Messages from the Other Side- Parshat Emor 2026 5786

 Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 1^st 2026 -Volume 16 Issue 27 14^h of Iyar 5786

 

Parshat Emor

Messages from the Other Side

 

Have you ever gotten a message from the grave? From someone that you loved and that had passed on. I'm not talking about a dream, where they come and talk to you. That's a bit too much. Although I have a friend and colleague of mine whose son passed away at a very young age and he claims to be constantly in contact and getting messages from him and even recently published a book about those conversations that have changed his life,  

(You can check it out here  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/with-love-from-the-holy-land-shabse-werther/1149819450?ean=9798369467374 ), but that's not what I'm talking about. Rather I mean just being in a place and experiencing that person's presence as if they were manipulating you to send you a message, a sign, a hug and a hello. That happened to me this past week. It's a pretty amazing story.

 

So as my regular readers know, I've spent some time the past few weeks down by the Sinai desert. Man, I'm milking this thing for three E-Mails already, not bad! Well anyways I returned again this week, but this time not to work or volunteer vine pruning and weed whacking, but rather to interview some of the holy Jews that are living in the area for and article for my upcoming return to Mishpacha Magazine column this coming Shavuos edition. Hooray! Listen, a man's gotta put bread on is table one way or another… And the truth is I loved writing those columns about Eretz Yisrael and sharing the beauty, glory, history and holiness of the land, with the so many that I haven't yet toured or who haven't been here. Yet. The marketing is an added bonus, of course. So I figured what better place to start back up again then one where most have never seen or experienced. As well, what's more appropriate for a Shavuos edition than an article about Jews living in Midbar Sinai, keeping the Torah, hearing that voice calling out, returning to their roots.

 

Now my job there wasn't an easy one. As there is perhaps a handful of Shomrei Torah U'Mitzvos besides Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, of course, the one mitzva that all these chilonim are fulfilling every minute of the day, that you losers in America have for whatever reason not chosen to be zocheh in- yes, I called you losers. Nebachs. Anyone that doesn't have the ability to get mitzvos every step they take and every falafel they eat, forget about planting and growing stuff and just chilling in their home with their children, is a nebach, losing out on the easiest and best mitzva there is. But besides that mitzva, there is certainly not too many of the 900 or so residents, or 300 or so families that live in the four or five yishuvim there that keep Shabbos, put on tefillin, daven- at least formally, or are strict about kosher. I was able to dig up 5 or 6 and I don't think there's many I left out.

 

Yet, each one of these special souls had a story, that in truth is worthy of a column within itself. What I thought was going to be a rather short article, now has me taking my first draft of 8395 words and figuring out how to crunch it down to my allotted 3500 article word count. Aren't you glad this E-Mail doesn't have a limited word count…? Don't answer that. It was rhetorical.

One of the places I visited was Kadesh Barnea, or as its officially called Nitzanei Sinai, although the locals still call it by it's old name it had before it moved here after the 1979 Peace Accords from its original location on the Egyptian side of Sinai, near the original biblical site.

My visit here was with Lior, the Moshav's religious person or Ba'al Teshuva. We had schmoozed a bit in advance, and to be honest, Lior was even reluctant to meet. He claimed he didn't have much to say and that his story wasn't too interesting. But I was persistent and we had set up our appointment.  I was a bit taken aback when Lior came out to greet me with a large Kippa, flapping tzitizis and a sefira beard. It didn't match the profile picture of a typical secular Israeli I had seen on my phone. He welcomed us in to his home, showed his chickens where he gets his daily eggs from,  his book shelf reaming with a diverse potpourri of all your greatest sefarim and we sat down on his porch to take in the view of the midbar and to talk. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

Lior was raised in Lehavim in a secular home near Beer Sheva, where he had never heard kiddush in his life and even their Pesach seder was only a family meal. His father was a socialist lawyer who was a very special man of Chesed, that had left religion very young, however he was always involved and would bring Lior with him on his daily trips to the street picking up homeless people and taking care of them and eventually established the first shelter in Beer Sheva.

In a fascinating way his father also served as his shadchan. Their close family friend and neighbor had become sick and Lior's father who had at that time already moved on to becoming a hospice adviser, would visit him daily. Yet, as his condition worsened and with all of the overwhelming sorrow that he was experiencing himself, Lior's father died suddenly at age 51 years old. Meanwhile the neighbor would ask daily where his friend was, as they didn't want to tell him. Until he went up to the porch and saw the shiva sign for his friend and understood. The next day the neighbor died as well at the young age of 47. Shira, the neighbor's daughter was Lior's sister's best friend and Lior and she met being menachem avel one another. They hit it off and have been together since. The Rav that buried their fathers was the same that married the two of them.

Since his army service, Lior had been working at various hill-top farms. A life of shepherding, living in a tent alone, smoking away whatever he was paid was the freedom he was looking for. Despite not being interested in religion per say, however he would read a copy of Rebbi Nachman's likutei Mo'haran a friend had gifted him. He found through it a connection with his neshoma, not unlike many of our Patriarchs and leaders as shepherds did. Yet, family life requires something more concrete and thus with the birth of their second child they made their way down to the new Yishuv of Kadesh that had just been established. The divine shepherd was calling him to Sinai.

