from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
"Your friend in
Karmiel"
November 22nd
2024 -Volume 14 Issue 4 21st of Cheshvan 5785
The City by the Cemetery
A mother shouldn’t have to bury her
child. It’s not natural. It’s not the way the world is meant to be. Children
bury their parents, not the opposite. There is nothing more heart wrenching than
a mother’s tears at her child’s funeral. A child whose life was taken too early,
was cut short, whose parent’s had so much hope and aspiration for.
A Jewish mother’s aspiration for her
child is not a goy’s. It’s the secret of why we are so successful. Why we have
so many Noble prizes. Why we are the light of the world. Why no matter what happens
or befalls us, we pick ourselves up and keep moving higher and higher. It’s our
mother’s voice in our head. It’s the guilt, the confidence, the charge and the mandate
that they have charged, raised and built us with. That they nursed us with. It’s
the hopes and dreams of a better world that is placed on our shoulders to
realize and bring forth that is in the milk that they fed us and the lullabies
that they sung us to sleep with. It’s the Modeh Ani that they woke us up with
each morning. There is nothing more painful and unnatural to have to bury that
before it is realized.
This week’s parsha is Chayei Sarah.
It is not the story of the life of Sarah, but rather of her death and burial.
It is from that first Matriarch that every Jewish mother descends. The story of
her death and burial, the first in the Torah, becomes the prototype for all
funerals and burial customs. The grave where she is buried in Chevron of Me’arat
Ha’Machpela where all our Patriarchs and Matriarchs are buried is registered
under her name. They are all buried in “the cave where Sarah was buried”.
She is the first “Jew” to die and thus it is her legacy, before anyone else
that all her descendants have been charged to carry on.
For hundreds of years throughout
our history, Jews came to her grave and prayed and took strength from her
memory. Sadly there were also centuries when we were thrown out of our land and
couldn’t come there. In the last 500 years or so there have been many communities
who returned to Chevron with many great leaders, Rabbis, sages, scholars and
Kabbalists as well as Chasidim and even the great Slobodka Yeshiva. That lasted
however until the terrible pogrom of 1929. On that “Shabbat Ha’Shachor-
the Black Sabbath of August 24th, a little over a week after Tisha B’Av
the Arabs whom until that point many in Chevron considered their friends and
neighbors and whose weddings they celebrated with and whose children even played
together and who worked in the same hospitals and shopped in their stores,
revealed their true Yishmaelite colors.
At that time they weren’t being occupied.
There were no check points. There was no State of Israel. There was just the
children of Sarah living in her city; in her land together with the children of
her maidservant Hagar whom she had given to Avraham as a wife.
On that morning, at 6:30 in the morning as the
Jews awoke and prepared to go to shul, the Arabs began their attack. Hundreds poured
out of their houses and neighboring villages and descended on the homes and shuls
of Chevron. With rocks, sticks, knives, swords and guns they pillaged the city.
They raped, they burned, the killed children in front of their parents. They
murdered massacred and terrorized, while the British sat by idly. By the end of
the day 67 people were murdered in Chevron and 133 were killed all over the
country, in Jerusalem, Tzfat, Yaffo and other Jewish settlements across the
land. It was the worst tragedy to have hit the old Yishuv perhaps until today.
Despite the fact that on October 7th there were more that were
killed in even one Kibbutz and ten times as many that were killed, yet back
then the entire Jewish population of Israel was less than 90,000. Proportionately
to today’s population it would be as if 11,000 were killed on one day. Yet the
terror, havoc and callousness of the world which stood by as this took place
was even more painful and eye-opening. From that Shabbos, Jews were expelled
from Chevron, separated from our Matriarch, longing for her motherly embrace in
her cave.
In 1967 we returned to Chevron.
Hashem miraculously returned us to the city of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
In six days, we quadrupled the size of Israel. The Temple Mount was in our
hands. Rachel’s tomb, The grave of Yosef in Shechem, the West Bank, the Mountains
of Bashan in the Golan that Moshe had once conquered for us, the Sinai desert
and the land of the Philistines where Yitzchak and Yishmael dwelled together
and where Sarah was kidnapped in the house of Avimelech was finally returned to
us. Gaza was ours. Yet sadly and tragically, then as now, Israel has a problem claiming
the exclusivity of our inheritance that Sarah had urged Avraham to engrain in
us. We didn’t see ourselves as rightful inheritors but rather as
“ger v’toshav anochi imachem-
sojourners and settlers together with Yishmael’s descendants.
