Our Worst Enemy- Parshat Behar Bechukosai 5785 2025

Insights and Inspiration from the Holy Land from Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz "Your friend in Karmiel" May 23rd 2025 -Volume 14 Issue 28 25th of Iyar 5785   Parshat Behar- Bechukosai  Our Worst Enemy   So what are your hobbies? Are you into sports? Do you like hiking, biking, collecting postage stamps, reading? My father likes shopping in Target. My wife likes scrap-booking. Most Jews are foodies. Personally I like music; composing and singing, although there are many that would like to see me take up a new hobby, particularly those that suffer through my Shabbos table compositions. I also like writing; in case you didn't notice. But as Rav Kook once brilliantly said, he writes not because he knows how, it's because he can't remain silent anymore. This week's E-Mail is one of those writings for me. Although the truth is most weeks really are.   It seems, from what I understood and heard in the media, that our Israeli soldiers also seem to have developed a new hobby, that I was until this week clueless about. According to Yair Golan, a former major General in Israeli Army, and former Economy Minister our soldiers like to kill Palestinian babies for fun. Nice. I wonder if he meant to say that we take their blood for our matzos on Pesach as well. Isn't it great the way that Jewish blood libels work? Yet, it would seem that if that is what their hobby is, they don't seem to be very good at it. Certainly not good enough for my liking. Maybe they need to find a new one.   Now if it was just this antisemitic Israeli loser-who by the way is a Harvard graduate, surprise-surprise- it would be one thing. But joining the chorus of self-hating Jews and Israelis is no less of a figure then the former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert, who fantastically got on the BBC to explain to the world how what Israel is doing in Gaza clearly falls under the category of International War Crimes. It seems whenever we defend ourselves and don't just walk passively into a gas chamber or a Kibbutz oven while singing soulfully Ani Maamin it's a problem and crime. Now if he was accusing Israel of fraud, bribery and corruption, then I think he should be taken seriously. After-all the man is the expert on those subjects having served time in Israeli prisons for those offenses that he committed while he was in office, after selling out Israel in both the Lebanon war and the second Gaza War against Chamas, pretty much leaving them both alone so that we could thank him for October 7th. It's nice when a former Prime Minister whose approval level reached the 3% level, the lowest in our country's history gets up publicly and tells us what we we're doing wrong.   Yet, that seems to be the way of many former loser Prime Ministers of Israel. Hello Ehud Barak, the man who was willing to hand over most of Jerusalem to Yasser Arafat including the Temple Mount and make it the capital of Palestine and who was once quoted as saying that if he were a Palestinian he would be a terrorist. He forgot to mention that as well if he were a Palestinian he wouldn't be living in a 25 million shekel house in Tel Aviv or hanging out with Jeffery Epstien's chevra in NY. Well, while most of Israel sanefully condemned this guy Golan, Barak praised him as a brave man that speaks truth that needs to be heard. With all of this support, who needs the UN to condemn us. Why be worried about George Soros, another great lover of dead Jews, when we have our own haters here. Who said Israel can't do it just as good as anyone else? Is it any wonder that the next day, Canda, France and England all called in their Israeli ambassadors and are talking about sanctioning us. That two Embassy workers in the US are shot by a lunatic. That 40% of the worlds antisemitic crimes are in the United States the largest amount in the world according to the latest study I just saw. Why should anyone not hate Israel and the Jews if we hate ourselves so much?   Now this is not a new phenomenon in our history. We have always been our worst enemies. Yes, wars, horrors, tragedies, our enemies and October 7th brings us all together and unify our nation for a minute or two. Yet at the same time and as these things shlep out what happens is that we turn against each other. We point fingers. We even pathetically justify our enemy's hatred of us. The German "enlightened" Jews did that to the poor old-fashioned "ghetto" Jews of Poland. The besser mentchen of Hungary did as well. The original sabras of Israel would make fun of the European refugees and called them "soap" (you can figure out that one on your own) and scorned them for being "sheep to the slaughter". There were Jews that converted to Christianity in Spain and Torquemada the grand inquisitor himself was Jewish. During the period of the Crusades and various expulsions many Jews even debated great Rabbis and were behind the burning and censorship of the Talmud. Most of Stalin's rabidly anti-religious communists politburo were Jews and the Yevsektsiya was the Jewish section of that party, who went after their co-religionists with an atheistic zeal that only Jews can have for one another.   This sickness though, isn't just the last millennia. It goes back to the Roman period when Jews fought and killed one another in the Bar Kochva revolt and in the period before the destruction of the Temple as well. Earlier in the story of Chanuka its estimated that Hellenized Jews were 20% of the Greek army that the Maccabees fought against. Hellenism is "Harvard"-ism in today's modern lexicon. It happened in the first temple period, it happened back in Egypt. Again and again and again… yes, my friends we really really are our worst enemy. We always have been, and we never seem to learn. It seems to be our eternal depressing curse. And as this week's parsha tells us, and that I never really noticed before, this is not just a metaphor. It really is a curse. The curse of Hashem.   Parshat Behar and Bechukosai are the last parshiyot of the book of Vayikra. The book that started off with Hashem calling to Moshe, lovingly, with the Mishkan being built, with the sacrifices to come close to Hashem, with the purification from all of our impurities, sins and mistakes, ends with the horrific curses and foreboding doom that awaits us if we don't "walk" in the laws and mitzvos of Hashem. If we do not toil in his Torah. If we remove Him from our lives. From our land. From our home. If we live lives as it happens to us, rather than understanding that we are a nation with a purpose, with a role, with a mandate. Then Hashem will reciprocate in kind and the world, our world, will fall apart. The curses will replace the blessings that we were meant to experience and bring.   