from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
December 1st 2023 -Volume
13 Issue 8 18th of Kisleiv 5784
It was nice of
them to call for a cease fire so that I could get away to the States for a week
for two weddings. I don’t know how the soldiers would’ve survived without the Pizza,
Mike and Ikes and good cheer I bring them. I’m not sure if the military would
still be able to hold it’s strong position without me. But Baruch Hashem, we had
a bit of a miraculous break to give everyone a chance to fire up again. We even
were able to see the miraculous return of so many of our young children and women
that these sub-animals kidnapped from us. May we soon see the return of the rest
of them.
I got to recharge
a bit as well, seeing family that I haven’t seen for so long. Aliza even was
able to come along with me and it was very meaningful for both of us. We were
able to visit her sister Yehudis’s grave for the first time, who is buried
right next to my father and grandparents as well, where we were able to daven.
That’s our mekomos hakedoshim holy place that we visit when we go to
America. That and all the great kosher shopping and restaurants of course. We
were in New York and LA primarily. A coast to coast trip. It was a week, and it
was enough. I wanted to come home. To be honest, I wanted to bring everyone
there with me home as well.
It was different this
time going back to the “alteh heim”. The truth is every time I’ve gone back in
the past 13 years since I’ve been here has been an evolution of emotion for me.
In the beginning there was a sense of nostalgia, of getting some of the stuff we
couldn’t get here and enjoying the visit back. From there it went to a sense
that America was really not my home, and an amazement at how I never noticed
how many goyim there were that lived there before. The next trip had me realize
how artificial much of my Jewish experiences felt like over there. My Shabbos
wasn’t a real Shabbos, my davening wasn’t a real davening, even my Torah
learning, the tzedakah I gave, the rituals I preformed, it just felt very “Splenda”.
Tastes like sugar, but just something not real about it.
But as the years continued,
I felt more and more disconnected from America to the point where whenever I
went back I just felt tamey- contaminated. It was like I left the Holy
of Holies, like I left Yom Kippur, like I left Shabbos and was just thrown into
a cesspool of tumah, of death, of sheratzim. I returned to Israel and
just wanted to go to the mikva. Like I needed to go. It was like after you walk
out of a cemetery and you want to wash your hands afterwards. You just want it all
off of you. To be honest, since my surgery even the great food and eateries there-
which don’t get me wrong are truly unparalleled to anything here- are not a
draw for me. I can only eat a few bites and I’m full. It’s not like before when
I can spend hours gorging myself on all of the delicacies they have there (emphasis
on the word deli). And for a few bites, that my stomach could handle…it’s just
not worth it and I really don’t have much excitement even about going back.
Yet, this time was
an entirely different level. It was the first time that I’ve been back to
America where I was a bit frightened. We were in Passaic and Aliza didn’t even
want to get out of the car downtown by Main street there because she was scared
that someone would be beat her up. Why she wasn’t nervous that they would beat
me up whom she sent out to do her errand was a bit confusing- but OK… It’s not
like we actually experienced any antisemitism when we were there. We didn’t. In
fact most of the goyim that I shmoozed with were quite friendly and even
sympathetic. Yet there was a pervasive sense that I got from watching the News,
listening to the Radio, checking out the papers and even the way many of the
Jews that I met and talked were acting, that the Medina shel Chesed ain’t what
it used to be. That perhaps the sand is almost at the bottom of the hourglass
on the limited time we usually have in a host country before the tide turns.
Before the end comes. Before we have to start packing and moving and making
sure our passports are updated. Yeah… that’s what it felt like and it wasn’t a
good feeling.
Yet, at the end of
the day I was getting on a plane and coming home. I would return to a perhaps
war torn country that was facing a resumption of missiles, of sleepless nights
going to sleep and dreading to read about the soldiers that may have not made
it through the night as I had been doing for the month before I went to the
States. But it was home. It was where I was supposed to be. It was my family in
my house. My “family” being my fellow landsman and my “home” being the land
where the Torah Hashem tells us He watches 24/7 from the beginning until the
end of the year. My thoughts, fears and prayers were for the ones that weren’t
getting on that plane. For the 6 million that are left behind in America. 6
million….
