Butt In- Parshat Devarim Chazon 2025 5785

 Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

August 1^st 2025 -Volume 14 Issue 39 7^th of Av 5785

 

Parshat Devarim / Chazon

 Butt In

 

So I'm not sure if this week's E-mail will qualify as a Dvar Torah. Actually, I'm not sure if any week's does. Especially if you only scroll down to the jokes (yes Shimmy, I'm talking to you…). But this week I'm really not sure. Which is not a bad thing, being that this Sunday is Tisha B'Av and there is a slight chance that Mashiach won't be here and that we will have to fast and watch annoying Chafetz Chaim heritage videos about lashon hara and sinas chinam and we will be forbidden to learn "real" Torah. So this E-mail might work out well for you and be permitted to for you to read. Who knows it may even inspire you as well… Although I doubt it. See, I've pretty much given up hope…

 

It's been 664 days already and I don't see a light at the end of this tunnel. I just don't get it. Why is this still shlepping out? Why are we still fighting in the streets and arguing about stupidities? Why are there protests and more protests and more noise and protests? Why are my brothers and sisters still sitting in tunnels in Gaza? Why are there hundreds of families that haven't buried their dead, because their bodies are still being held captive as well? Eicha? How much longer will this take? When will this end? Why are we still here?

 

There is so much tired sadness in this country right now. I don't think there are enough therapists in the world to deal with the "ba'ayot nafshiyot" the mental and emotional distress, the pain in the soul, the hopelessness, the anger, the betrayal, the lack of light that we have undergone over this past year, since last year Tisha B'Av when we thought for sure this would be over and Mashiach would be here already. I was just in Tzfat yesterday and passed by a friend of mine's store and saw a sign up announcing his death. He was a young man, my age, a father of 8. He ran a "Kabbala" educational center there. Except it wasn't a death. He ended his own life, as hundreds over the past two years have because of the things they've seen, experienced and are going through and the help that they so desperately need either isn't coming to them or its not helping. I walked a little further up the block and met another friend, his son was killed a few months ago. He looked like the shell of a person that he was two years ago. I hugged him. I felt his sadness. It's too much. Eicha. How can this end?

 

I open the papers. I check my news regularly, like every ten minutes or so. I can't disconnect. All I see and read are people not getting it. All I see are a nation that seems to be missing the boat. I see a government that is feeding its enemies, rather than killing them. I see a country obsessed with drafting useless Yeshiva guys out of Beit Midrash to ki"ilu go and fight. Threats of arresting them, with threatening to starve them and take away their subsidies. At the same time I see Rabbis and yeshiva students fighting back. They block my traffic. They scream hateful things. They play the victim. And they refuse to connect and to do what they're supposed to do.

 

 I have a very easy solution that would solve all of these problems. I'm not a Rabbi, I'm not a prophet, I wouldn't even go as far as to say I'm Daas Torah in anyway or form. But can someone please explain to me, what would happen if tomorrow 20,000 yeshiva students and Kollel guys showed up for their draft and demanded guns so that they can go into Gaza and slaughter every single man woman and child there. That they fly over the entire strip with gasoline and then drop a cigarette on the whole place out of their window. That they kidnap all of their children and starve them in a cage until they give us our children back. That we do to our enemies and all of their supporters exactly what our ancestors did to them when we first came into the land. One word. Genocide. Three times in this week's parsha the Torah and Moshe tell us in his final speech how we conquered the land coming into Israel. How we did exactly that. There's a reason we're meant to read this speech each year before Tisha B'Av. It's with the hope that we would finally get it's message and not have to watch inspirational videos on the floor about pillows and feathers and whatsapp groups dangers. That we would finally get to the core of the reason why we're here and what we need to do to get up again.

 

It's a fascinating speech. It's the last message he gives us before we enter the land. It's what this generation who survived the wilderness and the death of all of their fathers needs to know as it approaches what should've been our ultimate entrance to the land. And it is what our generation needs to know as we are here to fix their mistakes, sins, and failings.  It stood out to me as I read the parsha as a whole. What is Moshe really telling us. What is the message he is really trying to convey, that we read each year on this parsha that is always read before Tisha B'av?

 

Moshe starts off naming some of the various sins that we committed in a hint form, by name -dropping locations. The golden calf, our sins of complaining, our sins of idolatry, of the daughters of Midian, of not appreciating the Manna, of our fear by the Yam Suf and the Egyptians. We did a lot of bad things. But that's not what's so important. Those are just hints. The next stuff he tells us about is what's really important. It's here where he starts to be "b'eir ha'Torah ha'zos"- to do some Moshesplainin' about what it's all about.

