from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
October 21st 2023 -Volume
13 Issue 2 6th of Cheshvan 5784
God’s Soldiers
We called them the i-phone generation. They’re soft. They
don’t have what the soldiers of old, that we read and learned about and
memorialized and perhaps even made into super-heroes, once had. Once there were
giborim. Once there was an army that knew and understood what it meant
to fight. To put their lives on the line. To roar like a lion and jump into
battle and do everything that it takes to achieve victory and wipe out our
enemy. This generation… these kids… They’re Tik Tok. They were raised in the
Corona years. They’ve got therapists. They’re woke. They know Facebook. They
don’t know war.
I was wrong. We all were wrong. I’m in awe. I truly feel
unworthy to be living in the generation of these heroes. Story after story.
Sacrifice after sacrifice. Without fear. Without hesitation. For me. For my
family. For my country. For us. I heard once from Rabbi Berel Wein and I’ve
shared with many of my tourists what he had told me he had heard from the
Ponivezher Rav back in 1947. He gave them a speech in Chicago while he was
raising money to rebuild his yeshiva. He said to them prophetically that was
confident that the handful of soldiers in Israel would ultimately win the
British and the Arabs and establish a Jewish state in Israel.
“But if I only had students- talmidim, that had that
same sense of sacrifice, of responsibility for Am Yisrael, that same fire and
determination that these soldiers have, we could have a Torah state in Israel
as well… But I don’t have them… We’re not even close…”
“Learn up from these boys, what it means to burn with
holy fire for the Jewish people.” He told those students. “Because
that’s what Klal Yisrael ultimately needs.”
I shared that story and would tell my tourists, that we
once had soldiers like that but today I’m not sure if we have them anymore. I
was wrong. We have them. They’re out there now. They’re poised, they’re ready.
Too many have already given their lives, but in their deaths like Shimshon took
down so many Philistines with them. There is a strength. There is a fury. There
is fire that his so holy that is emanating from them, that as I distributed
meals, and supplies to them I was almost scared that I would get burnt by it. I
felt like I was the Levi that was privileged to stand in the Temple and hand the
Kohanim their vessels or sing songs to inspire them in their service of Hashem.
We’re in good shape Am Yisrael, and I’ve never been prouder of my
nation.
But there’s something that is even more powerful that I’m
seeing that to me is the ultimate game changer. Something that I believe
differentiates the current army of Israel than any other army since the
founding of the State and perhaps even since the time of the Maccabees army led
by the High Priest Matisyahu. That is the identification that our strength and
power is all from Hashem. That there is no atheists in a foxhole the world
knows, but that the national songs of the soldiers in every base that is on our
lips is
Od Avinu Chai- our
Father in heaven is alive,
Anachnu Ma’aminim
Bnai Ma’aminim- we are believers the children of believers,
Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokai- Hear Israel, Hashem is our God,
is amazing and inspiring.
Soldiers are davening, they are wearing tzitzis, putting on
tefillin, taking on mitzvos and those are the soldiers who until now may have
identified themselves as Chilonim-non-religious secular Jews. That’s not even
to mention the tens of thousands of Batei Midrash on the front lines that are
learning Daf Yomi, that are reciting Tehillim, many who have left their Batei
Midrash or more accurately relocated them to their army bases on the border of
Gaza until they enter. This is biblical. There’s no kochi v’otzem yadi-
I don’t believe there has been a war that this country has fought since our
founding that has Hashem’s name plastered all over it like an Army banner as
does ours today.
Eileh b’Rechev v’eileh ba’susim- they have tanks, they have terror-
V’anachnu b’sheim Hashem Elokeinu nazkir- and we come armed with the name of Hashem that our
soldiers have repeatedly been invoking.
And this is from the I-Phone generation…
Yet it is not just our young men and women that I fear I
have underestimated in the past. And that perhaps we all have. It is ourselves
as well. In this week’s parsha I saw such an amazing and powerful idea from the
holy Reb Shloimeh of Radomsk that has the power to be a game-changer for all of
us. He notes a perplexing Rashi on our parsha. The verse tells us that Noach
and his family only entered the Ark when they were forced to by the water that
was coming down. Rashi comments that this because
Af Noach m’katnei amana haya- Also Noach was small in faith
Ma’amin v’eino maa’min-
he believed and he didn’t believe that the flood would actually come.
