Moolah- Parshat Matos 2022 5782

 

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

July 22^nd 2022 -Volume 11 Issue 41 23^rd of Tamuz 5782

 

Parshat Matos

Moolah

Money has never been my thing. I don’t mean that I’ve never had it. Baruch Hashem I can say I’ve never really felt that I was lacking anything. Even in those days long ago, which my old friends might remember when I was the young teenager that would go around camp picking up all of the empty cans so I could make ten cents on each of them. It was more for the shtick then for the cash. Kind of like that Novardok guy that would go into the hardware store and ask if they sold baloney sandwiches. Also I didn’t have much busha or shame back then either and for some reason I like the attention it got me. Maybe that part hasn’t changed much…

What I mean is, that I really never had any major desire to be rich, to pursue making money. It didn’t really interest me much. At a young age Hashem blessed me with a lot of thank god very wealthy friends- or at least their parents had money- they themselves were just as poor as I was if you come to think about it. But they had credit cards and things that bought us food and fun for “free” and that’s really all that I needed. Sure later on in life I went off to college and got a degree in finance but that really only taught me all of the basic principles why I had no money. I think it had something to do with getting a “real” job.

Sure I understand a bit and really even appreciate those that are built differently than I am and are really driven to succeed financially. “To make it big” so to speak. Some of them came from poorer homes and are driven that their family and children will never experience the deprived lifestyle that they may have grown up on. Others are motivated by the thrill and the challenge of making bigger and better deals and for others still it’s about outdoing the neighbors and keeping up with the Cohenses.

 Yet all of those with that wealth bug ultimately do tremendous good with their money, support many Jewish organizations and help many unfortunate people. And for many of them- like my Uncle Mendy OB”M, they spend most of their days not even working to add to their own overflowing coffers but rather to support more and more organizations and to heal as many wounds as money can cure. He would tell me that he felt that he would get up each morning to go to work because Klal Yisrael needed that money. He essentially felt that he was working for a non-profit organization. It may have been worth a billion dollars, but tzorchey amcha beis Yisrael merubim heim- the needs of our nation our even more than that. Klal Yisrael needs people like that. It’s why Hashem created us all so differently. But that was never my yetzer hara or yetzer tov. But don’t worry he gave me plenty of other things that challenge me and that have the potential to push me one way or the other that I have to overcome. Money just ain’t one of them.

That being said it became clear to me a few years ago that my wife was certainly the right shidduch for me. Not to say that her excellent cooking and chulent making skills weren’t enough of a clue. For a few years after we were married we were talking about the yichus of our families and she mentioned to me that he grandmother had told her that she was a descendant of the great 17^th century Rav theReb Yeshaya H’Levi Horowitz also known as the SheLah Ha’Kadosh. I was quite taken aback to learn of this incredible lineage my children would know be able to claim and I wondered why she never put it on her shidduch resume. Who knows, some people go for this kind of stuff and she might have done better for herself than hooking up with me. It was just a few years ago though that I understood why she never told me. It seems that the SheLah left in his tzava’ah or will to his children the assurance that after he died he would go before Hashem and pray and implore that none of his descendants will ever suffer from that horrible and difficult challenge of being wealthy. It seems to be working-by the way. He must be praying pretty hard. So naturallyI never put him on daughter’s resume as well. It seems it doesn’t’ go over well in today’s shidduch market.

This weeks Parsha, more than any other according to some of our commentaries, tells us of some of those hazards of affluence and wealth. It shares with us the story of the tribes of Reuvein and Gad-or if actually you check it out many times they are listed as Gad and Reuvein- that seem to be blessed with mikneh rav- lots of cattle or perhaps a better way to say it moooo-lah. (wonder if that’s where it comes from?).

Bamidbar (32:1) U’mikneh rav hayah l’Bnai Reuveun, u’L’Bnai Gad atzum me’od. – and there was abundant cattle to the children of Reuvein and the children of Gad- very great!

The Klai Yakar notes that there should be a comma between the children of Reuvein and Gad and read as two separate sentences. Reuvein had lots of cattle- mikneh rav and while Gad had strong cattle as our sages tell us that Gad’s goats would kill the wolves that attacked them. Rav Hirsch puts the same comma there and takes a different approach which is that Gad just had more than Reuvein. Regardless according to both pshatim Gad certainly was in the lead position and that’s why despite being from younger tribe he takes the lead negotiation position with Moshe.

What are they negotiating? It seems that they both want to stick around on the other side of the Jordan River. They like the Golan Heights. They wanted to settle down in roots in what today is “Occupied territory” by Jordan as they sit on the ancestral homeland of those two tribes. They see this area as being good grazing land as opposed to the land of the 7 species of agriculture on the other side of the Yarden that is flowing with Milk and honey. But yet they are missing the boat. They’re a bit too busy and focused on “where the beef” is and they’ve seemed to forget what its all about.