Those are the words that Avraham
used when he first went to purchase that special cave, the first land we bought
in Eretz Yisrael. Yet, whereas in Avraham’s case it was because we had not yet
inherited the land and the time for the fulfillment of the promise of Hashem
had not yet arrived. Today we had no such excuse.
Perhaps it was because 2000 years
of exile, persecution and being absent so long from our mother’s words and
promise that had caused us to forget our Divine promise. That made us give up
hope and belief that indeed the time for us to declare and exert our property
rights had arrived. That the miracles Hashem was preforming for us then was not
merely to give us a “national homeland” and place of refuge after the horrors
of the Holocaust, but rather was the start of the long promised and awaited for
ingathering of exiles. One in which we were meant to finally claim what was
rightfully ours and in the process uplift Yishmael in the only way he can be
uplifted; by subjugating the child of the maid-servant, that pereh adam,
to the nation of Hashem and the inheritors of their father Avraham. To teach
them to follow in his ways by accepting our role just as Yishmael himself did
at the funeral of Avraham in this week’s parsha. Where Rashi tells us Yishmael
himself becomes a tzadik gamur and ultimately is described by the Torah as
his death being an “expiration”, a term that is only utilized for the entirely
righteous.
Yet Sarah, had a descendant that
did have that faith. Sarah Nachshon and her husband Baruch, who was renowned
artist and were Chabad Chasidim, returned to Chevron in 1968 with three other
families. The Government did not allow them to live in Chevron proper at the
time, yet due to the pressure that they levied upon them, they allowed them to
develop a new community of Kiryat Arba adjacent to it. The first three and half
years they lived on the army base until their first homes were ready. Yet upon
moving into their home, much to their great joy, they were blessed with a child
after 10 years, just as their ancestors Avraham and Sarah were. Sarah felt very
strongly that as this was the first new child to born in Chevron his bris would
take place in the cave of his great-great grandmother Sarah Immeinu. Avraham
and Sarah deserve to join in this celebratory return of their children.
The army and the government concerned
with upsetting Yishmael, and our peaceful cousins in Chevron was not keen on
the idea. They prohibited it. No religious services that could be viewed as
Jews trying to re-occupy our ancestral city would be tolerated. Yet, as Sarah
told them, that would be very important information had she been asking
permission to preform the Bris there. Yet, fortunately that was not what she
was doing or felt any need to do. Her son was born in Chevron and he would have
his bris there. Let the chips fall where they may. And thus Avraham Yedidya
Nachshon entered into the covenant of his zaydie Avraham Avinu, whose name he
carried, despite the Israeli army and government’s attempt to stop them.
The joy and hope however was short
lived. A half a year later Sarah woke up one morning to find her young Avraham
lifeless in his crib. He had returned his neshoma to Hashem. Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome is until today an unexplainable medical phenomena that can only
be described as a misas neshika, where one’s soul being kissed from them
by Hashem as they fall asleep with their pure infant soul not being returned to
them in the morning. It was the death of Avraham and Sarah and Moshe and Aharon
and all of our great and most righteous. The death that is the highest and most
peaceful of levels. It’s what they all longed for and davened to have and it
was how Avraham Yedidya Nachshon returned his soul and joined them in heaven.
Yet for Sarah Nachshon, whose
husband Baruch wasn’t even home that morning and was unreachable in that pre-cell
phone era, that wasn’t going to be the end of her son’s story. Avraham Yedidya
was born in Chevron, He was circumcised and given his name there. It was the
only place he lived his short life, and he would be buried there in the ancient
Chevron Jewish cemetery, next to all of the great individuals throughout the
last centuries buried there as well. The great-grandfather of the Chida and
great Kabbalist of the 17th century the Chesed L’Avraham, The Sdei
Chemed, the Reishis Chochma and Meleches Shlomo and the granddaughter of the
Baal Ha’Tanya and daughter of the “Mittler Rebbe” Menucha Rochel Slonim are all
there in the cemetery. They are right near the ancient traditional biblical
gravesites of Ruth, Yishai, father of Dovid Ha’Melech who ruled here and as well
next to the first judge of Israel after the land was conquered and the death of
Yehoshua; Otniel Ben Kenaz.