In 2001 there were 40 families living there non were religious and most were farmers. He as well began taking out the free loans offered by the Jewish agency to open up a tomato farm, as many in the area did. Yet his first season his entire crop was hit by flooding and he lost his it all. Without options and debts piling up he turned to Hashem and asked for help and opened up a convenience store for Thailandi workers. That evolved into him eventually taking over the local makolet and life was good. Until…

Seven years ago, Lior was hospitalized with a serious infection that caused his liver to shut down. It reached a point where the doctors told Shira to bring the children one Friday to say good-bye, as Sunday might be too late. Friday night lying alone in his hospital bed, resigned and even accepting of his fate, his thoughts were interrupted by his roommate, a religious man that started making kiddush. It was the first time in his life that he ever heard kiddush and somehow those simple words of holiness penetrated his heart. He turned to Hashem and felt regret that he had never had that. He found himself wishing that he could remain alive, not for his wife, his children of even his life, but only to make kiddush. To have Shabbos. He made a vow, that if he would recover, he would stop smoking and other not healthy habits and highs and become a shomer Shabbos. It would be the only high he ever needed.

By Sunday he had miraculously recovered. The next week he was home, and thus his spiritual journey and Shemiras Shabbos began. Fascinatingly enough his biggest challenge was to daven from a siddur with vowelization. He had never read Hebrew like that. Each day his tefillos took him an hour and a half. He had always loved to read and study and slowly began researching online, listening to shiurim and thus he continues on his personal daily growth. Shira, although not fully observant herself, is the tzadekes that he describes that supports him. She is stricter about kashrus than he is in their house and vets all their invitations bringing only her kosher made food. She is involved in chesed projects as they share their open home with many that join them for Shabbat meals.

The next part of our conversation though is really what threw me for a loop and send shivers down my spine. Upon recovery Lior sought new work, as the makolet was not working out. One day Shira came home, and told him about a phone call that she had received from guests they had recently hosted for Shabbos. It was from an American family with a daughter that had a severe drug and opiate problem and was even suicidal. She had been in and out of rehab, and they felt that perhaps the only thing that would help her would be to send her away to Israel. Perhaps the peacefulness of the desert they experienced over that Shabbos could help her to recovery.

Shira, of course invited them yet Lior as a recovering addict himself told her that it was a bad idea. However, as Lior puts it "when Hashem sends someone to your door, you can't turn them away". So he began to research to find her a place. Yet, after a day or two of google searches and numerous phone calls, he understood that there was really no place available that had a Jewishly spiritual orientation, or one that wasn't even Christian, he saw this as a sign what the next stage and venture of his life should be. Thus the concept of Shivtaya spiritual rehabilitation center that would accompany their patients on their sobriety journey was conceived. Yet, they didn't have any funding or know how to get something like this off the ground and thus they turned to Reb Tzvi Gluck of Amudim to see if he could help them. It was at this point that I stopped him in the story.

Amudim, I told him was founded by my Uncle Mendy Klein Z'L who had passed away 8 years ago. Mendy was at the forefront of bringing awareness to many of the problems in our community and worked with gedolim to found Amudim and bring help to the many suffering in shame and in silence. When I told this to Lior, he turned white and told me that the only reason he was able to get started was due to Mendy. He had set up a meeting with Mendy and Tzvi and a few of their chareidi supporters. He stood before them without a Kippa, as he had not yet started wearing one publicly and told them that despite the fact that he wasn't religious, this was his vision, and this is what he felt he needed to do. After the meeting Tzvi called Lior to tell him that Mendy had told him that he wasn't sure how and what Amudim's connection and support may be for them, but one thing he was sure of… Lior would be successful. He would have siyata di'shmaya.

A week later, Lior got the call from Tzvi that Mendy had passed suddenly. Yet it was that chizuk, that allowed him to move forward. Although they are not connected with Amudim and didn't receive significant financial support. Yet from that meeting and those words of chizuk, Shivtaya was founded and has helped hundreds of people on their road to recovery.

I had goosepimples all over, and I turned to Lior, who was very emotional and did the math. It seems, that this meeting he had with Mendy, a week before he died, was actually on the same day that I was sitting there with him the 10^th of Iyar. I felt my Uncle Mendy, looking down and smiling had sent me to this door, to hear this story. I wasn't sure why at the time. I'm still not sure why totally, yet I have some clues. I know there's inspiration there.

One of the things that came out of that discussion was that I sent this story on a little video clip to a few friends of mine that were close with my Uncle. I can't even tell you how many people responded that it was exactly the message they needed that day. They had personal dillemas and struggles, that some of them shared with me, others not. One even thought, I wondered what Mendy would tell me to do. And out of the blue they received my video and it was like a message from him. It opened up that door, that Mendy never would close.

