Hate Them- Kill Them- Parshat Vayikra Zachor 2024 5784

 

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

March 22^nd 2024 -Volume 13 Issue 23 12^th of Adar II 5784

Parshat Vayikra- Zachor

Hate Them- Kill Them

We do things differently in my shul than other places. We do them right. On the one hand we are a pretty chareidi congregation. Most of my mispalelim are hard core chariedi kollel guys. Yet we have the prayer for the soldiers, the State of Israel and now for the return of the hostages. I don’t know how any self-respecting Jew can daven in shul that doesn’t have these prayers. Reishit tzmichat geulaseinu… Really? That bothers you…? Grow up. It’s here.

 

I speak after kriyat ha’torah on Shabbos morning as American congregation Rabbis do. People need a good drasha and story Shabbos morning, or at least a snooze or time to be ma’avir sedra before they come home. And it’s so much more fun to leave for the Rabbi’s speech, make kiddush in the backroom or join a breakoff minyan in the yard than sticking it out for the whole service. This is particularly true for those that only just showed up a few minutes before Torah reading anyways… See, we aim to please everyone.

 We sing Friday night Carlebach style. We sing the entire Hallel on Rosh Chodesh.  I mean the final blessing of Hallel literally says the word “Vi’yishoriru- and we sing it” … I don’t know how other congregations even say the blessing without having sung Hallel. When we’ve been saying Tehillim after prayers we don’t say the standard October 6^th ones that everyone else says. Rather we open it up and read inside the ones that Hashem chooses for us. We do things different as I said. We do it the only real way it’s supposed to be done. It’s why we daven nusach sefard too.

 But perhaps one of the most different things that we do is each year before the Torah reading of Parshat Zachor that we will read this week; I give a speech that is different than most Rabbi or Gabbai speeches before the biblically mandated reading. I tell it like it is. See in most shuls the Rabbi or Gabbai will get up and say something to the effect that the Torah reading of Amalek is a biblical obligation. One needs to hear every word. There shouldn’t be any talking. Keep your kids quiet. They will even read it twice in order that some of the words that have multiple pronunciations are read correctly each way. This is very important. It’s the only biblical mandated reading. Pay attention… Blah Blah Blah…

 Welcome to Rabbi Schwartz’s shul now where these is a different speech that is given.

 “Hello everyone. Thank you for coming today. We are about to begin the Torah reading of Amalek that is done annually. I’d like to preface this Torah reading by telling everyone that there is absolutely no biblical obligation whatsoever to hear the reading of the Torah of the story of how Amalek attacked us. There is no mitzva to hear every single word, although that could be a good thing. There’s no obligation to hear it read twice. There is a different mitzva though however which sadly enough we might be the only shul in the world that will be fulfilling, because of this important speech that I’m giving.

 See, the Rambam is quite clear about what that obligation is. He writes in the Sefer HaMitzvos as follows.

Mitzva 192- We are commanded to constantly remember what Amalek did to us, i.e., to be the first to attack us [after we were redeemed from Egypt]; and to speak of it constantly; to arouse people to wage war against them and hate them, in order that it not be forgotten or the hatred towards them lessened with the passage of time.  The source of this commandment …the Sifri says, is the phrase, 'Remember what Amalek did to you,' refers to doing so verbally. The phrase, 'Do not forget,' means in one's heart." This means that one should say verbally words that cause people to keep this hatred in their hearts.”

Similarly, in his Yad Chazaka he describes the mitzva as one where we are meant to remember what Amalek has done to us in order to awaken hatred in our hearts, as it is forbidden to forget this hatred towards them. As I said there is no mitzva to listen to the Torah reader read from the Torah. There is another mitzva though.

 The mitzva that we are going to fulfill now in this shul as the Rambam describes is to be filled with an overwhelming sense of hatred. We are going to be so full of hate that we will want to go into Amalek villages and slaughter all of them. Men, women, children. We will want to chop each of them up into little pieces gleefully. We want to throw their little devil spawn babies into ovens and burn them on high. We want to carpet bomb them into oblivion. We want to chuck their old, evil, wheelchaired bound, senior murdering citizens in a river and a sea and watch the bubbles slowly fizzle out as they scream in pain. We will want to watch their cities burn to the ground. We will kill every animal. Every puppy of theirs. We will sing “mishe mishe mishe nichnas adar” while dancing in the rivers of blood that will flow through the streets.

 That is the biblical commandment that we are going to fulfill now when the Baal Koreh reads the Torah reading and we remember how evil they are. It’s not and never has been about saying “zeicher”or “zecher” correctly or reading it with an Ashkenazi, Sefardi ,Yemenite or Chasidic havara or tune… It’s about arousing an eternal hatred that wants to avenge and destroy them deep deep inside of our souls and hearts.

 See, as I said we do it a little differently in my shul. I don’t get why other Rabbis don’t feel the obligation to inspire their congregations to fulfill the mitzva properly and give a similar speech.

Now to be violently honest, although I’ve given this speech every year, I never really felt it as passionately and graphically as I tried to give it over. I really don’t like the sight of blood much. I could never really join the army, unless they just wanted me to be the rah rah guy that riles everyone up, which incidentally I’m quite good at. But guns and me don’t really go. I have a big mouth that has gotten me into trouble more often then I can think, but I’ve never really physically hurt anyone. Sticks and stones and breaking bones are not me. Name calling though… inflicting severe emotional pain… yeah I’m guilty.

 The truth is I don’t think I’m the only one like that. I’m pretty sure that most of you readers are as well the non-violent type. You’re Jewish and live in America after-all. It was probably even difficult for you to even read that last graphic paragraph-if you’re even still here and haven’t unsubscribed yet. It’s why we’re so in awe of these brave chayalim of ours that have that fire burning inside of them like the great Maccabees and the army of Yehoshua and King David. These guys are the real deal. They’re made out of something biblical. They’re fighting selflessly in the name of Hashem, in the name of Klal Yisrael. They’re doing the job that all of us need to be doing. They’re our High Priests.

