form in which it tells us its narratives
has a reason. Let's see what the significance of these pre-war instructions and
stories as prerequisites to the actual battle are.
The lists of
instructions from the command until the battle are actually quite fascinating.
First we are told of the counting once again of the Jewish people post-plague according
to the tribes. Now although one might assume this was just a head count to
figure out who will go to battle or not and how many available troops we have,
the Torah tells us something else. "And Hashem said to Moshe to these
will the land be divided as an inheritance according to the counting of their
names…each man according to their numbers shall be given their portion". This
wasn't an army count, it was a pre-inherit the land count. The narrative
therefore continues with the story of the
daughters of Tzlafachad and their desire and ultimately successful bid and plea
to also inherit the land. This of course than leads to Hashem's denial of
Moshe's bid to enter the land and the setting up of the leader that will bring
them into the land, none other than Yehoshua. Seemingly before we wage war against Midian it
was critical to count, explain and clarify to them, that this is not just a
battle against an enemy this is the beginning of a war in which they have a larger
vested interest and goal; The acquisition of our divinely promised homeland in
which every single surviving Jew would have a portion.
The truth is the Torah
in fact tell us specifically that this group are really if one thinks about it
survivors. Right after the count the Torah tells us
"And this
counting of Moshe and Elazar there were none who were in the previous count
of moshe and Aharon at Mount Sinai for Hashem had said they would all die in
the wilderness."
This was the generation
that had been under twenty and that were born afterwards. The dramatic plague
at the Midian debacle wiped out the remaining Jews left. This was the new
generation. There are no more sins in the wilderness, no more deaths, no more
plagues. The new world awaits them and they need to understand what they are
fighting for. They need to know that they must succeed where there parents
failed. The land will be theirs. Their leader will no longer be Moshe, once
they get there, so don't get all hung up on the Moshe golden calf replacement
thing again. You can do it. This land will be yours. Avenge their deaths by
eradicating the evil and assimilationist temptations that will distract you
from your mission. You have to build me a special different country.
And what type of country
will that be? The Torah than tells us the next two narratives and laws. It will
be a place where there will be sacrifices twice daily sacrifice being offered
up in the Temple for him Every Jew will
have a part of that daily sacrifice.
There will be Kohens and shifts and his annual half shekel donation makes sure he's a part of it. It will be a
place where you will meet with me regularly. Where we will have holidays
together.Where the mere words and vows that you make and take have the power to
create sanctity and holiness and will transform the world. Don't make the
mistake of your forefathers of Lashon Hara on the land and of despair and
crying. Your words and your oaths will be fulfilled. You will bring their
offerings to me in our Temple. You will have wives and husbands and fathers and
daughters each one of them offering up gifts and promise to Hashem. We will be
a family…a holy family. We will be one in our home.
It is then and only then
that the Torah can tell us about the battle with Midian. For us to succeed at
war we have to know what we are fighting for. We were not meant to have a
nation and country like any other nation or country. We're not just another
member of United Nations. We are a family that is meant to live in on its
divinely granted and inherited homeland that is our family heritage. You fight
differently when you're fighting outside of your own personal backyard. We are
not merely just fighting for our backyard. We are fighting for the world. For
the world will only fulfill its destiny when we can show them what it feels
like to have Hashem's presence shine forth from our country. We're fighting for
Him. I know that the monsters on the other side feel they are also fighting a
Jihad and they are Allah's army. It's what makes them so dangerous. It's why
they will stop at nothing. For us to succeed we need to know that they have it
wrong. It is not them who are meant to fight the battle of Hashem. It is us. There
is perhaps no greater evil than that false sense of Godliness that they cloak
themselves in. It is interesting to note that the name Midian is the same
letters as the word Dimyon-Imagination, illusory reality, make believe,
falsehood. We need to know that our battle is for truth.
For us to win the war
and give our family the home we have been promised to give Hashem the home he
is so longing to return to. We need to remember the training narratives that
were given to our first army before they began conquering the land. The land is
ours- all of it, we can conquer it, and we have been granted it and we will one
day soon once again see and bring the miraculous sacrifices in our service to
our Father in heaven on behalf of all mankind. Watch out the Israel Divine
Forces are on the way…
Have a quiet restful and miraculous Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S IMPORTANT QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Before Israel dies it must be humiliated
and degraded – Hamas Leader Khaled Mashal
"“We repeat today that we are with the
establishment of a Palestinian state on any liberated part of Palestinian land
that is agreed upon by the Palestinian people, without recognizing Israel or
conceding any inch of historical Palestine.” Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh
“This is a generation which knows no fear. It is
the generation of the missile, the tunnel and suicide operations.”- Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
“I am heartbroken by the violence, especially
the death and injury of so many innocent civilians in Gaza – men,women, and
children who were caught in the crossfire. We are going to continue to encourage diplomatic
efforts to restore the cease-fire, and we support Egypt’s continued efforts to
bring this about”-President
Barak Obama
What would've been nice for him to say
“The indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza on
Israel are terrorist acts, for which there is no justification. It is
evident that Hamas is deliberately using human shields to further terror in the
region.
“Failure by the international community to
condemn these reprehensibleactions would encourage these terrorists to
continue their appalling actions. Canada calls on its allies and partners to
recognize that theseterrorist acts are unacceptable and that solidarity
with Israel is the best way of stopping the conflict.