As I sat on the
plane and opened up my chumash with thoughts running through my mind, this week’s
parsha of Yaakov’s return to Eretz Yisrael took on a whole new meaning. It shed
light on everything that this journey that all of us are taking to come home
like never before. It’s a parsha of the return from galus. It’s our encounter with
Esau and his angels, his almost miraculous and anomalous loving embrace of us
and our sages insight into that. It’s a story about what we undergo when we
return. The kidnapping of our daughter, our sisters, their defilement by humans
with animal names- Chamor being the first person in the Torah to be named for
an animal, a donkey and his son Shechem. It’s us going to war. It’s Yaakov’s
fear of the world outcry. It’s Kever Rachel mourning for her children.
Binyamin, the child- like so many in Israel that comes into a world orphaned,
without a mother, without a father, in a world of hate that would be destined
for exile. It’s conclusion is ultimately
Esau leaving our land and the so many kings and fearful leaders and despots
that stand against us. Torah reading each Shabbos has never been more real,
than it has been since we started the cycle this past Simchas Torah. Ba’yamim
ha’heim ba’zman ha’zeh has never been more on target as we get closer and
closer to holiday of miracles next week.
There’s no time to
go through it all though. That will have to be your homework this Shabbos. I’ll
share with you though one pervasive thought though that to me is incredible. It
is Yaakov’s approach to Esau. Our sages tell us that there are two major powers
amongst the nations. There is Yishmael- which is the Arab nations and there is
Esau which they always have seen as being the Western non-muslim world and we’ve
spoken about that the past few weeks. Whereas Yishmael is compared by the Torah
to a donkey- by Avraham by the Akeida where he tells him to stay behind with
donkey, Esau is an oxe- he is the one that has thrown off his yoke. He is brute
force. The Gaon of Vilna tells us that the essence of the prohibition to plow a
donkey and oxe together is that the combination of these two nations can
unleash a union that threatens to destroy us. It is why Esau after losing the
blessings goes and marries the daughter of Yishmael. And it is the message that
Yaakov sends to Esau with his gifts.
“Vayehi li shor
v’chamor- I have an ox and donkey.
The midrash sees
this description as referencing Yaakov’s later blessing to two of his children
where he compares them to these animals. Yosef is compared to an ox and the
donkey is Yisachar the tribe who studies Torah. Yaakov is telling Esau- I have
the power to fight against you. We’re coming home.
Yet Yaakov is
fearful. According to some of the commentaries his fear came from the fact that
Esau had more merit than him. Some say it is the honoring of his father that
Yaakov missed out on for all these years, others that Yaakov who although kept
all of the mitzvos in chutz la’aretz but was still missing the mitzva of
settling and fulfilling them in the land of Israel, the place he was supposed
to. The place that Esau was living in. Perhaps Esau had a greater appreciation
for Eretz Yisrael than he did. Perhaps the Christians and all of the nations of
the world understand better than we do where we’re supposed to be living and
where we’re not supposed to be living. And they make the ghetto smaller and
smaller until we get it. Esau’s job is to remind us of our lack of the mitzva
of settling the land. To make us feel small until we get it.
Yaakov though
prepares for his return with a multi-faceted approach. He tries to garner Esau’s
support. Diplomacy, bribes, moral arguments, a recounting of the horrors of his
exile by Lavan, by Hitler. He doesn’t claim to Esau that he wants the land because
this is a fulfilment of the blessing, because this is our birthright, because Hashem
wants us to fulfill our Divine mandate and we can only do it from here. We just
want to come back because we need a place to live where we won’t be persecuted
anymore, where we can raise our sheep, where we can develop our hi-tech, where
we can flourish and not get killed, persecuted, kidnapped. And yes even where
we can worship.