For 50 years, since 1929, Jews had
been forbidden from going to the visit the graves of the great people there.
Perhaps the government wanted to prevent the outrage that would certainly have
followed, had the nation known about the desecration of those graves, as well
as those of the martyrs of the 29’ massacre that had been buried there at the
hands of Yishmael who had been given free reign to do what they wanted as we turned
a blind eye. Yet that would end with the burial of Avraham Yedidya. Sarah was
determined that her son would be returned and gathered into the resting place
of our forefathers.
Having already experienced the
first failure to prevent this woman, the army was more than prepared that next
morning when word got out. Tens of soldiers and roadblocks were placed on the
hill down from Kiryat Arba to Chevron. The procession was stopped by armed
soldiers and representatives from the Yitzchak Rabin’s Ministry of Defense that
ordered them to return and bury Avraham in Kiryat Arba. For hours they stood
there arguing, demanding, moving up the ranks of bureaucracy. It was reminiscent
of the funeral of Yaakov Avinu, when millions from Egypt and around the world
came to bury him and they were as well stopped at the cave from entering. Yet
this time it was not our red-headed Uncle Esau and his 400 armed men that were
stopping us from entering. It was our own soldiers. It was the children of
Yaakov that still hadn’t understood or read the contract that stated that this
land was ours. The contract that in Yaakov’s time we sent Naftali running back
to retrieve, yet over 2000 years of Exile in the land of Esau seems to have
been misplaced from our memory.
It all came to an end when Sara
while talking to one of the soldiers was told that the reason why they were
being so obstinate was because there was a very likely possibility that the
city of Chevron would be handed over to Yishmael in any future “peace
agreements”. It was those words that sent thousands of years of DeJa’Vu through
the Divine spirit into her heart. She remembered when Avraham Avinu purchased
this land. She recalled how he as well had erroneously wanted Yishmael to
inherit it. She recalled the “deals” that he had cut with Avimelech and the
Philistines in Gaza that had delayed our return for hundreds of years in which
we were enslaved in Egypt and that took us thousands of years until we finally
returned to rectify. Perhaps she saw into the future at what would be the end
of this miraculous return if we continued on this path of self-destruction and not
realizing our job and what happens when we don’t claim our rightful homeland
and place in the world. Perhaps she even saw October 7th.
Without hesitation Sara walked to
the back of the hearse and took the lifeless body of her son in her arms and
proceeded to walk past the shocked soldiers who melted away before her.
Hundreds followed Sara as she arrived at that ancient burial site and dug his small
grave and placed him in the earth that he had been born from. As Sarah got up
to eulogize her son, tears rolled down every face as she made this declaration to
Hashem.
“Three thousand five hundred
years ago, Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu, you had a son named Avraham he married Sarah
and they came here to the city of Chevron and were blessed with a child. Yet,
you told Avraham to take that special miraculous child and bring him up to you
as a sacrifice. Yet when you saw the faithfulness of your son and his
willingness to give everything to You, You spared that child. You returned him
to his father. Yet, Sarah, his mother never got to hug him and kiss him and
tell him that she loved him again. She died that Rosh Hashana morning. Her
husband Avraham returned her to Chevron and bought a grave for her and buried
her here. This is where she rests.”
“3500 years later, her children
once again have returned to Chevron. My name is Sarah and You as well blessed
me with a son, Avraham. Yet him You took as a sacrifice. He was not
spared by You. I, his mother Sarah have now come back here to bury her Avraham.
He should be the last sacrifice that you take from our people, from their descendants…”
“Our sages tell us a story of a
young child that was being carried on the shoulders of his father on a long
journey to the big city. After many days of wandering the son asked his father
when they will arrive already. It’s hot. The journey is difficult. It’s painful.