Reb Shloimeh asks, how this was possible? For over one
hundred years Noach had been not only building this Ark, but he had been
warning the world and Hashem Himself had told him that it was coming more than
once. How could Rashi and our sages tell us that he was someone who was short
on faith; this most righteous man of his generation? The answer he gives opens
up entire new worlds, which is really as I said in my E-Mail last week what we
are here to do.
He says that Noach’s failing was not in any lack of faith
in Hashem. He knew it was real. He had dedicated his life to the idea. Hashem
had told him personally it was happening. Rather, Noach’s lack of faith was in
his own power to change the fate of the world. That through his prayers Hashem
not only would spare the world but was in fact waiting for him to do so. As opposed
to Avraham who in fact prayed for the people of Sodom and who understood that
was what Hashem wanted him to do, Noach didn’t. He assumed that Hashem’s decree
was a Divine fait accompli. He didn’t understand that the tefillos of
the righteous could change that decree. That we are partners with Hashem in
Creation and the world. That is the middas ha’Rachamim the attribute of
mercy, that Hashem combined with the pure middas ha’din that he put into
the fabric of the world. It was in that area that Noach was lacking in faith.
He notes that Moshe Rabbeinu got that message though and
passed it on to us. After the sin of Golden Calf, Hashem as well wanted to wipe
us off the face of the world. Yet, he consulted with Moshe and Moshe understood
that he has a say. He told Hashem to forgive us and turn over His decree.
V’Im ayin- and if not…
Mecheini na mi’sifricha-
erase me from your book.
Our sages tell us that the word erase- “micheini-
erase me” has the same letters as the words mei noach- the waters of
Noach. Moshe was telling Hashem that I learned from Noach’s flood what I need
to different. I understand that if you present me with an apocalyptical
situation- a decree from Heaven, that what you are telling me is that it is
within my power to do something about it. That You are listening and waiting
for my prayers, my merits, my share of our Partnership to do something. That we
can do something as well.
If Hashem has blessed us with such an army in our
generation, that we didn’t think we would ever merit to realize. Then these
Kohanim are the representatives of the nation. Their power comes from us. They
are our shluchim- our agents to do the work of Hashem. And the rule in
the Talmud is that the messenger or agent only has as much power as those he
represents. That means that we have power that we never thought we had as well
at this time. In this generation of Mashiach.
We can unite like we never did before. And we are. We can
connect to our soldiers like never before. And we are. Our prayers, our
charity, our mitzvos, our kabbalos- resolutions and the merits that we
accumulate at this time can change everything, just as much as we understand
that our soldier bullets do. Even more so perhaps. Every word of Torah learned
is a game changer. Don’t underestimate it. Don’t be Noach of little faith.
There is something else that is different about this war
than any other war that our country ever fought before. Unlike the War of
Independence, The 6-Day-War or the Yom Kippur we are not fighting this time for
our existence. There is no one out there that believes that the State of Israel
is at risk of being wiped out. This is not even a war of deterrent our security
as our previous numerous Gaza or Lebanon incursions, or “operations” were. This
is a war against evil. Against darkness. It’s a war of the vengeance of Hashem
and eradicating evil and those that distort and wish to eradicate His name as
it shines from each of us here from His Holy Land on this earth. To win a war
against darkness the weapon with the most power is light. And each of us have
that light. We each have a nuclear weapon in the arsenal that is our soul that
is waiting for us to explode on our enemies. Ignite it. Set it off. Rain it
down on them.
I like many I have talked to feel frustrated that Israel
hasn’t just opened up it’s nuclear arsenal in our “textiles factory” in Dimona
and set it off already and created a much needed parking lot in Gaza and in
Lebanon already. Its frustrating to know that we have the power to do so and
instead we might be sending Jewish boots on the ground putting our children,
our brothers and sisters and family at risk with a land invasion. Yet,
understandably perhaps we don’t want to cause any “innocent civilian”
casualties or deaths, or maybe more cynically we wouldn’t be able to handle the
world outrage if we did go nuclear. Yet the truth is there is an even more
powerful weapon and light that is in our hands. And that spiritual nuclear
weapon won’t have one casualty that Hashem doesn’t want to wipe out. Its our
light, our prayers, our unity. Hashem sent us a decree this year and He’s
waiting for us to unleash that force. He wants us to go spiritually nuclear.