The curse, punishment or perhaps the best word is the consequence of our not following the mitzvos that jumped out at me this week though was this verse right in the beginning   Vayikra 26:17- And I will place My face upon you, and you will be smitten by your enemies and your haters will subjugate you and you will flee and there will be no one pursuing you.   Who are the enemies and who are haters? So Rashi tells us the enemies, which it mentions on the blessing side of the coin as running from just a few of us, are the nations that come to attack us. The haters though, which are only mentioned in the curses that will rule over us, those are   Mikem and bachem- they are the ones from us that will come up against us. "I only give rise to haters from amongst you". For when the nations of the world, the Gentiles, Amalek and Midian when they come to attack us only going for the things out the in the open. They burn down our fields and crops. Our own homegrown enemies, though, they go over the hidden treasures. They knew where the true value is and go for the gold.   There's only so much damage, the verse and the curse seems to imply that a goy can do to us…. The real damage though is only what we can inflict upon ourselves. It's the homegrown Jewish terrorist supporters and Torah haters, that we have to really watch out for. Those are the real tzoris…. We may think that we are fleeing and being chased by our enemies… but that's not the real problem. The problem is us.   This parsha and these curses are always read before the holiday of Shavuos, just as the curses and Mussar of the book of Devarim given by Moshe are read before Rosh Hashana. The Talmud tells us its because Shavuos is also a new year. It's the new year when Hashem judges the fruits of the tree. Now I imagine when we read these scary verses before Rosh Hashana it gets us kind of nervous. Judgement day is coming. Who will live and who will die are here. The books are opened. We've had a whole month of Elul to get ready. Anyone feeling any of that now? Or are you just thinking about all night learning sessions and blintzes? And you Americans I imagine are thinking about the like 4 day Yom tov coming up… (Yeah, Friday and Shabbos is Erev's and then Sunday is another Erev for the two day following Yom Tov on Monday and Tuesday. It's worth it to make Aliyah just to avoid that…). Judgement day for trees doesn't really speak to me though. I'm more of a meat and potato man myself, Pizza and Pasta work as well. Sure I like oranges and apples, but I'm not really that trepidated for this judgement day. If there would be a judgement day for my car making it through the year, that would be of more concern for me. So what's with this whole pre- Shavuot curses?   Now the truth is the word curses is really not the word our sages utilize for these parshiyot. The word they use is the Tochacha- rebuke, or perhaps more accurately the showing and proving of the proper path. Tochiach in Hebrew is "to prove". Hochacha is a proof. Fascinatingly enough this concept of tochacha is a mitzva that we learned a few weeks ago in the parsha of Kedoshim. Hochayach tochayach amisecha- A Jew is obligated to rebuke and set straight his friend. If not the Torah tells us then we bear his sin. That idea interestingly enough is based on another concept, again another one that we are familiar with. Rashi even mentions it in our parsha and fascinatingly enough is that it is not only in this tochacha but specifically in the piece that talks about our enemies from within.   The verse repeats this curse of running when there's no one there a few verses later.   (ibid; 27) And each man will stumble in their brother as if from a sword and there is none pursuing them  and they will not be able to arise from before their enemies.   Rashi there notes, that the verse states that a man will stumble in their brother, rather then "on" or "with" or "from"our brother. Our sages derive from this that each man stumbles in the sin of their brother. For Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la zeh- each Jew is a guarantor and responsible for one another.   His sin is my sin. I'm punished and cursed because I am his guarantor. When I have an enemy from within me attacking me, maligning me, destroying me, then I shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that its coming from the outside. It's from the UN, from Hamas, from Iran, from the EU, or from the ICC. We're running from the wrong things if that's what our assumption is. They're not there. It's the sins of my brother that are considered my sins that are the problem. All the missiles, Iron Domes, negotiations and peace agreements won't heal the cancer from within. Because we are all in one boat with a hole in it,  Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai teaches us,and as long as one guy is drilling in it all the horse power we put into our engine is not gonna get us out the ocean we will drown in.   Rav Kook has a fascinating halachic chakira- not sure how to translate that, but perhaps a halachic exposition, a brisker klehr if you will. He notes that there is a mitzva of giving rebuke and there is a concept as well of us being responsible for one another; of us being one. He asks which is the point and which is process? What's the chicken and what's the egg? Is the goal that we should all be doing the right thing and following the mitzvos, and thus the way that we make that happen is by each one taking responsibility for one another and rebuking and correcting one another and making sure we all are following the will of Hashem. Or perhaps he suggests, and ultimately proves according to many sources, that it's exactly the opposite. The point is that we should be united. The point is that we should all feel sense of responsibility for one another. That we understand that as long as one Jew isn't doing what he's supposed to than I myself am not complete. That I'm missing my arm, my leg. That I'm not really walking in the path of Hashem as long as he is not beside me. That the shechina is not going to come down to the world as long as he is left behind. That he's not doing what he's supposed. As long as my sister or brother or father is still a hostage in Gaza. As long as my son is still serving in Gaza or Lebanon. Our family is not complete. I'm not complete.   The mitzva of tochacha, of me rebuking him and bringing him close is not about getting him to do the right thing, it's about me developing that sense of responsibility that I'm lacking with him. It's not that he is the enemy from within. It's that I am that same enemy as well, as long as I don't bring him close, that I don't succeed in giving my tochacha.   