It’s so long… When will we finally be there? The father turned to his child and
told his son, that when you see a large cemetery you will know that you have
arrived at the city and that it is just up ahead. For in Jewish law a cemetery
is always on the outskirts of the city. With this cemetery and with the return
of Avraham Yedidya”, Sarah concluded, “the
cemetery of Chevron has been reestablished once again. May it be the will of
Hashem that very soon the city of Chevron will as well come in sight.”
It took them 2 years until we
returned to Chevron. It wasn’t until Menachem Begin was Prime Minister that the
people in Kiryat Arba felt ready to make the next move. After Pesach in April
of 1979, 15 women and 35 children moved in the middle of the night moved into the
abandoned Jewish Beit Hadassa hospital and barricaded themselves there until
the government would allow them to return to city of Chevron. Begin, on the on
the one hand didn’t feel that he could oppose the Supreme Court that prohibited
Jewish settlement in Chevron. Yet at the same time refused to be the PM that
would forcibly remove Jewish women and children from our Jewish ancestral city.
So Solomonically he gave orders that as long as they stayed there they would
not be forcibly removed. No men however would be allowed in and no one that
left could return. And thus Sara and her friends dug in for the long haul.
One month, two months, three months,
through the winter, through the following year, the women and children didn’t
leave. Each Shabbos the men would come down and sing Shalom Aleichem. They
would sing the song of Eishet Chayil, that our sages fascinatingly tell us is written
and recited by Avraham as his eulogy on Sarah here in Chevron. They would make
Kiddush and dance Lecha Dodi for their beloved heroic women and children who
watched from the window awaiting as they welcomed the Shabbos Bride and davened
for the redemption and for Jerusalem. For the shame of our nation to finally be
erased.
On Friday night of May 2nd
though that day finally came, but once again at the price of spilled Jewish
blood, as an Arab sniper opened up fire and murdered six of the men in the
midst of that holy dance. It was after that when Begin finally gave the order
for the Jews to return to Chevron. The cemetery outside the city was getting
fuller. It was time for the city to be built.
This Shabbos is Shabbat Chevron.
Tens of thousands of Sarah’s children will return this Shabbos to the city and
sing and dance and pray for our return. For the great Shabbos to finally
arrive. This past year our battle with Yishmael it has been more about our own
inner struggle and acceptance of the only way that Hashem through the prophecy
of Sarah told us that we are meant to return. That we should come back as
inheritors. That we understand that the entire land is ours. That Chevron is.
That Gaza is. The Golan. Beirut. Jordan. Damascus, until the river of Egypt and
Sinai. Those are the borders that Hashem told Avraham are ours. That we have
inherited. That He never wanted us to sacrifice our children for that goal. He
just wanted us to understand that we have to be able and willing claim. That we
need to realize that if we don’t express our claim, Yishmael will.
The cemetery is already full. It gets
fuller and fuller each day. Mothers shouldn’t have to bury their children. It’s
not natural. But neither is being and acting as if we are strangers in our own
home. If we don’t feel and appreciate that we are children of Sara and Avraham
and this is our home, our kitchen, our living room, our Temple Mount, our Negev,
our Golan and our West Bank. If we don’t act like children and stop behaving
like apologetic strangers, colonists and conquers, then unnatural sacrifice are
demanded from us until we get it. Mothers bury their children and Yishmael will
throw us out of our homes and we will live in hotels like guests without
residency. Like tourists rather than citizens. It’s not Hashem that has taken
those sacrifices. It’s we who haven’t yet gotten what He wants from us. It’s
the legacy, life and message of Sarah that we have forgotten. That we haven’t
realized.
While Sarah and her friends were in
Beit Hadassa they sent a message to the Lubavitcher Rebbe asking him how long
must they remain there. It’s been a year. There are soldiers outside that don’t
let anyone come in. When will this end? The Rebbe in a tearful recorded message
told them that their conversation recalled him of the brave message of the
daughters of Tzlafchad that turned and asked Moshe Rabbeinu as well why they
were not granted a portion in the land of Israel. Why should they be left out?
Why should the sins of their fathers be on their head? When can they return to
their land? Moshe told them their question was too difficult. He turned it to
Hashem. And Hashem told Moshe
“Ken Bnot Tzlafchad Dovrot-
the daughters of Tzlafchad speak truth”
The daughters of Tzlafchad are
correct. The time has come. The legacy of Sarah is being fulfilled. It’s time
for the unnatural to finally be over. For the city by the cemetery to finally
be built.