 

Devarim (1:6-) Hashem spoke to us at Chorev telling us that we have sat too long at this Mountain. Penu-Turn and travel to the land of the Emori, the Arava, the Shefela lowlands, the Negev, the shoreline of the Cana'ani, Lebanon until the Euphrates. See I have given before you the land come an inherit the land sworn to your Patriarchs to give to them and their descendants afterwards…

 

The entire land is ours. It's ours to inherit. Hashem is inviting us in. But we have a problem, the Klei Yakar tells us. We are sitting at Mt. Sinai for too long. Do you know what that problem is? We like learning Torah too much and we don't want to actually do what we are practically supposed to do with the Torah.  He writes

 

"travel from the place you learned Torah to the place you are meant to observe it. For the Study is not what the main thing is, rather it's the action and fulfillment. (Lo ha'midrash elah ha'maaseh)".

 

The word "penu"- turn and travel, he notes doesn't just mean to change direction. It means that there has to be a fundamental internalization of what our objective and job is. Why we're here. It's not to study Torah in Lakewood or even in Bnai Brak. It's not to keep Shabbos in Poland, Sukkos in Lithuania, Pesach in Boro Park or Cancun, or Rosh Hashana in Uman. It's about coming to inherit the one land that Hashem promised us and to shine the light of His Shechina out to the rest of the world as we build a house of worship and connection for all of the nations. We eradicate evil and bring down the glory of Hashem. "Penu- turn in" to oneself. Internalize why we're here and chosen and then travel.

 

But as Moshe continues, we didn't do that. We set up bureaucracies. We created court systems, we wanted distance between us and Hashem. We made more and more fights and intricacies of Torah and we forgot the big picture. Tachlis, when we sent in spies to the land, they didn't internalize the message. It's why in pasuk 18 it doesn't say the word penu- rather just that they traveled. They returned from their doomed mission on Tisha B'av and said we couldn't do it. Hashem is not within our midst. We didn't believe in our mission. We didn't believe we could walk in and just kill everyone as Hashem had wanted us and assured us we could do. We didn't believe He wanted us to leave our Beit Midrash and Torah study in order to bring the world to a place where they all connected to Hashem. So we cried and mourned and we stopped traffic and made protests and even called for atzeret ha'tefilla because of our dire situation that we might have to leave the Bais Midrash and conquer our land. It is here that Moshe tells us our biggest problem.

 

"It is in this matter that you do not believe in Hashem".

 

That was that generation's problem and thus they all had to die. Because a useless nation that doesn't have what it takes to bring Hashem's light into the world from Eretz Yisrael really serve no purpose in the Big picture of why He chose us.

 

The next day on the 10^th of Av another group of radical people got up and decided that they would try to conquer Eretz Yisrael without the Ark of Hashem. They would go up anyways. They would fight and give their lives for the country. But they also were wrong. Secular people without the Ark of Hashem coming to the land of Israel and to establish a "Jewish" state is not our avoda either. They were all killed. The nation cried on that 10^th of Av as well, but Hashem didn't listen. The generation died. 38 years later we have a second chance, Moshe tells them. And they listen. Va'neifen, va'nisa- and we internalized and we traveled. tzafona- North to the hills of Esau, of Edom.

 

There, the Klei Yakar tells us is as well a message for our generation, and the fact that we're not paying attention to it is the source of all of our problems. The entrance to Israel and to conquer the land will be through heading North around Esau. North in Hebrew is tazfon- which also means to hide, like we have tzafun, the hiding of the Afikoman at the Pesach Seder. He writes that our job to enter into Israel is not to show off to Esau, rather it's to hide our success and mission. Don't build big houses. Don't try to be influential. Don't try to impress them, Don't be busy all day lobbying and trying to get government subsidies for your schools in a country that it is impossible to reveal the Shechina from. Don't live up to their standards. Don’t' become like them. They hate us. They will try to stop us from reaching the goal. Avoid them. Go around them. We are the nation of Hashem and playing by Esau's rules will just distract and prevent us from reaching our mission. A mission we don't need their toivos for. That we can do with the power of our faith and by being an army of Hashem.

 

It is then that the fun begins. Hashem had promised Amon and Moav that we wouldn't touch them. So we avoid them, but then guess what? Hashem arranges that Sichon conquers them, other nations Zamzumim and Eimim all get involved and poof now we can conquer these lands. It's a free for all. And when we do so, we do it the right way.

 

Then Sichon went forth towards us, he and all his people, to war at Jahzah. And the Hashem delivered him to us; and we smote him and his sons and all his people. And we conquered all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every city, the men, women, and the young children; we left over no survivor.

 

Next was Og and the Golan Heights.

 

And Hashem delivered into our hands also Og, the king of Bashan and all his people, and we smote him until no remnant remained of him. And we conquered all his cities at that time; there was not a town that we did not take from them sixty cities, all the territory of Argob the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls, double doors, and bolts, in addition to a great many unwalled cities. And we utterly destroyed them as we did to Sihon, king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city, the men, the women, and the young children.

 

And so the Emorim as well and other kings. We killed them all. We didn't provide humanitarian aid. We didn't worry about starving babies in the New York Edom Times. We killed the babies. We ethnically cleansed the area from the putrid spiritual impurities that were there. We burned every church, every mosque. It was all ours. It was all Hashems. We weren't coming stam to have a safe place to live. We were coming to reveal the Shechina and build a Bais Ha'Mikdash. Hashem needs a clean pure foundation for that to rest. He needs a holy people that gets that and will make it happen. That will stop fighting and arguing for NO reason, just because we don't get the bigger and higher purpose for why we are here.