The wisest of all men, Shlomo Ha’Melech, in koheles tell us

“There is an evil sickness I have seen under the sun, wealth that is saved for the owner for his detriment.”

Wealth is bad. It’s there for your detriment. The midrash continues and tells us that it’s like someone that saves money for a day that he will get sick or a day that he will get sentenced by the government. A rainy day fund- is what we call it. Corona back-up money savings just in case they close the skies again. Well guess what, the midrash tells us that it becomes ultimately a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s where all the money will ultimately go. The classic case? Bnai Gad and Reuvein. They thought that they would do good staking out their claims outside of the regular borders of Israel and in the end they were to be the first ones that were exiled.

Now one can argue that they had their spiritual reasons for doing what they did. Perhaps they wanted to avoid fighting with the other tribes.  Perhaps they wanted to stay with Moshe and his burial ground on the other side of the Jordan. Different commentaries suggest different answers. But it’s more than that. The money changed their mind-set. When they approach Moshe, the famous Rashi notes, they tell him that they will build barns for their sheep and homes for their families. They put the sheep first. It’s a Freudian slip, but it reveals an inner lack of focus of what the wealth has done to them. Reuvein perhaps is so swamped with cows and sheep that’s all he can think about. Gad on the other hand is all about the prize animals. They are atzum- they are powerful. They take over him. They’ve both lost focus and they’re seeing the cattle and missing the Holy Land.

The opposite of those tribes the Chida tells us was Avraham. In the description of Avraham’s great cattle herds, the Torah tells us

V’Avram Kaveid Me’od b’mikneh u’bkesef u’bzahav- and Avram was heavy with cattle, silver and gold

Va’yeilech l’maasov m’negev ad Beit El- and he went on his travels from the Negev to Beit El.

Avram, he points out viewed his wealth and sheep as kaveid me’od. It was heavy. It was a burden. It was a shlep and it was impeding his spiritual work and growth. Reb Shlomo Alakbetz  takes this idea a step further and reads the next verses homiletically. Avraham realizing that the wealth was weighing him down decides to travel from the Negev. The word is Negev, as I told my tourists means dry. L’nageiv ha’yadayim to dry off one’s hands. He went to dry out from all this money. To wash and dry it all away. And where did he go? To Beit El. To Kollel. To learn. To get back to the books and what’s really important in life.

My Rebbi, Reb Yisrael Asia once time told me a great vort that has sat with me for many years. He said the Mishna it Pirkey Avos tells us that Marbeh Nichasim- Marbeh Daagah- if one increases his possessions, he gets more worries and headaches. The Mishna doesn’t say that he will have property and headaches and worries. All you get is worry. All you get is stress. Nothing more. Just da’agah.

I find it fascinating that this is one of the last stories in the Torah and the book of Bamidbar before the Jews enter the land. There is an eternal message I believe in the lesson of Gad and Reuvein that many seem to miss. You know it’s coming. I’m sorry but I couldn’t resist and wasn’t even planning on going this way when I started writing this E-Mail but it’s what came out. So here it is… Is the cattle, sheep, large houses in Lakewood, Monsey and the Five towns holding you back from crossing the Jordan River or the Atlantic Ocean. Is it that you’re scared that the only really good grazing ground is over there and that Hashem can’t provide for you in the Land of Milk and Honey? Is all that money and property being saved god forbid as Shlomo Ha’Melech said “L’raa’aso- for your detriment. Or as the Jews in Europe learned 70 years ago to bribe them at the border to let you and your family escape? Ouch! (Does anyone else ever say it as painfully brutal and as politically incorrect as this Rabbi/Tour guide and really true friend in Karmiel does to you?)

It’s the three weeks now. All of our minds and thoughts should be about mourning the loss we had 2000 years ago when we were exiled from Eretz Yisrael and our Temple was destroyed. All of our thoughts…It’s not about Chafetz Chaim heritage videos, Lashon Hara, Sinas Chinam, bullying kids in the playground and viral whatsapp messages. It’s not. Really. Despite how inspiring (and entertaining ?) they are. It’s about the mikneh rav. It’s about if we are we really really longing to come home. Or are we just lip servicing it with our kosher phones. The newest model that I can’t get in Israel. Money, wealth, big houses and cars and powerful cows and large herds of sheep are really overrated. As I told you, you just need a rich friend that will treat you and take care of you and you won’t have any worries. Well, we all have not just a friend, but a Father in heaven that has been taking care of us anyways. But He really wants you here with Him. He wants you next to Him. Gad and Reuvein were the biggest Israel supporters, they fought and led every battle. They were there for their brothers- just as most Diaspora Jews are today. But ultimately they missed out on the beauty of the life and were the first to be exiled. That’s our final message and story before Moshe dies. That’s the message we read each year during this period of Bein Ha’Mitzarim. It’s hopefully the last time we need to hear it from far away.