Have a passionate restful Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
************************
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Der
emess kumt arois azoi vi boimel oif der vasser.”.- The truth comes out like oil on water.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
29.The
building of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem was
recently
moved to the area of _______.
Which
of the following figures contributed greatly to the foundation and building
of the
city of Tel Aviv?
A.
Hayim Nahman Bialik
B.
Aharon Chelouche
C.
Laurence Oliphant
D.
Yehoshua Hankin
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irt1ffsI_eU
– Sarah Nachshon tells story of her son…Amazing…
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/rivkah
– One of my most beautiful song compositions in honor of my sister Rivky’s
wedding five years ago… From this weeks parsha Achoseinu! Yitz Berry knocked
this one out of the park…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtvR_pqSBR4
– Eitan Katz Naftali Kempeh what a great
shidduch in this beautiful new release Shema Beni
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/eishet-chayil
– My gorgeous Eishet Chayil in honor of
Sarah Immeinu…It’s been a long time since I’ve shared with this with you… sing
it this Shabbos and make me happy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmeJ_mDpJ4U&t=230s
- OU Mearat Ha’Machpela what’s really
underneath…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR
PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Chulda Haneivia- 639 BC – Moving on to prophets in the time of Yoshiyahu we arrive at Chulda
Ha’Neviah, one of seven important prophetesses in Tanach. The first of
course is Sarah Immeinu and the Matriarchs. Isn’t it cool how this
column works Divinely with the weekly Torah portion! The other prophetesses, by
they way can you guess? I’ll tell you at the end. I’ll give you a clue none of the
other matriarchs are not included. Think about it.
So Chulda is
really only mentioned twice in Tanach, both in her relationship with King
Yoshiyahu and his teshuva movement that starts with her encouragement and
prophecy. It’s fascinating that she even plays a role being that the great Yirmiyahu
as well is living at this period and is the major prophet whom we will get to. The
Talmud tells us that perhaps this was because Yirmiyahu went on a
journey during this period to gather in the ten lost tribes amazingly enough.
We are on the cusp of the destruction of the Temple and yet at the same
time with the light of Yoshiyahu it seems it could have even had the
potential for Mashiach and the ingathering of exiles.
Interestingly enough our
sages tell us that the reason she merited prophecy was because of her husband Meshulam
who was called the Gadol Ha’Dor- the great man of his generation. What made him
so great? One would think it’s his Torah learning or his leadership skills, but
the Midrash tells us it was that he would go every day with flasks of water and
sit outside the gates of Yerushalayim and hand out water bottles to all
who came to the Temple. Think about that next time you see those guys doing
that chesed wherever you go… Gadol Hador!
Outside of the Southern
Wall of the old city of Jerusalem in an area that we call the Ophel
stands the Chulda Gates, Rashi in Melachim tells us that it was named
after her as she would sit there and teach the elders Torah She’Baal Peh! That’s
like Mishna and Talmud level. And it was being taught by a woman. How’s dem
apples? Her husband handed out water bottles and she gave shiurim. Now
obviously this was done in a very tznius way as our sages praise and
find hints to her modesty and even count here as one of the 22 righteous woman
mentioned in Tanach. On the other hand Chazal tell us that she was given a
lousy name- as Chulda is a rat or weasel, because she referred to the King
Yoshiyah as an “Ish” a guy rather than respectfully as a king.
Her burial place is a
bit controversial, although all agree that she is buried in Jerusalem,
some place her on the top of Har Hazeitim, while the Tosefta seems to say that
she was in the city of Jerusalem itself within the walls. The Maharit
tries to explain that in the 2nd Temple the walls of Jerusalem
incorporated Mt. Of Olives but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen
evidence of that. Today there is by the Mount of Olives a Church or
Temple of Ascension where silly x-tians believe Yoshka went up to
heaven and Muslims as well view it as a holy place and it is accepted as truly
being Chulda’s grave. Certainly Har Ha’Zeitim is where we have a
tradition the resurrection of the Dead will begin from so hopefully we will get
the answer soon. She will rise together with the other 6 prophetesses….