This week's Parsha is Emor. It discusses the mitzva or more accurately the prohibition of Kohanim to come in contact with the dead. It seems like a strange and perhaps even uniquely Jewish prohibition. By most religions it is the priest that preforms the last rites and officiates the funeral. So to speak sends them off to the next world. As well, it seems strange that generally we view the Kohen as one who is always given more mitzvos than others. He is meant to be the intermediary between Klal Yisrael and Hashem, why isn't he there for this last special mitzva of burying the dead and accompanying the family.

The answer though is that the tumah that is associated with death, the Maharal and Rav Kook as well as many other commentaries explain come from the void created by the loss of the neshoma. There is a disconnect from Hashem. That exposure to our mortality and the finality of our lives creates a distance from Hashem. The process of coming back and purifying oneself from that is a personal one that requires a process of rebirth, the sprinkling of ashes of the parah aduma. It is there where the Kohen actually does get involved. For his role is to bring us back. The Kohen however in order to be able to do that, must always be in that state of purity himself.

Rav Sorotzkin notes that the Kohanim Aharon and his children of who experienced the death of their son and brothers Nadav and Avihu on the day and moment of their inauguration always had that balance in front of them. They symbolized the purity that stands free of the impurity. They were able to express the "va'yidom Aharon", the accepting of the fate and judgement of Hashem and yet remain in the mikdash and even eat sacrifices at that time. Klal Yisrael needs that pure pillar to turn to, and they have to always been in a state of purity to serve as the lighthouse that brings them home.

Yet there is a deeper concept as well. The world was not created with death. Adam was created to be immortal. Heaven and earth were eternal. Hashem was walking with us in his garden. Yet, when he sinned, death came into the world. Man became mortal. The world became contaminated and the sparks hidden and our role in life is to lift it up and purify the world, and reveal the godliness in it. When one dies, that job ends. We can no longer do or accomplish anymore. That spirit that connects us to that first sin and our exposure to it that we encounter when we come in contact with the dead, exposes us to tumah. The Kohen though, has been chosen to show us that death is not final. That we can transcend this world. That our exit from this world, is really just a birth into an eternal one. He has been sanctified by Hashem. He goes into the holy. And thus, every death enters one's soul into that holy state as well.

It is therefore when we talk about someone dying in Hebrew we call it being niftar. Niftar not only means being exempt or leaving a place, but it is also only used in the Torah as a form of birth, "peter chamor v'seh" the first born of a donkey or sheep. It is the first to come out of the womb. It is holy. It has entered a new world. The Kohen in his constant state of purity stands as a symbol of that to us. That holiness doesn't disappear. It continues on and is eternal.  

Is it possible for someone to come back from the dead and send us messages? The Talmud is certainly replete with stories of that happening. I believe that there are many that can attest to stories, dreams, connections and supernatural events where they felt that their departed was with them. To a large degree we are all one soul. Lior was reminded of that when he tapped into that kiddush. It is perhaps as well the reason that the parsha that follows this one contains the mitzva of the sanctity of the holidays. It's a statement that just as the Kohen is constantly connected to Hashem, we each have that opportunity on all of our holidays. To transcend time and the mundanity of the world. To turn the chol to kodesh. To become one with Hashem, like we were back in that garden. Next week's parsha will take that theme even further to living in the land, to the entire Shabbos of the year of shemitta, to ultimately seeing the blessing of our redemption.

This week is the yartzeit of my Uncle Mendy. If there was ever anyone that transcended this world and truly was full of love and compassion for every Jew, as a talmid of Aharon is described to have that trait, then it is him. His impact and the sparks that he raised and still continues to inspire continue to ignite menoras in many. His ner tamid is still lit. He also didn't sleep very well, and it seems he's not doing so there as well. He still is being a meilitz yosher, and maybe has even been given the ability to send us messages. May his neshoma have an aliya and may we soon be reunited in the geula shlaima.

Have a meaningful Shabbos and an uplifting Lag Ba'Omer

 

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz 

 

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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 

" Zicher iz men nor miten toit."– One is only certain of death.

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxKtPDC7Rwg  – Ba'Derech El Ha'ohr Moshe Klein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77b3QTOOPTI  - A powerhouse podcast of Michael and all the Aliaya Geula voices at a El Chamis party, check em all out, The Eli's Friedman and Wolbrun, Nesanel, Yossi Rabin, Saadia, Nesanel Eisenman, Koby of Gat Ba'Selah and more…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJxvx08Dl6I  - What a great Shwekey Acapella Medley all the greatest hits with Yonasan Stern

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sYoAUa9G3Y&list=OLAK5uy_mnD6rUCFN1Y6VjE-U1vOGgdCddduGhGk0    – A great Acapella Journey at Sea Abie and son Chananya Rottenberg and Eli Shwebel… awesome

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

 

. For most of his life in the land of Israel, Hayim Nahman Bialik lived in the city of ______

_____________

Where can one find buildings in the so-called "International" architectural style in Israel?