At the same time Yaakov
is prepared for war. He will raise an army. He will have angels martialed with
tzav shmona draft forms ready to start blowing things us. The Merkava tanks he
has are those angels from the Maaseh Merkava- the chariot of Hashem. Esau, has
to see we will fight for our land. We will even fight him for our land. There
may only be 12 of us against 400 of them, but hey, we’re all in. We don’t have
anyplace else to go- as Golda told Henry Kissinger. It’s our secret weapon.
Esau has to know that we’re not asking permission. We’re locked and loaded. We’re
ready to give our lives for the cause.
Finally, Yaakov
davens. He prays like never before. He asks Hashem that he be worthy of the
blessing, of the land, of the kindness and grace. He asks Hashem to save him
from the hand of Esau. Esau who at one time can be his brother, yet at the next
time can be the murderous enemy that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai tells us has a
known Halachic status and assumption always hates us. Yaakov asks Hashem to
save us from both of these Esau’s the friendly embracing one is perhaps even
the greater threat to our nationhood and family as history has taught us that we
have lost far more Jews to the assimilation and warm welcoming embrace and hugs
of Esau than from the sword and Gas Chambers that he destroys us with.
With those prayers
and preparatory actions Yaakov is ready. The party is ready to begin. He
crosses the river, yet fascinatingly enough it seems he can’t leave. He can’t
come home. He left some stuff behind. Pachim ketanim- small vessels, klaynehkeit,
those really good little paper coffee cups that have a cardboard belt around
the middle so that you don’t burn your hands and that have covers that actually
close, so the coffee doesn’t spill on your white shirt when you drink from them.
You know the ones that you can’t get over here. My wife actually brought a few
back with us. They were free by the Rechnitz wedding 😊. So Yaakov goes back for them. He just can’t leave. He sent
his kids and wives up ahead to make Aliyah, but he still had his place in
Century Village…. Ok I’m getting carried away…sorry.
But what happens
when goes back? It’s there that he must struggle with that angel of Esau. It’s
the battle that wounds him. It’s that last fight that he has to go through in chutz
la’aretz, the last epiphany that he needs before he can come and take his
role as the First-born. Before he can start to deal with the rapists,
kidnappers, terrorists and donkeys that are in the land.
Va’yivaser Ya’akov
livado- Yaakov has to realize that he’s
all alone. That there’s no one that will ultimately be there for him. They may
say that we’re standing shoulder to shoulder- which in Hebrew is the word Shechem,
fascinatingly enough. Yet, the true Shechem is with Chamor the donkey that is
Yishmael. They are his children. They are his partners. They will try to
negotiate a more peaceful co-existence- “ki’ilu- as if”, like they say
over here, all the while Dina, our daughter and sister is still sitting in
their tunnels.
The end of that
battle with that angel. The conclusion of the struggle with Esau that appears
like an angel sometimes, like a brother, is for Yaakov to get the blessing from
him and recognition that he is in fact Yisrael. Our identity will not be the
one that is grabbing onto the heel of Esau of anymore. That we are waiting to
see if he will step on us or not. That we see ourselves as needing to hold and
take our steps where he wants us to go as we grab onto his shoelaces. We are
Yisrael. We are the children of Israel. We are sarim- princes. We are princes
of Hashem. We will lead. We will be their light. When Esau sees that, then his
name as Penu-el-being turned to Hashem will be revealed. Then we can come home
and do what we’re supposed to. Then they will all follow us.
One last
fascinating thought. Shimon and Levi’s strategy to liberate Dina is one where
they circumcise the entire city thus weakening them. I remember hearing once
that the reason for that was because they were also, as Yaakov was, concerned
that the rest of the world might be outraged and join the battle to Free
Shechem and Palestine from the hands of the occupying Jews. They figured though
if they circumcise them, then the world won’t care about them. The world woll
assume that they’ve also converted and are just dead Jews and no one will ever
care or stand up for them. It’s just spilled Jewish blood. It doesn’t matter.