Sarah, Miriam, Devora,
Chana, Avigayil and of course Queen
Esther…
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY
GRAVESTONE JOKES OF THE WEEK
I saw a gravestone
that said ‘Here lies a math teacher. He finally found peace in being a sum
of all parts.'”
My friend’s
gravestone says ‘Beloved coffee lover. He couldn’t espresso how much he
meant to us.'”
On another gravestone,
it reads ‘An avid baker. Life really kneaded him, but he always rose to the
occasion.'”
A musician’s
gravestone reflects ‘He was always in treble, but found harmony in the
end.'”
A chef’s gravestone
bears the words ‘He spiced up our lives and left us with seasoned
memories.'”
A skydiver’s
gravestone bears the words ‘He soared through life and embraced the fall. In
the end, he took a leap of faith.'”
On a magician’s
gravestone, it says ‘He pulled off disappearing acts with such poise. Now he
has vanished into eternity.'”
A carpenter’s
gravestone reads ‘He crafted a life full of love and sawdust. Now he’s
nailed the final masterpiece.'”
In memory of a
librarian, the gravestone declares ‘She was always bound to books. Now she
rests between the pages of history.'”
A comedian’s
gravestone states ‘His jokes will forever echo in our hearts. Laughter was
his final punchline.'”
A lawyer’s wife died.
At her grave, everyone was appalled. The tombstone read, “HERE LIES PHYLLIS,
WIFE OF ATTORNEY MURRAY WILLIAMS; SPECIALIZES IN DIVORCE AND MALPRACTICE”.
Murray burst into
tears. His brother said, “You SHOULD cry, pulling a cheap publicity stunt like
this. Murray said, “You don’t understand. I gave them my business card”
His brother
apologized.. But then he continued “…and they didn’t include the phone
number!”
Two men walking in a cemetery find a recent
gravestone , so they read it:
"Here lies an
honest man and a competent lawyer"
So one of the guys
turn to the other:
"When did they
start burying two people together?"
What is written on a
very successful hacker’s tombstone? “R” His IP is well hidden.
Why would I want to
buy a tombstone? It's the last thing I need.
Yankel was blessed
with 12 children yet that was turning out to be a problem for him when he was
trying to rent a house. No landowner would allow him to rent their
house due to the number of children he had. Frustrated, Yankel told his wife to
visit her father's tombstone and bring all but their youngest child with her.
He then visited a
property and told the landowner that he would like to rent the place.
"Is this your
only child?" asked the landowner.
"No, I have 12
children" replied the
man.
"Then where
are the other 11 kids?"
"In the cemetery
with my wife," he truthfully
replied.
Late one night, Jack
takes a shortcut through a cemetery. Hearing a tapping sound he becomes scared
and quickens his pace. The tapping gets louder and Jack is now scared out of
his wits. Then he notices a man chiseling a tombstone.
"Thank goodness!" Jack says to the man. "You gave
me a fright of my life. Why are you working so
late?"
"They spelled my
name wrong."
There was once a man
named Odd. He was very embarrassed by his name and didn't want anyone to know
about it. When he died he had no name written on his gravestone. One day a
bunch of tourists came to his town and visited the graveyard where they came
across a gravestone with no name on it.
"That's
Odd!" He said.
This morning as I was
walking through I saw someone crouching behind a gravestone. I said, 'Morning.
' He said, 'No
I'm just lost my keys.'
After my friend died from an allergic reaction
to peanuts, I went to his funeral. Everyone got upset when I put an Epipen on
his tombstone.
So I explained: "It's
what he would have wanted"
The answer to this week”s question is B – Oh well…back to a 50/50 score… I got the second part right. It was an educated guest,but I knew the Shalosh family was involved with building and settling the land and I got this this right. The first part though I have no clue and don’t really care too much about as the Betzalel school really doesn’t interest me or any of my tourists. I guessed Tel Aviv because I knew that there was a school there and figured it had to do with the first part of the question. The correct answer though was by the Iriya and Russian Compound across from Mamilla in Jerusalem. So the new score at Rabbi Schwartz having 18.5 points and the MOT having 10.5 points on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam. to them...