Have an really rich Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz 

************************

YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 

“Der oreman hot vainik feint, der reicher hot vainiker freint.”- The poor man’s enemies are few, the rich man’s friends are even fewer.

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/al-eileh-acapella  -  Not a time of year for real music, yet a mournful Acapella AL Eileh that I composed and is arranged and sung by Dovid Lowy is sure to make you yearn for the Bais Ha”Mikdash

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsf6471t8Z4   – Can’t manage the three weeks without your Mordechai Shapiro fix? Here’s an acapella Medley of Shapiro songs by Yonasan Stern

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al3RxjiapPY    -Have no clue who Tzali Rapaport is… but found this old Yigal Calek Chamol Acapella done by him and love the song so here it is vocali obviously

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gMk5MATns4    -Goldwags Ein Davar Ra Yoreid Min Hashamayim acapella

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gMk5MATns4 – Yishai Ribo’s Keter Melucha Vocali

 

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

 

4)  The upper layer of rock in the Beit Guvrin region is  _________

Its  importance is

A)  Its very good for the growth unique species of Hadassim and Aravot (myrtle and willows)

B)  It is good for making water absorption pits and bringing up spring waters

C)  It is unique and of high economic value as it is good for building and construction

D)  because it is very hard it protects its caves from collapse

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/SHABBOS CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

 

Shabbat Words- Parshat Matos –  There are all types of Shabbos “inventions” or as they call them in Hebrew “patentim”. There are Shabbos clothes, Shabbos clocks, Shabbos lamps. In my house we had Shabbos soda and Shabbos cereal which we couldn’t eat during the week. Well this week we learn about another Shabbos concept from the parsha that is not as well known. It’s called Shabbos “words”. Words that one should only use on Shabbos. Or perhaps even more accurately words that you shouldn’t use on Shabbos.

 

What do I mean? This week’s parsha introduces us to the concept of Nedarim- making vows. The Torah uses a strange terminology when it tells us to watch what we say. It warns us “Lo Yacheil divaro”- one should not make mundane their words. What is this command. The Torah tells us already to keep whatever we say. How does one make ones words chulin- unsanctified? As well we learn from here that this prohibition is not just about adhering to one’s words and vows, rather it’s not just making meaningless and pointless promises. Jews don’t take vows or swear needlessly and here it’s upping the ante and telling us that we shouldn’t even speak needlessly.

 

Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the mouth of a man is like a vessel of the Temple service. Just as the vessels sanctify what is inside of them so does one’s mouth. Our words become holy. Each word we speak, we are told, creates an angel. It could be a good angel or a bad one. We don’t want a bad one. The Torah tells us that we should make our words mundane because whatever comes out of our mouth has the potential to be holy. That is the lesson of Vows and on Shabbos it’s when it all comes together.

 

Each Shabbos, our sages derive from the words v’dabru davar- that we should speak words of meaning. On Shabbos we are prohibited from speaking things that are mundane. Shabbos is the day when our mouths are the most holy. All the food we put in it becomes sanctified like on the altar. And as well every word that comes out of it on Shabbos is holy. Unless we waste those words. When we sing songs during the week they’re just songs. When we schmooze with our family during the week it’s just schmoozing. Even our prayers during the week and Torah study don’t have the level of sanctity that Shabbos Tefilos, zemiros and schmoozing has. We need to be aware of those Shabbos angels that are created on this special day. We need to have Shabbos words. It’s the most worthwhile and will be the most used Shabbos patent you will ever have.

 

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

 

Eliyahu and Mt. Carmel 724 BC –The faceoff between Eliyahu and the prophets of the Baal begin. Interestingly enough the Prophets of The Ashera didn’t show up to the show. The Baal is an idol that worships the sun while the Ashera was the female goddess of the moon. One can visit the Israel Musuem in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and many other ones in Israel and see all the old idols that worshiped these gods. They even have some down in the Herodian street in the old city of Jerusalem and in the coastline museum by Dor.

 

The Ashera prophets who worked for Izevel, Achav’s shiktza wife, didn’t show up, according to our sages, she even forbade them to come. Ahab’s Baal boys had no choice though and were there. Eliyahu therefore plans this showdown during the daytime when their “god” is in full force. They bring a cow on their altar without fire and Eliyahu will bring one on his on his altar. The True god will send down fire and eat up the sacrifice.