A. In urban localities as well as in rural localities such as kibbutzim and

moshavim

B. In urban localities only, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa

C. In rural localities only, i.e. in kibbutzim and moshavim

D. In the city of Tel Aviv only within the boundaries of the UNESCO declaration

("the White City")  

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

Shomronim 352 BC-  So today is Pesach Sheini and a bunch of friends of mine and guides made their way over to check out the one place in Israel where this holiday is being celebrated by Har Gerizim or as it's referred to as well Har Bracha, the mountain where the blessings were given when we came into the land. The people that celebrate this holiday though are not our fellow Jews. They're Shomronim, Samarians they are the only people living in Israel with dual Israeli and Palestinian citizenship and it seems that is the game that they always play. Who are they? What do they believe? And what do I think about them? Here we go.

 

So the Shomronim according to their claim, were a breakoff of traditional Judaism in the times of Eli Ha'Kohen and his corrupt sons, where their Kohen who had been jilted left and started his own mikdash on Har Gerizim, claiming that was the mountain Hashem had rested His name on, and it's where Akeidas Yitzchak took place as well. The claim to be from the tribes of Ephraim and Menashe who live in that region around Shechem and of course Levites. Our tradition rather places them in the times of Sancherev who after exiling the ten tribes, brought foreign nations and settled them here. Hashem, brought lions to attack them and out of fear many of them underwent questionable conversions that were ultimately proven to be inauthentic and they were not accepted into the nation. Although in the Talmud it refers to the Kutim as those that underwent that conversion, it seems that they intermingled with the Samarians who had not even undergone the conversion and the entire people were considered invalid.

 

After the destruction of the Temple and exile of the Jews in the times of Nevuchadnezzar, it seems that many of the shomronim were left to live in Eretz Yisrael and when Ezra returned with the Cyrus's permission, they tried to join the party and build the Bais Ha'Mikdash and were denied. They then sent messages to Cyrus and the entire project was halted. As well the history we will pick up with Nechemia getting permission from Darius the son of Esther and Achashveirosh will also encounter them and have problems. In the times of Chazal there were many different opinions about their Halachic status and even their origins. Rabbi Akiva held that they were true converts. Rebbi Meir in the Midrash that they were even from the tribe of Yissachar, yet ultimately the final ruling was they they're not legitimate Jews.

 

Today there is about 900 of them living in Israel divided between Har Luza near Shechem and city of Holon. They're rather peaceful and kind of like the Amish in America, a bit of a freak story to watch and gawk at. Yet to me it is unquestionable that they are an abomination as is their service that needs to be destroyed from the land. The role of Klal Yisrael here has always been to rebuild the Bais Ha'Mikdash and to shine out the true light from Jerusalem to the world. As long as we allow their candle be lit, and we attend with awe and respect their ceremonies, we are darkening and bringing and supporting tumah in the land. And to me that is unconscionable.  

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE AFTERLIFE JOKES OF THE WEEK

 

Did you hear about the new Italian restaurant that just opened in the afterlife? It's called Pasta Way.

 

A killer Dies and meets his victim in the Afterlife. The killer stares awkwardly at the victim, the victim stares back. Unsure what to do, the killer finally says, "Well... This feels pretty tense."

The victim replies, "Oh, we're past tense."

 

A young couple dies in a car wreck on the way to their wedding. They arrive in heaven where they are welcomed by the angel. Before they are admitted to heaven they ask if they can get married in heaven.

The angel scratches his chin. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Let me find out.”

He goes into heaven to find someone who might know.

Well he’s gone for a very long time, days at least. The young couple were starting to worry when the angel finally returns. He looks very flustered.

“Yes, you can get married.” He says.

So the couple go into heaven, get married, and enjoy the afterlife. However not long after they begin to realize how terrible eternity with the other person would be and decide to divorce.

They go to the angel and asks if they can get a divorce in Heaven. The angel throws down his quill and growls in consternation.

“Do you know how long it took me to find a priest up here?! Now imagine how hard it’ll be to find a lawyer!”

 

So a Rabbi walks up to an atheist and says afterlife. The atheist stares and says I don't get it.

The priest says I know.

 

Our local cemetery reported problems with kids going into the cemetery at night to take flowers off graves so they can sell them on street corners the next morning. I have a hard time believing this, but I did see a kid selling flowers this morning with a sign that said "reincarnations, $10.00"

 

How can you tell if being a suicide bomber really guarantees you blessings in the afterlife? You have to C4 yourself.

 

An Anti-Vaxer goes and arrives at the gates of heaven. Upon meeting God, she asks him a question.

"Do vaccines really work?"

God replied simply with, "Yes."

The Anti-Vaxer mumbled to herself, "The lies do spread that far..."

 

My dad died, and I wanted to talk to him in the afterlife. So I went to a woman who could speak with the dead. I told her my situation, and described my dad. She went into a trance and, after a few moments, said "I'm communing with your father."

Then she smiled, so I punched her.

"What did you do that for?!" she demanded, shocked.

"It's what my dad would have wanted," I told her. "He always said it's important to strike a happy medium."

 

Bill Gates dies and goes to heaven, where the angel gives him a nice, modern six-bedroom house with a pretty garden and a tennis court. Pleased with his lot, Bill quickly settles into the afterlife.

One day he is out walking when he bumps into a man wearing a fine tailored suit.