There was twice in our history when we were all united in one place and with one heart and when the shechina came down. The first was on Shavuot when we stood on Sinai. We were one man and one heart and we accepted our mandate to bring Hashem's light to this world as one. The second was less then a year later on Yom Kippur when Moshe came down with those second tablets and told us we were forgiven for our sin of the golden calf. That we learned that despite the fact that only a small portion of us sinned yet we were all held accountable. That forgiveness and teshuva are possible when we all unite together, when we mourn together, when we tell Hashem that we want to see Him together. We want him to dwell amongst us. It is with that story that the book of Shemos concluded and that the book of Vayikra began. And it is with the reminder and consequences of us not living up to that the book concludes.   The AR"I and the kabbalists explain that the judgement of the trees is whether mankind, we the nation of Hashem, will repair the sin of that original tree of knowledge back in the garden when Hashem walked with Adam. The tree was perhaps the first to sin when Hashem created it by not producing a tree that's bark tasted like the tree. It was an eitz oseh pri and not an eitz pri- A tree that bore fruit and not a fruit tree. There was a disconnect. It wasn't one. Mankind's job is to unite the universe. To bring it back to that state of Oneness without any disconnect. To do that we need to be one. We need to be one with each other and we need to be one with the land of Israel from where that spirit and light shines out to the world.   Do you know what Shemitta has to do with Mt. Sinai, as Rashi asks in the beginning of the parsha. Shemitta is all of the details, specifics and nuances that relate to revealing the light of Hashem in His land. Sinai is revealing that same light and oneness that is in each and every Jew. All our klaloseihem, and prataoseha- our nuances, our differences, our opinions, our light. They are all one. They are all Hashem. They are all in the Garden.   Ezra decreed that we read this tochacha before Rosh Hashana/ Yom Kippur and before Shavuos to remind us of that arvus that we possess. To tell us that when we are not functioning as one then nothing will function right. Creation is broken. There's famine, there's no rain, there are no crops, there's plague, there's death, there's destruction, there's Holocausts and there's October 7th and wars in Gaza and enemies around the world that will come and destroy us. If we are not one and take that responsibility for our brother then they will naturally become our enemies from within, that will seek the hidden treasures. They will seek the soul that is lacking. They will look for that spark that we their more knowledgeable and observant brothers have hidden from them. Hidden, because we have written them off. Hidden, because we called them our sonim- our enemies. Because we've made them and allowed them to become our enemies, by not feeling and understanding enough that they are our arms, our legs, and our only way to reveal the shechina in the world. And that we are not complete without them.   Our world is in turmoil today. We're moving faster and faster to our redemption. We've seen the blessings, the return to the land, the flourishing of its crops in its once desolate ground, the miraculous fall of our enemies and ameilus in Torah like never before. We even merited to experience the return to Yerushalayim in this week's 68th anniversary of the Six Day war on Yom Yerushalayim. Sixty Eight is Chas. It is Hashem having mercy upon us. Chas V'Shalom, mercy and peace. Peace from within and peace from without. He is only waiting for us to read and internalize that tochacha. If we are able to, then by this year Shavuot we will once again merit to stand as one man with one heart and walk together in Gan Eden with Hashem.   Have an amazing Shabbos and a blessed Chodesh Sivan Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz  ************************ YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK   " Vos der mentsh ken alts ibertrachten, ken der ergster soineh im nitvintshen." .- What a man thinks up for himself, his worst enemy couldn’t wish for him. RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK answer below at end of Email   19. The annual amount of precipitation below which a geographical area is defined as a desert is ______ mm. Which of the following facts about the Israel Trail is true? A. The trail passes through northern Samaria B. The trail was designed so that its sections connect settlements C. Its southern start or end point is the Eilat beach D. The trail is marked in white-orange-white colors RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buiNbNUqB2g -   In honor of Rosh Chodesh bentching this beautiful song by Pesach Eidenson and Dudi Kalish Yechadshehu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rljpmmmux94 – The latest hilarious Bardak, brilliant yeshivish wedding dance… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC0_R6pbgaA  - Mordechai Shapiro's latest Trying my Best… sounds great… Part I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCShKilDjNY  – Getting into Shavuos Mode with Zanvil's latest Bonai Chavivai   https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/kad-yasvun  – Which of course is not as good as my Kad Yasvun composition with vocals and arrangements by the one and only Dovid Lowy! RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK 589 BC -False Hopes- With the siege on Yerushalayim one would think that the hearts of the nation would be broken and would try to repent. In fact, Tzidkiyahu the king even makes the people take an oath that they would free all of their Jewish slaves that they were working. This week's Torah portion tells us how that was forbidden, and how there is a mitzva to free slaves after 7 years. The people even listened for a bit, but then went right back to sinning again and taking those Jewish slaves back. The parsha this week of Behar and Bechukosai tells us of the curses and destruction that will follow and guess what? It did… There were even some that made golden calves once again, the prophet Yirmiyahu tells us. Whether this is a metaphor or not is of discussion, but certainly the concept is that we created false gods that we thought we could rely on. What were they? The Talmud tells us that Israel felt they had great warriors. One guy could even stand on the