 

I bring many tourists to the Muchraka on Mt. Carmel where the Carmelite monastery stands and where this showdown took place. My yeshivish tourists get quite nervous. When I bring them to a church, I tell them that the entrance fee is not for church but rather for the bathrooms there. But when they use the facilities not to worship Baal Pe’or over there. There is a huge ugly statue of Eliyahu on top. He looks like he fell down a flight of stairs with a huge bump on his head and his eyeballs popping out. The Christians, which I tell my tourists quite loudly are unoriginal people that make up bubbeh maysehs and baloney stories about their fake religion. They believe that everyone in the New Testament is a reincarnation of some previous holy biblical figure. So yoshka is Adam Ha’Rishon and King David and Eliyahu is John the Baptist. Because they believe that he toveled yoshka and heralded in their false Messiah. Like I said bubbeh mayesehs..

 

I generally say this quite loudly and make fun of the Christians that are there, much to my more PC tourists’ consternation. They tell me to keep my voice down. They are nervous the goyim will get insulted. But I don’t stop. I get louder. And then I take them up to rooftop from where we have an incredible overlook of over 1/3 of Israel. On a clear day one can see the Chermon on the border of Syria, the hills of the Upper and lower Galil and Jezreel valley and the coastline down to Netanya. Its awesome. I then read them from the Tanach about how Eliyahu Ha’Navi sat right here and made fun of the prophets of Baal. “Scream louder” he tells them. “Maybe your god is sleeping, maybe he’s schmoozing with someone, maybe he’s in the bathroom”. Our Rabbis derive from here the important halacha that although mocking and making fun of things “Leitzanusa” is prohibited, when it comes to idolatry it’s a mitzva to make fun. And thus, they understand why I do what I do with my Christian friends over there. If you can’t do it here, you can’t do it anywhere. Someone’s gotta tell them the truth. And you know what? More often than not I find that they appreciate it and many of them ask me for my card afterwards and ask me to guide them. So there PC. We’re in this country to shine out the light of truth of Hashem to the world. PC is for living in goyishe galus countries. Not for here.

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE RICH PEOPLE JOKES OF THE WEEK

 

Hi there! My name is Michael Grover, and I am an explorer. Ever since I’ve been little, I’ve loved searching for new things. As a baby, my parents kept finding me in nooks and crannies around the house. “On the search” as they would say. By the age of 5, I had been to every continent on the planet, barring Antarctica. For my 12th birthday, my parents got me diving lessons, and by the time I was 13, I could scuba dive to a depth of 40 meters, as well as go cave diving. I got a pilot’s license by the age of 17, and I learned to sail just before my 18th birthday. Instead of going to university, I decided to travel around South America, exploring its rich jungles and beautiful landscapes. During my trip, I met my now wife who was also an explorer. For our honeymoon, we sailed around the Caribbean and we discovered 3 new islands which we named after the cats that I had growing up. Over the course of my life, I have come across great treasures and wondrous experiences. But in all my life, and in all my travels, I’m afraid I have never come across a single person who cared about what you just said.

 

What do you call a rich Chinese man? Cha Ching

 

My rich neighbour just had a private ice rink built!

I said to him "Can I have a go?" and he said "Yeah, but it'll cost you a dollar"

I thought: what a cheap skate.

Did you guys hear about the fruit and dairy tycoon from the middle East? We call him the Banana Milk Sheikh

My boss is so rich he even bought a kid for his dog to play with.

Willpower can make you rich.. ..if you get in the right person's will.

 

A man stumbles upon a Genie and is granted 3 wishes.

Genie: What is your first wish?
Joe: I want to be rich.
Genie: Granted. What is your second wish?
Rich: I want lots of money. (this is very teef)

 

What do rich people and poor people have in common? They both love to talk about money

What does a fat american and a rich english have in common? Lots of pounds.

I have many jokes about rich kids. Sadly none of them work.

 

What's the similarity of typhoon with tycoon? They are both packed with a lot of wind.

 

A Rich Wall Street trader visits a village. During his stay, he sees a young man sleeping everyday and doing nothing outside his house. So he decides to persuade him to change his life and goes on to talk to him.

Trader: Hello young man, looks like you have nothing to do. I suggest you come with me to New York.

Man: What happens then?

Trader: I’ll make you a stock trader and you’ll earn lots of money.

Man: What happens then?

Trader: With that new wealth, you can buy new house, new car, a yacht or anything you want.

Man: What happens then?

Trader: You don’t have to worry about your future and have a relaxing life.

Man: What does it look like I am doing right now?