 

We can't rely on a left-wing government or a right-wing government that doesn't have the faith of Hashem in its belly to do this holy job. We can't even expect a daati religious Zionist government or army that feels that its' first obligation is to obey the orders of the State of Israel who has willfully subjugated itself to the evil, cruel and hypocritical standards that Esau and the world imposes on our nation. Because Esau doesn't care about us. They claim they want us to win, but in truth are omdim aleinu l'chaloseinu, they in every generation seek to destroy us.

 

The Chareidim, who believe in Hashem, who read the Torah portion, who understand fundamentally that the power of Torah and truth and light can destroy all evil and we don't have to be intimidated by or even think about what the world thinks, could and should do the job. A real Maccabee army. The one that the Beis Ha'Levi described when commented on that play that the "enlightened" maskilim" made mocking what the biblical Jewish army looked like after all the exempted people were sent home. That's what we need. That's what should happen. And if the government and Army won't accept that… then they're back to the Beit Midrash and this whole silly fight is over.

 

But what can they do? They don't have power. They'll be arrested? Good question. So I guess they need some help. Well, that's you guys over there. That's anyone that calls themselves Chareidi and wants to fix the sin of the Meraglim, that doesn't want to fast on Tisha B'Av anymore. That's had enough Chafetz Chaim heritage videos. That truly wants our hostages home. That wants our soldiers safe. That want to finally come into the land and stop hanging around the "Mountain" or the "Lake" or the "Borough" or the "Burgh" anymore. Rav Lachem- you've had enough. It's time to penu- to turn inwards and just come home. Make Aliya tomorrow. Join the army with tens of thousands of others over here and just take the guns and tanks that they give you and start shmoddering everyone in the most beautiful biblical sense. We believe in Hashem. Mi La' Hashem Elai- make that great call of Ahron Ha'Kohen to the tribe of Levi. Be a Maccabee. Don't care about what the world or Edom says. Certainly, don't pay much attention to secular soldiers and officers and military that don't read the parsha like you do. Make it happen. And don't say one word. One terrible word. The word that best describes our situation… Aval- But.

 

We read parshat Devarim in these past nine days of aveilus- mourning. The word Aveilus to mourn shares the same letters and root as aval- "but", however. The reason we are in mourning. The sadness that one experiences upon a death or a hopeless situation is that they are consumed with "but". "But" is an excuse. It's the opposite of "Penu". It's looking outside for why not rather than inside as to what should be. "But" is a reason why I'm not doing what I should. "But" is why things aren't different then what they are now. If only I would've …. Then they would still be alive…But I didn't. I would really do this and this and this, "but"…. And so I'm mourning. So I'm dying. So I'm in galus. So, they're still being held in Gaza. So I'm still in aveilus on the floor pretending to be really sad about the fact that there are tzoris in my life, the Temple is not built, the churches aren't destroyed and the light of Hashem is not shining on the world. So I sit and cry- la'chinam- for no reason. Just as the spies did 3000 years ago. Because if I really believed and did what Hashem tells me He wants us to do, then I would already be redeemed. Because I'm still "but"ting. I'm still coming up with all types of reasons of why it can't work.

 

Our sages tell us he that mourns over the Bais Ha'Mikdash will merit to see its rebuilding. Shabbas Chazon is the Shabbos when we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can see things that we never see before. But for that to happen we need to mourn the destruction of the Temple. We need to see that it's rebuilding is really right in front of us the entire time. If we truly feel that pain and we see that hammer, that plane ticket, that machine gun, that bomb to clear out that mountain in front of us and make way for the glorious building of fire to finally descend. Then and only then with no "ands" "ifs" or "buts" will we truly merit in its rebuilding.

 

This week’s Insights and Inspiration has been sponsored by my dear friends and faithful (and appreciative!) readers Andi and Sherri Weil in appreciation of the weekly inspiration and Torah and as a zechus for all of our Chayalim and for the return of our hostages! May we not have to fast this Tisha B'av and rather celebrate in Yerushalayim Ha'Binuya!

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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 

“Mish zich nisht  arayn.-Don't butt in

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

28. An animal which became extinct from the country’s landscapes, but was restored to its natural

habitat in Nahal Kziv and the Jerusalem Hills in recent years, is ______

Of the following sites, where can you usually observe flamingos?

A. Eynot Gibton

B. Nahal Kziv

C. The Eilat salt ponds

D. Yarkon National Park (Tel Afek)

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/al-eileh-acapella - It’s the three Weeks. Acapella time again… and start off your three weeks with my mournful Al Eileh Composition that hopefully we won’t have to sing this Tisha B’Av

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgv-M16bAXM&list=RDdgv-M16bAXM&start_radio=1  –Soon May Mashiach Come- Oorah! Hmmmm… I wasn't prepared for this Pirate song…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ti-MtIUOmQ  – Reb Yoel Gold Tisha B'aV Trailer

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjcWyNo5fUQ  – The Mourning After- by Living L'Chaim trailer..