Our soldiers on the front line are girded and ready to do what they have to do.
Are we as well? This a war that Hashem has drafted every single Jew on the
planet to fight. Your “tzav shmona”- your draft notice, is that hole in
your heart that you felt and feel when you turned on your radio, tv, internet,
opened up your newspaper that morning after Simchas Torah. We’ve been called to
serve. To serve Hashem-just as He told us when we left the exile of Egypt- on
the Mountain of Hashem. Are you ready to fight?
Have safe, quiet and restful
Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“A
hunt hot moyre far a shtekn un a ruech funr tzitzes.” .- A dog is afraid of a stick, and a devil is afraid of
tzitzit.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
10.The
type of rock which the "Mushroom" in the Timna park is made from is
___________.
What
is the average precipitation in the Arava?
A.
Around 20 millimeters per year
B.
Around 80 millimeters per year
C.
Around 150 millimeters per year
D.
Around 200 millimeters per year
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/yizkeraim
– A memorial prayer for the brutal
murder of the kedoshim demanding their blood be avenged by Hashem and the Rosh
Hashana prayer. I composed this after the kidnapping of the three young man by
Gaza and it’s first war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvjrh7LHlrw – I can’t stop watching and feeling the holiness
of this holy soldier Yehudah Bacher singing this song two days before being
killed in the Simchas Torah Massacre…and crying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6W8GxuBYNM- and this is the
original with translation of that song…Elokai Neshama… it should be a merit for
him…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h6dIEQMz3s
-
I’ve been playing this new Doni Gross Benny Freidman album all week to all my
soldiers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQn90-LkuQA
– Shlomo Carlebach Tzitzis saves a soldier life awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaj9WVkPe2s
–Amazing
say Shema Yisrael clip (Hebrew)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LPnwSW9deYI
–
You can’t not get emotional watching this soldier sing to his daughter
before going out to battle
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S PARSHA PRAYER
INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK
(NEW COLUMN)
Tehillim – We’re at war. It’s a war that the Torah and the Rambam rules that halachically
is a mitzva. When an enemy rises up to destroy it is the obligation of
everyone- even a groom from his chuppa, even a Kohen or Levi to go out
and fight and destroy the enemy. Yet, not all of us are soldiers. Not all of us
even know which way to hold a gun or are even in places where we can join the
actual fight. Yet, the halacha tells us that there are two mitzvos in war. The
first is to fight and the second as the Rambam brings it is to daven.
Rambam Laws of Taanis (1:1) It is a positive Torah
commandment to cry out and to sound trumpets in the event of any difficulty
that arises which affects the community, as it states: "When you go
out to war... against an enemy who attacks you and you sound the trumpets...."
This practice is one of the paths of repentance, for
when a trouble arises, and the people cry out to Hashem and sound the trumpets,
everyone will realize that the trouble occurred because of their evil conduct… This realization will
cause the removal of this difficulty.
It is not the soldiers or the fighting that will
remove the evil, it is our prayers. Fascinatingly enough the Rambam describes
those that don’t pray. That rely on the soldiers along. That believe that what
is happening has nothing to do with their prayers is in fact the cause of an
even furthering of the troubles.
Conversely, should the people fail to cry out Hashem and
sound the trumpets, and instead say, "What
has happened to us is merely a natural phenomenon and this difficulty is merely
a chance occurrence," this is a cruel conception of things, which
causes them to remain attached to their wicked deeds. Thus, this time of
distress will lead to further distresses.