We’re livado. Alone.
What makes this
even more interesting is that the city of Shechem is ultimately given to Yosef
as his portion. Yosef who we said is compared to an ox. Yosef, the ox, is given
the city of Chamor- the donkey. Yosef, who ulimatly as well is kidnapped, by
his own brothers. Yosef who is sold down to Egypt by Yishmaelim, Yosef who ultimately
sends donkeys down to his father to bring him up to Egypt, who circumcises the entire
Egypt. Yosef, who is brought down with his brothers back to Israel when they
leave Egypt on donkeys laden with all of the booty. Yosef who is buried in
Shechem our first stop when we come into the land. The kidnapped child has come
home. He has brought all of the sparks of exile of Egypt with him. There is
nothing left and the first commonwealth and the Temple of Dovid and Shlomo are
on the way.
We are told that
there are two Mashiachs. The first stage is Mashiach Ben Yosef. That ox. That kidnapped
child that must return. That force and leadership that can provide for all of
the other brother. That can take a famine and turn it into plenty. That can
take a desert and wasteland and make it flourish. And then there is Mashiach
Ben David- who will be riding on a donkey. On a Chamor. He will unite our
nation spiritually. He will bring us all to Hashem. He will do that while
riding that donkey, like nobody ever did before. It is the donkey that Avraham
took to the Akeida. It’s the donkey that saw all of the sacrifice and martyrs.
It is the one that Moshe rode down to Egypt to take us out the first time. And
it is the one that that will herald in the day that we are all waiting for. The
day when we will no longer be alone. When the entire world will become one with
us and with Hashem. The time is now.
Have peaceful soulful Shabbos,
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
************************
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Es
lacht zikh alain un es vaint zikh alain.” One laughs alone and weeps alone.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
16.The
Bahai is an offshoot of the Islamic ___________ current.
In
which mosque in Israel, can the translations of the Quran into different
languages be found?
A. The
Great Mosque in Ramla
B. The
Al Jazzar Mosque in Acre
C. The
Al-Nuzha Mosque in Jaffa
D. The
Ahmadi Mosque in Haifa
RABBI
SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/al-hanissim
– Start Getting into the Chanuka Mode with
my Al Ha’Nissim composition thank you Dovid Lowy for vocals and arrangements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPxmKBmPfRI
– Gorgeous
Bentzi Kletzkin and Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TNkVPmNs4
–
Moshe Klein Tachzor Ha’Bayta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuqYrHZzov8
- Can’t get enough of this song Ata Zocher-
MBD and Kempeh (Ribo does it better though..)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgkyLkXGM6g
- Just found this golden oldie redone “On
Simchas Torah” amazing lyrics
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S PARSHA PRAYER INSPIRATION
OF THE WEEK
A “Small” Wayfarers Prayer – He was facing an enemy that had
sworn to kill him. Esau was on the way with a murderous army of 400 terrorists
coming to wipe him out. So like every good Jew Yaakov davens. This prayer that
Yaakov prays becomes the one of the most powerful prayers that in fact turns
the tide and Esau and him part from one another like the brothers that they
really were. It’s the tefilla that worked. The Talmud tells us that the great
Tanna Rebbi would study this parsha before he went out to meet with the
Non-Jewish Roman emperors and powers that he dealt with. In fact many of our
sages teach us that the recitation of this parsha is a segula/ a good
omen to recite each Motzai Shabbos and certainly when one is traveling and
interacting with non-Jews. It works! Now we just have to reveal what the secret
it contains is.
