Arav-Us- Sukkot Edition 2020/ 5781

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

October 2^nd 2020 -Volume 10 Issue 49 14^th Tishrei 5781

Sukkot

Arav-Us

It was an intense Yom Kippur this year. Most of the shul didn't or couldn't come. The Ministry of Health allowed only a limited amount of people. Many of our congregants were in isolation or sick. It was just 10 of us. It was the first time that I ever recited Yizkor alone in the shul. It was just me and the souls of all of my departed relatives. My father olav hashalom, whom I never really knew, my grandparents; Babby, Zaiydie, Saba, Savta, my Bubby Zeldy. My uncle Mendy, Uncle Henry and Auntie Franka. I remembered and davened for all of my passed congregants, students, friends; The Bob's, Run, Irene even Avi from my favorite restaurant in Tiverya who passed away right before Pesach. Perhaps Hashem spared him the pain of seeing his always open doors shut from this pandemic. I felt all their souls with me this year. Alone. The departed, me and Hashem.

 

I spoke before Ne'ila and I told my shul that this year was an entire year of Ne'ila; of lockdown. The stores were closed, the shuls, the schools. We were all locked up. We were na'ul. And so this Ne'ila was the nei'la of all ne'ilos. We say in kaddish during these days li'ayla u'li'ayla. Higher and higher. The nei'la brought us closer and higher than we have ever gotten. It's just us alone and Hashem. All locked up together.

 

Yet, I told them, that to go into that cheder yichud with Hashem there is one condition; only one ticket to that will allow us to enter that holy room with Him. See, on Rosh Hashana we are judged. Hashem has three books open in front of Him. The book of the tzadikim- the righteous, the reshaim- the wicked and the beinonim-the in-betweeners. Most of us are pretty sure we're not tzadikim. On the other hand, we all hope and pray that our sins don't outweigh our mitzvos and that we're not considered reshaim. So we pray very hard and do teshuva so that we make it into that middle-book. We ask Hashem to forgive us for all of those big sins that we know we have done. The little ones we figure we can deal with later. As the saying goes when they get up to burning me for those minor sins, I'll know that the worst is behind me already.

 

There is one problem with that plan though, you see. It only lasts until Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur there are only two books opened; The beinoni book is gone.  It's been sent to recycling. It's out of print. There are only two curtains before Hashem at Ne'ila. Curtain #1 Tzadikim, curtain #2 Reshaim. Which one will it be Schwartz?

 

On the entrance to Auschwitz the Nazi's ym'sh hung a big sign it said "zeh haShaar la' Hashem tzadkim yavo'u vo- This is the gateway of Hashem, the righteous shall enter here." They were right. Anyone that passed through those gates was holy. They were tzadikim. Those are the only ones Hashem lets into His special abode.

 

Hashem doesn't want to be alone in His palace with anyone that has dirty clothing. He doesn't even want anyone with any small coffee stains on their shirt. (How do people manage to drink their morning coffee without getting one? Can somebody please tell me?  After that you can tell me how to eat spaghetti and meatballs as well without getting stains). Hashem only allows those in who are totally clean. No big sins. No small ones. White as snow. Clean and pure as a new born baby after a bath. But don't worry so much, about those stains because He is the best laundromat you'll ever find. He actually does it all by Himself. By hand…with our tears and our teshuva. We just need to tell Him where and what those stains are. We need to tell him that we choose Curtain #1. That we don't want to be beinonim anymore. We are tzadikim that just need to be cleansed.

 

And so on Yom Kippur we walk through those gates together, just like our ancestors did back in Auschwitz singing Ani ma'min be'emuna shlaima- We believe with complete faith.

 

{That by the way is the fourth shlaima, that I left out in my last E-mail, thank you UZ for pointing that out to me- and thank you to the 28 people that pointed out to me that Ka'eileh is only recited on Pesach and not Sukkos- I don't know what I would do without your corrections…but an accompanying donation would be nice as well J}

 

We believe with total faith that we are tzadikim, although stained. We want to be pure. We want to return. We want your Kingship. We want to come once again into your room. La'chazot b'noam Hashem-u'lvakeir b'heichalo- to see Your pleasantness and to visit your Holy abode. And with that we began Ne'ila. "Ashrey yoshvai va'sayecha..." As I said it was intense.

 

But now YK is over. I've eaten numerous times already. I've probably sinned already quite a few times. I've drunk my coffee and go those stains back again. I'm not flying high like I was in my kittel, without shoes, after 25 hours of not eating or drinking and just praying and repenting just a few days ago. I'm no longer screaming Hashem hu ha'elokim again and again with every fiber of my body. I'm just Schwartz who is not sure if he's even a beinoni anymore.  And so we come to Sukkos and I'm feeling a little farklapped, a little like an arava…

 