“Canada is unequivocally behind Israel. We
support its right to defend itself, by itself, against these terror attacks,
and urge Hamas to immediately cease their indiscriminate attacks on innocent
Israeli civilians.
“Canada reiterates its call for the Palestinian
government to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups
operating in Gaza, including the Iranian proxy, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”-
Canadian PM Stephen Harper
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE
WEEK
(answer below at end of Email)
Which
of the following was an ancient dryland farming (haklaut baal) crop?
- Eggplant
- Pomegranate
- Onion
- Garlic
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL GEMATRIA OF THE WEEK
Here
are some cool "Protective edge" Gematriot- Tzuk Eitan the name of
this battle which was given the name after the verse in parshat balak "Eitan
moshaveicha vsim b'Sela Kinecha"- strong is your dwelling and set in
rock is your nest. Our sages tell us is
also a reference to our strength being our forefathers Avraham Yitzchak and
Yaakov. Interestingly enough the gematria of Avraham Yitzchak V'Yaakov (with
the Kollel meaning plus 3 for the three words) is the same as Tzuk Eitan
protective edge. In who's merit we should win this war. In addition the iron
dome called Kipat Barzel the word Barzel our sages tell us is also an acronym
for the four wives of Yakov the mothers of the Jewish people Bilha Rachel
Zilpa and Leah. Who are certainly protecting us as well.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE
WEEK
Gush Katif-
I know I know…but with Israeli troops on the ground who knows maybe once again
it can be ours again. I visited this beautiful city back in 1990 for an Avraham
Freed concert and it was truly magnificent; beautiful beaches, clean streets
and shops and incredible fields and fields of orchards, flowers and vegetables
that were bug free miraculously grown in the sand that seemed to produce only
for the Jewish people. As once we left nothing the Arabs tried could get them
to grow again. Just some small statistics to realize what we had there- The agricultural produce of Gush Katif represented some 10%
of all agricultural produce raised in Israel; it accounted for 65% of Israel's
organic export industry; 90% of Israel's bug-free leafy vegetables; 45% of
tomato exports and 95% of Israel's cherry tomato exports; 60% of Israel's herb
exports; 60% of Israel's geranium exports came solely from Ganei Tal in Gush
Katif. WOW and we gave it all to Gaza and Hamas. I remember as well that sad 10th
of Av day in 2006 when the "disengagement/or expulsion of Jewish families
from the Gush took place. Perhaps the blackest and saddest day in our States
history. A day that we are still paying for today as our boys head back there.
Mey one day soon all of Israel be returned to our home.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
Great song sung by Israeli soldiers getting ready for battle
and the return to Gush Katif
(lyrics included if your don’t understand them throw em in to
google translate)
*******************
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S HAMAS JOKES WORTH CIRCULATING OF THE WEEK
After the death of four Gaza children in today's
attack Hamas has threatened to set up more of their children for death by
shooting missiles from their schools if Israel does not admit defeat.
Hamas's solution for solving the population explosion that they cant afford to support because of their corruption...shoot missiles at israel from their maternity wards.
Israel has iron dome to deflect missiles being shot at it...Hamas is not worried they have still have some six year olds that they can hide behind
Obama has offered to negotiate a peace agreement between israel and hamas. Bibi has agreed on condition that he can negotiate a peace agreement between al Quaida and the US
Israel has been devastating Hamas by destroying the empty houses of its military leaders. This hasn't worried them much because each one of them has another few wives and daughters whose houses they can still steal.
How many Hamas terrorists does it take to change a lightbulb? one to shoot a missile at the electric wires 3 to hold guns on the women and children to use as a shield as you shoot it and then wait for the Israelis to come in and change it for you...
Why did the Hamas terrorist cross the road? he saw an old woman that he could hide behind while he shot off a missile
What's the difference between a hamas terrorist and a weasel? the weasel hides its children in an underground tunnel while it protects it...
Hamas's solution for solving the population explosion that they cant afford to support because of their corruption...shoot missiles at israel from their maternity wards.
Israel has iron dome to deflect missiles being shot at it...Hamas is not worried they have still have some six year olds that they can hide behind
Obama has offered to negotiate a peace agreement between israel and hamas. Bibi has agreed on condition that he can negotiate a peace agreement between al Quaida and the US
Israel has been devastating Hamas by destroying the empty houses of its military leaders. This hasn't worried them much because each one of them has another few wives and daughters whose houses they can still steal.
How many Hamas terrorists does it take to change a lightbulb? one to shoot a missile at the electric wires 3 to hold guns on the women and children to use as a shield as you shoot it and then wait for the Israelis to come in and change it for you...
Why did the Hamas terrorist cross the road? he saw an old woman that he could hide behind while he shot off a missile
What's the difference between a hamas terrorist and a weasel? the weasel hides its children in an underground tunnel while it protects it...
And last of all HAMAS acronym: Hiding Among Mosques
And Schools
*************************************************************
Answer
is B: Pomegranate. Fairly easy I guess because it is one of the 7
species of fruits of Israel all of which are irrigated by rain not man. In
Hebrew the term is Sadeh Baal a field with a husband. The Talmud explains that
just a woman with a husband is settled and has no need to worry for here needs
also a field that is fully irrigated from rain and requires no human irrigation
is settled. Now I'm not sure about the other things as well. But I did know
that rule about the 7 species so it helped me out. See, it always helps to know
a little Talmud.:)
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