"That's really nice," says Bill. "Where did you get it?"

"Actually," says the man, "I was given 50 of these, plus two mansions, a yacht, a golf course and four Rolls-Royces."

"Wow, were you a pope or a doctor healing the terminally ill?" asks Bill.

"No, I was the captain of the Titanic."

Bill storms off to see Saint Peter. "How come the captain of a sunken ship gets all that while I, the inventor of the Windows Operating System gets a crummy little house?" he asks.

Saint Peter replies, "The Titanic only crashed once."

 

People ask whether I’ll make cheese in my afterlife. I tell them, “There’s no whey in hell.

 

Ancient Egyptians who worked to preserve the Pharaoh for the afterlife are known for having being very good businessmen. In fact, they even invented what we know today as the "return policy."

It was know back then as the "mummy back guarantee..."

 

A doberman, a golden retriever and a cat enter the afterlife. God asks the golden retriever to tell him about himself, the dog says “I’ve been very loyal to my master,”

 God says,”That’s wonderful why don’t you take the seat on my right,”

God asks the Doberman to tell him about himself, the dog says “I’ve been a great protector of my whole family,”

God says,”That’s great why don’t you take the seat on my left,”

The cat walks in and says to God,” You're in my seat,”

 

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The answer to this week's question is A– Ok another 50/50 here. The first part was easy. Bialik is a big Tel Aviv/ Yaffo name. I knew that. On the other hand architecture has never been my strong point. I guessd Tel Aviv and Haifa as I knew they both have unique artchitecture. I was wrong, the international construction is the basic simple apartment buildings they have all over in rural and urban areas as well as the cities.  So half right and wrong on this one score is no Rabbi Schwartz having a 21 points and the MOT having 9 points on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.

Day Off- Day On- Parshat Behar- Bechokosai 2019 / 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 24^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 33-19^th of Iyar 5779

Parshat Behar/Bechukosai

Day off- Day on

“So what do you do on your days off?” is a common question I get from my tourists. Thank God, I don’t have that many of them. Baruch Hashem, particularly this season- which pretty much runs from a few weeks ago through the summer, it’s pretty swamped. But when they do come around, I have so much backlog to get to, it’s usually catch-up time. I have to get follow-up itineraries for my tourists out- (shhhh.. I’m still in January… they’re on the way I promise…). I have Mishpacha articles to write, sermons to transcribe that I gave in my shul that are just little short-hand notes and oh yeah, I almost forgot I have a few kids at home still that I try to get re-acquainted with. I want to make sure they will invite me to their simchas J. And of course most important is my incredible rebbetzin who has been holding down the fort while I run around the country and party all day with my tourists. She wouldn’t mind seeing me a bit as well. One would think after spending a week and a half with me in the jungle would have cured her of that. But for some reason she seems to like to see me still. And it’s not just because it’s her birthday this week. See I remembered. Happy Birthday! May Hashem bless you until 120 that your husband be a bit more “present” at least physically. And I don’t mean by gaining more weight!

But what do you do in your spare time? Do you have any? I’m not talking to those of you that are retired in Boca. I know you’re busy worrying about your children and grandchildren living in Israel. I mean the rest of you; the harried mothers holding down the fort, many of you balancing work and family. The fathers desperately scrambling to make ends meet, pay astronomical tuitions bills and meet community responsibilities. The teen-agers and colleges students with their exams, social lives, and studies or in Israel army or yeshiva duties. So you have a day off, maybe even a few days, whatcha gonna do with it? How about if you had… get ready… a whole year off? Did you ever dream of such a thing?

Well it may not be such a foreign concept. Well at least for those of us living in Eretz Yisrael. You guys in the diaspora should keep dreaming. This week’sTorah portion- in the diaspora- of Behar teaches us about the mitzva of shemitta in another 2 and half years. God willing Mashiach will be here and you will join us, but even if god forbid if he isn’t it will be a year off for all the farmers at least. So better start upping your Farmville game. But seriously imagine that. In the times of the Temple most people were involved in agriculture and for a whole year they didn’t work a bit. What did they do?

Well for those of you in suspense, we here in Israel that are a parsha ahead of you have the answer. It is in this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Bechukosai which in a regular non-leap year is read together with Behar. It begins with the mitzva of studying Torah.

Vayikra (26:3) Im Bechukosai teileichu- If you will walk in my statues and you will observe my commandments and fulfill them and I will give rain in tis time and the land will give its produce….

Rashi notes that walking in the statues cannot be a reference to the fulfillment of the commandments as that is stated afterwards. Rather it refers to the mitzva of laboring in Torah. What are Jews meant to be doing shemitta? Laboring in Torah. Joining a yeshiva. A shiur. Finishing Shas. Writing a book on a Torah subject. A few books, perhaps. The main thing is it should be something of labor and it should be Torah.

But the Torah portion is not talking about shemitta; those of you that actually open the book and read through the Torah portion, rather than trust the E-Mail rabbi, might protest. Ahhh but it does. You just have to read carefully.