 So although I’ve never really felt my speech before, this year though is different. It must be different. This year I think for the first time all of us can finally tap into that hatred that the Rambam and the Torah really wants us to have. We can understand it. We need to understand it and feel it. Hashem has revealed to us the face of evil like never before; the face of Amalek.

 But is Hamas really Amalek? I’m sure many of our yeshivishe friends are asking that question. After all, Amalek as we know is a descendant of Esau, while the Arabs are seemingly from Yishmael. Yet Rav Soloveitchik quoting both his father Reb Moshe and his grandfather the great Reb Chaim of Brisk deduce from the fact that when the Rambam mentions the mitzva to wipe out Amalek he differentiates in the way he describes the mitzva to destroy the 7 nations when we come to the land of Israel from Amalek. By the 7 Canaanite nations the Rambam specifically notes that the mitzva is inapplicable today as Sancheirev (whom we just learned about in our Eras column below for those that have ever made it that far down in this weekly E-Mail to read) mixed up and re”colonized” all of the nations around the world. Thus, we have no idea who they are. In describing the mitzva to wipe out Amalek though, the Rambam doesn’t mention this disclaimer. He writes, as the Torah does, that this is an eternal existential and real battle and obligation. From this he understands that any nation like Haman that comes to declare genocide on the Jewish people as part of their mandate, has the halachic status as Amalek. Boom. End of story. Hate them- Kill them. All of them.

 In fact there even seems to be a Yerushalmi that notes that Haman himself was perhaps not even a direct descendant of Hamdasa and the Agagi ,which differs from the Midrash and Bavli take on him. Rav Soloveitchik thus ruled that the Nazis YM”SH were Amalekites and one even fulfills the mitzva of remembering and instilling our hatred for them by studying Holocaust history. Stalin as well falls into that category. The great Jerusalem sage and holocaust survivor Rav Gustman Z”L used to tell his students that when he killed a Nazi with his bare hands back in his partisan days he felt that he had fulfilled the mitzva of wiping out Amalek. If that is the case, then Hashem has truly brought us this year to the day when we can finish up the job that King Shaul didn’t, by wiping out this last remnant of them. By hating them to the core. By understanding that Humanitarian aid only makes sense if there are humans to receive it. And by achieving a hatred like we’ve never had before for everything that has a pulse on the other side of that fence.

 There is an incredible Midrash that the holy Chortokever Rebbi brings that perhaps can shed light on this unique mitzva. The midrash writes that when Hashem told the Jewish nation that we need to remember eternally the mitzva to destroy Amalek, the people turned to God and said

 “We are mere flesh and blood and we are mortal. How can we remember something forever? Isn’t it better since You are immortal and infinite that You, Hashem, remember and destroy them?

Hashem thus responded to them, that all we need to do is read from the Torah portion of the mitzva to destroy Amalek and He will consider it as if we destroyed them ourselves”

 The Rebbe asks that it is a strange response. Why does Torah reading help as if we destroyed them? Are the words and emotion really just as good as sticks and stones, or as missiles, bombs, and AK47s? As well how does this address the question that we asked of why it wouldn’t be better if Hashem was the One to remember and destroy them for us? The Chortkover answers that what the Torah reading does is that it connects us as a nation right back to Egypt. We are the same people now as we were then. We are still reading the story. We are still emotionally connected. It is in those days but it is in our times. It is today.

 Amalek’s eternal battle is to disconnect us from that past and from one another. They attack the weak, the spiritually disconnected, the vulnerable, the ones that perhaps have even been thrown out of the spiritual camps because of their sins. Amalek’s fight is against netzach Yisrael- the eternality of our nation that transcends time and space and even individuals. When we read the Torah and feel that story that happened and are emotional about it, then we have won them. We have destroyed them. But it only works if you feel. If you hate. If you understand that we need to be avenged. That the Shechina can only shine if we eliminate the source of evil that is sworn to prevent that from happening.

The truth is I don’t need Rav Soloveitchik to tell me that we are in a battle against Amalek. I look at our nation and our era now and what they have done to us, and it is obvious. There is so much unity now. What Amalek did was make us realize that we are our all brothers and sisters and responsible for one another. It’s not just some soldier that was killed- it’s my brother, my son, my husband, my father. It’s not just some kibbutznik or festival goer that are kidnapped and sitting in Gaza. It’s my sister, my brother, my little cute red-headed baby. There are no them and us. There’s only Am Yisrael.

 As well it’s not only Hamas that is our enemy. They are not the only Amalek. It is the “Free Palestine” idiots. It’s Hezbollah. It’s all of those that are b’chol dor v’dor omdim aleinu-that stand up on us- as if they are better than us. As if they have the moral high ground. As if we are the baby-killers. As if we are the ones that are committing Genocide.

 They stand on us and tell us what we need to do. What we can’t do. Who we can’t kill. Who they don’t want us to kill. We need to understand that this is not coming from some type of lack of information. That Hamas and Palestine and Amalek have a better PR force then Israel does. That missions and hasbara campaigns and speeches before the UN and International courts and the US congress will change. They stand on us not because they don’t get it. Rather it’s because they are out l’chaloseinu- to destroy us. Us is all of us. It’s the settlers, it’s Yerushalayim, it’s Israel, it’s Lakewood, New York, Gateshead, London, South Africa and Australia. It’s every Jew in the 127 countries of Achashveirosh that were perhaps scattered and disconnected before Purim, before October 7^th, but have since discovered that we are all part of one whole.