Yaakov introduces his prayer to Hashem as the God of
his fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak. The God who told me to go down and that
promised would be with me and the God that told me it was time time to go home
for my own good. Now at that point one would think the next statement would be
“Well, look at me… I’m doing what you told me to. I’m
following Your will. Please protect me… Save me… rescue me… After-all it’ only
because of You that I’m here in the first place.”
Perhaps one could even be a bit cynical.
“C’mon Hashem You told me that You would be with me
in Lavan’s house and to be quite honest it really wasn’t what I expected. I
watched sheep day and night, I worked like a dog. I had to fight to get my
wives, my children. I was getting ripped off every second. I had to ultimately
flee and he came running after me. So that really wasn’t so great… Do you think
you can do better this time around?”
Yet remarkably Yaakov has the opposite approach.
Katonti mikol ha’chasadim u’mikol ha’emes- I am so small compared to all of
the kindness that You have done for your servant.
I’m not worthy. I don’t deserve anything. I’m
overwhelmed by Your generosity. I’m small. I’m Your servant. That’s the Yaakov
approach. That’s the way that we are supposed to come to Hashem. That’s how our
prayers are answered best. That’s the essence of what prayer is in fact really
about.
The Chozeh of Lublin notes that since the time that we
were children we expect that everything is coming to us. We deserve to be fed,
to be healthy, to get married, to make a living, to not get kidnapped and
murdered. We are raised with expectations of the way that we believe life
should work out. The way that we feel for some reason we are entitled for it to
work out. Our job in life is to overcome that misconception. To recognize that
we are small. That all that we have received in life is chesed of Hashem-
undeserved kindness, grace, goodness that if we thought about it would make us
realize how loved and fortunate we must be. How important we must be to Hashem.
How precious our service of Him is.
What is that service? To reveal Hashem in the world.
To connect the entire world to it’s Loving Creator who only wants goodness for
them. To share that dream of the ladder that bridges heaven and earth with all
His Creations. Yet, the only way that can happen is if it’s only about Him. If
it’s only about that mission. If I’m able to minimize myself enough to bring
that out. For as long as I feel that it’s what I deserve. It’s my merit. Tzi
kumt mir- it’s coming to me- as they say in yiddish. Then Hashem’s
benevolence is just “payback”. It’s Him being fair and just perhaps but not
kind and loving.
The Chozeh, even takes this a step further in reading
the above verse homiletically. The recognition that “Katonti”- I am
small- is in itself “mikol ha’chasadim”- the greatest kindness and truth
that He Gives us. “Asher asisa es avdecha”- it is what makes us into His
servants. The ability to step back from our preconceived faulty notions and see
the Kindness which is in fact the truth of the way Hashem Loves us and Gives to
us, that door that he opens in our heart is the greatest gift. For it is with
that power and understanding that we can get the most out of our prayer and
connection with Him. It’s the way that we can reveal Him to the world.
Each time that we daven and turn to Hashem, every
venture that we embark upon, every interaction we have with the world needs to
have this idea in the forefront of our mind. It’s not about me. It’s not about
my mission. It’s about Hashem. It’s His presence we are meant to reveal. His
kindness His grace. It’s our tefilas ha’derech. The prayer for all our
walks through the journey of life. It’s the idea that will bring us to His
final destination.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR
PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
Azarya/ Uziah- the
Warrior King– Last week we discussed Azarya (who is
also called in Divrey Ha’yamim as Uziya) who became King of Yehuda
at age 16 and conquered Eilat and the South of Eretz Yisrael.
Yet, the Navi tells us that in fact in his 52-year reign he brought Israel and
its borders to its greatest borders and military might since the times of
Shlomo Ha’Melech. His army- much like the one today numbered over 300,000
soldiers strong. His army- much like today, went into Gaza and conquered
the city of Gat as well as the other Philistine cities, like Ashdod
and Yavne and then made them Jewish fortified cities. As well according to
some opinions besides conquering the South and Negev and Jordan valley
his kingdom went up to Syria in the North as well. In Yerushalayim he fortified the city
like never before arming it to the teeth with catapults and fortresses. We were
at our peak.
