from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
November 21st 2025 -Volume 15 Issue 5 1st of Tevet 5786
A Great Finish
It's a problem that Israelis have. It's maddening and frustrating for most Americans that move here. It's one of those adjustments that we have to go through that we have to bite our lips down and grit our teeth and repeat to ourselves "Eretz Yisrael is niknis bi'yisurin- only acquired through tribulations". And an unfinished corner of my kitchen wall cabinet or tiling on the floor, or cleaning up the garbage after painting my house, or the leaves from my garden, or bagging my groceries etc… should be the worst thing that I have to go through to merit to live in the Holy Land that all of my ancestors dreamed of living in. After all you get used to it. You don't even notice it anymore. And when you go back to the States you're kind of are surprised that there's actually people that have a full time job bagging your groceries when whadaya know? You're fully capable of doing it yourself.
Now although the unfinished job thing is annoying and frustrating when it comes to house renovations, things that you order, or shopping or "service oriented" providers- which in Israel is really an oxymoron. This flaw takes a much more serious and horrific note when it comes to fighting wars and conquering our country. It's something Hashem it seems was aware of when He first chose as a nation and promised us the land. Therefore he cautions us repeatedly that when we come into the land of Israel we have really one job to do when we get here. It's quite simple. Moshe even gave us a demonstration of it when he conquered 1/3 of our biblical homeland on the eastern side of the Jordan river. It's really three simple words. "Kill them all". That's all. Easy, right? In case you didn't get it he says it again. "lo sechaya kol neshma.- don't leave anyone alive". Not men, not women, not babies, not old people and certainly not terrorists and murderers. Genocide them. From the River to the Sea.
Now in Israel, I always tell my tourists we have to be a little more graphic and explicit for them to get it. For example,e in America if you don't want someone to go somewhere all you have to do is put up a red sign that says three simple words. "Do Not Enter". Americans see that and understand that it's a place they probably shouldn't be going into. Here in Israel a sign saying "ein kenisa" just means that there's probably something cool that they don't want me to see, so I better check it out. Therefore wherever you go around the West Bank the signs there are large, they're in big red bold letters and in three languages and they state.
THIS IS AREA A AND IS FORBIDDEN FOR ISRAELI CITIZENS TO ENTER. ENTRY TO THIS AREA IS AGAINST THE LAW (in case you didn't get that from the first sentence) AND MAY BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR LIVES. (for all of those of you that don't care about the law, but might care about your and your children's lives.)
I heard that they were even thinking of writing that if you go in there they might chop you up into little pieces and burn your babies in ovens as well, but they figured that might just be a bit over the top and may even give some of the residents inside there some ideas- as if they weren't thinking or dreaming about it already.
Well similarly Hashem repeatedly tells us that if we don't kill them all out when we come into the land then they will be thorns in our eyes, they will kill us, they will destroy us and we will not inherit the land. Do you think that worked? The answer is no. We didn't do it. Not in the times of Yehoshua, not in the later kings. We're still not doing it today. We always stopped short it seems by the area of the Philistines. Gaza. Yup. We got the rest of Israel, but seemingly when we got to the Gaza area we backed off. For most of the period of the judges and early kings of Israel that's all we were fighting all day long. Stinking Philistines. What's fascinating is that in the 1600's (right after the period of the ARI in Tzfat the center and largest most important Jewish population of Israel was in Gaza. It wasn't Yerushalayim or Chevron. There was a plague that hit there, but Gaza flourished.
Perhaps our soft stop for Gaza and lack of ability to ever conquer it goes all the way back to Avraham. It's in our DNA. It's the first place Avraham makes a peace treaty with. As well in this week's parsha Yitzchak as well hangs out and lives in Gaza, as his father did before, making it the place our Patriarchs lived and dwelled in the most, right after Chevron. Yitzchak makes the same peace treaties that his father did. He fights the same fights. He digs up all those old wells again and again. Because it seems the Jewish response back then, as it hasn't changed much today, is either to "show them" by coming back and rebuilding again, or running away and giving up the land Hashem promised us. But wiping them all doesn't seem like it even entered our mind as an option. As I said, we're bad at that. We don't want to finish the job. Perhaps we're scared to.
But the truth is that really wasn't what I was planning on writing about when I started this E-Mail. I generally never do. Words just pop out of my holy keyboard. And although we're half way through, I really wanted to touch on another Rashi and the next generation that is introduced in this week's parsha of Toldos; the generations of Yitzchak, as Rashi says, Yaakov and Esau. The two twins that we're soon to be told about that were struggling in the belly of Rivka. Fascinatingly enough though this verse continues instead rather than jumping into the story of the children of Yitzchak, but rather by reiterating that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak. The commentaries tell us that this is because there were those mockers, probably from Harvard and Columbia that were spreading fake news back then that really Yitzchak was a Palestinian and was from Avimelech of Gaza. We kind of do that today a bit as well in the State of Israel by prohibiting Jews from entering the tomb of Yitzchak- besides for a few times a year. We gave it to the Ishmaelites because we don't really believe it belongs to us. Sad face emjoi.
