Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
October 24th 2014 -Volume 5, Issue 1 -30th
of Tishrei 5775
Parshat
Noach
Righteous,
man!
It
was a random call. I was building my Sukkah, getting ready for the chag in the
few spare moments I had in between my tours, but hey you gotta answer the phone
because ya never know. "Hi", the sweet voice on the line said.
"I was referred to you as someone who does tours around Israel."
I like calls that start off that way J.
"Sure" I said "what can I help you with?"
"Well I'm here with some friends of mine and we
were wondering, if you take people to tzadikim",
she
asked.
"All the time", I
said. Now I had already began to develop a client profile in my mind. These
were probably a few girls or young women obviously Orthodox yeshiva oriented.
Probably have been back in the States after their "year" in seminary
who probably have not yet found their bashert/soulmate yet, and most
likely have saved up some money to come to Israel and visit some of the graves
of some of our holy righteous people/tzadikim where they could pray in a
meaningful way for their hearts desires. I've done those kind of tours. Many
have even found their bashert. (Funny aside anecdote; Once on one of
these types of trips the girl in the car afterwards starts having a
conversation with her mother back in the States about her future Mother-in-Law.
Man! I thought and told her, I know these prayers work but that was pretty
fast. She explained through peals of laughter that she was actually engaged
before the trip already and was just coming to pray for her upcoming wedding…But
yes she had gotten engaged not long after praying here in Israel.)
Anyways
although I had read these clients right, it became very clear a few minutes
into the conversation as she began giving me the names of the places and people
she wanted visit that I had had a misunderstanding. Because as far as I knew
all the tzadikim that they had mentioned were actually all still alive
and well.
"Oh" I
said "you mean you want to visit live tzadikim. I didn't understand",
I apologized. "I'm sorry I don't do those types of tours." Now
don't get me wrong. I have the greatest respect and awe for many of the great
righteous people that I truly believe it is in whose merit, Torah study, kind
deeds, and prayers that Hasem sustains the world and continues to shine favor
and mercy on us. I also have tremendous faith that their blessings and prayers
on our behalf do have the power to bring mercy and beneficence down from
heaven. I just don't do those types of tours. Personally, it's because I respect
them so much and the value of their Torah that I don't want to trouble them with
photo ops with young bar mitzvah boys and tourists all the time. In addition I
hate waiting on long lines particularly on hot sweaty days in small waiting
rooms. I do however know some great tour guides that specialize in this type of
tour. They are great in jumping over poor widows, orphans, homeless and sickly
people that are looking blessing, comfort and salvation and sneaking their well-
paying tourists into the "backdoor" so that they can get their quicky
bracha and traditional picture without having to wait. It's just not my
thing. Now dead Tzadikim are something else. I'm fine with that . I just don't
really do the live ones.
So
we cleared up the misunderstanding. I think she kind of felt the way I do by
the time we finished our conversation. She decided to opt for the dead tzadikim
tour. Truth is, I was booked anyways but I happily gave her instructions on how
and where to go and of course concluded our conversation with my personal
blessing and best wishes to her and her friends. As far as I know she's not
engaged yet. But if she does get engaged soon, you're all free to E-Mail me for
a blessing as well J.
This
week's Torah portion begins with the well-known story of the first Tzadik of
the world.And Noach was and Ish Tzadik- a righteous man, Tamim Haya
B'dorosuv- He was complete/perfect in his generation. Like all good
tzadikim,( particularly Jewish ones-although Noach was actually pre-Jews and
Jewish), right away your commentaries and sages start to note and question and
critique. Maybe he was only righteous in his generation where there pretty much
wasn't any competition because pretty much everyone was pretty bad. But had he
lived in a better generation like Abraham's then as the guys in the back of the
shul would say "Ehh" he
wouldn’t be anything special. As the saying goes you can't please everyone all
the time. But the truth of the matter is as many of the commentaries note this
is the first time in the first 1500 years of the history of the world and in
the Torah that someone is called a Tzadik. And as the great Gaon of
Vilna notes if you truly want to understand a Hebrew word and concept one needs
to go back to the beginning when it is first mentioned. So what is a Tzadik?
