Day Off- Day On- Parshat Behar- Bechokosai 2019 / 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 24^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 33-19^th of Iyar 5779

Parshat Behar/Bechukosai

Day off- Day on

“So what do you do on your days off?” is a common question I get from my tourists. Thank God, I don’t have that many of them. Baruch Hashem, particularly this season- which pretty much runs from a few weeks ago through the summer, it’s pretty swamped. But when they do come around, I have so much backlog to get to, it’s usually catch-up time. I have to get follow-up itineraries for my tourists out- (shhhh.. I’m still in January… they’re on the way I promise…). I have Mishpacha articles to write, sermons to transcribe that I gave in my shul that are just little short-hand notes and oh yeah, I almost forgot I have a few kids at home still that I try to get re-acquainted with. I want to make sure they will invite me to their simchas J. And of course most important is my incredible rebbetzin who has been holding down the fort while I run around the country and party all day with my tourists. She wouldn’t mind seeing me a bit as well. One would think after spending a week and a half with me in the jungle would have cured her of that. But for some reason she seems to like to see me still. And it’s not just because it’s her birthday this week. See I remembered. Happy Birthday! May Hashem bless you until 120 that your husband be a bit more “present” at least physically. And I don’t mean by gaining more weight!

But what do you do in your spare time? Do you have any? I’m not talking to those of you that are retired in Boca. I know you’re busy worrying about your children and grandchildren living in Israel. I mean the rest of you; the harried mothers holding down the fort, many of you balancing work and family. The fathers desperately scrambling to make ends meet, pay astronomical tuitions bills and meet community responsibilities. The teen-agers and colleges students with their exams, social lives, and studies or in Israel army or yeshiva duties. So you have a day off, maybe even a few days, whatcha gonna do with it? How about if you had… get ready… a whole year off? Did you ever dream of such a thing?

Well it may not be such a foreign concept. Well at least for those of us living in Eretz Yisrael. You guys in the diaspora should keep dreaming. This week’sTorah portion- in the diaspora- of Behar teaches us about the mitzva of shemitta in another 2 and half years. God willing Mashiach will be here and you will join us, but even if god forbid if he isn’t it will be a year off for all the farmers at least. So better start upping your Farmville game. But seriously imagine that. In the times of the Temple most people were involved in agriculture and for a whole year they didn’t work a bit. What did they do?

Well for those of you in suspense, we here in Israel that are a parsha ahead of you have the answer. It is in this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Bechukosai which in a regular non-leap year is read together with Behar. It begins with the mitzva of studying Torah.

Vayikra (26:3) Im Bechukosai teileichu- If you will walk in my statues and you will observe my commandments and fulfill them and I will give rain in tis time and the land will give its produce….

Rashi notes that walking in the statues cannot be a reference to the fulfillment of the commandments as that is stated afterwards. Rather it refers to the mitzva of laboring in Torah. What are Jews meant to be doing shemitta? Laboring in Torah. Joining a yeshiva. A shiur. Finishing Shas. Writing a book on a Torah subject. A few books, perhaps. The main thing is it should be something of labor and it should be Torah.

But the Torah portion is not talking about shemitta; those of you that actually open the book and read through the Torah portion, rather than trust the E-Mail rabbi, might protest. Ahhh but it does. You just have to read carefully.

See the end of the Torah portion is the Tochacha, the rebuke and admonition of the Jewish people and the terrifying punishments that will befall us if we don’t follow the mitzvos. There is a theme through all of them. It is the number 7.

The beginning of the rebuke numbers 7 sins and in exchange for that there will be 7 punishments. Rashi notes that they are a slippery slope and one leads to the other. This is how he enumerates them.
Rashi ibid  (26:15) 1) He did not study, 2) he did not perform 3) he abhors others that performs 4) he hates the Torah scholars 5) he prevents others from performing commandments 6) he renounces the mitzvos 7) he renounces Hashem.

The parsha continues to the point where the Torah itself tells us that the problem is 7.

Vayikra (26:21) If you behave casually with and refuse to heed Me then I shall lay a further blow upon you-seven like your sins.

And again Vayikra (26:23) if despite these you will not be chastised to Me and you behave casually with Me then I too will behave toward you with casualness and I will strike you seven ways for you sins.

And just in case you didn’t get the point yet.

Vayikra (26:27) If despite this you will not heed Me and you behave toward Me with casualness, I will behave toward you with a fury of casualness; I will chastise you, even I 7 ways for your sins

Finally, finally it ends with the verse that pretty much tells us it’s all about shemitta.

Vayikra (26:34) Then the land will appease its shemitta years during all the years of its desolation, while you are in the land of your foes; … whatever it did not rest during your shemitta years when you dwelled upon her.