See the end of the Torah portion is the Tochacha, the rebuke and admonition of the Jewish people and the terrifying punishments that will befall us if we don’t follow the mitzvos. There is a theme through all of them. It is the number 7.

The beginning of the rebuke numbers 7 sins and in exchange for that there will be 7 punishments. Rashi notes that they are a slippery slope and one leads to the other. This is how he enumerates them.
Rashi ibid  (26:15) 1) He did not study, 2) he did not perform 3) he abhors others that performs 4) he hates the Torah scholars 5) he prevents others from performing commandments 6) he renounces the mitzvos 7) he renounces Hashem.

The parsha continues to the point where the Torah itself tells us that the problem is 7.

Vayikra (26:21) If you behave casually with and refuse to heed Me then I shall lay a further blow upon you-seven like your sins.

And again Vayikra (26:23) if despite these you will not be chastised to Me and you behave casually with Me then I too will behave toward you with casualness and I will strike you seven ways for you sins.

And just in case you didn’t get the point yet.

Vayikra (26:27) If despite this you will not heed Me and you behave toward Me with casualness, I will behave toward you with a fury of casualness; I will chastise you, even I 7 ways for your sins

Finally, finally it ends with the verse that pretty much tells us it’s all about shemitta.

Vayikra (26:34) Then the land will appease its shemitta years during all the years of its desolation, while you are in the land of your foes; … whatever it did not rest during your shemitta years when you dwelled upon her.

Rashi in fact does the math that the 70 years were in exile corresponds to the 70 shemittas that were not observed during the 430 years we were in the land in the first Temple. (Check it out to see the exact math). Reb Yaakov Kaminetzky though is troubled by this. Is it really possible that the Jewish people never kept shemitta? How could that be?

His answer is revolutionary. He notes that the Torah seems to be mixing two things together and of course this is not coincidental. On one hand it tells us that the punishments will come because we are not toiling in Torah. On the other hand, it tells us that it is a result of the non-observance of the sabbatical year. What is the connection? The answer he says is that Hashem is giving us a year off for one purpose. It’s not to catch up on the housework, it’s not to go on that long, promised and delayed family vacation (or safari J), it’s not even to spend quality time on community projects. It’s to toil in Torah. It’s to immerse oneself entirely in the study of our holy works. And this is where the Jews that lived in Israel during the Temple period missed the boat.

See they certainly did not work on their fields. There was no need to. Hashem provided enough crops in year 6 to last them for three years. But rather than take that great bounty and realize that they have enough in the bank or storehouse to last them and go back to Kollel. They wasted their year. They woke up late, rolled out of bed, played some shuffleboard, maybe cracked a book or a Torah E-Mail that they had backlogged for a few years and thought they would get to one day when they had an extra hour or so to read through the entire thing besides the jokes on the bottom. But they didn’t toil. They didn’t sweat in it. It therefore never permeated them as it was meant to for the next 6 years. That’s called not observing the shemitta. That is called being casual with Hashem.

I remember when I was in yeshiva finishing off High School, I asked my Rosh Yeshiva why it was so important to go full time to Beit Midrash. Why couldn’t I just go part-time to yeshiva and then in the evening go to college or nights school, as my parents were hocking me to. I would probably never be a Rabbi anyways. Famous last words. I would probably just be a working baal habos- a layman. I would make a living and of course have a daily seder to study. What was wrong with that?
Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really that interested in going to college either. But to be honest it wasn’t because I was so interested in learning. College was just a pain in the neck of more boring secular studies and tests and exams and homework that I was pretty relieved to finally be done with. But regardless of my personal desires or lack of interest, I wanted the answer. Why was it so important? What was the real reason he was so opposed to it? What was a good reason that I could tell my parents?

His answer resonated with me then and it still does today. He told me that the only way that I would ever become that baalabos, that working/learning layman, that set himself a daily Torah class and session, was if I sat in Beis Midrash and toiled in Torah for a few years first. Otherwise, he said, it will never be a part of you. It will never be something that you feel you need to become who you are meant to. It will never be your water. It will never be your life.

What can I say? Me and my Rosh Yeshiva did not agree on much. I, in fact left (or was left from) the yeshiva not too long after. But those words and that idea sat with me then and it does until today. What is my life about? What is it that I long for? What do I want to do in my spare time or year. The answer is toil in Torah. Open up those sefarim I bought and buy that I hope to get to one day. Explore some of the deeper Torah thesis that always perocolate in my mind. Finish shas. Get a second semicha from the Israeli rabbanut – that has a pretty high standard. Go for Dayanut. The civil laws. This is what shemitta is all about. This is what a Jew is meant to have as his focus.