wall and chuck the missiles right back at them. He was our "Iron Dome" and even better as it threw the missiles right back at them. Yet, when we continued to sin, Hashem threw him off the wall. We also had the cousin of Yirmiyahu named Chanamel who thought he could invoke the names of the angels which he knew personally to come down from heaven and help them. The only problem is Hashem changed their names and then he was useless as well. Perhaps that as well is a good metaphor that spiritual metaphysical solutions are also not there to save us. But perhaps the last great hope was our "friends" amongst the nations. Tzidkiyahu sent messengers to Egypt and asked them to come join and fight with us against our "common enemy" Bavel/Iran. Hey does that sound eerily familiar? Calling other nations, even perhaps arab nations to our side against the common enemy in Iran. Egypt even sent boatloads of soldiers to save us. Yet, once again never count on the nations to be there for us. What does Hashem do? He brought up the dead bodies of the ancient Egyptians that perished when we left Egypt about 800 years prior or so. The Egyptians saw them from their boats, they remembered their hatred from us and they turned around and went home. Israel was alone. There was only Hashem in heaven that could save us. He wanted us to just repent and find Him. Yet, it is there false hopes and avoidance of Teshuva that ultimately led to our downfall. RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TRAITOR JOKES OF THE WEEK   A CIA Agent, KGB spy and Mossad agent were sent to infiltrate a terrorist cell. The terrorists figured out the three were infiltrators and thus captured them.The terrorists decided to torture the three infiltrators. They started with the CIA agent. “Do not worry, for I have been trained in the United State’s most insidious enhanced interrogation techniques and how to resist them.” They heard the agent crying for around 10 minutes before he was tossed back in the cell, bloodied and bruised. “I failed. I told them everything I knew.” Next, the terrorists came for the KGB spy. “Comrades, there is nothing to fear. For our glorious cause, I have survived in the most dangerous areas of the Motherland, and will not fail!” Once again, screams reached the cell. But the KGB agent lasted only 30 minutes. Afterwards, he was tossed back in the cell with several broken bones. “Comrades, I am ashamed to admit that I have betrayed the glorious Motherland and divulged all manners of secrets.” Finally, the terrorists came for the Mossad agent. With his head resigned, knowing that members of the two greatest spy agencies failed, he was unsure as to how he would survive. The torture started. Screams concern again echoed within the cell. But they didn’t soon cease. 10 minutes passed, then a half hour, then hours. Throughout that night, the torture continued. It went on for an entire week, but it didn’t seem that the Mossad agent would break. When the week was up, the terrorists tossed a very broken man back in the cell. The KGB and CIA agents were surprised. “How did you last so long?” Through a mouth of broken teeth and blood, the Mossad agent replied. “I tried to tell them everything, but my hands were tied.”   An FBI chief is informed there is a traitor in his staff. He decides to test 3 agents he suspects. He loads his gun with blanks and then calls them in to his office. He sits down the first agent and asks him: Chief: "Are you a patriot?" Agent: "Yes sir, I am." Chief: "Do you love more, your country or your family?" Agent: "My country sir!" Chief: "Alright, take this gun and head into that room. Inside waiting is your wife and you need to kill her with this gun." The agent gently picks up the gun off the table and walks into the room. One minute of silence later and the agent returns with a defeated look on his face. Agent: "I can't do it sir, I don't have what it takes." Chief: "You are dismissed." The same line of questioning repeats with the next agent. The agent then picks up the gun and walks in the room where his wife is waiting. Three minutes pass without a sound being made. He returns with an angry look and says: Agent: "I won't do it sir, this isn't right." Chief: "You are dismissed." Next agent comes and the same line of questioning is repeated. He grabs the gun and walks into the room where his wife is waiting. Not five seconds pass and you hear BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Then some loud banging, things falling over, grunts and heavy breathing followed by a faint squeal and finally complete silence. The agent returns with his clothes wrinkled and his hair messed up. He puts the now empty gun on the table and says: Agent: "Sir, for some reason the gun fired blanks so I had to strangle her."   Why did the traitor wear two watches? Because he's a two timer.   Why did Lenin mark the names of traitors with? at the end? Because they question Marx   Berel, John and Achmed were sentence to death by a firing squad because of treason to the state. Berel was the first up. the general gave the command to his soldiers to shoot. “Ready..Aim...” Then Berel suddenly shouted “EARTHQUAKE!!” All the soldiers hid for cover and Ben escaped. John was next. “Ready...Aim...” Then John Screamed “TSUNAMI!!” The soldiers hid for cover again and they lost John as well. The last was Achmed. “Ready...Aim...” Then Achmed suddenly shouted “FIRE!”   What do you call a traitor who is deaf in one ear? A mute-in-ear   Where is Benedict Arnold's favorite place to shop for groceries? Traitor Joe's Why did the traitor wear two watches? Because he's a two timer. What did the jungle bird say to his friend after being betrayed? "Toucan play this game..." Oyyy… *************************************** The answer to this week”s question is C-  Ok after a lousy streak here, things are finally starting to pick up, as I got this one right. A desert in Israel is not made out of sand as I point out to my tourists. It's also not a place that's barren. In fact in the Torah we find that it is a good place to graze animals, which a desert certainly isn't. Rather a midbar is more like a wilderness and is defined by the lack of rainfall there, which is really only a few days a year and less than 200 mm of water. The second part of the question was also pretty easy as the Israel trails runs across the country from Tel Dan in north to the shore of Eilat. It's not a straight line but rather goes to historical and beautiful nature sites and is a few months. Soooo I finally got both right picking up my score to now Rabbi Schwartz 12 Ministry of Tourism 7 on this exam so far, which should me back in passing range.