 What unites is not just sympathy, chesed, tzedaka, and the prayers that will help fix the situation and bring them all back. It’s a much stronger emotion. It’s perhaps the strongest emotion in the world next to love. It’s hate. We’re a loving and forgiving nation and people. It’s natural to us. Yet we all feel hatred now as well, each of us to a different degree. We feel hatred towards these barbarian Amalekites. And we should. We need to. For the less we hate- the less we love and care.

 Why is hate so important? Why is it so essential? Why is it even more powerful than love and the strongest emotion one can experience? The answer on a very deep level is that one can only hate if it’s personal. When we love someone, what we are doing is expanding our sense of self onto another. It’s loving myself and he is part of me. I become bigger and bigger and feel warmer and better the more I love. The more I’m united with someone else. Hate, though is the extreme opposite.

 I hate someone when they have taken the core of who I am. They have killed me. They have taken my son or my daughter to Gaza. They have killed my brother or sister who’s a soldier. They have burned my baby and left me an empty shell- as the so many mourning that I see daily look like. That’s when hate comes out. The more I hate, reveals the more I feel they have taken from me. The less I hate, the more I “get over it”. The more I “move on” and don’t feel emotional, the more I’m disconnected from myself. The more I’m disconnected from the person they took from me. From my brother in Gaza, from the ones that they abused.

 That’s what Amalek wants to achieve. To divide us. To make us not care about one another. To hit the weak, the ones “outside the camp”. The ones the rest of us comfortable ones, frummer ones, safer ones, can sort of shake our heads, write off, shed a tear, perhaps even pray for and say some Tehillim for. But that we can’t hate for. We can’t want to go out and kill them all for. We don’t feel enough that it is our personal loss to take the ultimate vengeance for. That’s what Amalek is banking on. That’s what Hamas is too. And so is your neighbor down the block in Lakewood, in Congress, on 5^th Avenue with his Free Palestine flag. They’re counting on the fact that we’re not connected enough to really hate.

 On October 7^th we felt that hate and connection though. We feel it when we see those protestors, when we hear the pain of those suffering. When we see the obituaries each morning for another fallen soldier and broken family and when we see those posters of the hostages. Yet it’s been waning for some of us. People are calling me for tours for Pesach and Sukkos, as if there’s no existential Messianic war going on right now that will bring Mashiach. This to me is scarier than Hamas. It’s scarier to our country and its soldiers who are terrified that all we may be fighting and dying in vain for just another “Tzuk Eitan” Gaza or Lebanon war. Because we don’t have enough hatred to see it through the end. To be timcheh es Zecher Amalek.

 The Shemen HaTov writes reads this scenario into the Torah’s commandment itself.

V’haya b’haniach Hashem Elokecha es kol oiyvecha m’saviv- and it will be when Hashem removes all our enemies from around you.

 When you don’t feel there’s any threat anymore. When you feel that you’ve restored “security”. When you’re already ayef v’yageya- you’re worn out and tired from fighting, from hating, from killing, from the world screaming at you… you’ve had enough. The Torah then tells us- rather commands us.

 Timcheh es zecher Amalek- wipe them out.

Don’t stop. Bring it to the end. That is the mitzva that is the biblical commandment we are meant to think about this week and that we fulfill when hearing every single word of the Torah reading. Maybe even twice and maybe even in different nusachs. This year though we need perhaps to hear that Torah reading in Arabic. In Hamas’s hate-filled language. We need to hear it in Amalekite language, so we learn the hatred that is not natural to us from them in order to see this through to the end. To be able to dance with joy at the destruction of the evil that Hashem has brought us to experience in our Messianic Era.  May this year Hashem’s throne finally be completed with the final eradication of His enemies.

 Have an easy meaningful and generous 😊 fast of Esther a memorable Zachor and a Fraylichen Purim!

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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CHIZUK/TZEDAKA OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK

Just when you thought this E-Mail couldn’t get any longer… well here it goes. It's been 165 days of War and this essential column is dedicated to giving you readers an opportunity to have a meaningful part of helping out our country and nation by donating to a weekly link of a different organization, a cause, soldiers, refugees, supplies, Hostage families, widows, farmers etc…

 

There are so many needs and I know that you want to participate and help them not just read about them. So each week I will feature in our E-Mail in this column another cause and link that you can contribute and make a meaningful difference to. (this of course should not come at the expense of your sponsorship of my weekly E-Mail or our upcoming Purim appeal iup above! 😊) But this is a way that you can bring light and money to the so many that need it. Give what you can. But give regularly and if you can I’d really appreciate if if you send me a screenshot or message of your donation as I can then forward it to whoever receives it so they know that it came from our helpful readers. So here we go…

 IBF- Israel Beef Forces- my Beef Jerky guys!- As Napoleon aptly put it, "An army runs on its stomach." We take this principle to heart! We have an especially dedicated group of individuals committed to supporting our חיילים by providing them with beef jerky — which is an incredibly high protein food — to give soldiers the energy they need while fighting on the front lines. One 60 gram (2 oz.) package of our high quality beef jerky provides a soldier with approximately 28 grams of protein. That’s almost the equivalent of two meals worth of protein in one light package!

 SmorgasBOARD by Etan makes high quality home cured beef jerky and meat boards. IBF is the new operational arm of SmorgasBOARD by Etan and is making premium beef jerky available to our soldiers on the front lines.  In the face of danger, our mission is clear: to provide essential sustenance to the brave soldiers fighting in the most dangerous locations, from Gaza to the Lebanon border. In times of war, soldiers don't often have the luxury of breaks, yet they endure, displaying unwavering resilience. Recognizing the vital role nutrition plays in sustaining their strength, I.B.F. provides a powerful source of protein and sustenance.

 I.B.F. is more than just a meal; it's an expression of our love, care and gratitude towards our heroes. It’s our way of saying thank you and bringing smiles to our soldiers' faces. With every pack of our jerky, we send a message to those on the front lines: You are not alone and your sacrifice does not go unnoticed. As one soldier put it, “With your beef jerky, we will win this war!”