The Klei Yakar though takes a different approach and reads that verse as Avraham is the reason why Yitzchak was able to even have children. It's in Avraham's merit that Yaakov and Esau are born. It's because Yitzchak prayed and Hashem answered the prayers of this tzadik the son of the tzadik rather than to Rivkah's prayer. Nice pshat and cute! Yet on a deeper and even more significant level, which is what I want to discuss, Esau is really our brother. He's a son of Avraham and Yitzchak. Chazal tell us that Esau in fact has the status of a Yisrael mumar- a Jew that perhaps loses his way. He's different than Yishmael, who is the son of Hagar, the maidservant. Esau is a child of Rivkah. He's 100% Avraham and Yitzchak DNA just like Yaakov is. Throughout the Torah Hashem tells us that Esau has an inheritance in Israel, in the Mt. of Seir. He inherits Yitzchak. Throughout the Torah we reach out to him and call him "brother" and are warned not to start up with him. He's one of us.
What's even more startling to most tourists that I share this with is that he's buried in the cave of Machpela. His head is lying there in the arms of Yitzchak. He's in the family plot. That, my friends, is hard to wrap your head around- excuse the pun. Ouch! We know that we don't bury Jews with gentiles, certainly not with wicked people. So, what is this all about? What is our relationship meant to be with Esau? What is it meant to be with his descendants, Edom, or the United States of America?
There's an incredible Rashi that jumped out at me this week. The Torah tells us that when Rivka goes to ask "Hashem" why her children were stomping around in her belly she was told this eternal prophecy that describes the eternal relationship- until Mashiach comes, that will be between us and our brother Esau.
Bereishis( 25:23) We will be two nations and two separate people or regimes from your insides will become separate. And one shall become strong from the other regime and the elder shall serve the younger.
Rashi tells us that what it means when one becomes strong from the other it means
"They won't be equal in greatness. When this one rises the other shall fall, as it says… Tzur/Tyre (descendants of Esau) only became full from the destruction of Jerusalem.".
We're two peas in a pod. Us and Esau and only one of us can be on top. When one rises, the other one falls and vice versa. Yet, the Maharal points out something amazing in Rashi. He notes that Rashi says that when one rises the other falls. Which would seem to say one rises first and then the other one falls. Yet, the proof that Rashi brings is quite the opposite. It says Tzur rises only after Jerusalem falls, which would seem to say that the falling precedes the other one rising. He explains magnificently that they are both true. The only power Esau has to rise is only when we are falling and failing. Yet, Yaakov, Israel rises first. We step up to the base and walla, automatically Rome will burn. It will fall. America will no longer be great. We will. They will serve us. We will tell them who they should fight and when they should stop and not the opposite.
Yet there is a problem. For once the Torah tells us of the birth of the children once again Rashi tells us something amazing. Something that is speaking to us here and now today. And it just jumped right out at me, as the weekly parsha and Rashi are always meant to do.
Ibid (25:26) And afterwards his brother came out and his hand was grasping at the heel of Esau
Rashi- It is a sign that this one will not have a chance to complete his kingship before the other arises and takes it from him.
Does this sound familiar? Can we finish the war or not? Do we have to stop establishing our borders by Gaza and bringing the Shechina down or not? Who's almost there at completing their kingdom? And who is always going to struggle against us from the moment that we are born to try to prevent us from achieving it. We came into this world trying to get out there and bring the glory of Hashem to the universe and our first experience was to be kicked right back down in that womb and not be allowed to come and shine out. Yet fascinatingly something else happened as we were born, in that moment when we were being kicked back down. We reached our hand up and held on to that heel and said we're not letting you shove us down. You're not coming out without us. Your kingship will not be complete. It can't be complete. It's not meant to be. The Jew will always be there at your heel to tell you brother Esau, that we're coming for you. That you're meant to serve us. Because we are serving Hashem. We will finish the job for once. The day of reckoning will come.
V'alu moshi'im b'har tzion l'shpot es har Esau- and the saviors will come from the Mt. of Tzion to judge the mountain of Esau.
V'haysa la'Hashem Ha'Melucha- and then Hashem will have the Kingship
Ba'yom ha'hu- on that great day when we finally do that
Yi'hiyeh Hashem echad u'shmo Echad- Hashem will be One and His name will be One.