The truth is one doesn’t have to wait for shemitta. Hashem calls Shemitta his Shabbos. Each Shabbos is like a mini-shemitta. Particularly these long shabbatot. There is no work, there is no worry. It’s a time to establish a seder when you can reach a goal. A torah toiling goal. Shemmita isn’t a year off and Shabbos isn’t a day of the word Shabbos comes from the root Shuv- to return. It is a day to return to our essence. This period of Omer we read about the shemitta and Shabbos cycles. It is 7 shabbatot temimot. 7 complete Shabbosos. Complete, doesn’t meant that it isn’t lacking any days. It means that you have used your Shabboses to complete your entire week. You have refocused your week to revolve around that seder,- that return, that you have each Shabbos. That is how we count up to the giving of the Torah. And in that merit we should all celebrate that upcoming Shavuot holiday in the Temple rebuilt when we can once again begin and celebrate that cycle.
Have a inspirationally accomplished Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Di shversteh arbet iz arumtsugain laidik” The hardest work is to go idle.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q The national watershed passes in Jerusalem at:

A. Mount Herzl – Mount Ora

B. Armon haNatziv – Temple Mount

C. Mount Scopus – Mount of Olives

D. Ketef Hinom – Romema

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/9Dv39cjfC1k   – New Rebbe Shimon by MBD!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_tlD-GGSA   – Meron Lag Ba’Omer 2019 Compilation

https://youtu.be/VD6-6G2HDqs      –Beauttiful Kel Mistater Kretchnif Yiddish with Hebrew subtitles (thank god)

https://vimeo.com/124490496 - My Uncle Mendy Z”l speaking at Torah Umesorah convention about a topic dear to his heart-abuse..

https://vimeo.com/268582166- My eulogy of him at his funeral…

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Bechokosai– Ok, we’re getting closer to Shavuot the day we got the Torah and the lomdus juices are really flowing! Does everyone have their lomdus heads on today? Get ready for an incredible lomdushe shtikel!

This week at the conclusion of sefer Vayikra the Torah tells us about the mitzva of Maaser Beheima- the tithing of one’s cattle.

Vayikra (27:32-33) And the tithe of your cattle and flock.. the tenth shall be holy to Hashem… It shall not be redeemed.

Now unlike other tithes that are given to the Kohen and the Levi, this one is for the owner and his friends to eat with one caveat of course. There’s always a catch. See the animal had to be brought to Yerushalayim, shechted in the Beit Hamikdash, its blood and fats burned on the altar and then it was eaten by the owners within the walls of Yerushalayim. Our sages actually said that this was done three times a year 15 days before the pilgrimage holidays of Pesach Shavuot and Sukkot- Yes, so right now! This was in order that there should be plenty of meat to go around for everyone that would come up to Jerusalem for the holiday. Now imagine if a man had a herd of a hundred or so sheep or cows. Think of all of the steaks and shwarmas that he would be bringing up for everyone to eat in Yerushalayim. 1/10^th of his herd. Pretty awesome.

There is another mitzva in the parsha as well that is a prohibition for someone that has an animal that he sanctified as a korban/sacrifice to switch it out for another animal and the Torah tells us

Vayikra (27:10) And he shall not exchange it or switch it, not a good for a bad or a bad for a good one. And if he switches it-  than it (the original animal) and its exchanged one shall be holy.

So seemingly you lose two animals. In addition, like any biblical commandment that you violate, the owner would receive lashes for making this exchange. Now for a bit of lomdus. The Talmud records a seemingly philosophical global dispute between Abaye and Rava in regarding this law.

Temura (4b) Abaya says; anything that the Torah tells you not to do and you violate it and do the act, the act is a valid act. For if you would think that is not true than why would one get lashes. Rava said it is not valid at all and the reason he receives lashes is because he violated the word of the Torah.

So their debate seemingly is if the exchange is a valid exchange. Abaya says the exchange works and the proof is because if it wasn’t then why would he get lashes for exchanging it if the exchange never went through. Rava on the other hand suggests the exchange would not be valid, if not for the Torah telling us specifically that it is and regardless he would get the lashes is for his violation of the Torah prohibition to sell it. Got it so far?

Now the Rambam seemingly does not rule like either of these opinions. He writes in regards to the original law that we mentioned of tithing the animals that it is forbidden to sell the animal and then he writes

Rambam Hilchot Bechorot (6:5) And it seems to me that the one who sold the animal did not accomplish anything. The purchaser does not acquire it and therefore the seller does not receive lashes.

Now this would seem like neither opinion. According to Abaya the sale should be valid and according to Rava even if the sale is invalid he should receive lashes for violating the commandment. So as we say in yeshiva- what’s pshat?

So the Steipler explains quite lomdishly that one has to understand the essence of the debate between Abaya and Rava. Abaya understands that when the Torah prohibits something it is because it does not want the action to take place. It doesn’t want the outcome. Therefore, if there is no outcome- if the sale or exchange is not valid there would be no lashes.

Rava on the other hand works under the premise that the Torah is not as much concerned with the outcome but rather it does not want the person to violate the commandment and preform the action. Therefore, it doesn’t make a difference rather his action came to fruition or not, at the end of the day the man did the prohibition and thus he is punished.

Now here comes the chap. Rava only would maintain his position when the prohibition is specifically on the action. For example, when the Torah tells us he should not exchange the animal. If he exchanged, he has violated it regardless if it is valid or not. By the sale of the animal on the other hand if you read the verse carefully the Torah tells us “It shall not be redeemed”. The Torah specifically tells us that it does not want the outcome. The prohibition is linked to whether the animal was in fact redeemed or not. Therefore, in this case where the sale was not vaild then both Abaya and Rava would agree that there is not punishment, there are no lashes. Abaya because there was no sale and Rava because the Torah here did not prohibit the sale, only the result of the animal being sold, which never happened as it was not valid. And there you have it!