 PLEASE SEND ME SCREENSHOTS OF YOUR DONATIONS SO I CAN FORWARD TO Avi and Eytan  and let them know that our Readers love him and appreciate his hard work for our soldiers.

 https://vimeo.com/912579142    

 And here’s the link to donate

https://causematch.com/Israel_beef_forces/tate

 YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

" Di velt hot feint dem moissernik un dem mussernik..”- The world hates the informer and the moralist.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

32.The name of the valley where the Eshkol Reservoir is situated is ___________.

What is the origin of most of the drinking water in Israel today?

A. The Sea of Galilee

B. The Mediterranean

C. Runoff water

D. Ground water

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/yiddelach   – In Honor of PURim MY latest new release… Its; the only song I’m posting this week. You just have to listen to it five times… If You want the Rap at the end… IT’s amazing… Tell me how much you love it…

 https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/techelet-mordechai  – Remember this great Rabbi Schwartz Purim composition! Get into the groove it’s the ultimate Purim Seuda song.. Techlet Mordechai

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=copuiawkyCY  -  Simcha Leiner 613 Eli Marcus Avi Peretz Purim!!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYGd4HOend4  – This song is really really amazing- the lyrics are fantastic…but theyre in Hebrew – Giborei Al by Hatikva 6

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y61gzf7CByc  – Best and Funniest song of the week- Amalek Histalek!

  RABBI SCHWARTZ’S PARSHA PRAYER INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK

A  Different Type of Salvation- It was 1942 Purim when the Asih Kodesh, the holy Piacezner rebbe of Krakow wrote this piece. It’s eternal message resonates today like never before. He notes that the salvation and song we sing on Purim of Shoshanas Yaakov describes that we experienced this when we saw the Techelet Mordechai the garments of Mordechai. What does Mordechai’s clothing have to do with salvation?

 He writes that there are two ways Hashem answers our prayers. The first is the standard one. We ask Hashem, we daven from within according to the trouble we experience and Hashem answers us. Yet there are times when the tzara is so great that we can’t even verbalize it. It encompasses us on all levels. We are enclothed in it. It is the level that Dovid describes as being Tefilla l’ani ki ya’atof- it is the prayer of the pauper who is ensconced in it from the outside. He’s wearing his trouble on his garments and thus lifney Hashem yishpoch sicho- his words just our forth. His cry just fills the world. When that happens then Hashem utilizes what is called the ohr makif- a light that surrounds us. That isn’t limited by our internal prayer which is finite by the body and heart that it comes from. Rather it comes from the outside. It’s all over. It turns the whole world around.

 That is what happened on Purim. On Chanuka we were in Israel still. We had the Temple. Our trouble was great but it didn’t cover us from all sides. Thus the miracle was limited. The salvation was a jug of oil. We came back, but the truth was it wasn’t a long-term salvation as we lost it all very quickly afterwards. Purim though we were still in exile. We were wearing the “royal clothes’ of Achashveirosh. We were wrapped in pain and trouble and it surrounded us. It was then that we knew that the redemption would be an eternal one. Would be one where everything flipped around. That’s the holiday of Purim.

 And that’s why as well each year we begin Purim with the eternal fast of Esther. We need to experience that sense of exile, of our lives being threatened, we need to be overwhelmed and it pours out. When we do that then we can celebrate Purim. Then we can see the redemption. All the holidays we are told will be nullified when Mashiach comes except for Purim. As well all of the fasts, the chasidim tell us will be turned into days of joys. Except one. Taanit Esther- today is eternal. It is the ohr makif. It is being wrapped in Hashem. That is forever. That is the day that has power like none other. Let’s utilize this day and bring it up to the salvation that we are looking for!

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

 722 BC-Shomronim/ Kuthim-  When Sancheirev exiled our nation he didn’t just throw us out of our land. He repopulated our holy country with foreigners. The Navi tells us that he moved in nations from Bavel/ Iran from Kuth which is Ethiopia. In case that sounds familiar to you in this Purim season Achashveirosh’s kingdom reigned from Hodu/ India  until Kuth-Yup the same one…

 Now the reason why he did this colonization was in order that there will be no sense of loyalty to the country that one resides in. He learned this it would seem from Yosef in Egypt who as well repopulated the Egyptians all over the country so that when his brothers came down they wouldn’t feel any more foreginers or persecuted than anyone else. See, it all starts with the Jews...

 Now there are many ramifications as a result of the above. Our sages tell us that since Sancheirev “mixed up the world”, the biblical nations such as the 7 nations we are meant to destroy are no longer the inhabitants of those countries. As well many authorities rule that even Amalek, unlike what we wrote in our main E-Mail, is as well no longer a nation that we know whom it is. As well the 10 tribes have been lost forever according to some because of this repopulation and their eventual assimilation into their new countries. According to some never to return.  This was a big deal on all levels.

 Yet the most practical aspect of this bilbul- mix-up as the Talmud tells us is that it brought to Israel a new nation that settled in the shomron. They were called the Kuthim and they remain until today. The Navi tells us that they were idolators but being that Eretz Yisrael doesn’t tolerate idolatry Hashem sent lions to attack them. Terrified they turned to Sancheirev who ordered the Rabbis to solve the problem which they did by teaching them Torah or at least about Hashem and not to defile the land. They considered themselves converts as a result. Even worse they eventually after the Purim story when the Jews returned claimed to be the real Jews. The ones that Hashem really chose. They worshipped Hashem, the Navi tells us, but they also worshipped their idolatry. Kind of like Christianity in that way. Some things never change.

 Eventually our sages ruled that their conversion wasn’t proper as it only came out of fear.   Yet until today there are Shomronim who live in the Shomron/ West Bank area by Mt. Gerizim which they believe is the real Mt Moriah. They take visitors. They even bring sacrifices. They believe in the written Torah but not the oral tradition. They’re strange but seemingly harmless people over-all. But god willing soon, we will return to our borders and once again have our land back with all of its children and our ancient enemies will be destroyed.

 RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TERRIBLE JOKES OF THE WEEK

V”NAHAPOCH HU!

NO JOKES TODAY…

HA HA HA….

C’mon that’s kind of funny…!

Don’t worry the jokes will come still… but first you have to donate… sponsor… help our campaign… up above…

But don’t worry…

Our annual Top Ten List Purim E-Mail is on it’s way…

I always take care of my peeps!

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 The answer to this week”s question is B– This is really insane. I can’t seem to get out of this 50/50 rut. I thought I got this one right and I was wrong. The second part of the question I got right. I knew that the majority of the water came from Mediterranean. We have three desalinization plants that takes out all of the salt. I also know where the Eshkol water reservoir is. I pass it all the time as I drive through the lower galil. Yet I for some reason wrote that it was in the Jezreel valley. I was wrong I realized when I saw the answer. The correct answer is the Netufa valley which is just North of the Jezreel, although it does from there down into the valley. So another half right and half wrong. Oh well. At least I’ve still passing this one. So the score is score is Rabbi Schwartz at 22.5 points and the MOT having 8.5 points on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.

Eternal Cows, Calves and Joy- Parshat Ki Tisa- Parah 2023 5783

 

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

March 10^th 2023 -Volume 12 Issue 21 17^th of Adar 5783

 

Parshat Ki Tisa/ Parah

Eternal Cows, Calves and Joy

I’m after-glowing. And a bit hungover to be honest. There’s nothing like Purim. It’s the highest of the high. We enter a different plane of existence. It’s pure joy, pure ecstasy. It’s dancing and singing and soaring. It’s hugging and kissing and blessing everyone and getting blessings back from them. And it’s absolutely exhausting.

It’s a remarkable and inspiring day. I’ve been watching some statuses on Whatsapp and checking out some OnlySimchai Insta and Facebook posts and I just find it so amazing. It’s almost 2500 years since this miracle and our salvation took place in Persia and yet the dancing, the costumes, the parties, the feasts, the festivities, and celebrations that go on in our communities around the entire world is as if we just averted the Holocaust yesterday. I compare the joy that I see on Purim to the celebrations and festivities that I’ve seen in black and white movies of the 5^th of Iyar 1948 when the State of Israel was declared or on ‘kaf tet” of November 1947 when the Partition Plan was announced in that historic UN vote; the first time in 2000 years that the Jews have returned and established a national Jewish homeland recognized by the world. Or alternatively the joy and euphoria on that first Yom Yerushalayim when we saw miracles like never before when Hashem saved us against all odds and we were returned to the Kotel, the Har Ha’Bayis, to Chevron and the Golan Heights and we quadrupled the size of our country. I hate to tell you this though, but guess what? Those historic days, despite them being so recent and perhaps of even greater historical significance have nothing on the types of celebration and joy that are experienced and exhibited on every Purim. Isn’t that remarkable?

I just watch the videos and see the costumes, the children, the parades, the dancing, the truly expressed Simcha exploding from the deepest, most powerful and intimate places of every single Jew and it’s so inspiring. It’s so holy. It’s almost unexplainable. I understand watching these videos why despite the hesitation after the first year of the miracle whether to establish the holiday as an eternal one in the Jewish year, that when the second year came around the Rabbis and sages at the time of Mordechai and Esther understood and felt in the air that this was something unique. That the joy of Purim will never be nullified from our nation. Not from them nor their descendants after them. It is a day that was established into the fabric of time when every year we can tap into that joy and shine it out to the world. It is something that is forever.

Fascinatingly enough, this past Purim I tapped into something holy and deep that also I believe non-coincidentally is at the opposite extreme eternal. The idea really started with last week’s E-Mail when I delved into the Yom Kippur and Purim connections. (If you missed that E-Mail here’s the link for Rabbi Schwartze’s Top Ten list right here https://holylandinsights.blogspot.com/2023/03/splenda-vs-sugar-yom-kippur-vs-purim.html . It’s worth the long Megilla read and who knows you may even be inspired to contribute to our campaign afterwards. If you’re not and or if you haven’t yet, it means that there’s still some Amalek left in you and it’s a problem...) The first item on the top ten list was that both Purim and Yom Kippur start off with a gezeiras Shmad- a threat of genocide of men, women, children- all of us. Yet whereas on Purim it was coming from Haman. By Yom Kippur that threat was coming from Hashem after the sin of the Golden Calf which we read about this week. Purim we “rested” from our enemy (nachu mikol oyveihem) whereas on Yom Kippur Hashem who had asked Moshe “hanicha li v’achalem- leave me and I will destroy them”, and Who later says that if He remains in our presence, He will destroy us ba’derech- on the road. B’rega echad- in one moment. Yet He as well, ultimately told Moshe lech nechei es ha’am- to give us rest, va’yinachem al ha’ra and he regretted the bad that He had planned for us.

If this doesn’t sound like a Purim story yet, here’s a few more clues on the verses that I just quoted you. Amalek comes ba’derech- always; when we leave Egypt, before us entering the land, in the times of Shaul before the kingship of Dovid Ha’Melech. They’re always there on that road trying to block us like those idiot protestors whom I hate like Amalek. Both Chareidi ones and secular ones. I don’t like people that block me ba’derech and it goes back to the beginning of our nation it seems.

As well the sefarim tell us that the word Rega- a moment is an acronym for RE’ishis G’oyim A’malek. Amalek is always trying to lock us into the moment and not see big picture. It’s crazy to say it, but it’s almost as if Hashem is like Amalek by the Eigel story- not that we didn’t deserve it- but on both days it was all switched and flipped. Our decree to be destroyed was averted.