It wasn’t only
militarily that he strengthened the country. Economically as well he created
ports capitalizing on the crossroads that Israel was between Egypt and
the rest of the middle East and Europe for merchandise shipping. Throughout
Yehudah and the Shefela he created agricultural havens with water
cisterns and large vineyards and farms for the cattle and crops. The Navi calls
him a lover of the land and he developed the Carmel range as well in the
North. The country flourished.
Even religiously he
followed the ways of Hashem and removed idolatry from the land and returned the
nation to the service of Hashem. His one failing though was that he was not
successful in removing the worship of Hashem on the forbidden temporary altars-
the bamos, that existed previously. He couldn’t get the people to drop
their private “shuls” and gather together to the one place of worship of all of
us; the Bais Ha’Mikdash. That failing led to his eventual downfall and to
arrogance when he decided that with all his success he should do the service in
the Temple as well. We’ll pick up on the sad tragic end of Uziya/ Azarya
next week.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY GAZA MEMES/ JOKES OF THE WEEK
Permitted
for Publishing- the Terrorist killed by Elor Azaria will not be freed in any
deal with Hamas- neither will any other killed by good citizens…
Near
Future Game Show- “Facts Don’t Matter
“Sorry
Arthur, your answer was actually correct, but Paul shouted his opinion louder,
so he gets the the point. And extra bonus point also go to Sue because she was
offended by your answer.
Gaza
officials confirmed that 5,000 Palestinians died at the US-Canada Border
Explosion.
What’s
the Middle East Word for Cease fire? Reload.
Hudna-
When you are cornered and manage to get your enemy to stop fighting so that you
reload, regroup and reposition to finish him off.
Dear
Americans we are so glad that some of you are taking the day off from attacking
Jews for Reclaiming their indigenous homeland to celebrate the holiday
dedicated to the beginning of a colonial conquest of indigenous land. Happy
Thanksgiving!
Anti-semitic
incident today that shook me up. A guy told me to shut up. I was wearing a
Kippa, so he knew was I was Jewish. Also I was in shul and it was Torah reading
so he must’ve known I was Jewish…
Why
are women so attracted to Daniel Hagari Israels’ Military spokesperson? Because
he’s the only man that bother to update you every day, at a set time, what he
did today, what he plans on doing tomorrow and then answer all of your
questions at the end.
Facing
an overwhelming influx of Hamas Martyrs, the virgins in heaven are now calling
for a humanitarian cease fire.
In
just two generations we went from being gassed for not being blonde and blue eyed
to bein smeared as blond and blue eyed.
Palestinian
Authority warns that Gaza Hospitals are running dangerously low on ammunition.
People
can be taught to Hate and people can be taught to spell but apparently it is
one or the other.
Red
Cross is that kid who contributes nothing to the group project but when it
comes to presenting stands in front and takes all the credit.
Israeli
companies are now adding their own “Boycott Israel” stickers to all their
products after learning this only increases sales!
Saying
that hostages were treated well is no different than saying “her husband beats
her but buys her nice jewlery and flowers…”
Never
ask a woman her age, a man his salary, a Muslim what Al Asqa is built on top of…
Looks
like there will be a public menorah lighting in Gaza this year… but not in
London…
The answer to
this week”s question is D – I got this one
half right surprisingly. I guessed Sunni and the right answer was Shi’ite. Who
cares? Not me… They’re all the same to me and to most of my tourists. Hamas is
Sunni Hezbolla is Shi’ite and what does that do for us? I got the second part
right though- not because I knew or care about the answer. Just because I know
that the Achemedim are the peaceful new wave Arabs so it made sense that they
would have in all languages and I was right! . And thus the new score being Rabbi
Schwartz at 11.5 point and the MOT having 4.5 point on this
latest Ministry of Tourism exam.