Perhaps even more frightening is that the Rambam quotes a
verse to support this idea and you’ll never believe what word it uses to describe
an intensification of the trouble
This is implied by the Torah's statement "If you remain indifferent to Me, I will be indifferent
to you with a Chamas- vengeance." The implication
of the verse is: When I bring difficulties upon you so that you shall repent
and you say it is a chance occurrence, I will add to your [punishment] an
expression of – Chamas -vengeance for that indifference to Divine
Providence…
So we’re soldiers as I said above and our weapons are our
prayers. The most powerful of all our prayer weapons is the book of Tehillim-
Psalms by King David. In my shul I try to shake things up by reciting psalms
that are not the traditional ones selected that everyone knows by heart. And it’s
amazing if you go through the book how many of them mention the word Chamas in
them.
In this week’s Torah portion we are told that Hashem decided
to destroy the world because it was full of Chamas- which Rashi explains
means robbery. Fascinatingly Unkelos translates it as chatufim which
means kidnapping in modern Hebrew. The ten commandments prohibition on stealing
as well understood by our sages to be the kidnapping of people. Hamas steals
souls. Our job is to restore and fight him by bringing the spirit of life in
the world. We do that with our prayers with our Tehillim. When someone steals
something they take it from its proper place. Our Tehillim puts it right back
where it belongs.
I once heard an incredible idea about Tehillim. The singular
word for Tehillim- Psalms would be Tehilla- a psalm or prayer. That word is a
feminine word. The plural of it should be Tehillot- which is in fact a word
that is used in our daily prayers numerous times. So why when we refer to our
Psalms do emasculate it and make it Tehillim? The answer is because through our
prayers we have the power to transform the world from the feminine receptacle natural
aspect of Creation, from when we are merely receivers of Hashem’s benevolence,
to a world where we are the masculine. We are the ones that are breathing the
life and transforming and creating new realities.
Rashi tells us this week that the wicked move Hashem from
the chair of mercy to the throne of Judgement. The Righteous though, through
their prayers do the opposite. We move Hashem to the throne of mercy. We can
change the decrees. That’s what Noach did ultimately when he left the Ark and
Hashem remembered him. That’s what we do whenever we pick up that Tehillim- not
Tehillot. We become players. We become soldiers. We become Creators. And
we’re on the path this year to making a whole new world.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES
AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Keep on Hitting- 633 BC – With the death of Yehoyachaz and amidst the terror being rained
down on the kingdom of Israel in the North by Chazael the King
of Aram today’s modern Syria, we are introduced to his son Yehoash
of the North. He took over in the 37th year of Yoash of the
kingdom of Yehuda and he ruled for 16 years in the North. I know it’s
confusing two kings with the same name, but hey it is what it is…
Yoash, we are told, much like his father did evil in
the eyes of Hashem. He kept the idolatry and worship of Yeravam, and his
golden calves in Tel Dan and Beit El- both where there are still
remains of those Temples today- although in Tel Dan you can really see
it. His father had done some teshuva and Hashem promised that he would bring salvation,
but it would come in his sons reign. And Hashem kept his word. Yet that
prophecy that they would ultimately conquer Aram came with the death of
the prophet Elisha, who even Yehoash despite being a sinner
revered. I mean how can you not, the man was literally a miracle maker like his
teacher Eliyahu.
As Elisha get
sick, Yoash comes to visit him and he echoes Elisha’s own call
and plea to his Rebbi, Eliyahu
“Avi Avi Rechev
Yisrael- My father, my father Chariot of Israel its horsemen.
Elisha mysteriously tells Yehoash to take a bow
and arrow and to open the window and to start shooting towards the East. Yehoash
obeyed and Elisha told him that it was a sign that he will smite Aram
in the battle that will take place in Aphek- which fascinatingly enough
is the portion of Yehuda. Today that’s not far from Rosh Ha’Ayin.
He then told him to
shoot the arrows at the ground. Yehoash did so as well three times. But then
he stopped. That’s the problem with us Jews we cop out before the job is done. Elisha
got angry and told him that had he continued 5 or 6 times then we would’ve been
successful in wiping out Aram entirely. Now it was just as going to be a
temporary victory. Those were the last words of Elisha and with that he
died.
There’s a fascinatingly
eternal lesson- that is so timely about what we have to do when we go to war.
We need the prophet and his prayers, but we as well need our soldiers and our
leaders and kings to know that sometimes they have to keep going and not be
satisfied with a half a victory. Is this a timely column or what?