But there's good news. See, this Sukkos I have declared is the year of the willow branch. The arava, is the simplest of the four species we take together with our lulav, etrog and haddasim. But unlike those other minim that have either smell or taste or both, the aravot have neither. It's got Covid-19. The arava as well is shaped like our mouths and lips and this is the year, that we were more focused on covering up that part of our face than ever before. We are mouthless. Our aravos lips have been g'klampped shut. It is the year that we couldn't smile at others. Our learning, our talking, our breathing were all hampered. We realized that perhaps like the simple humble willow branch that has no fruit, we as well perhaps we're not as righteous as we thought we were. We're no esrogim. And finally just as the arava never really lasts that long once you take it out of water-despite the best efforts of those vacuum packed plastics, wrapping them five times in moist paper towel, aluminum foil and putting them in the fridge overnight. They just wilt and lose that fresh green leafy look they had the day after Yom Kippur. They look g'klapped. Yeah… just like us…

 

But there's something else about the arava. Rav Shach would tell people that worked in Jewish outreach or in education to be careful with people who jump very quickly and make huge life changes in a very short period. I think they use the term "flip out". You know the bochrim in yeshiva that hear a few good lectures and they quickly start throwing out everything they had that was tamey. They start burning the candle all night learning and davening these long tearful shmona esreis, Or those Baalei teshuva's that put on the black hat and adopt a totally shomer torah mitzvos lifestyle in a few life changing weeks or after a good weekend Discovery seminar (do they even do those anymore?). Be careful, Rav Shach would say, Aravos grow the fastest of all of the species, but they are also the first to wilt and die. They don't last. Rav Moshe Feinstien also said similarly that only a convert has to accept the entire Torah at one time, for most of the rest of us it is a lifetime of growth and progress at a slow balanced steady state. But we are aravos. We jumped at one shot through that holy door, but now what?

 

And thus Hashem has blessed us with this incredible holiday of Sukkos. A holiday that is really all about the aravos. Or for punny titles sake- the Aruv of us. The holiday comes after we have walked through His holy gates- His se'u she'arim of Yom Kippur, as a nation that was committed to being righteous tzadikim. He tells us after we came through that gate to the New year. That he really doesn't want us to fast that often at all. He wants us to wear shoes that are planted on this earth. He wants us to build huts. He wants us to take the p'soles goren 'vyekev, those left over branches and shrubs in the field and place them as the roofs on top of our heads so that He can peek down at us all the time. That we can see Him always. He wants to watch us eat and drink and sleep. He loves to hear us sing ( particularly Rabbi Schwartz songs J) To spend family time with our kids. He didn't create us as angels. He's got enough of them up there. He created us His aravos down here.

 

The ticket to get into the house was that we desired to be tzadikim. That we were brave enough to walk through those gates. That we cried and prayed that we should merit to enter. That desire is the reason why he loves us so much. It is why we are are'iv- sweet and pleasant, as in the bracha we say each about learning Torah- V'ha'arev lanu es divrey Sorascha- Hashem should make the Torah sweet to us. Shlomo Ha'melech describes Hashem's love for us Hashmi'ini es koleych- Let me hear you voice, he tells us. Ki kolech arev- because our voice is pleasant and sweet. It is beautiful. Because the voice of the arava, the sound that comes out of those holy lips are the ones that may not smell, they may not taste, they may not have deeds or Torah, but they know how to sing. They know how to tell Hashem how much we love Him and how much better we want to be. It is certainly "lip service". But that lip service comes from the deepest place in our hearts. And that is what is most precious to Hashem.

 

So Hashem commands us on this special holiday to take our poor aravos. Our sweetest and most pleasant-odorless and tasteless- wilting willow branches and tie them together with those tasty date palms and aromatic myrtles and bring them with the holy esrog and shake them all together. Shake them in the Sukkah because you are all in My house. You all share that one desire. Ana Hashem Hoshiya Na, Ana Hashem Hatzlicha Na. We all want to be saved, we all want to be successful in our resolutions. We all need Him. We sing and march around and around for 7 days. The esrog has the heart that desires it, the lulav the spine that resolves to be better, the hadasim, the eyes, that turn in hope to Hashem, but is only the arava, the lips that can express it. That can bring that deepest desire out to the world. That doesn't have any accomplishments, any Torah, any deeds that he can pat himself on the back about. That needs Hashem's help the most and that knows how far he is from being that tzadik and wills it more than anything. Maybe that's why they're called "Will"-ows…

 

This is the year of the arava because more than any other year we have discovered a longing for Hashem. We couldn't come to shul to daven and so we longed for our shuls. Our yeshivos and batei midrash we're closed and we longed for them to be open. To return to learn again, to daven again, to smile again to hold hands and dance together. To get hugged and to see Hashem. We longed for the pleasantness of the days of old-but then we came to understand that the days of old weren't just meant to be the "pre-corona" days.

 

We conclude each Shmona Esrei with the words v'arva hashem…ka'shanim hakadmoniyos..that Hashem should take our offerings once again and they be sweet to Him like the days when His palace was on the Temple Mount. When we could come see Him onn Pesach, on Shavuos and on Sukkos. Those were the three times we would all come to Yerushalayim. When we would bond together with all of our brothers and sisters and proclaim our love, and his Kingship. This year more than any other year when we couldn't do that on Pesach and Shavuos it hurt so much more. We desired by the end of those holidays we would be back there. He would be back here. Sukkos is the last in that triumvirate of pilgrimage holidays. V'Sei'arev lifanecha asiraseinu- May all of the beseeching of Your holy aravos be sweet and accepted before You. Hashev shechinascha l'tziyon- return Your holy presence to Zion. May we sing and dance together in that Sukkas Dovid hanofeles rebuilt this last holiday in this incredible new year. Without any more masks.