How would you define someone who is righteous?
It's
interesting that the word Tzadik is the same root as two other words
that are seemingly opposite concepts. The first is Tzedaka which generally
we translate as charity. The second word is Tzedek which is translated as
justice. It would seem that these two concepts are polar opposites. Justice is
when I get something I deserve and charity is something I either give or receive
when it is undeserved. The truth though our sages tell us is that the two
concepts are really the same. For in truth why does one person have and another
not? Is it fair? He should have the big fancy house and car and I should be
driving my jalopy and another living in squalor. The answer is that all that we
have is undeserved. We have done nothing to receive or earn our lives, our
health and our wealth. It is all from above. It is all from the our Father in
heaven. Our job in this world is to recognize that since we are the recipients
of His kindness we are meant to share and give that light and love with others
that do not have it. This is justice. This is charity. This is what being a
Tzadik truly means. One who can share and teach a world that our lives are
truly blessings and that we are here to become God-like by in turn becoming
givers to the world in connecting them with that basic principle of life. It is
fascinating that we find many places where Hashem as well is referred to as a Tzadik;
for He is the source of all righteous-ness. Being a Tzadik means connecting to
that which is right. Righteous, man!
One
last interesting idea about a Tzadik that I understood on one of my many
tours down to the Dead Sea area, where not too many Tzadikim live, not
too many people either. But there are a lot of Palm trees there. And it is a
fascinating thing about plam trees. You see unlike other trees, palm trees grow
in the worst possible conditions such as the Dead Sea, where there are tons of
them. Palm trees grow with barely any water or rainfall. They can withstand
extreme heat, terrible soil and in fact I was told that the saltier and worse
the sand they grow in is the sweeter the dates are. King David in his psalm
about the day of Shabbos writes that a Tzadik flourishes like a date
palm. The Tzadik is someone who can grow in the worst conditions. The two
biblical figures that are referred to as Tzadikim are Noach and Joseph.
Noach lived in the absolute worst place and time. A world filled with
licentiousness, thievery, corruption and just plain evil. It is there that he
became a Tzadik. Similarly Joseph who grew up far away from the yeshivas and
religious community of his brother and father, but rather in the home of
Pharaoh in Egypt of all places, what our sages refer to as the source of all Tumah/impurity
and idolatry. There he becomes Yosef Ha'Tzadik. A tzadik doesn't neccesarily
have to grow and flourish only in Bnai Brak, Lakewood Boro Park or Jerusalem. A
Tzadik is someone who can flourish like a Tamar/ a date palm in the places
where he can most impact the world and continue to grow, thrive and inspire.
This
Shabbos Jews around the world have chosen to dedicate to sharing perhaps our most
special gift from Hashem; the gift of Shabbos. Shabbos, the day that we recite
this Psalm of King David, we recognize that V'Ameich Kulam Tzadikim- Hashem's
nation are all truly righteous. Tens of thousands of Jews across the world will
turn off their phones, their computers their "social" media and
celebrate Shabbos as a day when we refrain from all acts of creative activity
in order to bask in a world that has a Creator. Many Jews and organizations
that observe a traditional Shabbos regularly will be sharing this Shabbos with
many of our brothers and sisters who have yet to appreciate the beauty of this
special day. It is a weekend that we can all become Tzadikim. But it was
never meant to be "just one Shabbos". It was meant to be a world full
of Shabbos. Shabbos is the day which we are told brings all the blessing to the
world. You may not have a Tzadik that lives next to you or a tour guide that
can take you to, one either dead or alive, but we all have Shabbos with which
to receive that ultimate blessing from our Father who is the source of it all.
May this Shabbos be the beginning of many more blessed ones to come.
Shabbat
Shalom and Chodesh Tov,
Rabbi
Ephraim Schwartz
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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FAVORITE QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"The Pure Tzadkim do not decry wickedness rather they increase
righteousness, they do not decry heresy rather they increase faith, they do not
decry ignorance rather they increase wisdom ." Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohein Kook
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
(answer below at end of Email)
Q. During which period were ossuaries (gluskemaot)
used for burial in the Land of Israel?
a.