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

 

Exile Part I 586 BC  - After the destruction of the Bais Ha'Mikdash on Tisha B'Av Klal Yisrael were divided a very small portion were allowed to remain in Eretz Yisrael in Mitzpa with Gedalya Ben Achikam. We will talk about him and the last Jewish community and the tragedy of his assassination in the coming weeks. In the meantime though let us describe the exile of our broken nation. With Nevuzadran at the head of the army he took the nation broken hurriedly out of Eretz Yisrael. On their way out they passed by Mama Rachel. There, Yirmiyahu describes how they cried out to her in her grave to plead on behalf of her children. There Hashem promised her that they would one day return to their borders and they would return from the land of their enemies.

There is an interesting discussion about this Midrash from a technical standpoint as to why and how they would've even passed Kever Rachel leaving Eretz Yisrael. As the direction they would be heading would be North East and Kever Rachel is in the opposite direction. As a result of this there are some opinions that in fact in other places. In fact in the nevua of Yirmiyahu he says Kol B'rama nishma- which would seem to place her grave in Rama, which would more geographically make sense as it's in the portion of Binyamin North East of Jerusalem. Yet the Ramban notes that when he came to Kever Rachel where we have the tradition, he realized that she was there… I trust him.

As well upon leaving Israel, the Midrash tells us about the wonderful humanitarian aid that was provided for us by our dear cousins Yishmael. There we were truly starving and thirsty. Nevuzadran had hurried us out of Israel because he was scared that we would do teshuva or Hashem would regret His decision. So there we were truly famished and Yishmael brought us out salty bread. How nice. Isn't that generous? They then followed up that beautiful gift and aid with empty water pouches. We thirstily sucked in that empty air and died. Yup… I think it's time we repaid the favor.

Finally our nation arrives naked and broken by the shores of the Euphrates river. There we cried, we mourned, Hashem Himself said Kinnot and was ready to turn the entire world around. Nevuchadnezzar sat on a boat and watched our suffering people and celebrated. And our Galus had officially begun. But Hashem watches over our nation. He preserved our heritage by preparing Bavel for our arrival with the earlier arrival of Yehoyachin. They will come to greet us, they will herald us into our 70 year exile in Bavel. And from there we will return.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S JOKES OF THE WEEK

No Jokes this week… Mourn a little bit… Shame on you for even looking!

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The answer to this week”s question is C-  Ok so after last week, its nice to finally get one right completely. I actually have seen these deer in recent years around the hills of Jerusalem and in the Galil by Keziv. The deer have returned. We are Eretz ha'tzvi once again. So now you guys come back. Part two was definitely easy. Flamingo love the salt and its certainly one of the nice attractions to see when one goes to Eilat. So we're getting back into passing range for this exam. Which all I need to do. But it's definitely embarrassing to be doing so bad.  So the score is now Rabbi Schwartz 17.5 Ministry of Tourism 10.5 on this exam so far,

A Mother's Tears- A Father's Crown- Parshat Vayeira 2023 5783

 

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

November 3^rd 2023 -Volume 13 Issue 4 19^th of Cheshvan 5784

 

Parshat Vayeira

 

A Mother’s Tears- A Father’s Crown

 

I visited Kever Rachel last week. It was the day before her Yahrtzeit and I had heard that because of the army’s concern of large gatherings in any specific place, her tomb would be closed the next day. Almost every year since her tomb was returned to us in 1967 more and more come from all over the country and even the world to pray at our Mama’s tomb. Back in 67’ it was hundreds or thousands. Today there are tens of thousands that come.

 

But this year she would be all alone. This year her children, who seemed to need her prayers most during these horrific times, would not be by her side to beg her to continue crying before Hashem. To ask her to not stop pleading that Hashem bring that promise that he made to her 3000 years ago that all her children would return to their borders. Mama Rachel would be alone, and we would be mother-less once again.

 

Yet I thought to myself at the time, that it is no wonder that Kever Rachel is closed to us on her yahrtzeit this year. This is a year that started off with nothing the way that it’s supposed to be. On Rosh Hashana which fell out on Shabbos this year, we didn’t blow shofar. On Sukkos as well we didn’t shake Lulav and Etrog on the only day that we are biblically mandated to- which is the first day, which also fell out on Shabbos. Finally, our Simchas Torah had its joy taken from us in the terrible attack and outbreak of war that we find ourselves in. Mama Rachel’s yartzeit without her, is the cherry on top of the cupcake or the straw on the camel’s breaking back perhaps, in a year that has been like no other in the history of our people.