 ********************************

Answer is D- Geology is not my thing much although the general ideas especially the places I tour I have down pat. Unfortunately I don’t tour Beit Guvrin a lot at all, although it is a pretty amazing place and lots of people I send there for “Dig for a Day” enjoy it immensely. So I got it wrong. Well sort of. But yeah it’s wrong. I wrote Terra Rosa which is the red earth that I remember they spoke a lot about in the area. But the answer they were looking for is Naari which is a hard stone that covers the softer Kirton stone underneath. I did get the 2^nd part correct though because I knew that the caves the Paamon bell caves there have stood up for thousands of years. They’re amazing burial and storage caves and its part of the reason it got UNESCO status. So the score now is Schwartz 3.5 and .5  for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam.

 

If I Were a Rich Man- Parshat Korach 2018 / 5778

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

July 16^th 2018 -Volume 8 Issue 34 3^rd Tamuz 5778

Parshat Korach

If I Were a Rich Man

My daughter is an “einekel”- a descendant of the Shlah Hakadosh, that great 17^th century sage Rebbi Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz. All my children are in fact, as my wife’s great-grandmother is a Porush and they trace their roots back to this great Rabbi originally of Prague who served there as a Rav and in Frankfort before moving to Israel He made Aliya when he was 64 years old. He didn’t get a free plane ticket, no sal klita- absorption package from the non-welcoming Turks that were ruling the land. He traveled by boat, camel, donkey and wagon and was almost attacked by pirates.  He was robbed and even kidnapped and ransomed after coming here. He left his children, his students and well–paying congregation behind. He wrote his monumental work along the way the Shney Luchot HaBrit –which became the acronym  of the name Shla that he was called. He wrote the book as a will for his children that ultimately became a seminal work of Jewish thought, law, ethics Torah commentary and even mysticism. He is one of only a handful of people that had the title “HaKadosh-the holy one” added on to their name. And yet with all that being said I never mentioned that little piece of illustrious lineage on my daughter’s “shidduch resume”  that essential life’s accomplishment CV that is sent to matchmakers when your daughter “becomes of age” in the 21^st century Orthodox Jewish world.

Now back in the day when I was dating they didn’t have shidduch resumes. There wasn’t a shidduch crisis either… I had to work hard to get a date, not like these young shnooks getting off the plane from Israel that have lines of girls and lists waiting for them because they can learn really good. Maybe the two are connected. The shidduch resume thing and crisis, I mean. Not the learning and getting your name on a list and somehow that making you a desirable husband material thing. But what do I know?  Anyways, when it was my daughter’s turn I didn’t mention that she was descendant of the Shlah Truth is my wife never mentioned when I was dating her either. It wasn’t until afterwards that I understood why.

Now although I haven’t seen this written anywhere (and I have searched), one of the other “family” members one time mentioned to me that the Shlah stated in his will that he when he dies he will go up to heaven and pray that none of his descendants will ever suffer from that terrible challenge and test in life of…being wealthy. Now for some reason there are those that think that having a few extra bucks or more would be a good thing. Many of them might have wanted to date my daughter. So I left that little nugget out of her resume. But not the saintly Shlah, he saw it as the worst possible trial anyone could ever have. In fact in the famous prayer he composed for parents to recite for their children, that those who visit his grave in Tiverya, as well as thousands recite around the world on the day before the new month of Sivan,  he states that

“Hashem should grant each individual amongst my descendants enough for what they are lacking in an honorable fashion.”

Now I think that when most of pray we ask Hashem for a good livelihood, for money to “put away” to live “comfortably” if not even a bit better. That wasn’t his prayer. His prayer was his children should have enough to cover them for the things they are lacking. He didn’t pray that we shouldn’t be lacking. Lacking is good. Poverty is good as well. Just “making it’ is the best and most we should pray for our children. He must be praying pretty hard up there for his descendants because it’s working... I can tell you from experience. Check my bank account.

I think about his legacy this week as we read Parshat Korach and I heard a great class from Rabbi Daniel Glatstien (Kudos to my brother Gedalia’s WhatsApp group with the weekly amazing shiurim he sends out) on this week’s Torah portion on the topic. See, this week we read the portion of Korach. Korach, the quintessential baal machlokes- rabble rouser, rebelled against Moshe and Aharon with the goal of receiving the right to the kehuna-the priesthood. What was it that drew him to this fight, the Shach al Hatorah asks? He explains that we are told that Korach failed perhaps what is the greatest test of all. The nisayon of osher- wealth. See the Talmud tells us that that Korach was one of the wealthiest people ever.

Pesachim (119.) Rabbi Chama says that there were three treasures that were hidden by Yosef (from the wealth that he gathered from Egypt) Korach revealed a third, Antoninus of Rome revealed a third and the last third is put away for the righteous.