 

Have a happy glorious Sukkos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 " Faran dareh gvirim un fetch oremeleit."- Rich men are often lean and poor men fat.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

 47) HaMizgaga Museum (Glass Factory Museum) is located in:

A. Yeruham

B.  Haifa

C.  Kibbutz Nahsholim

D.  Zichron Yaakov

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09d0i1yWyxk  - Mordechai Shapiro's latest video Ein Od Milvado…Elka loves it lots of fun!

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/ushpizin  – No Sukkos is complete without at least once singing my most hartzigeh composition and the only song I know of that is soulful for Sukkos!- Ushpizin- sung and arranged by my dear friend Yitz Berry!

 https://youtu.be/jJdSsIsfdFw   – My old friend the great Yossi Newman (of YBC fame) with his latest collaboration with this fun Ki hu livado composition

 https://youtu.be/ku7QQqcn4jY –Berri Webber with EN3RGY knocks it out of the park with this rocking hit Hinini!

 RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

 Sukkkos– V'Samachta B'chagecha- Rejoicing on holidays. It's the song that never ends for the next 8 or 9 days. You can listen to my hip hop version below. The mitzva seemingly as read is for us on Sukkos to be ach samayach- only happy. Sukkos is the time to tap into that fount of joy. Perhaps this year more than any year in the recent past this will certainly be challenging particularly here in Israel under lockdown. But is this mitzva a biblical one or rabbinic one and what does it mean to be happy? How do we order or command an emotion?

 So in fact our sages tell us that the Torah is not commanding our emotion rather it is telling us that we need to engage in acts that bring happiness. True Simcha Rav Soloveichik, derives from the Rambam can only be in front of Hashem in the Temple. In fact, the opinion of the Ramban is that the biblical commandment can only be fulfilled by the bringing of the special chagiga peace offerings in the Beis Hamikdash. The Rambam in the laws of Yom Tov the commentaries understand seems to hold that the biblical obligation can be fulfilled with all manners of simcha. To eat meat and drink wine, to buy new clothing and jewlery for the women and to distribute goodies to the children. The Shaagas Aryeh and Reb Chayim Brisker understand that there is a general mitzva of simcha which in the times of the temple needed to be fulfilled by offerings. However when that is not possible the mitzva still remains to rejoice and it is done through all things that bring joy; the things that can help him enjoy Yom Tov and celebrate it.

 Reb Moshe Shternbuch explains that there are two aspects of the mitzva of simcha. There are acts of simcha, such as the eating or the gifts, or in the times of the Temple bringing the offerings. Yet the Gaon of Vilna suggests that there is an emotional mitzva as well. One must feel happy and joyful the entire Yom Tov. One is forbidden from being sad, angry or anything that might detract from feeling the joy of Yom Tov. Even one who is sick is obligated to be happy. The Gaon is quoted as saying that this is one of the most challenging mitzvos. But imagine the incredible sense one must have of 8 days of pure joy.

 Interestingly enough although generally women are exempt from time bound mitzvos, such as Sukkah and Lulav, the Shaagas Aryeh tells us that they are still obligated in Simcha. He suggests this is because the time bound mitzva- (zman grama) is only for action mitzvos not mitzvas of the heart and thus the obligation for them to be joyous and engage in things that would make them happy is also upon them. The Shevet Halevi tells us that any way that one can make the yom Tov happier, even if it is with trips and family time in honor of the day would all be a fulfillment of the simcha. Certainly dancing at simchat beit ha'shoeiva and music is part of the mitzva…. Just not this year. In fact, the Chazon Ish it was known would sing special yom Tov songs at his holiday meals because he saw that since the eating of the meat and wine was a biblical obligation of joy in place of the offerings in the temple, they should be accompanied by songs, just as the Levites would do for the offerings in the Beis Hamikdash. So maybe there really is a point to the endless v'samachta b'chagecha singing. Did you ever think that your zemiros could be a positive commandment? But if you really want to do it right, check out my Ushpizin song below… That's singing l'mehadrin…

 

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

 Zif Shaul vs Dovid Part II- 878 BC- The chase is on. Nov has been taken down by Shaul's command via his general Doeg and Dovid flees to a place called Midbar Zif. It's right outside of Kiryat Arba and Chevron today, a place called Tel Zif. They have cool caves and springs there. In fact in honor of Sukkos, they found over there coins that were made from the time of the Bar Kochva revolt with "for the freedom of Yerushalayim on one side and the Lulav and four species on the other side.

 There Dovid met his brother in law and best friend Yonasan and Yonasan once again warned Dovid he was in danger and that he and Shaul both knew that Dovid was going to be the next King. They parted tearfully and swore they would always be there for one another.