Did you get it all? If not wait till Shavuot night, the night when lomdus was revealed, I’m sure you’ll get it then.

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

Division of the Land –Tribe of Shimon 1265 BC – If I had to say who got the rawest deal of the 12 tribes I think Shimon would get that prize. For the 2^nd oldest of the tribes you’d figure he would have some seniority and perhaps he would have. But because of his sin with Yosef and his knee-jerk wrath in wiping out the city of Shechem, much to his father’s displeasure albeit in response to his sister Dinah’s kidnapping. Yaakov felt it was a “disproportionate reaction”, is the term I believe they use. As well the fact that his tribe and its leader challenged Moshe in the wilderness with Zimri and the Moabite/Midianite women, didn’t favour them too much. He needed to be kept away from the rest of the Tribes so he was stuck down in the South by the Negev within the tribe of Yehudah for safe-keeping.

His portion included the special city of Beer Sheva in the South, Tziglag which is a city that King David later fled to, a place called Chatzar Susa- which is very likely today where the ancient Mishnaic and Talmudic of Susiya gets its name and is located. As well thy had a city called Rimon, which might be where Mitzpe Rimon gets its name from although that magnificent crater is further South then the border of Israel was at that time.

Now despite being stuck out in the boondocks, our sages tell us that Shimon, got around. It seems they went into chinuch- Jewish education. Thus they, like their brother Levi, were spread out all over the 12 tribes and Land of Israel. From experience I can tell you, working in Jewish education can take you all over the map. Take it from the Rabbi who ended up in NY, NJ, Iowa, Virginia and Seattle. But this was a fulfilment of the blessing of Yaakov to the tribe that he will divide them amongst Yaakov and scatter them among Israel.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S REALLY TERRIBLE WORK JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Two factory workers are talking to each other one day. The woman says, “I can make the boss give me the day off.”

The man replies, “Oh yeah? And how would you do that?”

The woman says, “Just wait and see.”

She then hangs upside down from the ceiling.

The boss comes in and says, “What are you doing?”

The woman replies, “I’m a light bulb.”

The boss then says, “You’ve been working so much that you’ve gone crazy. I think you need to take the day off.”

As the woman leaves, the man starts to follow her and the boss says, “Where are you going?”

The man says, “I’m going home, too. I can’t work in the dark.”

I have a lot of jokes about unemployed people but none of them work.

So you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking for. There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available. With a 1 hour lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work. You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days per year available for work. We are off 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days. We generously give 14 day’s vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and I'll be darned if you are going to take that day off! 

 I went for an interview for an office job today. The interviewer told me I'd start on $2,000 a month and then after 6 months I'd be on $2,500 a month.
I told them I'd start in 6 months.

I just lost my job as a psychic. I did not see that coming.

I worked very hard to get to where I am in life. An unemployed university graduate.

Inspecting mirrors is a job I could really see myself doing.

Sure I’m willing to work longer hours at work. As long as they’re lunch hours

Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn’t hack it, so they gave me the ax.

After that, I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn’t suited for it. Mainly because it was a so-so job.

Next, I tried working in a muffler factory but that was exhausting.

I wanted to be a barber, but I just couldn’t cut it.

Then I tried to be a chef–figured it would add a little spice to my life but I just didn’t have the thyme.

I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn’t have any patients.

I became a professional fisherman but discovered that I couldn’t live on my net income.

Thought about becoming a witch, so I tried that for a spell.

I’m aspirin’ to be a chemist.

I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining.

I got a job at a zoo feeding giraffes but I was fired because I wasn’t up to it.

After many years of trying to find steady work, I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.

I applied for a job in Australia but seems I don’t have the right koalifications.

I had a job at MinuteMaid orange juice. I got fired because I couldn’t concentrate.

I used to be a postman until I got the sack.

I worked at the bank as a teller for a while…until I starting losing interest.

I wanted to be a baker, really kneaded the dough.

I focused on being a photographer, but nothing ever developed

An employee is getting to know her new co-workers when the topic of her last job comes up. One co-worker asks why she left that job.
"It was something my boss said," the woman replied.
"Why? What did he say?" the co-worker asked.
"You’re fired."

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Answer is D–  This was a shot in the dark. I really wasn’t sure where the watershed line is in Yerushalayim. For those unfamiliar with the concept it is the middle of the har hamerkazi- the central mountain range that runs through the country and where the water flows down on both sides. I knew it flows near the old city and down King George and Yaffo and somehow in the recesses of my brain I remembered it was Katef Hinnom. Os having no clue I went with that as Romema is right off Yaffo by the entrance of the city as well. Truth is it crosses Mt. Scopus as well as Armon Hanetiziv by the tayelet as well, but those were the trick answers as the other choice was wrong. So I got lucky and the score is Schwartz 22 and 6 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.