Now Yosef seemingly got this money when all of the world came to buy food from Egypt. Although it says he collected “all of the money” of Egypt, the Shach notes that it only says he brought “the money” to the house of Pharaoh. He took a fair share for the Jewish people that he knew would ultimately be enslaved by Egypt and would be entitled to it. One could say it was the first “pyramid scheme”. Ouch! (His joke not mine). When we left Egypt Hashem told the Jews to take the money of Egypt, which they dutifully obliged. However the real cache was hidden. Korach uncovered it. He kept his fine share. How much did he keep? How rich was he…? If you are asking that question, then you can be assured of your Jewish heritage J. We like to count OPM (if you know that means other people’s money then you are really an MOT- member of the tribe). The Talmud continues and tells us

(ibid) Reb Levi says he had the load of 300 white donkeys that carried – are you ready for this…?- the keys to the storage houses- and if that wasn’t enough for you..- and the keys and locks were made out leather!

How’s that for rich? 300 donkeys just to carry the leather keys? Can you imagine how much money he had?  

Now the truth is that Korach was really not entitled to that money. See the tribe of Levi never slaved in Egypt. They got the yeshiva-guy exemption that even the Egyptians thought was a good thing. No contemporary political insinuations intended of course… So Korach got his money illicitly and there is really nothing worse than someone who not only has money but didn’t earn it the good old fashioned way. So the Shach tells us that when he saw that Aharon the brother of Moshe was being elevated by the people, as is the Jewish law that the Kohen Gadol is meant to be given gifts in order that he be prestigious in the eyes of the people as their representative to Hashem, he was jealous. He was already rich. Why give this job to the poor brother of Moshe and make him rich? He trusted his money and didn’t trust Hashem and Moshe.

The Midrash in Megilla tells us as well that there were two wealthy people and their wealth was their downfall. One Jewish one and one non-Jewish one. The yid was Korach the non- Jewish one was none other than Haman. He also had it all. Everything except of course one Jew named Mordechai that wasn’t too impressed or awed by the wealth and power of Haman. Haman ended up 50 Amos above ground hanging by a rope he made himself.  Korach went the other direction. Swallowed up by the earth that he thought he possessed all of. The common denominator between the two of them the Shach suggests is that their wealth deluded them.  They thought money buys everything. Money is power. Money is strength. Money is happiness. Money brings prestige and privilege when in fact all it brings is false pride. It is the rope that can hang you and it is the earth that can swallow you up.

The Sefat Emet notes that the reason why we were exiled from Israel the Torah warns us at the end of the tochacha- rebuke of Moshe is

Devarim (28:47) because you have not served Hashem with happiness and goodness of heart when you had an abundance of everything.

The exile comes he writes is because we failed the challenge of austerity. We were meant to be happy with the money. The money and wealth should have driven us to appreciate Hashem, to use it for good. That is the challenge of it.  It’s not easy though and we failed.  We forgot Hashem. We try to make more and more. We feel we need more and more. As our income grows so does our pursuit for even more. Our expenses grow. Our “quality of life” costs more. We can’t be happy because we can’t keep up. We can’t thank Hashem fully and appreciate His goodness because we are busy asking Him for more. We don’t have the happiness and goodness of heart that we are meant to and that is why we are exiled.

It is a much harder challenge then poverty. Look at our history. When Jews were down-trodden, when we didn’t have a dry potato peel to put on our table, when flayshigs for dinner was something that was special for Shabbos and even then it was chicken. Meat was a Yom Tov delicacy. In what the Sefat Emet would call the “good old days”. We followed the Torah. We prayed like we meant it. We used our extra time not making an extra buck, but studying the holy books. The eras of prosperity generally led to assimilation, an abandonment of the commandments and traditions of our ancestors. We exchanged the habits of highly spiritual people for the habits of the highly effective people. And at the end of the day we lost millions in the process. Millions of precious souls exchanged for the millions of dollars whose siren call we couldn’t ignore. And what did it get us?

My Rebbi once noted to me that the Mishna in Avot tells us

(2:7) Marbeh nechasim-marbeh daagah- he who increases his possessions increases worry.

It doesn’t say that one increases possessions and worry. Rather all one gets with more money, more possessions is da’aga. Worry, ulcers, frustrations, fears about keeping it all, anxiety about your status, how you’re viewed, your relationships, and responsibilities.

 I really don’t envy them. Kollel guys don’t have those ulcers. They’re generally happy. Tour Guides too, even the ones that are married to descendants of the Shla. So maybe it’s a good thing he’s praying up there. Maybe even we should start praying that as well. I don’t think we should pray for poverty but perhaps that Hashem should protect us from the challenge of wealth. That we have what we need. And for those of you readers that have that challenge, that don’t have the Shla plugging for them upstairs. May Hashem give you the strength to persevere. To keep doing the good that I’m sure you are doing. And the joy and fulfillment and closeness to Hashem that your particular test doesn’t engender naturally. I’m rooting for you. Klal Yisrael is rooting for you. And by the way did I mention I need a sponsor for my weekly E-mail next week J.