I was a little bit skeptical about this, but as I continued to review the parsha of the golden calf, I found more and more hints, allusions and similarities to the Purim story. It jumps out almost every pasuk, and I’m sure if you review the parsha with this in mind you will find many similarities of your own. Let’s take it from the start.

The story starts when Moshe is delayed, and the Jews come to Aharon and asks him to make them a god because Moshe who took us up from Egypt

“Lo yada’anu me hayah lo”- we don’t know what happened to him.

It all starts with the Ad d’lo yada- the insane need and desire for the Jewish people to know. On Purim as well we don’t know the difference between Haman and Mordechai. Between being in Galus and being redeemed. We’re eating off the vessels of the Temple in galus. We want an alternate comfortable Beit Midrash or Beit Knesset in Persia. “He who lives in Chutz la’aretz is like he has no god”. We forgot that in Persia. We forget that today. We dance around golden bimas in the midbar and forget that we are ba’derch to somewhere. On Purim though, we fix it by getting rid of our da’as. Stop trying to figure it out.

As well the post golden calf epilogue is Moshe telling Hashem that I want to know you. The Jews want to know you.

“And Moshe said to Hashem See, You told me take up this nation. And yet you didn’t make known to me who You will send with me. And You said I will be known to you by name, and You have found favor in my eyes. And now if I please have found favor in Your eyes. Let me know Your ways. And I will know You. In order to find favor in Your eyes, and see that this nation is Yours.”

It’s all about knowing Hashem. Even more fascinating and you really can’t miss it. Moshe keeps repeating and making requests from Hashem- the King, repeating one caveat. “I have found favor in Your eyes”. Im Motzasi chein b’enecha Ha’Melech…. If I have found favor in Your Eyes-the King. Guess who else in the Megilla keeps saying that. That’s right none other than Esther. And just as Esther has to tell and inform the King who her nation is. Moshe as well is telling Hashem who His nation is. Who He’s “married” to…As well, just as by Moshe there is the initial conversation that convinces Hashem not to destroy us followed by a second request the next day to show how much he favors us. The Purim story as well has Esther asking for a second day to show that Achashveirosh really has favor for the Jews. Pretty amazing isn’t it?

Throw into that story as well how Esther is all nervous about whether she can see the face of the king without being called, with Mordechai not coming inside the palace of the king as he is in mourning and again, we see the Eigel connection with Moshe being sent out of the camp while, the Jews are wearing garments of mourning. It’s a Purim story.

But let’s go back to the beginning of the story as again we see many connections; some more fun than others. What does Aharon tell the Jews when they are so busy trying to activate their da’as. Pirku nizmei ha’zahav mei’aznei- remove the gold from their ears. We were too fartshtupped with gold after we left Egypt. It was coming out of our ears. Just as in Persia and in other exiles when we have too much gold- we forget we’re ba’derech to Eretz Yisrael. Remove that gold from your ears. Isn’t it cool that on Purim we eat, the ears of Haman. We remove those ears. Gives your Hamantash a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?

There’s an incredible Rashi that tells us what Aharon’s plan was, that really needs to be read a few times to appreciate what he was thinking. He tells the Jews to wait until tomorrow before they do anything. Give it a day. The Purim story as well is always about Amalek tomorrow everywhere we find a battle with Amalek it takes place machar, the next day. But Rashi tells us that Aharon told himself

“His heart was for heaven. For he was certain that Moshe would come and they would serve Hashem.”

Amazing isn’t it. Here the Jews had just killed Chur; the gadol ha’dor. They murdered him in cold blood. They were dancing and partying around and around a fake god- (yes, the dancing, singing and tzchok- levity even, is all Purim as well). There is no greater perikus ol-rebellion greater than this. Our sages tell us that it’s like a bride that sins on her way from the chupa on her wedding night. And yet, Aharon is confident that in one second, we will do teshuva. That the worst of the worst of our nation will see the light and return. He was confident that we will serve Hashem and turn it all around. For Aharon sees and understands that it is all not really us. It’s the Satan. It’s a costume. It’s the gold. But the heart of every Jew deep inside is untainted. We are His nation and He is our God. We may not be able to see His face as we learn from the aftermath of the Eigel story, but we can find Him inside of us. We can find Him eternally and reveal Him in us on Purim.

Moshe in perhaps the most dramatic part of the story smashes the Luchos that were written by Hashem. The tablets, which has Hashem’s name written all over it, again as Rashi tells us. He derives this fascinatingly enough from a kal ‘vchomer about Pesach. Rashi tells us that Moshe said that just as on Pesach

The Torah tells us that Kol Ben Neichar lo yochal bo- any son of a stranger can’t eat from it, All of the Jewish nation are sinners for sure they do not deserve the Torah.

We were like goyim. We were not deserving of the luchos written by Hashem. We derive this from the laws of the Pesach offering. On Purim however we fixed it all. Our sages tell us that we accepted the Torah once again. Unlike the first time when Hashem held the Mountain over our heads and “forced” us to take it and If we didn’t, He said we would be buried there. On Purim we did it from our own will.

Do you know how we got to that holy place? Would you believe that it was the same kal v’chomer from Pesach just reversed? The Midrash tells us that Esther decreed that the Jews should fast before she goes into the king. The day she decreed the fast, the original Taanis Esther was on none other than Pesach. That year, Esther decreed that there should not be a Pesach Seder. No Matza, No four cups, No Ma Nishtana and no singing Vehi She’amda or Dayeinu. Just fast.

The decree of Haman was 11 months away. She could’ve made the fast days after Pesach. Yet, the Midrash tells us that Esther wanted to send a message to Hashem. “Without the Jews, there is no Pesach.” We are your nation. We’re not goyim. If we aren’t here there would be no one to eat your Korban Pesach. No one to sing Your praises. No one to shine Your light out to the world. We can turn it all around. We can get those crowns back on our head. We can be your nation of Kings. Of Kohanim. Of Mordechai’s and of Esthers. We can build Your Bais Ha’Mikdash. We can be redeemed.