 

Yet it was not merely Mama Rachel’s Yartzeit last week. It was also the birthday of the son that she gave birth to as she died; Binyamin or the son that she called Ben Oni- the son of my grief. It’s a strange name to give your child. I know that when I was a kid one of the things my mother- a good Jewish mother like many- would say to me was…

“You’re killing me with all of your mishigas already…”

 When I was really bad and she had to up the ante it would be

“Why don’t you just stick a knife in my heart already…”

(I think she said that when she found out that I was smoking…). I brushed it off, although I felt guilty. But this is a new level, Binyamin actually did kill his mother. She died while giving birth to him. So how do you think he would feel walking around with a name “Son of my grief” or the “Son who killed his mother”. What’s pshat in this name?

 

Now to be fair, as we see, Yaakov quickly changes his name to Binyamin- the son of my right hand or my strength. In fact many of the commentaries suggest that was really Rachel’s intent as well. As we find that in Yaakov’s final blessing of his son Reuvein he tells him that he is Reishis Oni- the first of his strength. Besides grief the word oni also translates as ‘strength’, which in itself needs explanation. But Yaakov was merely explaining Rachel’s words, that her intent was to call her son the son of her strength. Thus he called him Binyamin- the more positive translation of the word Ben Oni. The question though is why didn’t Rachel just call him that herself? Why leave her son with a name that recalls the grief and the period of Aninut- the period of grief and mourning with in which he came into the world?

 

The answer I heard from my Rebbi, Reb Mordechai Alon, is so powerful and so relevant. It screams out at us today and it is everything that we ever knew to be true. It’s an idea that we can appreciate now more than ever. There are so many children of grief today in Eretz Yisrael. So many orphans. So many that are still in the stage of aninut where they haven’t even brought their loved ones to burial. They don’t know if they are alive or dead. Or perhaps even worse, what is a better fate to hope for- considering the alternative is that they are being held by sub-human monsters in Gaza. There are so many bnai oni today that are grieving. That are Binyamin. That are the children of Rachel.

 

Do you know what Rachel was telling her son in giving him his name? She was telling him,

 

“Binyamin, I’m not going to be there for you in your lifetime to take you to Gan. I won’t be there to kiss you Layla tov at night and say shema with you. I won’t be at your Bar Mitzva… your chasuna.. your simchas… I won’t be in any of your family albums. You are my son that was born in grief.

 

But Binyamin, I want you to know that Oni will be your strength. It will be your right hand. It will be your light in that darkness because you will know that I will always be with you. Even more than if I was here with you. I will be your meilitz yosher- your divine advocate in shamayim and I will never stop crying, davening and beseeching our Father in heaven for you and all of your descendants. You are my Ben Oni but that will always be your greatest strength in the darkest of times.”

 

This weeks parsha is a supernatural one. There are more angels in it than any other parsha. It starts with Avraham’s guests that are angels. Lot sees angels that come to save him. Hagar does as well when Yishmael is chased out. Finally, at the end of the parsha, we have once again by the binding of Yitzchak an angel that comes to Avraham to tell him to stop. There are things not from this world going on.

 

 It’s a parsha of supernatural occurrences and revelations. Hashem wipes out 5 cities overnight. We have Sarah giving birth at age 90 and nursing babies. We have Avraham being told he must throw out his son Yishmael, whom he loves. Yishmael who attempted to kill Yitzchak and destroy our nation- but yet ultimately, we find will do teshuva and is saved because Hashem only judges him as he is now. Hashem reveals himself to Avimelech the king of Gerar- which is Gaza by the way. The Philistines. He tells him get his hands off of Sarah whom he had taken as his prisoner. His captive. His hostage. And finally, Hashem tells Avraham to shecht his son Yitzchak. Things that are not normal, happen in the Parsha. It’s like the world went crazy all of a sudden. And Avraham is caught right in the middle of it all.

 

The Midrash notes that these tests of Avraham and the dramatic transformation comes from the Bris that he just entered at the end of last week’s parsha. Yishmael also had a bris. He had a merit. This parsha is about separating him from Avraham. It’s about showing Avraham that the world of Yishmael will be different than his world. For Yishmael lives in a world that is here and now and what he defines to be his, he will take. Avraham though is living in a world that will never be what it seems.

 

Our Parsha is aptly called Va’yeira- And Hashem appeared to Avraham, because in this parsha Hashem will reveal to Avraham, the man of kindness, that there is a world of evil, a world where it needs to be destroyed, chased out, and even plagued. There is a world where his children will be asked to give their lives for their faith and where our wives might be kidnapped, and where our children’s lives will be threatened and tempted. It’s a world where he will feel alone. Where the other nations that might even seem more powerful might seem like they are prospering and flourishing while he is on the run. As well it is a world of miracles and salvation and where Mashiach can be born out of the most unlikely of circumstances and where the mountain of that sacrifice will become the place where Hashem will always be seen and will rest His shechina.