 Now the people that lived in Zif were actually from Dovid's tribe of Yehudah and were even descendants of Caleb ben Yefuneh who was granted the city of Chevron. However unlike their alteh zeydeh who didn't speak lashon harah on the land of Israel with the other spies, they headed right over to Shaul to tell him where Dovid was hiding. Perhaps having seen what happened to the Kohanim of Nov, they got nervous. But regardless they came running to Shaul and Shaul actually demands that they show him exactly where he's hiding out.  The Ziffites are totally on board and they even bring Shaul to exactly the hill where Dovid is hiding. It is as this time that Dovid composes his psalm 54

La'minatzaych ba'neginot a maskil of David.

When the Ziphim came and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding with us?"

O Hashem with Your name save me, and with Your might avenge me.

O Hashem, listen to my prayer, incline Your ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers rose upon me and violent men sought my soul; they did not place God before them forever….

 Dovid however had moved a little further east to Ma'on, which is non-coincidentally right next to the modern yishuv of Ma'on South of Chevron. There I actually have visited quite  few times with tourists of mine. I have a good friend there that is one of those hilltop youth guys. Sweetest man in the world who also is a sofer. They are settling the land in the most real sense of the word and they stand guard over this ancient tel where Jewish life flourished even in 2^nd Temple times as we have uncovered a fantastic shul there with gorgeous mosaics. And that's where Dovid was hiding with 600 men while Shaul was on the other side of the hill with 1000's and the Ziffites.

 Hashem however once again came to Dovid's rescue. A messenger (or malach) came to Shaul and told him that the Philistines were making trouble once again. Shaul struggled with his personal interests and opportunity to get Dovid versus his national duty to defend his people. A struggle that many leaders who shall remain nameless seem to be challenged with… But ultimately he leaves. And Dovid stands to live another day and completes his psalm with the words…

 Ki- mikol tzara hitzilani, v'oivay  ra'asah eini For He saved me from every distress, and my eye saw my enemies.

 Think about that next time you say this kappitel…

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE SUKKOS 5781 JOKES  OF THE WEEK

 Anyone know if Shul's will be open this year for Sukkos? I need to know how much to pay for my Esrog…

 So the Gerrer Chasid's wife is all upset at him when he comes home with his Esrog after hours of shopping for it. She doesn't understand.

"It took you a half hour of meeting with me before we agreed to get married and the Esrog took you 6 hours to to decide which one you want?!"

 "What don't you understand," he said, "with the Esrog I walk together on the street…"

 Because of the lockdown regulations this year, guests are not permitted in your Sukkah. In place of Ushpizin we will be doing Ushpi-zoom.

 You are not allowed to be caught in a sukka that is not yours. So all the Kollel guys are chipping in with 5 shekels to be partners in each others Sukka.

 If they keep the schools closed after Sukkos, I think that the parents will find a vaccine faster than the scientists…

 Will the guy that usually has the custom to poke his neighbor in the eye with his Lulav please make sure that his Lulav this year will be at least 2 meter long so he can stand socially distanced away.

 I'm in a lot of trouble with this Corona. The government doesn't want me at work. My wife doesn't want me in the house and the police don't want me in the streets.

 My Lulav was just flown in from America. Unfortunatly it isn't allowed out of it's protective case for 14 days…

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Answer is C –  And another one right!  This is not an easy one. The glass museum is certainly not a well visited site. Although in truth I have been to this former glass factory founded by Baron Rothschild to make bottles out of the beach by the nachsholim/ Dor sandy shore to use for the bottles of wine that he was making at his vineyards in Zichron Yaakov and other settlements. It's actually not too bad of a museum. One can see some real Avoda Zarah there, a little bit about Napolean as well. The reason I've been there is because that's where the Techelet people run their tours where you go snorkeling for the murex trunculus. And I've done that wuite a few times. So while waiting for them to show up I've stopped off at this museum.  Otherwise I would haef no clue. So now we stand at  Schwartz 36 and 11 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam. Only 3 more questions left…

Conspiracies are Flying- Yom Kippur 5778/2017

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

September 29^th 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 46 9^th of Tishrei 5778!

Yom Kippur

Conspiracies are Flying

I go flying every year. Not in a plane, not para-sailing, or wind surfing. No I mean flying like a bird, soaring into the heavens, up there with the angels, high up in the clouds, I become one with Hashem. What’s really amazing is that I do all of this without ever leaving the ground, at least my body doesn’t, my soul is way up there though. I had a great flying instructor. He was my Mashgiach-our spiritual mentor- in the yeshiva that I studied in Israel when I was a student; Reb Menashe Donut. No snide remarks about his name being the reason I liked him, OK. He was a holy man and he taught me how to fly.

The truth is I really was never that inspired by his lectures. Works of mussar and learning how to develop holy, spiritual character traits was not my thing back then. I enjoyed the give and take and intellectual challenges of Gemara/Talmud learning were much more exciting to me and that was the reason I chose the yeshiva I did. To learn at the foot of one of the great leaders of our generation who himself had sat by the great masters in Europe prior to the war. Yet when it came Elul time, I started to pay a little bit more attention to some of the words of our simple unassuming mashgiach. His lectures took on more of an intensity. The King was in the field, we would soon be declaring Hashem’s kingship on the world, Teshuva/repentance, returning to Hashem all of the traditional themes of this past month and the High Holidays were repeatedly earnestly with his eyes closed as he spoke with reverence from the pulpit. The pinnacle of course came was when he would fly.

The Rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, himself a baal menagen- a master of songs, composing and singing, would lead many of the tefilos on the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. They were beautiful, uplifting, melodious and intense. But the final prayer at the end of Yom Kippur- Neila- the closing of the gates of heaven, that prayer was led by the Mashgiach. And it was then that I learned how to fly.

See the Mashgiach by that point of davening was already in another world. As he took his three steps forward, I can almost swear they were not touching the ground, he was floating. Every shuckle every sway that he took as he recited and sung out each piyut, each prayer, each request he literally lifted his whole body up. You could feel him going up with his prayer. King David in his psalms describes his prayer as Va’Ani Tefilati- And I am my prayer. The Mashgiach was a human embodiment of prayer. When he asked Hashem to write us in the book of life, of redemption, of merits, of healing, of forgiveness, we felt that he was jumping up to God grabbing the book out of his hand and stamping and sealing it himself. By the time he reached the final 7 times of Hashem Hu Elokim- Hashem is our God and the Shema we were all up there with him. We were one with our Creator. It was absolutely awesome. I learned how to fly.

Since then I’ve led many prayer services on the High Holidays. It’s one of the perks of having congregations where most of the shul couldn’t read Hebrew. But even here in Israel where it is not difficult to find Baaalei Teffilos and Chazan/Cantors to help out and lead the prayers. Neila- that final prayer on Yom Kippur is mine. It’s when I fly. It is my annual experience of soaring above this world and making it up to the heavens. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

It is an incredible prayer Neila, the time of the closing of the gates of heaven. When all our prayers are done all our confessions are said already. It’s just us and Hashem. Everything is riding on this moment. Our brothers, the sefardim, start off their neila with a beautiful poem that was written in 11^th century by Rabbi Moshe Ibn Ezra it is called El Nora Alila- The God of an awesome plot. According to Wikipedia some Ashkenazim recite it as well, but that’s the Birnabaum Machzor. Artscroll doesn’t have it so it doesn’t count. The piyut is truly a beautiful one written by one of the great rishonim. The refrain is as follows

El Nora Alila,-Awesome God of plot

 Hamtzeh Lanu Mechila- Bring out for us forgiveness

 Bshaat HaNeila – during the time of the closing of the gates

Here’s a link to the song and the lyrics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Nora_Alila

The question and mystery is of course what does this mean that Hashem is the God of plots? {Wiki’s translation of the mighty God is really not an accurate translation of the word alila, which means more like cause, conspiracy or plot.} And why are we utilizing this to enter into our holiest prayer?

There is a fascinating Midrash Tanchuma in Parshat Vayeshev that discusses this verse at length and in general explains this major conspiracy of Hashem. It’s long so I’ll just paraphrase it through for you, but it’s really worthwhile to see yourself inside. The Midrash begins with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha who notes that Hashem carries out circuitously in his dealing with man. For we know that the angel of Death was created on the first day of Creation as it says

“and darkness was on the face of the deep”.

Yet when Adam sinned Hashem told him that they day that he eats from the tree he shall die- as if he was the one who caused death to come to the world.

The Midrash compares it to a man who writes out a divorce document to his wife before he gets married. When they get to their house he asks her to bring him a drink. When she hands it to him, he gives her the Get. When she asks why he is giving her a Get, the man responds because she gave him a warm drink instead of a cold one. She responded however, that you must have planned to divorce me beforehand already as you had the Get already pre-written. The drink is just the excuse to carry out your previous plan. Similarly Adam told Hashem, you created the world by looking at the Torah. And in the Torah it says

“If a man shall die in a tent”

Obviously You knew that man would die. That was part of your original plan.

The Midrash gives more and more examples of this concept. Moshe who wasn’t allowed in the land points out to Hashem the same concept. Your‘re are blaming it on the fact that I hit the rock, but you already had this plan from before when you stated (after the sin of the spies) that

“No man of this evil generation shall see the good land”.

 Similarly it says by Yosef going down to Egypt that on one hand it says that the brothers sold him down to Egypt. It was Yaakov’s fault for favoring him, the brother’s for being jealous, Yosef’s for inciting them. But The Midrash tells us it was also part of this divine conspiracy. Hashem had already told Avraham that his children would descend to Egypt. So Hashem “made Yaakov love Yosef more, so that the brothers would hate him and sell him down to Egypt and ultimately Yaakov himself would have to descend to fulfill that Divine will. That is what it means when it says Hashem acts with conspiracy to his children; El Nora Alila.