Have a rich Shabbos

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Faran dareh gvirim un fetteh oremeleit.” – There are often lean rich men and fat poor men

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q. A river which was נוקה cleaned and became a tour site:

a. Nahal Alexander

b. Nahal Yagur

c. Nahal Kidron

d. Nahal David

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/wzjwTWxHE_o - Awesome! The Musical Ross family all welcome in Shabbos with a bunch of golden oldies

https://youtu.be/9TMD_DI0fPk  - Micha Gammerman a nice Boi Kallah arranged by Yitz Berry and Eli Klein!

https://youtu.be/4wU8pCAVFdw - The man behind Artscroll- Upon the first Yartzeit of Reb Meir Zlotowitz Z”L and release of book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3zKyTgfG5w – Sammy Davis Jr. as Tevye?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MMYB6Xsc9c -If I had a bitcoin spoof

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S HAFTORA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Korach – Ok so this week it’s a bit scary the timeliness of the haftora reading to our daily events. See in Israel this week the big news, at least for tour guides is that it was raining. No rain in June is certainly bizzare. In May it’s out of place fuggedabout June. Our rainy season is November to March. Sukkos to Pesach. But this wasn’t just a rain, it was flooding in Ashkelon and Sderot. It broke records. Weird, right? Then I open the haftorah this week and guess what it talks about the prophet Shmuel and the unseasonal rain he brings upon the Jewish people to show Hashem’s disapproval with their request for a King.

Shmuel I (11:16) also now stand and see this great thing which Hashem will do before your eyes. Is it not the wheat cutting season today? I will call to Hashem and He will give loud noise and rain and you shall know that your wickedness is great in the eyes of Hashem in requesting a King. And Shmuel called out to Hashem and Hashem gave noise and rain on that day and the people were very fearful of Hashem and Shmuel.

Now tell me that’s not timely and scary. Now we are not having elections yet, as far as I know , although in this country ya’nevva know what tomorrow may bring. So I don’t think we’re looking to get a new king here. But the message of Shmuel is really echoing the message of the parsha, which as we know is always the point of the haftorah. Korach riled up the people because he wanted the Jewish people to be led more like a democracy. “We are all holy”. Why should Moshe and Aharon rule over the rest of us. They want to be like everyone else. As well the Jews in the times of Shaul and Shmuel wanted a King to be like every other nation. Enough with this theocracy. Let’s divide “church” and state. Sounds nice. But it isn’t. See their intent in both cases was to further their own personal good. To influence the susceptible elected officials. Pay to Play. Once Moshe or Shmuel are out of the picture, everything can go. We’ll have our guy in the Knesset. That was a problem So Moshe had the ground swallow them up. Shmuel scared them with some unseasonal rain. And all was good. We got the message. Follow the law, the rabbis, the spiritual leaders, don’t work the system. It’s raining in June in Israel, let’s hope the ground doesn’t open up and learn the lesson now!

Shaul (884 BC)-  The Talmud tells us that Shaul was perfect without any sin. Head and shoulders literally above all his peers. He was a fierce warrior and a true hero of the Jewish people. Perhaps even more significantly Shaul does not tell anyone that he is King. He is not looking for power or to rule. This humility is certainly noteworthy however at the same time it seems to be his flaw, as he does not ultimately fill his role. He is king for a mere two years. He leads battles and has a troubled Kingship. But he will always remain the first King of Israel.

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

Miriam and Tzippora- 1270 BC-  If I were to ask you where the Matriarchs are buried, so being avid readers of this column, or in general people who have read the Torah, or visited Israel I’m sure would all answer in Chevron. In a place called the Cave of our Patriarchs or Matriarchs or Mearat Hamachpela purchased by Avraham Avinu. Yet if one comes to the city of Tiverya and travels to the top of the city (about a few blocks above Rabbi Akiva) one would find another grave and memorial for the graves of the matriarchs as well. These are however other Matriarchs. These are Bilha and Zilpa who were incidentally the mothers of a 1/3 of the tribes of Israel. But the older tradition is that this is the grave site of Miriam, Moshe’s sister, Yocheved, his mother and Tzippora his wife. Along with them are also Elisheva the wife of Aharon and Avigayil the wife of King David. Now this tradition at least about the “women” of Moshe goes back to testimonies from students of the Ramban that describe being here and visiting them about 800 years or so ago. Far before the Ari”ZL who identified many of the graves in Israel.