Virtual Living- Parshat Korach 2020/5780

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

June 19^th 2020 -Volume 10 Issue 35 27^th Sivan 5780

Parshat Korach

 (Shelach outside of Israel for last week's Shelach click below)\

(https://holylandinsights.blogspot.com/2020/06/hypothetical-questions-parshat-shelach.html)

or previous years

(https://holylandinsights.blogspot.com/2017/06/eitza-gebbers-shelach-20175777.html)

Virtual Living

So, it's been 3 months and 10 days since I 've had a tour. Baruch Hashem, He's sent me some parnasah in some alternate miraculous ways in the meantime. But I miss touring around Israel. There are other guides that are using this down time to do some of their own running around checking out new spots and building up their repertoire. Some are even doing little posts on Facebook and the more advanced are offering virtual Zoom tours. I've had a few requests for some of those. I even tried one. Ehh… not for me. I can barely figure out how to take a selfie. How do you hold and angle the phone and manage to get all of your face in and smile at the same time...anyways? I think it's for people that have smaller faces than me. As well, I find touring around the country all alone without you guys to be kind of depressing. It's not as exciting. It's like eating a pareve chulent. It's got the beans, barley and potatoes but its missing the meat and kishka. That would be my enthusiastic tourists that are oohing and ahhing about everything. Laughing at my jokes, eating up my inspiration and insights and even believing all my bubbeh meisehs. The real nice ones even pretend to enjoy my music that I play for them. Yeah… without you it's just pareve chulent.

Yet at the same time I feel bad for you guys. See as much as I want you here, I know you want to be here as well with me. You're the ones missing out on the inspiration of Israel and that's just not fair. So being not just a tour guide, but a Rabbi and fellow Jew that appreciates your enthusiasm and desire, I try to do my best to give you those tastes of our Israel tours. Baruch Hashem, Mishpacha has been featuring some of my tour write-ups with some great photographers of the sites I visit for you. Actually last week I just did my first video tour for them of the Judean Desert and Ein Gedi hike for you. I even got on a camel, which I never do, just so you can vicariously tour through me. I don't think the camel appreciated it as much as you will though. I can't wait to see when that comes out. Don't worry I'll let you know.

Now I know it's still not the real thing. I guess it's a pareve chulent for you guys too. But there is something to be said about one Jew living vicariously through another. In fact, it's the essence of the entire Torah. See how I did that there J… Let's take a look at this week's parsha and figure out how Rabbi Schwartz, your favorite tour-guide and writer managed to sneak that one in.

So the parsha is called Korach. Can you guess who the parsha is about? You got it! Korach. Now that seems strange to name a parsha after a wicked person. A Jew who rebelled against Moshe; challenging the kehuna of Aharon as being nepotistic, rather than divinely ordained. Hashem literally opened up the ground and swallowed the man alive with his wife, kids and all his belongings. Nobody ever before or after got punished like that. So why go and name a parsha after him?

The answer, some suggest, is that Korach had divine aspirations. It wasn't just about honor. His rebellion came from a true desire to serve Hashem in the way that he felt he could most do that. He wanted to be the Kohen Gadol. He wanted to get as close to Hashem as a flesh and blood human could. Not just because it's cool or glorious, but because it was the deepest desire of his holy neshoma that came from under the Kisey HaKavod, Hashem's holy throne. It's the desire of every Jewish neshoma in fact. We don't really feel that way, because frankly we're not as holy or as spiritually in tune as Korach was. He wasn't small chulent potatoes. He got the heads of the Sanhedrin, the greatest sages, to back him up and join his team and it wasn't by force of his incredible charisma either. It was because they knew he was a holy person and his desires were sincere. He was just wrong.

The Mei Marom, (I told you I really love this sefer of Rav Yakov Moshe Charlap Z"L) takes this even a step further. He explains with his penetrating insight, that if Korach had such a desire then it was in fact something that was realistically achievable. A person doesn't desire something that he doesn't really believe he ever has a chance of achieving. I never dream of having Arnold Schwarzenegger's body, despite the similarities in the first part of our last names. That's about as close as it gets. It ain't ever happening, so I don't even dream of it. I do wish I could get back down to where I could see my toes when I step on a scale though…That's achievable. At least my wife thinks it is for me. If Korach and if in fact all of us have an innate desire to be the Kohen Gadol and enter into the holy of holies it must really be something that is achievable. Hashem built us with that drive. How can we realize it?

The answer, he reveals, is through a virtual tour. Boom! And there you have it. See, every Jew is connected to one another. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la'zeh. We are all obligated in 613 commandments. Yet, there are some mitzvos that only a man can do and not a woman. There are some that only first-borns can do. There are some that only those that live in Israel are lucky enough to have and there are some that only Kohanim and Levi'im can fulfill. So how can we do all 613?

The answer is that if we feel and appreciate that we are all connected. We are all one body and we all have one shared national soul. Then when someone else does that mitzva it is as if I am doing it. When I make a blessing and you recite Amen, it's as if you have recited the blessing. We are bonded. When the men fulfill their mitzvos, the women are fulfilling that mitzva as well by being connected to that man and vice versa. And when the Kohen Gadol goes into the Holy of Holies, it's like all of us are entering there together with him. We are virtually fulfilling our mitzvos and literally standing there even though are bodies are far far away, perhaps even in a different country. But our souls are connected with his. In the words of Rav Charlap, he is our right hand and we are the left hand of the same body.