Those words Ba'yom ha'hu- on that day, actually appear in our parsha another time as well. Can you guess where? They appear in Gaza. Check it out in the next chapter
(ibid 27:32) and it was ba'yom ha'hu and the servants of Yitzchak told him about the well that they found and they said "we found water".
That "yom ha'hu" follows the "layla ha'hu"- the night before when Avimelech the king of Gaza comes to Yitzchak and tells him that we see Hashem is with you. Gaza becomes frum. He even says "Baruch Hashem". This happens when Yitzchak finally stands up to Avimelech and calls him on all of his lies and all his fake news. "Why are you coming to me. You hate me. You chased me out of here." You said it's not ours. You said from the River to the Sea. You stuffed up all my wells. You destroyed all the hydroponic fields we created and made tunnels instead. You turned our plowshares into swords. When Yitzchak rises up. When we stand up for ourselves, when we don't just cave in, then we can bring forth water. We can reveal the light. The yom ha'hu is coming closer, when we are ready to finish the job.
It is at this point that Yitzchak decides perhaps its finally as well time to bless Esau. It is time for Esau to take his role. Yaakov can rise. Esau will serve him. The world can become complete. It's Pesach time. It is time for redemption. And perhaps it could have even happened ,had Yaakov done what he was supposed to do. Rivkah tells Yaakov to go in and take those brachos from Yitzchak. Accoding to some commentaries, she never shared with Yitzchak that prophecy she received about the younger brother being the one to lead. To rise. To reveal from the other ones downfall. So she told him to go into Yitzchak and to show him that he is worthy of standing up and saying that he is ready to rise. To grab it away from Esau right as Esau's feet and heels left the room. She doesn't say anything about tricking Yitzchak. She doesn't suggest dressing up. She merely tells him to go in and tell Yaakov that the blessings belong to him. That he is the first born of Hashem. That Esau is meant to be following him. That it is time for him to come out of the womb.
Yet, Yaakov then, just like Yaakov us his descendants today are scared. What if it doesn't work. What if Yitzchak curses me? What will the world say? Maybe it's not time yet. Maybe I still have to follow Esau's kingship. Maybe I can't just stand up and say there's one Hashem. The Esau worships idols. That Christianity is stupid. It's idolatry. It's a distortion. That he is not the worlds moral compass, rather that I am. What if I'm not frum enough. What if I can't inspire Esau enough? So he objects. And then Rivkah tells him to then play dress up. To pretend like he's Esau. To act really tough rather than inspiring. To wave his American made missiles and building busters instead of the flag and glory of Hashem. And the day and moment was lost. We're pushed ourselves back down into the womb grasping on to Esau's heel but no wearing his hairy arms. We didn't finish the job. We became Israelis. And our first Exile began.
But the truth is we weren't Israelis back then. We were Yaakov-ites. Because Yisrael/Israel is the name we got when we fought with Esau. We got that when we went up against him at the end of our galus. When we returned to Israel. When we battled with his angel and told him that he couldn't sing praise to Hashem until we gave him permission. We were Yisrael- We got the name that should be in the forefront of our identity. We're not heel Jews, we're fighting battling leading Jews that rule with Hashem. That rule over men. That battle and that the Torah tell us that win. Va'tuchal- that we finish. We close the deal. We birth the ultimate day.
The time has come. History is coming to it's close. As Bnai Yisrael we have to understand something that is so so essential about this parsha and this first prophecy about our birth and our brother. Our job is not to Make America Great Again. In fact, quite the opposite. Israel can only rise when America falls. Ouch! Jerusalem will only be built on the ruins of America. And America will only fall when Israel rises up and tells the world that we are Yisra-El. We are the first born. We are the Chosen nation. You need to see not only that Hashem is imanu- but that you were meant to serve us. It is that way that you will come to Hashem. It is that way that there will be a treaty of peace. It is the only way for the kingship of Hashem to reign. The hand of Yaakov, as Rashi told us needs to swoop up and grab that kingship they are trying to make great again end before it is complete. Then the Yom Ha'hu will finally come. Then the job will finally be finished.
Have a glorious Shabbos and a miraculous month of Kislev
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
" Di greste narishkayt fun a nar iz az er meynt az er is klug.."- The greatest folly of the fool is that he thinks he is smart
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
8. The “Jindas Bridge” was part of a road called_____
Which of the following settlements had a Templer colony?
A) Atlit
B) Safed
C) Zichron Yaakov
D) Jaffa
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1wzuNozYPg – Kislev Song Eli Marcus version of the Rebbe..