 

Avraham will learn in this world that through out it all Hashem will be there for him. His descendants will, for 3000 years, long for that mountain and for that shechina, after all of the sacrifices that we indeed bring and who were martyred on Kiddush Hashem- in the sanctification of Hashem’s name. Because we are the children of Avraham. Because we want the shechina. Because we understand that we don’t live in Yishmael’s world. Because we are the children of Rachel who can find our strength in our grief and because we know that the world that we see is not the real one.

 

There’s an incredible idea I saw from the Sefer Perach Shoshana written by one of the great Moroccan mystics in the early 1900’s. He notes that the verse tells us when the angels appeared to Avraham

 

“And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing upon him, and he saw, and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground.”

 

There seems to be an extra word there. It tells us that he first lifted his eyes and saw and then right after that again it tells us that he saw again. What did he see the second time that he didn’t see the first time? Rashi gives his own interpretation, yet the Perach Shoshana quotes the mystics of Tzfat who tell us that what Avraham saw was not only the three angels, but he saw all of the martyrs of all of the generations coming with them.

 

“For Avraham is the father of all those who give up their lives for Kiddush Hashem- As he was the first to do so in the furnace of Nimrod. And his soul is in the Heichal of Ahava- the divine hall of love above. And whoever gives up their life in sanctification of Hashem’s name, Avraham runs from the pesach ha’ohel- from the entrance of the tent to greet them and says to them ‘Baruch Hashem you are from mine” and he places a crown upon their head. And he bows before them and gives thanks and praise to Hashem that he merited such descendants like them.”

 

When he saw the three men upon him, the Perach Shoshana explains, it means he saw Chananya Mishael and Azarya who were standing up from the merit of Avraham. They were Nitzavim Aluv-Standing on his spiritual shoulders. From the world that he came from. From the sacrifice that he implanted in us to be able to make to honor Hashem. And he ran to them to welcome them from his tent to bring them in, to embrace them with love, and to place that crown upon their head.

 

This was the welcome over 1400 of Avraham’s children got these past few weeks. The young children, the orphans, the Holocaust survivors of atrocities they thought they would never see again and yet they did and even worse. The holy soldiers who gave their lives to defend the land Avraham was promised and to defend the children that he prayed for that would inherit the land. Avraham himself came out to greet them. He crowned each of them. They are in the tent of love with him. They are there waiting in the real world- the olam ha’emes for us to bring enough light that will bring Mashiach and wash away all of the darkness. Enough faith that perhaps comes out in its greatest and brightest form from our grief to bring the end of days. The one day we long for that is around the corner.

 

Do you know what the difference is between a year that we blow the shofar and a year that we don’t? On a year that we blow the shofar, the sefarim tell us, that it only lasts as long as the sound goes. It’s only for those few hours. When we don’t blow the shofar though then it continues to go on and on and on. It doesn’t stop. On a year that we shake the Lulav and do our na’anuim- then we can only throw away all the evil spirits as far as we can stretch our arms. It only can last as long as we are still shaking it them. It’s finite. Yet on a year that we don’t. When we give it all up for Shabbos, for our Torah, for our faith? Then it goes on and on as far as it can go and forever.

 

Simchas Torah celebration in a regular year has a simcha that has to come to an end. The winter must start. We can shlep out it out with hakafot sheniyot a little bit longer…but it ends. A year when we had that simcha taken away doesn’t need hakafot sheniyot. The joy will last and keep going, exploding and expanding. And the year without Mama Rachel will as well be the one when her tears which never stopped falling may finally reach the mark. They may finally bring that last prophecy and promise Hashem made of V’shavu banim l’gvulam- her children will return from the land of their enemies. They will return from Gaza. They will return from all the countries that are hating and persecuting us more and more, that have never really been our home. They were always the enemy.

 

And then it will be the year of the V’shavu banim l’gvulam- her children… Avraham’s children, all our children…all of those that are in the tent of love up above… the 6 million’s children, Hashem’s children… all of them will return to our borders… Not just the 48’ borders, not the 67’ borders, but the borders that are from the sea to the sea- Israel will be free.  Ne’um Hashem- thus is the word of Hashem.

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Have restful Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz 

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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Vi zaif faren guf iz a trer far di neshomeh. -Like soap for the body, so are tears for the soul.

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

 

12.The "New Gate" in the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem was breached in the ________ century.

To what archeological style belongs the Al Jazzar Mosque in Acre?

A. Fatimid architecture

B. Umayyad architecture

C. Ottoman architecture

 D. Abassid architecture

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/shomer-yisroel  – My latest moving composition- the prayer of all of us in this horrific war- Shomer Yisrael- Dovid Lowy did an amazing jobs on the vocals and arrangements

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w8WSTpKp9w  – I have always been an Eli Dachs fan (Shloimie’s son) and glad to see him back with this beautiful rendition of Shwekey’s Mi She’beirach Chayalim

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og6rxyVVWKs  Fascinating Gaza War of King David (Hebrew) what he did when they took our hostages…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HgKB4-kQdA    - Iyal Golan AM Yisrael Chai great song that says it all…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMmYmCJbA5U   – Love this song going Viral Katan Aleinu…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3oXuVBZ0Cs    –And the War Song at all bases Kovshim et Azza!