Finally and eternally, the story of the Golden Calf ends with Hashem telling Moshe that the memory of that sin will be eternal. U’bayom pokdi, u’fakadati aleihem chatasam- and the day that account for them, that I punish them I will pay them for this punishment as well. Rashi emphasizes this by the repetition of the word tamid.

V’tamid tamid- and always always when I account for their sins, I will account a little for this sin with all of the others. And there is no punishment that befalls on Yisrael that does not have in it punishment for the sin of the golden calf.

It is eternal. Our mitzva to wipe out Amalek is always eternal, as is Hashem and our battle against them. On that first Yom Kippur Hashem wanted to wipe us out. Moshe reunited us with Hashem by offering that he himself would be wiped out- mecheini mi’sifricha- erase me from Your book. Hashem has no other nation besides us. We are His eternally and every Purim millennia later we reveal that to Him and the world, by letting that joy explode. By dancing and singing not in front of golden calves, but in praise of Hashem. It is the Eternal sin of the eigel rectified. It is wiping out Amalek. It is revealing the pinteleh holy untainted spark that Ahraon knew would come out… tomorrow. It is today 2500 years later in every corner of the world where you might find a Jew.

This Shabbos as we get closer to Pesach, the holiday of our redemption, we read Parshat Parah of the inexplicable mitzva of the Red Heifer and it’s purity. Our sages tell us that the mother cow should come and clean up the filth of its child; the eigel. This year and most years we read this together with the story of the Eigel. We read it right after we have read the story of Purim and we have celebrated, inebriated, and brought that simcha to the world. We’re ready for the purity from Hashem now to come down with this mitzva that is above our da’as. We are ready to finally see Hashem’s face and know him as He returns to His palace as He should’ve first done when he gave us that Torah so long ago. We’ve wiped out Amalek. We have arrived at the end of the derech. May this year Pesach we merit all to be in Yerushalayim back again with our offerings and Mashiach b’simchas olam- with the eternal joy of Purim redeemed.

Have an eternally purely and parah-ly happy Shabbos!

 

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

 

““Alts iz nit puter vos kumt aroys fun der ku.”- All is not butter that comes from a cow

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

14) The Ceasefire Line, drawn in Jerusalem at the end of the War of Independence between the Israeli and Jordanian posts is called:

 

In the "UN Partition Plan" for Palestine of Nov. 29th, 1947, Jerusalem was intended to be:

A) a city under joint Jewish-Arab sovereignty

B) a city with a unique international status

C) a unified Arab city

D) a unified Jewish city

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY_2riUV4OU  –Ari Goldwags latest heartfelt bi Yerushalayim

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqVVjAS2Svc   -loving Shulem’s latest album…here’s a sampler

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJuCpsP1aLA   – Meilech Kohen’s Aish Tamid

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ochb_fXAQ3I     – Modzitz Shoshanas Yaakov

 

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

 

Techiyas Ha’Meisim- 690 BC- So once Geichazi fails to bring the child of the Shunamite woman to life again it’s time for the big guns. And thus Elisha shows up with the woman. He sends her out of the room and then davens and then fascinatingly enough lies himself down on top of the boy placing his body against the child and mouth to mouth resuscitates him. The boy’s body begins to get warm, Elisha walks around again and lies down and hugs the child and poof! He sneezes 7 times, opens his eyes and is alive once again. A miracle has occurred. Elisha sends for the mother hands her over her child and thus the house of the Shunamite woman until today is a place where we know this miracle took place.

 

Today as I mentioned the Shunamite’s house is in the Arab village of Sulam- which sounds like Shunam on the foothills of Mt. Tavor. It’s a place where many come to daven for children and for refu’os. I personally know of many who have personally seen great miracles occur after they came to daven here. It is the one place where both the Steipler and his son Reb Chayim Kanievsky ZT”L who’s yartzeit is today (when I’m writing this on Shushan Purim) would send people to daven.

 

Fascinatingly enough there seems to be a dispute in the gemara and later commentaries if this is even a true resurrection story. According to the opinion of Rebbi Yehoshua the child never really died but was in some suspended state. The Chasam Sofer writes this as well. As well some see in the fact that Elisha lay himself over the body of the child as being similar to Rosh Hashana when we have to do actions like the apple and honey to symbolize an act and then Hashem fulfills it. Yet, here again we find Elisha preforming miracles as did his Rebbi, Eliyahu Ha’Navi. This is the 7^th miracle that he preforms and is perhaps symbolized in the seven holy sneezes of life that the child had before awakening. Next week we move to the further adventures and miracles of Elisha Ha’Navi.  

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE DRUNK JOKES OF THE WEEK

 

A man comes home from an exhausting day at work, plops down on the couch in front of the television, and tells his wife, "Get me a beer before it starts."

The wife sighs and gets him a beer. Fifteen minutes later, he says, "Get me another beer before it starts."

She looks annoyed, but fetches another beer and slams it down next to him. He finishes that beer and a few minutes later says "Quick, get me another beer, it's going to start any minute."

The wife is furious. She yells at him "Is that all you're going to do tonight? Drink beer and sit in front of that TV? You're nothing but a lazy, drunken, fat slob and furthermore ..."

The man sighs and says, "It's started ..."

 

The drunken wino was stumbling down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot in the gutter. A cop pulled up and said, "I've got to take you in, sir. You're obviously drunk" The wasted wino asked, "Ociffer, are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?"

"Yeah, buddy, I'm sure," said the copper. "Let's go."

 Obviously relieved, the wino said "That's a relief - I thought I was a cripple."