Next we still have one
more post-mortem miracle of Elisha. Stay tuned…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY GAZA MEMES/ JOKES OF THE WEEK
If a siren goes off
while Biden is here you don’t have to worry about him hitting the ground to
take cover. He’s usually falling down there anyways.
The UN is calling on
the Israeli government to allow technicians into Gaza to ensure that rockets don’t
misfire again onto innocent civilians taking shelter in hospitals.
A generation has grown
up in Israel thinking that elections are something that you go take part in
every half year while school is only one year on and one year off…
The US Secretary of
Defense was here last week, the Chancelor of Germany today, tomorrow the
President of the US is coming and next week the Prime Minister of England will
be here. At least the Ministry of Tourism is doing their job…
It’s better that we
don’t get shlepped in right now to a war with Hezbolla. We don’t have the
ability to provide Humanitarian help on two fronts…
Weather forecast for
Gaza- it will be raining missiles all day
For all of the Gaza
refugees that have fled to Sinai. From experience you can survive there for at
least 40 years and if you get thirsty for water just hit a rock twice… It
worked for us.
If you want this war
to end right not- get vaccinated- The Ministry of Health
Why are you blaming
the government for this? They haven’t done anything…
Two Arabs are sitting
in the Gaza Strip, enjoying a quiet pint of goat milk.
One takes out his
wallet and starts flipping through his family pictures, "This is my
oldest son. He's a martyr. This here is my second son. He's also a martyr!"
The second Arab nods,
“They blow up so fast, don't they?"
Say what you will
about Hamas......but their education system is top notch. Over 90% of the
children in Gaza become "Rocket Scientists"
Why does Gaza keep
firing rockets at Israel? It keeps them occupied.
Where is the Hamas
headquarters? Depends on where the Israeli missile hits.
The Hamas
wheelchair-bound commander, a one-eyed, triple-amputee terror boss, Mohammed,
ordered the Israel massacre.After turning down serious job offers from the BBC., New York
Times and CNN
Israel Army Spokesman-
Despite the restrictions and limitations of flights to Israel, all planes to
Gaza will function as normal
The UN is demanding we
have a proportional response. So in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange we
established that one Jew, Gilead was worth 1027 Arab terrorists. So for 1350
Jews that they killed multiplied by 1027 would come to a proportionate response
of 1386450 dead terrorists in Gaza. We will be happy to oblige.
Woke- (adjective)
pronounced Wok (woker, wokest)- chiefly US slang aler to and concerned about
social injustice and discrimination unless it’s about slaughtering Jews. (see
also hypocrite).
My Jewish mother-in-law-
“quickly help me clean up the house right now. God forbid a missile will hit
here and then the photographers will come to take pictures and it will be a
mess.”
God willing as of next
week Pango will be active in Gaza as it will be one big parking lot.
We ask that the
Israelis please stop publicizing the names of all of the Hamas terrorist
leaders that have been killed. Their families have not yet been informed.
So there I was sitting
there in my bomb shelter after the siren went off and after 5 minutes my
neighbor told me that we could leave. I told him that I wait 6 full minutes. My
other neighbor waits just into the 5th minute, while that guy from
Holland left three minutes ago…
One wife at home with
6 children wrote that she understood why the call-up for reservation miluim
rate was for so high and why this war might go on forever. The soldiers have a
concert everynight with Hanan Ben Ari and Ayal Golan, they get free hot meals, cigarettes,
haircuts and pedicures and massages from therapists. Barbeques every other
night, truckloads of food and all types of treats. This war is going to go on
forever… It’s amazing that they didn’t have a 150% sign up
The answer to this week”s question is A – So I definitely would’ve skipped this question on the exam. You’re allowed to skip 5 questions. Geology is not my thing and neither are numbers. I’m a word person in case you haven’t figured that one out. But I guessed anyways and got it right! So there!! So the type of earth is sandstone, the mushroom in Arava rocks and Solomons pillars that are magnificent there are formed by the erosion of this soft rock. The precipitation I knew was low so I went with 20 Mm and what do you know? I was right! So that makes the new score Rabbi Schwartz having a 7.5 point and the MOT having 2.5 point on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.