 

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S PARSHA PRAYER INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK

The First Shacharis – It’s a strange verse in this week’s Parsha yet it contains the entire world of what our prayer is all about and the eternal message it carries for us right here and right now. It was the day after Avraham had argued unsuccessfully (Thank God) with Hashem on behalf of Sodom. The angels go in save Lot. Do what they need to do, and Sodom looks like Gaza. The story is over and yet there is an epilogue. The morning after.

 

Vayashkem Avraham Ba’Boker asher amad sham es pnai Elokim- And Avraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Hashem.

 

We find a few places that Avraham was an early riser.  He gets up early to send out Hagar as per Hashem’s command to listen to his wife. He gets up early to take his son Yitzchak to the Akeida as per the command of Hashem. What’s the early ride over here? What’s even the purpose of this rising? What does he do on this early morning after?

 

“And he looked over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah and over the entire face of the land of the plain, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the earth had risen like the smoke of a furnace.”

That’s it. Story over. He gets up early to take a look at what’s going on in Sodom. Very very strange. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows that his prayers weren’t answered. So what is getting up for to check out. Is he like those guys that slow up traffic on the highway to see what happened in the accident up ahead?

 

What’s even more fascinating is that the previous verse tells us how the angels had told Lot that they shouldn’t turn back and see what’s going on. In fact Lot’s wife is turned into a pillar of salt just for violating that command. So what’s the point of Avraham’s looking out. And what does it mean that he went to pray specifically in the same place where Hashem had spoken to him.

 

The Radak quotes the Talmud that derives that what was taking place here with Avraham was in fact the establishment of the morning prayer. That word that he came to the place where he had “stood” before Hashem is the word Amida- like our shemona Esrei. As well the Talmud derives that this is the source that a person should have a set regular place to daven. It’s the source and reason why we have shuls. What is this first prayer of Shacharis all about? What inspires it and what should inspire us?

 

The answer perhaps can best be understood in what Avraham saw. He sees a furnace and smoke rising up. For someone who himself was thrown in a fiery furnace and who’s brother was killed in one by the wicked King Nimrod this had to have special meaning. This must have brought all of that back. He had davened, he had prayed, his nephew was in this wicked city. He thought that the world had perhaps moved on since Nimrods barbaric days after he had wiped him out. Never again was happening again. Evil was still there in the world. All his prayers hadn’t helped. The media and press are sitting there next to Avraham in that same place and laughing at him. What are you doing here? Who are you talking to? Hashem is not listening.

 

Yet, Avraham gets up early because he believes that it is a new morning. That every day is a new morning. That everyday we have to take on the challenge of the morning and wake up the morning with our prayer to Hashem. His faith is unshakeable. He will stand and keep standing between dark and night and morning and light and daven to Hashem and welcome that new light and day. That’s the kindness of the morning. That’s the faith of Avraham of every morning. That’s where and why we permanently establish our prayer. Because prayer needs to be permanent as our faith. We don’t need to move around, we don’t need to travel from here to there. Bilaam and Balak are running from place to place to curse us. We stand our ground and daven every day in the same place and with the same faith. That’s Shacharis and that’s our prayer.

 

What happened with that prayer? The next verse tells us that Hashem remembers Lot and saves him. That salvation is the birth of Mashiach, who descends from Lot and his daughters with the nations of Moav and Ammon. It’s Ruth, It’s King David, it’s the lineage of Shlomo through his wife Naama of Ammon. It’s our redemption today. Not bad for a new morning and that first Shacharis… May Hashem also answer our prayers and herald in a brand new morning as we look towards the destruction of Sodom and remember the furnaces of Aushwitz and recall our captives. 6633

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

 

The War that led to division- 620 BC – Our screen flashes back to the southern kingdom of Yehuda for this week. Yoash is king up North and with the death of Yoash the righteous who was ultimately murdered by his servants in Jerusalem his son Amatzia takes the reigns. He starts off avenging his father’s death by killing all the murderers of his father. Yet, unlike in past incidents he doesn’t take revenge against their children and families. He quotes the Torah that children shouldn’t be killed for their father’s sin. In doing so he shows he is righteous. As well the Navi tells us he follows in the ways of his righteous father and keeps out the idolatry yet, sadly he was not successful in getting rid of peoples personal altars that were forbidden to worship on as the service should be was only permitted in the Mikdash in Yerushalayim. That would cost him ultimately.

I want to just share some relevant thoughts about the Bama/private altar sin. The essence of the sin really is not idolatry. The nation believed and worshipped Hashem on them. The sin is that they couldn’t get together and give up their personal worship and come to the one place in Yerushalayim where we all need to come together to. They didn’t do this because of a distorted sense of religious self-righteousness. What do I need a Kohen for? I like my nusach, my own devotion, my own rebbe. What do I have to go to the kohen who is perhaps less educated or yeshivish than me… That’s called a bama. That’s what Hashem wanted us to wipe out. That’s the opposite of the purpose of the redemption. That’s perhaps what we’re suffering still from today.