Korach couldn't accept this. He wanted to be the right hand. He separated himself from the rest of the body in doing so. And he was a dead limb that just got swallowed up and buried in the earth.

I saw an amazing story this week. About the person that perhaps best represented this idea of love and connection to every Jew. There are those Jews –me not being one of them- that have a thing for going to Eastern Europe to visit the graves and tombs of the great Rabbis- or perhaps more commonly Rebbes, that are still buried there. This is not my thing, I've got enough holy graves here in the Holy land to daven by, and don't feel the need to give those farshtunkeneh Europeans goyim and peasants a nickel more of my limited tourist money. But if there was one grave I wouldn't mind visiting it would be the great Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. (I know you guys thought I would say Rebbi Nachman in Uman- he would be second-but that's mostly for the party there not the prayers. No one does it like the Breslavers). Reb Levi Yitzchak was known as the advocate of the Jewish people. His love for any Jew and his way of always finding the positive outlook for them fill hundreds of books that I've read and that have been my inspiration. I would daven there.

Well it seems that recently- like this past week recently, they were doing renovations on his tomb, which is generally like most Rebbe's within a small little building to protect it from the elements called an Ohel. It turns out that as they were digging, they discovered the original graves of the great Rabbi and his children. The problem was it wasn't where the tombstones were placed, rather they were right underneath the floor of where everyone would be standing when they would come pray. Now as you may be familiar and can imagine, it's not nice to step on people graves. Certainly not to dance on them, which I'm sure plenty of people that came to pray there have done when they finished their prayers. You know the Breslavers did for sure. Can you imagine the horror of knowing that you have been walking and stepping on top of the grave of the buried sage?

Well, it seems that there has been another discovery simultaneously to this first revelation. For there is this Rabbi who is a direct descendant of Reb Levi Yitzchak that came about 7 years ago to visit his tomb. Yet, when he arrived there was something inside of him that prevented him from going in the actual Ohel to pray. So he stayed outside. For reasons not given it seems that this Rabbi decided to spend the entire night there praying…Again not something I would recommend. Yet at some point he fell asleep and he said that in his dream Reb Levi Yitzchak visited him and asked him why he was not coming in. (I quote from Matzav.com where I saw this story).

“My child,” the tzaddik called out, “Why don’t you come into the Ohel?”

“Zeide, I can’t bring myself to come in! I feel that you are not buried where they say you are!”

Rav Levi Yitzchak drew close and said: “I want you to know that it is true. I am not buried where they say I am. I am buried directly underneath the center of the Ohel. My child, all the yidden walk over me. I love it, my child! I love it more than anything in the world! Yidden are coming to visit me, precious Yidden! And I have the opportunity to hold them up! Look how many Yidden I am holding up! Please bring more! Bring more and more and more…!”

The words “more and more” echoed louder and louder and the tzaddik danced away. The Rav awoke from his dream in the darkness of the Berditchover Beis HaChayim, shaken. For the past seven years, he wondered about that dream. Until this week…

There are some people that are living up here on this world, that feel that they need to have it all. They need to have what others have. They, need to be "The" ones. They can't appreciate that they can rejoice and experience through their connections with others. They can become even more spiritual and greater as they do that. For they are removing the exterior that divides us and connecting with the souls that unite us; The one soul that is from Hashem. That inability removes them from this world. Our sages tell us there are three things that remove a person from this world. Kina'ah- jealousy, ta'ava- the pursuit of physical pleasures, v'kavod- honor. All three of these drives make the focus of life all about oneself. It views others as mere tools to further one's personal ambitions. And if that's what life is all about, you've already been swallowed by the ground.

At the same time there are others like the great Reb Levi Yitzchak who even from the grave is focused on the connection he has with all Jews. How he can help them. How he is indeed even living through them. Dancing with them. Revealing the glory of Hashem as part of them. Virtually.

Tzadikim, we are told even in their deaths are considered living. And reshaim- the wicked in their lives are considered dead. Our souls are eternal. And if that's what defines us we are truly immortal. We can live even if we're not here. We can tour even if we're in America.

I miss you guys. I hope to see you here soon. But until that time. As we continue to think. To pray. To hope and to long as one, God willing Hashem will answer those prayers and bring us all physically together here as one… forever.

Have an effervescent Shabbos and a marvelous Rosh Chodesh Tamuz,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

" Azoy lang der mentsh lebt iz im di gantse velt tsu kleyn; nokhn toyt iz im der keyver genug."- As long as a man lives, the entire world is too small for him; after death, the grave is big enough.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email
 

32) The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was in the year:

A. 1993

2. 1994
3. 1995
4. 1996

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://mishpacha.com/the-stars-join-the-fun/ – Mishpacha magazines Corona song spoofs with the stars Simcha Leiner, Benny Friedman and more...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJzEqTD2X7Y&list=RDNJzEqTD2X7Y&start_radio=1-    - Nissim Black – Mothaland bounce… I am not a rap fan… But I just love watching Nissim… We're friends nowJ

https://youtu.be/6yVCZ65aXaE?list=TLPQMTgwNjIwMjCOEDhILnlSHA  -Shlomo Carlebach on Parshat Shelach- for all you guys reading it this week- great story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5pfmzg_nNw – The Berditchever Niggun known to bring Segulos with great footage of his tomb..oh and of course sung by Shlomo Carlebach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hUSjpFz5e4- Just stumbled on this awesome Yackov Shwekey song Elokai Oz the words composed by the Ari"Zl absolutely magnificent and appropriate for a refuah Shlaima… worth the listen … a few times

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/MITZVA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Korach-Pidyon Ha'Ben- redeeming the First-born son –We have many mitzvos that are meant to recall our Exodus from Egypt. Last week we talked about Tzitzis, we have tefillin, every Shabbos and of course all of the Pesach mitzvos and all the biblical holidays for that matter. There is one mitzva though that seems to be the basis of them all and that most people don't even connect it with naturally. It's not a common mitzva at all. Let's learn a little bit about Pidyon Ha'ben.