First and Second Temple
b.
Chalcolithic and Second Temple
c.
Bronze and Hellenistic
d.
Second Temple and Crusader
New feature!-last year we did Gematria which is the Remez portion of
Torah this year we start Drash enjoy!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL
MEDRASH OF THE WEEK
When Hashem commanded Noach "two of
each you shall bring in the ark" all creatures came in pairs.
Sheker/Falsehood also wanted to come in. Noach said to him "You
can't come in without mate"
As he was
searching for a mate he met Tragedy
"From
where are you coming from?"
asked Tragedy
"I
come from Noach's ark I wanted to enter but was refused because I have no mate.
Do you want to be my mate?"
"Gladly,"
replied Tragedy "but what do I get in return?"
"Whatever
I aquire you may take"
"A
deal" said Tragedy
So Sheker/falsehood
and Tragedy entered the ark together in an eternal partnership that whatever Falsehood
acquires Tragedy takes it away.
Yalkut
Shimoni
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL THINGS TO DO IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
(New year figure we'll offer a new feature-Let me know what you
think)
Visiting graves of Tzadikim – Yes there is a whole tourist
market for this. Jewish tradition tells us that dating back to the time of the
first Jewish visitors/tourist to this country our ancestors Joshua and Caleb who spied out the land before
we moved here stopped off in Hebron to pray by the graves of our forefathers.
And Jews have been coming since. However just to clarify this fascinating
practice many of our sages explain that we as Jews (as opposed to other religions)
believe that we only pray to Hashem, not his "son" or prophets or
cows and not even to his righteous tzadikim. We have a direct line and we do
not require any intermediaries. Rather graves of the righteous are a place to
go to pray to Hashem because being within the proximity of the tzadik who is buried there is meant to
inspire our prayers and in the merit of us connecting with that tzadik who
served Hashem our power of prayer becomes strengthened. In addition we can
beseech the soul of the Tzadik to implore before Hashem for his children in
addition to our own prayers. Throughout Israel there are many graves of many of
our greatest sages, as well as our Patriarchs, Matriarchs and many of our
biblical figures many of the traditions of their burial places go back hundreds
and in some cases over a thousand years. Many of the graves are painted blue
and I am told that the reason for this is to remind us as the blue string on
our tzitzit fringes do to adjust our eyes and hearts to heaven as the tzadik
who guides us did rather than to mistakenly pray to the tzadik. Spending a
whole day visiting graves is not for everyone, but a trip to Israel should
certainly include a trip to some of these holy places as well.
RABBI
SCHWARTZ'S COOL YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
The
official Shabbat project and how it looked last year in South Africa where it
first started!
An
interesting and cute take on what can happen this Shabbos…
Hey Even Paula Abdul is into it
*******************
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOP NINE LIST OF THE WEEK
|
TOP NINE Noach Facebook Updates
|
|
9.
"I can't believe my wife, she only packed one bottle of
Fabreeze???" 8. "Note to self: never put unicorns in the same cage as lions" 7. "Looking for a shidduch for my son Ham, tough kid to setup with a name like that" 6. Noah was tagged in the album "Animal House" 5. "Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oy Veh!" 4. Shuffleboard upper deck, who's in? 3. Noah likes rainbows 2. "New Expression: 'Save it for a Sunny Day'" 1. "Anyone find Earth on Google Earth?" |
*************************************************************
Answer
is B: This was a pretty tricky question as the copper (chalcolite) period
and the second temple are ae a few thousand years apart. But yet it is during those
periods where we find people doing a two part burial. First in the ground and a
cave and then after a year the bones would be gathered and placed in a box made
of clay or stone or whatever and put in a family plot plot. The gemara talks
about this and discusses whether it is a happy occasion or mourning. There are
some that suggest as well that this is one of the sources for the recitation of
Kaddish for a year or the placing of a tombstone at that point as tradition has
it that after a year the soul is elevated and has finished its atonement.
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