The truth is the entire day of Yom Kippur and the concept of this incredible day of Teshuva is premised on this notion. Rashi teaches us that the reason Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement is because it was the day that Hashem forgave us for the sin of the Golden Calf and the second tablets were given. Now Hashem had already forgiven the Jewish people 40 days after the 17^th of Tamuz, on the first of the month of Elul. Yet that forgiveness wasn’t good enough for Moshe. Hashem said that He would not destroy us, but at the same time He would not dwell amongst us anymore. Rather an angel would lead us into Israel instead. Moshe said that’s not good enough. I want it to be back just the way it was. Even better. That was the month of Elul.  40 days later, Yom Kippur was the day when Hashem agreed, with love, that he would once again dwell within our midst.

If you think about it it’s quite chutzpahdik of Moshe. Let’s put it into modern thinking. Someone close and dear to you betrays you in the worst of ways. Or better yet, you betray someone close to you in the worst of ways. You humiliated them in the most personal and public of ways. You basically destroyed them and everything that the two of you had together. You did it maliciously and really without any reason. You messed up big time. You wake up the next morning and you realize what you had done. You regret it. You feel terrible. You can’t sleep at night because you threw away this most special relationship. You want to apologize but you don’t even know how. You think about writing a letter, because you don’t want to mess up your words. You don’t even have the courage to look them in the eye. But you know a letter is not enough. You’re gonna face the heat. You apologize, you express your heartfelt regret, you swear you’ll never betray them like that again, and you beg their forgiveness. Surprisingly it works they say they forgive you. They’re moichel you. Amazing! Miraculous.

But then you do something absolutely crazy. You ask them if they will come out to eat with you for a nice romantic dinner. If they will hang with you like before and go have a few beers and party together. Like nothing ever happened. What!?! That’s insane. It’s one thing to forgive you, imaginably the person will tell you, but wipe it away like it never happened. To be just as loving and trusting as before. No, you say. I want it even more than before. Could that ever happen? That’s essentially what Moshe was asking Hashem for. The truth is that is essentially what we are asking Hashem for. But for us it’s even worse. We keep asking forgiveness and doing it again. We’re perpetual sinners, and betrayers. Where did Moshe and where do we get the chutzpa to make that request?

The answer is Nora Alila- Hashem we tell God, we know that You were behind every sin that we did. You put us in situations where we might inevitably fall- for precisely this reason. For us to return to You. For us to raise You up from the depths that we have fallen to. It’s why Adam sinned, because You structured a world that You wanted there to be teshuva, where we would sin and return and raise it up even greater. It’s why You arranged for us to go down to Egypt. You wanted us to fall to the lowest level and then raise it back up again to the 49^th level of holiness where we would see Your presence, hear Your voice, receive Your Torah. And it’s why we fell again so fast and betrayed You. It was Your conspiracy. El Nora Alila.

And it’s why we come before you at these final moments each year on that same day to once again hear those words. Salachti Kidvarecha- You have forgiven us as You said You would. We are now naul- We are locked together the two of us. We are one. We have risen from the pits that we have fallen. We can fly. We can join you. We can bring the whole world with us. Hamtzei Lanu Mechila. Bring us once again forgiveness. Return us to You and we will return to You. It’s not chutzpa if this was the original plan. This is the day You have been awaiting for.

Are your feet lifting up from the ground yet? Do you feel yourself starting to levitate? Flying could be a scary thing. But Hashem is the wind beneath our wings. May he grant all of us a Gmar Chatima Tova- May we all be sealed and signed in the book of life and may all His wishes for us finally bring us to the ultimate fulfillment of the world, when all will see Hashem is one and His name is one.

Gmar Chatima Tova,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Di vegen fun teshuveh zeinen nit vainiker farborgen vi di vegen fun zind”. The ways of repentance are as much hidden as the ways of sin.

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgyNrC-DzNE  - El Norah Alila

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE2VfDEmVYY   – Deaf Man in the Shteeble-most moving Kol Nidrei song ever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUvrINuGBKc      – MBD’s new Yaaleh sung Chasidish style

https://youtu.be/LsT7r7F5jjI  – Another favorite Neila song of mine Yehi ratzon by SYR

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q The inspiration for the design of the dome on the Shrine of the Book was:
a. The Dome of the Rock
b. The lid of an urn
c. A dome that was located in the Temple
d. A man’s head covering (“kippa”)

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE WEEK

Yom Kippur Acharey Mos 2017- I know it’s a holiday and who has time to review the holiday readings with Rashi? Yet this with Yom Kippur falling out on Shabbos, so it becomes our Shabbos reading as well. If that’s the case then it is certainly worthwhile to review the Rashis as it can give us extra insight into our YK davening and inspiration as well.

The reading is of course about the service of the High Priest on Yom Kippur. The Torah tells us that Aharon and his descendants, the High Priest that will follow him are warned

Vayikra (16:2) And he shall not come to the Holy at all times… Because in a cloud I shall appear upon the Paroches- Ark cover.

This warning is given after the death of Aharon’s two children for doing precisely that and lighting a foreign fire. Rashi on this verse explains the raison d’etre

For I always appear there with my pillar of cloud. And because the revelation of My Shechina is there, he should take care not to come there regularly. This is the simple meaning.

Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz notes that Rashi is pointing out something incredible over here. Imagine we are speaking to Aharon ,the High Priest, we are speaking about the Holy of Holies, we are speaking about Yom Kippur the holiest day of the year and yet there is still a concern and a necessity to warn him about not coming regularly, because if he does he might forget about the sanctity of the place. This is an incredible lesson. Perhaps the greatest reason why we sin, despite our deepest inner desire to the right thing, is because we just get used to doing the same old-same old. Our mitzvos, our daily prayers, our Torah study even though we all know and are aware of the incredible significance of all it, just becomes rote. Something we take for granted. Even the holiest things in the world can become mundane if we are aware of the perils of doing something monotonously. He notes that the law is that when one would come to Temple on the Holidays would have to switch up his entrance and his exit. The people from the North must leave through the southern gate and the ones from the south would leave through the southern gate in order that they should not get used to coming and going in and out of the same place as they do in their own home. The Temple is special. Yom Kippur is special. Each day our service is special. Rashi is pointing out this is reason why Aharon couldn’t come in. And if this is true for Aharon, how much more so for us. As Rashi says… this is pretty simple.

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz (1902-1979) – To any Mirrer when one talks about Reb Chazkel there is a sense of awe. He led the yeshiva through its stormiest years during the war years, in Shanghai where the yeshiva fled, and he planted the seeds here in Israel of what is today the largest yeshiva in the world. He was born Shmuelevitz was born on the second day of Rosh Hashana  1902 in Kovno, Lithuania, to Rabbi Refoel Alter Shmuelevitz and Ettel (née Horowitz), a daughter of Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz, known as the Alter of Novhardok. The sandek at his bris milah was Rabbi Yitzchok Blazer ("Reb Itzele Peterburger"), a Torah and mussar luminary of the time, who was one of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter's greatest disciples.

In Chaim Leib's youth, his family moved to Stutchin. Until the age of 16, he was educated by his father, who was one of the leading yeshiva lecturers in Lithuania. In 1919 Rabbi Refoel Alter, who was then the rosh yeshiva of Shaarei Torah in Grodno, died suddenly. Within a very short time, his mother died too, orphaning Chaim Leib, his younger brother Shlomo, and two sisters.

Rabbi Refoel Alter's position at the yeshiva was taken up by Rabbi Shimon Shkop. Chaim Leib developed a close bond with Rabbi Shkop. At the age of 18, Chaim Leib's mentor invited him to deliver the third-level shiur in the preparatory academy at the yeshiva. He held this position for a few years before transferring to the yeshiva in Mir. Many of his students of those years later became great Torah leaders, and his own four years in Grodno with Rabbi Shkop had a profound influence on his approach to Talmudic analysis.

At the age of 22, Reb Chayim headed a group of students who transferred from Grodno to Mir. The Mirrer rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, set his sights on Shmuelevitz as his eventual spiritual heir. He set the seal on this future appointment by offering his student the hand of his daughter in marriage.

A scant few years later, at the relatively young age of 31, Shmuelevitz was appointed as a maggid shiur, delivering regular lectures. The hallmark of his lectures was depth combined with a fabulous breadth; it was not uncommon for him to cite 20 or 30 different sources from far-flung corners of the Talmud and its commentaries during a single shiur.

With the outbreak of World War II, Mir Yeshiva was forced into exile Rabbi Shmuelevitz's shiurim continued virtually without interruption throughout the early period of World War II, while when the yeshiva was continually in transit. In late 1940, hundreds of Mir yeshiva students obtained visas to Japan.

The yeshiva stayed in Kobe, Japan, for about six months, and then relocated to Shanghai for the next five years. Although living conditions were extremely difficult, the yeshiva prospered. Rabbi Shmuelevitz and the mashgiach, Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein, assumed responsibility for the day-to-day running of the yeshiva.

Somehow, Rabbi Shmuelevitz became responsible for the financial needs of all Jewish learning institutions in the city, not just his own. These included contingents of the famed yeshivas of Kamenetz, Kletzk, Lubavitch, and Lublin. This was despite the fact that exchanging foreign currency in Shanghai was fraught with danger and Rabbi Shmuelevitz lived with a perpetual fear of being apprehended by the authorities.

A short while after arriving in Shanghai, Rabbi Shmuelevitz received American visas only for himself and his family. He refused them, saying that he would leave only when all the students had received their visas. This ultimately meant staying in Shanghai for five and a half years.

In 1947 the yeshiva moved again — as always, as a single unit — this time, to the United States, where Rabbi Shmuelevitz spent six months before rejoining his father-in-law, Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem. For the next 32 years, until his death in 1978, Rabbi Shmuelevitz remained in Mir-Jerusalem, disseminating his unique wisdom and insight to thousands of disciples.

He became active in Agudath Israel in Israel, and its Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages) on which he served. Rabbi Shmuelevitz was well known for his ability to become totally engrossed in his Torah study for hours at a time. His ethical discourses, many of which have been published in English, are considered classics. They offer novel interpretations and reveal his penetrating insights into human nature.

His greatness in Torah was matched only by his sterling character. Possessing an all-encompassing concern for his fellow Jew, his constant preoccupation with the well-being of others was a manifestation of the love that poured forth from his great heart. 