 

From the state where drunk driving is considered a sport, comes this absolutely true story. Recently a routine police patrol parked outside a bar in Fort Worth, Texas. After last call the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his truck and trailer and fall into it. He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally, he got into the car and started the engine, switched the wipers on and off....it was a fine, dry summer night, flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained still for a few more minutes as some more of the other patrons' vehicles left. Finally, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road. The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test. To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, 'I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.' 'I seriously doubt it', said the truly proud Hillbilly. 'Tonight I'm the designated decoy.'

 

source: http://www.jokes4us.com/dirtyjokes/drunkjokes.html

Rabbi Epstein was a particularly tenacious clergyman and couldn't stand seeing Jewish people getting drunk. So one day he went into a particular tavern frequented by Jewish patrons.

Rabbi Epstein walks into the pub and sees Stan from shul. "Stan, do you want to go to heaven?"

The man said, "I do Rabbi."

The Rabbi said, "Then stand over there against the wall."

Then Rabbi Epstein asked another man he recognized, "Do you want to go to heaven?"

"Certainly, Rabbi," was the man's reply.

"Then stand over there against the wall," said the Rabbi. Then Rabbi Epstein walked up to Chaim Yankel Rabbinowitz and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?"

Chaim Yankel said, "No, I don't Rabbi."

The Rabbi was in disbelief, "You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?"

Chaim Yankel said, "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now."

 

A cop is doing standard patrol when he notices a car swerving all over the road. He quickly turns on his siren and pulls the guy over.

"Alright," says the cop, when the man gets out of the car. "Walk on the white line."

"I'd be happy to," says the drunk "just stop moving the line."

 

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, in the midst of the French Revolution, the revolting citizens lead a priest, a drunkard and an engineer to the guillotine.

They ask the priest if he wants to face up or down when he meets his fate. The priest says he would like to face up so he will be looking towards heaven when he dies. They raise the blade of the guillotine and release it. It comes speeding down and suddenly stops just inches from his neck. The authorities take this as divine intervention and release the priest.

The drunkard comes to the guillotine next. He also decides to die face up, hoping that he will be as fortunate as the priest. They raise the blade of the guillotine and release it. It comes speeding down and suddenly stops just inches from his neck. Again, the authorities take this as a sign of divine intervention, and they release the drunkard as well.

Next is the engineer. He, too, decides to die facing up. As they slowly raise the blade of the guillotine, the engineer suddenly says, "Hey, I see what your problem is ..."

 

A California state trooper pulls over a car and walks over to the driver. “Today’s your lucky day.” he says. “We have a program to promote seatbelt use. I pulled you over because you were wearing your seatbelt. You will receive a reward of $5,000. So, what are you going to do with the money?

The man thinks for a moment and answers, “I think the first thing I will do is go out and get a drivers license.”

His wife in the front passenger seat screams out, “Oh for goodness sake, officer don’t listen to him, he always talks nonsense when he’s drunk.”

The commotion wakes up their friend in the back seat. He sees the officer and screams to the couple, “I told you we wouldn’t get far in a stolen car.”

And then there is a banging from the trunk followed by a voice, “Ay amigos, did we cross the border yet?

"

Maurice and Isaac found themselves sitting next to each other in a New York bar. After a while, Maurice looks at Isaac and says, "I can't help but think, from listening to you, that you're from Israel."

Isaac responds proudly, "I am!"

Maurice says, "So am I! And where might you be from?"

Isaac answers, "I'm from Jerusalem."

Maurice responds, "So am I! And where did you live?"

Isaac says, "A lovely little area two miles east of King David's Hotel. Not too far from the old city"

Maurice says, "Unbelievable! What school did you attend?"

Isaac answers, "Well, I attended Yeshiva University." Maurice gets really excited, and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?"

Isaac answers, "I graduated in 1984."

Maurice exclaims, "Amazing! This is Berschert. Hashem wanted us to meet! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from Yeshiva University in 1984 also."

About this time, Moishe enters the bar, sits down, and orders a beer. The bartender walks over to him shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight, the Goldberg twins are drunk again."

 

A man goes into a pub, takes a seat at the bar, and orders five shots. The bartender gives him an odd look since he’s all by himself, but he serves up the five shots and lines them up on the bar.

The man downs them all quickly. He finishes the last one and calls out, "Four shots, please!"

The bartender serves up four shots and lines them on the bar. The man downs them all. Then he belches loudly, sways slightly on the stool, and orders three. And one after the other, he knocks them back. "Two shots!" he calls, and the bartender places two shots in front of him. Down they go. As the man slams the last one down on the bar, he says, "One shot bartender."

So the bartender fills the glass. The man sits there, staring at it for a moment, trying to focus. Then he looks at the barman and says, "You know, it's a funny thing, but the less I drink, the drunker I get."

 

What did they call the arab dairy farmer who became the chief? A milk sheikh

Who is the strongest Arab in the world? The Protein Sheikh

 

A golfer is walking down the road carrying his clubs when he sees an Arab being held up at gunpoint. He pulls out a wedge and smashes it over the back of the robber's head, knocking him unconscious.

"You probably saved my life," says the grateful Arab. "I am a member of the Saudi Royal Family and I have the power and money to give you anything you desire as a reward."

The golfer glances at his golf bag.

"Some new golf clubs would be nice," he says.

Two weeks later, the Sheikh's secretary calls him up.

"We've got your golf clubs," she says, "but the Sheikh would like to apologise to you in advance: only three of them have swimming pools."

 

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The answer to this week”s question is B –The “Green Line is the common term for the ceasefire agreement between Israel and all of the Arab countries we fought in 1948. But its certainly mostly used in regards to those “arbitrary” borders that for some reason the world feels should have some type of significance. The status of Yerushalayim was meant to remain as an international city where all religions would be able to worship freely… that probably would happen as it is that way in most Muslim countries throughout the Middle East… Uh huh…So got this one right again and now  the score is now 11.5 for Schwartz and 2.5 for Ministry of tourism on this exam so far…