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/maoz-tzur – Kislev is here Chanuka is coming up
Doughnuts are being sold and here's Rabbi Schwartz's Maoz Tzur composition- start learning it to get in the mood!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hBDYryWFpqM – Amazing story and song by Reb Shlomo Katz Mechaye Meisim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu5-XP7FPBg – The Bekitzche song that everyone is singing…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Missing Kings- 562 BC- We've mentioned one of the big quandaries of the Jewish calendar and its conflict with the conventional calendar in the past and what is known as the "missing 165 years" between our dating of the destruction of the Temple and its rebuilding whose timeline is given in the seder Olam Rabbah. It's complicated and a lot of ink has been spilled trying to make the two work. Part of that conflict as well is the difference between our kings of Bavel and the historical kings mentioned in Babylonian history that has much supporting evidence to it. This plays out here in our story with the accounting of the years of rule of Evil Merodach the son of Nevuchadnezzar.
According to the book of Daniel and Chazal we only have three kings. Nevuchadnezzar, his son Avel Merodach and Belshatzar, who we will get to next week. The entire exile is 70 years. Babylonian history though names 3 other kings in between. There are different approaches here as well how to resolve it. Rav Schwab's original approach is that part of this blending of kings and years is to hide the eventual secrets of the time of the redemption. Others suggest that perhaps these other kings which only served for shorter periods of time were still under the influence and reign of Evil Merodach.
One last issue as well is how long the reign of Merodach was? Chazal and the Navi seem to give him a long reign of 23 years, while secular sources seem to say he was murdered after two and Belshatzar reigned for 17 years rather then what we attribute it to as being only 3 years.
All in all the take I have from all of this is, that things get confusing in galus. King come and go. Who is really ruling and who isn't is not always clear. When it starts and when it will end as well is all Babylonian to me. We need to get back to Eretz Yisrael. It's time for the galus to be over.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE AMERICAN JOKES OF THE WEEK
If someone who speaks two languages is bilingual, and someone who speaks many languages is multilingual, then what do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.
How many Americans does it take to fill the Grand Canyon? 4.
Why are Americans so uneducated? Because they shoot all the ones who go to school
Knock knock?
Who’s there?
9/11.
9/11 who?
You said you would never forget…
What’s the difference between a computer and an American? An American doesn’t have trouble-shooting.
What do you call a worker in America that will work hard for reasonable pay and never whine? An immigrant.
What’s the difference between Americans and the engines of the El Al plane on which they travel here on? After they land, the engines of the jets quit whining.
Transcript of a radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995, as released by the Chief of Naval Operations:
Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees the North to avoid a collision.
Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.
Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN, THAT’S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.
Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.
An American couple is driving through Canada and stops at a gas station to fuel up. As the man goes into the station to pay, his wife calls out to him, “Ask them where we are!”
So the husband walks in, pays, and asks, “By the way, where are we?”
The attendant answers, “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.”
The man goes back to his car and the wife asks, “Where are we?”
“He doesn’t speak English” replies the husband.
An American was telling one of his favorite jokes to a group of friends. “Hell is a place where the cooks are British, the waiters are French, the policemen are Germans, and the trains are run by Italians.”
The lone European in the group pondered all this for a second and responded, “I can’t say about the police and the trains, but you’re probably right about going out to eat. A restaurant in Hell would be one where the cooks are British and the waiters are French – and the customers are all Americans.”
Why did the American bring a ladder to the bar? Because they heard the drinks were on the house!
Why did the American bring a suitcase to the restaurant? They heard it was an “all-you-can-eat” buffet!
I’m American, and I’m sick of people saying America is “the stupidest country in the world.” Personally, I think Europe is the stupidest country in the world.
What’s the difference between an American and an Israeli? To an Israeli 100 miles is a long way. To an American, 100 years is a long time
A young Mexican man was curious about America so he snuck across the border. He wanted to go see a baseball game so when he went home, he could tell his family all about it. When he got there, the game was sold out, so he decided to climb to the top of a flag pole to get a better look. When he returned home, his family was anxious to hear about his experience:
“What happened?” asked his family.
“Well, America is the nicest place in the world!!” he said. “Before the game started, all the people in the stands and all the players stood up, looked at me, and said, “Jose, can you see?”
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The answer to this week's question is D – Ok. Now I'm on a losing streak. Got both wrong this week again. I told you Islam and Mamaluks are not my strong point. I guessed the bridge was connected to road to Jordan and Hejazi railroad because I thought I remembered a Baibers period bridge there. But I was wrong. This brige is by Lod and was connected to the Mail road. The seond one also I got wrong. I thought it was the Crusader fortress Apoliana near Atlit. The correct answer was Atlit. Well I'm still passing grade, but better get some right soon and back to my winning streak. So the new score is Rabbi Schwartz having a 5 point and the MOT having 3 point on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.