In the beginning of the whole Exodus story Hashem tells Moshe that the point of it all is that the Jewish people are His "first borns" and he reveal that to the world when he kills Pharaoh's first-born if he doesn't let His people he was keeping as slaves free. Now Hashem doesn't really have physical first-borns in our religion. All of the world are His children and descended from Adam. First-Born is a conceptual thing. The first-born is the oldest of the children. On the one hand he is not a parent, and on the other hand all the other children look up to him as he is the most "parent" figure of them all. He is the intermediary between the children and parents. That is the role of the first-born and that is Bnai Yisrael's role in this world.

In the Bais Hamikdash the original plan was that the first-borns would be the ones that did the service. They were meant to be the Kohanim The intermediaries between each family and Hashem. They lost it when they sinned at the golden calf. According to some opinions in the Talmud we (yes, I'm a bechor) might get that back again when Mashiach comes. But in the meantime, the Torah gives us a mitzva to remember this sanctity of the first born and redeem each first-born son from the Kohen. For the Kohen is doing his job and filling his place.

The laws of Pidyon Haben is that the first-born son a woman by natural birth obligates the father of that child to redeem him for 5 shekels. Not the modern day shekel of course, but rather the ancient shekel which is valued at 100 grams of silver (according to today's rate that is about $56). If the father is a Kohen or a Levi then there is no need to redeem him. The redemption ceremony should be done after the 30^th day of the child's being born. We wait the 30 days to make sure the child has made it through the viable period since his birth. If the 31^st falls out on Shabbos or other days when it is prohibited to handle money, then it is pushed off to the next possible day.

I mentioned that this is not a common mitzva. There are a few reasons for this. The first child has to be a boy that rules out 50% of the first births. The reason why girls do not have to be redeemed is because they were never part of the decree to get killed in Egypt as the first-born males were. They were righteous and it was in fact in their merit that we were redeemed. As well, the redemption is for the Kohanim filling in their jobs at the Bei Hamikdash for them, which women do not have.  As well the mother couldn't have had a prior miscarriage after 40 days, the child has to have been born with a natural, rather than a caesarean section. And as well the father or even the mother's father of the boy are only obligated if neither of them come from families of Kohanim or Levi'im. That rules out a bunch more. AS I said it's not a common mitzva. So it's exciting to attend one.

The ceremony is a fascinating one. There's a good meal with meat and wine traditionally. Our sages tell us that whoever eats at a meal of a pidyon haben has the merit like ha fasted 84 fasts. In fact as a result of that statement people give out little bags of sugar and garlic, which last a long time and can be put into other foods giving anyone that eats from them the same merit. Others suggest that garlic in Hebrew is Shum and sugar is Sukar, the first letter of each in abbreviation is Sh"aS which is the Mishna and Talmud and we are symbolizing that the child should merit to learn the entire torah with that.

The baby is then brought out on a silver platter- literally! He is bedecked with jewelry to show how precious the mitzva. The Kohen then asks the father if he wants his child or his money. The father hopefully says he prefers the child. A bracha on the mitzva is then made as is the shehechiyanu blessing. The money changes hands and the child is redeemed. Mazel Tov! I don't remember my pidyon Haben and my first born was a girl, but Baruch Hashem my first grandson had this mitzva preformed and it was really cool. God willing I and all of us should merit to fulfill this mitzva many times.               

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

Shaul Hamelech-879 BC – We have finally arrived at the era of Kings. The Jews are in Israel, we have settled the land. Shmuel was the final judge and his sons were not up to par to fill his great shoes. So the people demanded a King and Hashem told Shmuel that he should follow their will. And so we get introduced to the first King of Israel; Shaul Hamelech.

We are introduced to Shaul the son of Kish as a handsome, strong and righteous person that stood head over shoulder above everyone else. People came to see him, particularly the women. He was someone that our sages tell us in the battle against the Philistines where the Ark was captured Shaul went up against Goliath, who led that battle and took the luchos-tablets out of the Ark. (and you though Dovid was the only one that went up against Goliath. Don't feel bad so did I) Yes, Shaul it seems was the perfect candidate to be king.

Yet, that being said he was also the last person to be elected as a king or a leader in any other society in the world. Think about it for a second Shaul is from the tribe of Binyamin. If you remember not too long ago we had a civil war in Klal Yisrael a few chapters back at the end of sefer Shoftim-Judges. You know the whole Pilegsh/concubine of Givah story. Tens of thousands of Jews were wiped out by the tribe of Binyamin, Shaul fought in those battles. He was the enemy. Ultimately he was the defeated enemy when almost all of his tribe was wiped out and the only way that he could even get marry was when the vow was taken back and a work around with the daughters of Yavesh Gilead was worked out. Can you imagine that this man then becomes the first King of the entire nation not long after that? It's almost incomprehensible. And yet it testifies to the greatness of Shaul and to the Jewish people in being able to move forward.