The strange thing of course though is that the Torah tells us that Miriam at least was buried in the wilderness in Kadesh which would be in Midbar Tzin not far from Sdei Boker where from the grave of Ben Gurion you have a beautiful overlook. How she got here, or if they buried her temporarily and then brought her here, I can’t tell you. I can only remind you that we do not pray to dead people but we connect to the Tzadikim and their inspiration. It is certainly appropriate therefor that Tiverya which is the city of “water” for Israel should be connected with Miriam in whose merit the Jews drank water from the miracle rock/well that traveled with them through the Midbar and is believed to have sunk in the Kinneret. These two women, Yocheved and Miriam, as well rescued Jewish children from being drowned in the nile as they were the midwives Shifra and Puah. As far the connection with the other righteous women I can’t tell you. It’s tradition!

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S RICH MAN JOKES OF THE WEEK

Just before the class took their final math exams, their teacher asked them the following problem to test how well they would do in the real exam: -
"A rich man dies and leaves $240,000,000 in his Will. One-third is to go to his wife; one-fifth is to go to his son; one-sixth to his chauffeur; one eighth to his secretary; and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?"
After a long silence in the classroom, Saul raised his hand.
"Yes, Saul," said the teacher.
"A good lawyer!" he replied. 

A Catholic, a Protestant, a Muslim and a Jew were in a discussion during a dinner.
Catholic: "I have a large fortune....I am going to buy Citibank!"
Protestant: "I am very wealthy and will buy General Motors!"
Muslim: "I am a fabulously rich prince.... I intend to purchase Microsoft!" 
They then all wait for the Jew to speak....
The Jew stirs his coffee, places the spoon neatly on the table, takes a sip of his coffee, looks at them, and casually says, "I'm not selling”

Moishe started his very own business, which almost immediately began to prosper. He was soon a very rich man. One day, his bank manager called him and said, "Moishe, I have a query on one of your recent checks. Could you confirm it is one of yours? For years, you've been signing all checks with two X's but this one is signed with three X's. Is it yours?" 
Moishe replied, "Yes, it is. Since I've become so wealthy, my wife thought I ought to have a middle name."  

A poor Jew finds a wallet with $700 in it. At his shul, he reads a notice stating that a wealthy Jew has lost his wallet and is offering a $50 reward to anyone who returns it. Quickly he locates the owner and gives him the wallet.
The rich man counts the money and says, "I see you have already taken your reward."
The poor man responds, "What are you talking about?"
The wealthy Jew continues, "This wallet had $750 in it when I lost it."
The two men begin arguing, and eventually they come before the Rabbi.
Both men present their case. The poor man first, then the wealthy man who concludes by saying, "Rabbi, I trust you believe me."
The Rabbi says, "Of course." The rich man smiles, and the poor man is devastated. Then the Rabbi takes the wallet out of the wealthy man's hands and gives it to the poor man who found it.
"What are you doing?" the rich man yells angrily.
The Rabbi responds, "You are, of course, an honest man, and if you say that your missing wallet had $750 in it, I'm sure it did. But if the man who found this wallet is a liar and a thief, he wouldn't have returned it at all. Which means that this wallet must belong to somebody else. If that man steps forward, he'll get the money. Otherwise, it stays with the man who found it."
"What about my money?" the rich man asks.
"Well, we'll just have to wait until somebody finds a wallet with $750 in it!"

Izzy and Howie were brothers who had lived and worked in the Bronx all their lives. Unfortunately, nothing good could be said about them - they ran a crooked business, they womanized, they lied and they cheated the poor. But they were also very, very wealthy.
When Izzy died, Howie went to Rabbi Bloom and said, "I will donate to the shul one hundred thousand dollars if you will say at the funeral that my brother Izzy was a mensch."
The Rabbi thought long and hard but eventually agreed.
At the funeral, the Rabbi told everyone present of Izzy’s wrong doings. He didn’t hold anything back. He let everyone know that this was not someone they should be emulating. He then closed his book and concluded with the sentence "But, compared to his brother Howie, Izzy was a mensch!"

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Answer is A– I got this one right as well! Not that I have taken tourists to Nachal Alexander, this small stream on the coast line at the top of the West Bank and Northern coastline. As it gets its water from Nachal Shechem and much of the West Bank it became very polluted over time. In 1996 they began cleaning it up and in 2003 it won the Australian River Prize for the most cleaned up river. The one thing that is nice to bring people to see there are the soft shelled turtles which are an endangered species that are being preserved there as well. That is if you like turtles. By the way the other answers. Kidron is one of the most polluted nachals. David is probably one of the most hiked and we get lots of our water from there. Both of those are in the Dead Sea area. Yagur is near Har HaCarmel not too far from Alexander, but not polluted from what I know.