Rashi in fact does the math that the 70 years were in exile corresponds to the 70 shemittas that were not observed during the 430 years we were in the land in the first Temple. (Check it out to see the exact math). Reb Yaakov Kaminetzky though is troubled by this. Is it really possible that the Jewish people never kept shemitta? How could that be?

His answer is revolutionary. He notes that the Torah seems to be mixing two things together and of course this is not coincidental. On one hand it tells us that the punishments will come because we are not toiling in Torah. On the other hand, it tells us that it is a result of the non-observance of the sabbatical year. What is the connection? The answer he says is that Hashem is giving us a year off for one purpose. It’s not to catch up on the housework, it’s not to go on that long, promised and delayed family vacation (or safari J), it’s not even to spend quality time on community projects. It’s to toil in Torah. It’s to immerse oneself entirely in the study of our holy works. And this is where the Jews that lived in Israel during the Temple period missed the boat.

See they certainly did not work on their fields. There was no need to. Hashem provided enough crops in year 6 to last them for three years. But rather than take that great bounty and realize that they have enough in the bank or storehouse to last them and go back to Kollel. They wasted their year. They woke up late, rolled out of bed, played some shuffleboard, maybe cracked a book or a Torah E-Mail that they had backlogged for a few years and thought they would get to one day when they had an extra hour or so to read through the entire thing besides the jokes on the bottom. But they didn’t toil. They didn’t sweat in it. It therefore never permeated them as it was meant to for the next 6 years. That’s called not observing the shemitta. That is called being casual with Hashem.

I remember when I was in yeshiva finishing off High School, I asked my Rosh Yeshiva why it was so important to go full time to Beit Midrash. Why couldn’t I just go part-time to yeshiva and then in the evening go to college or nights school, as my parents were hocking me to. I would probably never be a Rabbi anyways. Famous last words. I would probably just be a working baal habos- a layman. I would make a living and of course have a daily seder to study. What was wrong with that?
Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really that interested in going to college either. But to be honest it wasn’t because I was so interested in learning. College was just a pain in the neck of more boring secular studies and tests and exams and homework that I was pretty relieved to finally be done with. But regardless of my personal desires or lack of interest, I wanted the answer. Why was it so important? What was the real reason he was so opposed to it? What was a good reason that I could tell my parents?

His answer resonated with me then and it still does today. He told me that the only way that I would ever become that baalabos, that working/learning layman, that set himself a daily Torah class and session, was if I sat in Beis Midrash and toiled in Torah for a few years first. Otherwise, he said, it will never be a part of you. It will never be something that you feel you need to become who you are meant to. It will never be your water. It will never be your life.

What can I say? Me and my Rosh Yeshiva did not agree on much. I, in fact left (or was left from) the yeshiva not too long after. But those words and that idea sat with me then and it does until today. What is my life about? What is it that I long for? What do I want to do in my spare time or year. The answer is toil in Torah. Open up those sefarim I bought and buy that I hope to get to one day. Explore some of the deeper Torah thesis that always perocolate in my mind. Finish shas. Get a second semicha from the Israeli rabbanut – that has a pretty high standard. Go for Dayanut. The civil laws. This is what shemitta is all about. This is what a Jew is meant to have as his focus.

The truth is one doesn’t have to wait for shemitta. Hashem calls Shemitta his Shabbos. Each Shabbos is like a mini-shemitta. Particularly these long shabbatot. There is no work, there is no worry. It’s a time to establish a seder when you can reach a goal. A torah toiling goal. Shemmita isn’t a year off and Shabbos isn’t a day of the word Shabbos comes from the root Shuv- to return. It is a day to return to our essence. This period of Omer we read about the shemitta and Shabbos cycles. It is 7 shabbatot temimot. 7 complete Shabbosos. Complete, doesn’t meant that it isn’t lacking any days. It means that you have used your Shabboses to complete your entire week. You have refocused your week to revolve around that seder,- that return, that you have each Shabbos. That is how we count up to the giving of the Torah. And in that merit we should all celebrate that upcoming Shavuot holiday in the Temple rebuilt when we can once again begin and celebrate that cycle.
Have a inspirationally accomplished Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Di shversteh arbet iz arumtsugain laidik” The hardest work is to go idle.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q The national watershed passes in Jerusalem at:

A. Mount Herzl – Mount Ora

B. Armon haNatziv – Temple Mount

C. Mount Scopus – Mount of Olives

D. Ketef Hinom – Romema

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/9Dv39cjfC1k   – New Rebbe Shimon by MBD!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_tlD-GGSA   – Meron Lag Ba’Omer 2019 Compilation

https://youtu.be/VD6-6G2HDqs      –Beauttiful Kel Mistater Kretchnif Yiddish with Hebrew subtitles (thank god)

https://vimeo.com/124490496 - My Uncle Mendy Z”l speaking at Torah Umesorah convention about a topic dear to his heart-abuse..

https://vimeo.com/268582166- My eulogy of him at his funeral…

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Bechokosai– Ok, we’re getting closer to Shavuot the day we got the Torah and the lomdus juices are really flowing! Does everyone have their lomdus heads on today? Get ready for an incredible lomdushe shtikel!