Now Shaul himself is introduced to us in a fascinating story. It seems that the donkeys of his father went missing and Shaul takes a tour around looking for them. He travels all the way up to the Mountain of Ephraim from Rama where Shmuel and he both seemed to live. He stopped at a place called the land of Shalisha which some suggest is near the springs of Wadi Uja and Samiya not far from the Monument for the fallen soldiers of the helicopters on Highway 90 from the Dead Sea, by the Jordan River or alternatively near Ofra in the Shomron. He stopped off at Shual which some suggest is close to Shalavim and ultimately he returned to the land of Tzuf which is where Shmuel and his family lived as Ramatayim Tzofim is from the same root word as Tzuf. (And there is our geography lesson for today.)

Upon returning donkey-less he sees that there are crowds gathering and decides it’s a good idea to ask the prophet Shmuel where the missing donkeys are. He of course needs to come bearing gifts for the prophet. From here comes the custom of bringing a "pidyon" when one visits a Rebbe. Little did he know that it was that meeting that would change the face of the Jewish people forever.

Next week the coronation of Shaul..

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S REALLY TERRIBLE VIRTUAL JOKES  OF THE WEEK

I had this crazy dream where I was virtually weightless...I was like 0mg

What do you call a virtual assistant that can't spell? Dislexa

I experienced a virtual rollercoaster while eating an apple.Shook me to the core.

I have a friend who got severe burns on his hands, to the point that he is virtually senseless. I feel for him.

A mathematician is afraid of flying due to the small risk of a terrorist attack. So, on every flight he takes a bomb with his hand luggage. "The probability of having a bomb on a plane is very low", he reasons, "and the probability of having two bombs on the same plane is virtually zero.

Morris and Miriam, both a bit stubborn, were involved in a petty argument, both of them unwilling to admit they might be in error.

"I'll admit I'm wrong," Miriam told her husband in a conciliatory attempt, "if you'll admit I'm right."

Morris agreed and, like a gentleman, insisted she go first.

"I'm wrong," Miriam said. 

With a twinkle in his eye, Morris responded, "You're right!"

A man wanted a boat more than anything. His wife kept refusing, but he bought one anyway. "I'll tell you what," he told her, "In the spirit of compromise, why don't you name the boat?"

Being a good sport, she accepted. When her husband went to the dock for his maiden voyage, this is the name he saw painted on the side: "For Sale.

So there once was this wasp that lived in a jungle. This was not your ordinary wasp though-he was smart, philosophical even. One day he finally got fed up with his repetitive, insignificant life and decided that he would leave his hive, his family, his entire close-knit wasp community and he would go out into the world and make something of himself, just like the humans do. So the wasp enrolls in school, and passes with flying colours. Remember, this is a very smart wasp. He gets his high school diploma in a little under 3 years, with a 4.0 GPA and all that snazz. After high school, believe it or not, the wasp gets accepted to Harvard. Harvard! This too proves to be no challenge for our hero, as he graduates in just two years, again a 4.0, on the Dean’s list, and all that snazz. Not to mention all the clubs and sports he was in-the newspaper, rowing, student government-and the fact that he was by far the most popular student on campus. Even his professors looked up to him.

He goes on to get two PhDs, and when he finishes his education, the wasp faces a bit of a dilemma. How does he apply his knowledge now? Where does he go from here? He decides to try out politics. After all, he was popular throughout school, did well in Harvard government. So he runs for mayor, and wins in a landslide. He greatly reforms the city, fixing virtually all its major problems. He runs for governor and again wins in a landslide. Two years later, the presidential election was coming up, and the wasp decides he might as well go for it.

Of course, he wins in the largest landslide in US presidential history. His presidency goes exceedingly well-he is loved by all parties, and has the highest approval ratings in history. He also finds the cures for cancer, AIDS, and broken hearts while in the White House. After 8 years (yes, of course he was reelected) the time has come for him to leave his office. Even his successor his saddened by the wasp’s departure, but they all know it’s what must be done. Back at his vacation home in California his first day after leaving office, the wasp looks back on his long and fruitful life. He realizes that he hasn’t been back to his hive at all since that first day he left. He suddenly feels a twang of guilt as he realizes how much he misses his parents and his little brother. So he heads back to the hive, looking more worn out than he remembers. He goes inside and greets his family, who are overjoyed at the sight of him. He talks about how his life has gone as his family listens in wonderment. Eventually he decides he is thirsty, so he decides to visit the old watering hole he remembered. Once he gets there though, there’s an extremely long line. He decides it’s worth the wait, so gets in line. One hour. Two hours. This is the slowest moving line he’s ever seen! Eventually he calculates that it could be a few days before he gets to the front of the line, so decides it’s not worth it. He decides to go get some cider to drink instead, but waddya know, another huge line of people waiting for cider! He remembers one other drinking area that never had a long line-fruit punch! So he decides to go get punch. He arrives, and lo and behold, there’s no punch line.-Sorry I really couldn't resist that one….:)JJ

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Answer is C–  I'm not so great with years. I remember important things that people care about (except my wife's shopping lists…). But I don't believe most people really care about the years or dates, it’s the story that counts. That being said Rabin's assassination was certainly an important date and year in the history of Israel. But I wasn't sure if it was 1995 or 1996- I knew it was after I got married. I guessed and went with 1995- for some reason that was there in  my memory. Whadaya know I was right!.  So another right one for Schwartz making the score 23 and 9 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam. My grade is moving up on this exam, lets see if I can actually get a good score still…