 

With that division between us still standing, our enemy rose up. Amatzia is faced with the enemy in the South of Edom. Amatzia raises an army of 300,000 from Yehuda and Binyamin. By the way that’s about how many Miluimnikim- reserves that have been called up for the ongoing battle here. Yet, he feels that’s not enough. So he goes to the Northern Kingdoms and he hires 100,000 men from the tribe of Ephraim to join them. The fact that you have to pay Jews to come fight for one another is mind-blowing today. Baruch Hashem. Yet, that was the rift between the two kingdoms. Yet, in the end the prophet comes and tells Amatzia that this is a mistake. Ephraim are sinners. They won’t help us. Our wars are won from Hashem. We can do it without them.

 

Amatzia is hesitant, for he has already paid them. Yet, in the end he listens to the prophet. Writes out off the 100,000 talents of silver he had paid and he goes to war without them. And he wins! He chucks 10,000 Edomites that he took captive off the rock from their fortress in South by Gai Melach. I’m going to end on that note. We took 10,000 captives and we threw them off a rock and killed them. What do you think about that? Stay tuned next week.

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY GAZA MEMES/ JOKES OF THE WEEK

 

We switched the clock this week in Israel so anyone that thinks that we can have peace here with our neighbors has another hour to dream

25% of Liberals are on medication for mental illness. That’s scary because that means that 75% are walking around untreated.

 

What happens when a fly falls into a coffee cup?

The Italian - throws the cup and walks away in a fit of rage

The Frenchman - takes out the fly, and drinks the coffee

The Chinese - eats the fly and throws away the coffee

The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, the fly to the Chinese, buys himself a new cup of coffee and uses the extra money to invent a Device that prevents flies from falling into coffee.

The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for the fly falling into his coffee, protests the act of aggression to the UN, takes a loan from the European Union for a new cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then blows up the coffee house where the Italian, the Frenchman, and the Chinese, are trying to explain to the Israeli why he should give away his cup of coffee to the Palestinian in exchange for peace

 

A drone that was sent in from Yemen to Eilat was just blew itself up when it realized how much a room costs for a night there.

 

I don’t know what’s wrong with Israeli intelligence these days. Any child could’ve told you that if the Teimanim- Yemenites were going to try to come into Israel they would come to Eilat first because of it’s tax’ duty free status

 

You could tell a lot about a woman by her hand motions. For example if she’s holding a gun at you, it means she’s angry.

 

Muhammed calls the Israeli Electric company: “Hello, this is Muhammed I live in the Riamel neighborhood in Gaza and it seems that we don’t have any electricity”

Electric company ; “You still have a neighborhood?”

 

Good idea for Nasralla’s speech tomorrow. Israeli hijacks the feed and plays Manny Matara instead the whole time…

 

The Wizard of Oz is 84 years old this week. If Dorothy were to meet creatures with no brains, no courage and no heart she wouldn’t be in Oz. She would be in Harvard

 

Mother to Child in 2023- “If you don’t stop lying all the time the only thing you will grow up to be is a BBC reporter.

 

The Iranian foreign minister has announced that Hamas is open to releasing all of the hostages and transfer them to Iran. Please tell him that we will as well release all of the Hamas prisoners and release them to the hill-top youth in Yitzhar.

 

For the last eight days the media has been reporting that there is only enough gas in Gaza to last for one more day. It’s a modern Chanuka miracle.

 

In World War I when the men returned from battle they discovered that the women had taken their places in the factories and companies and the world changed never to go back. A similar phenomena will occur after this war when the men will return and discover that women know how to set the Shabbos clock by themselves!

 

OK so Bolivia has announced that they are cutting off all Diplomatic ties with Israel as a result of the war in Gaza. I’m happy to know if anyone has any recommendations where I can get salmonella, herpes, cholerea, and chlamydia from drinking water from?

 

The answer to this week”s question is C – Got this one totally wrong. I probably would’ve skipped it as there are 5 questions you’re allowed to skip on the exam. Architecture is not my strong point, Muslim architecture even less so, and all of the different Muslim dynasties and their names and years is perhaps the least interesting to me and I don’t know if I ever got it straight. So the New Gate in Jerusalem I has no clue. I guessed 12^th century and the answer is 19^th century. I probably should’ve gone with that in the first place, as all of the old city walls really date back to the Turks which only started after the 16^th century. So that part wasa wrong. The second part the truth is had I read the question correctly I probably would’ve got it right. I got thrown off talking about Jerusalem and thought it was asking about Al Aktza mosque on the Temple Mount and went with Ayubbid. Only when I saw the answer did I realize they were talking about El Jazzar in Akko, which in fact I did know as I guide a lot in Akko and El Jazzar was there in the Turkish period. So anyways this one is totally wrong yet I’m still ahead of the game with the new score being Rabbi Schwartz at 8.5 point and the MOT having 3.5 point on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.