A few days after Sukkot 1978, Rabbi Shmuelevitz was rushed to the hospital and, for the next two months, his life hung by a thread. Even during the weeks of semi-consciousness his lips moved, and from time to time he could be heard mumbling words of Torah. Jews worldwide prayed for his recovery, but it was not to be. Two months later on the third of Tevet, Rabbi Shmuelevitz died at the age of 76. Nearly 100,000 mourners attended his funeral. He is buried on Har HaMenuchot.

During his lifetime, Rabbi Shmuelevitz committed to paper his every lecture and public address, leaving behind at his death thousands of handwritten pages, including chiddushim on every tractate of the Talmud

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Kohanim – Unlike most of the other types of Jews that we have listed throughout our journey this past year in this column, the Kohanim are not identifiable by merely looking at them. They can be Ashkenaz, Sefard, Chasidic, young, old, religious or secular. They are identifiable though if you are really interested by use of a microscope though as they all share the same common DNA gene marker known as the Kohen gene. That is a fact that in the words of Dr. Karl Skorecki in the New York Times, (January 7, 1997)-

“The simplest, most straightforward explanation is that these men have the Y chromosome of Aharon. The study suggests that a 3,000-year-old tradition is correct, and has a biological counterpart.”

As well Dr. David Goldstein, Oxford notes in the Science News (October 3, 1998)

 “For more than 90 percent of the Cohens to share the same genetic markers after such a period of time is a testament to the devotion of the wives of the Cohens over the years. Even a low rate of infidelity would have dramatically lowered the percentage.”

In the times of the Temple Kohanim were the most important people of our nation as they were the serving intermediaries between Hashem and his people. They lost their way and became corrupt at the end of the second Temple, but for many of them that badge of Kehuna was kept in their family as a source of pride and tradition as they await for the day when they will be returned to their service with the building of the Beit Hamikdash.

In Israel the Kohanim play a larger more practical role than they do in America where all they do is receive the first Aliya to the Torah, as should be the case. See in Israel the custom is for the Kohen to belss the people by davening every day, unlike outside of Israel where it’s only on holidays. For the past few decades here by the Kotel the highlight for many people is to come and get blessed by the thousands of Kohanim that gather there. It is truly an awesome experience. The most common Kohen names amongst are of course Cohen, Shapiro, Katz and Rappaport, Azoulay is also a common Sefardic name. Now just because your last name is one of those that doesn’t make you a Kohen, one has to have a tradition that dates back to seal that deal. But you never know. God willing, Eliyahu Hanavi ,who will herald in Mashiach, will tell us and clarify who ultimately has that heritage. May it be this year!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S REALLY TERRIBLE CONSPIRACY JOKES OF THE WEEK

A group of 9/11 conspiracy theorists were killed in a bad accident and they all ended up together in heaven. Once let in through the Pearly Gates they decided to try and meet with God himself believing only he could answer their big question: Who was responsible for 9/11?

God decided to meet with them. When assembled he told them they could ask him one question about 9 /11 and he would answer it truthfully having perfect knowledge of everything. So the leader of the group stood up and said, "God, I need and my fellow friends who feel the same way about 9/11 as I do would like to know if in fact 9/11 was an inside job? Can you finally tell us this truth?"

God looked at the group of conspiracy theorists and said, "I know you may not want to hear this but 9/11 was NOT an inside job...it was a terrible tragedy caused by radical and mostly Saudi Islamic fundamentalists who wanted to send a message to the United States and make you afraid of them."

The leader looked dismayed with God's answer and turned to one of his cohorts and said, "Wow, God must have been in on it too."

I, too, have a conspiracy theory. I believe that Einstein was killed by the mafia because he knew too much.

Two Jews meet on the street.

"David, how have you been?"

"N-n-not so good. I was just turned down for a j-j-job."

"Where?"

"At a r-r-radio s-s-station. Anti-S-S-Semites!!!"

Shlomo is on the train reading a newspaper, when his friend Mendel walks in. 

"Shlomo, why on earth are you reading an Arab paper?"

"When I read the Jewish papers, all I find is Jews under attack, synagogues under attack, Israel under attack. But when I read the Arab papers, what do I find? Jews control the media, Jews control the government, Jews rule the world. Mendel, the news is much better!"

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Answer is B– OK how many of you know what the shrine of the book is? I thought so… Yeah if you haven’t noticed the past few weeks questions have been architectural questions; another one of those exciting topics we have to cover in our tour guiding course. Next question is the shrine of the book Jewish, Christian, Muslim or secular? See if you knew the answer to that you might be able to answer the question. So the shrine is actually the part of the Israel Museum that hosts the Dead Sea scrolls. They say that Ben Gurion or one of the Prime Ministers once took a US president and explained him the difference between us the Jews and other countries. In the US the most important museum hosts is perhaps the Smithsonian with all types of artifacts, In France it is the Louvre with all its art. In Israel the most important museum has old scrolls and books. That is what defines us. So now that you know that what, you can easily figure out that the correct answer is of course the most unlikely one if you did not know what this was which is the shape of the lid of the urns in which they were found.