This week at the conclusion of sefer Vayikra the Torah tells us about the mitzva of Maaser Beheima- the tithing of one’s cattle.

Vayikra (27:32-33) And the tithe of your cattle and flock.. the tenth shall be holy to Hashem… It shall not be redeemed.

Now unlike other tithes that are given to the Kohen and the Levi, this one is for the owner and his friends to eat with one caveat of course. There’s always a catch. See the animal had to be brought to Yerushalayim, shechted in the Beit Hamikdash, its blood and fats burned on the altar and then it was eaten by the owners within the walls of Yerushalayim. Our sages actually said that this was done three times a year 15 days before the pilgrimage holidays of Pesach Shavuot and Sukkot- Yes, so right now! This was in order that there should be plenty of meat to go around for everyone that would come up to Jerusalem for the holiday. Now imagine if a man had a herd of a hundred or so sheep or cows. Think of all of the steaks and shwarmas that he would be bringing up for everyone to eat in Yerushalayim. 1/10^th of his herd. Pretty awesome.

There is another mitzva in the parsha as well that is a prohibition for someone that has an animal that he sanctified as a korban/sacrifice to switch it out for another animal and the Torah tells us

Vayikra (27:10) And he shall not exchange it or switch it, not a good for a bad or a bad for a good one. And if he switches it-  than it (the original animal) and its exchanged one shall be holy.

So seemingly you lose two animals. In addition, like any biblical commandment that you violate, the owner would receive lashes for making this exchange. Now for a bit of lomdus. The Talmud records a seemingly philosophical global dispute between Abaye and Rava in regarding this law.

Temura (4b) Abaya says; anything that the Torah tells you not to do and you violate it and do the act, the act is a valid act. For if you would think that is not true than why would one get lashes. Rava said it is not valid at all and the reason he receives lashes is because he violated the word of the Torah.

So their debate seemingly is if the exchange is a valid exchange. Abaya says the exchange works and the proof is because if it wasn’t then why would he get lashes for exchanging it if the exchange never went through. Rava on the other hand suggests the exchange would not be valid, if not for the Torah telling us specifically that it is and regardless he would get the lashes is for his violation of the Torah prohibition to sell it. Got it so far?

Now the Rambam seemingly does not rule like either of these opinions. He writes in regards to the original law that we mentioned of tithing the animals that it is forbidden to sell the animal and then he writes

Rambam Hilchot Bechorot (6:5) And it seems to me that the one who sold the animal did not accomplish anything. The purchaser does not acquire it and therefore the seller does not receive lashes.

Now this would seem like neither opinion. According to Abaya the sale should be valid and according to Rava even if the sale is invalid he should receive lashes for violating the commandment. So as we say in yeshiva- what’s pshat?

So the Steipler explains quite lomdishly that one has to understand the essence of the debate between Abaya and Rava. Abaya understands that when the Torah prohibits something it is because it does not want the action to take place. It doesn’t want the outcome. Therefore, if there is no outcome- if the sale or exchange is not valid there would be no lashes.

Rava on the other hand works under the premise that the Torah is not as much concerned with the outcome but rather it does not want the person to violate the commandment and preform the action. Therefore, it doesn’t make a difference rather his action came to fruition or not, at the end of the day the man did the prohibition and thus he is punished.

Now here comes the chap. Rava only would maintain his position when the prohibition is specifically on the action. For example, when the Torah tells us he should not exchange the animal. If he exchanged, he has violated it regardless if it is valid or not. By the sale of the animal on the other hand if you read the verse carefully the Torah tells us “It shall not be redeemed”. The Torah specifically tells us that it does not want the outcome. The prohibition is linked to whether the animal was in fact redeemed or not. Therefore, in this case where the sale was not vaild then both Abaya and Rava would agree that there is not punishment, there are no lashes. Abaya because there was no sale and Rava because the Torah here did not prohibit the sale, only the result of the animal being sold, which never happened as it was not valid. And there you have it!

Did you get it all? If not wait till Shavuot night, the night when lomdus was revealed, I’m sure you’ll get it then.

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

Division of the Land –Tribe of Shimon 1265 BC – If I had to say who got the rawest deal of the 12 tribes I think Shimon would get that prize. For the 2^nd oldest of the tribes you’d figure he would have some seniority and perhaps he would have. But because of his sin with Yosef and his knee-jerk wrath in wiping out the city of Shechem, much to his father’s displeasure albeit in response to his sister Dinah’s kidnapping. Yaakov felt it was a “disproportionate reaction”, is the term I believe they use. As well the fact that his tribe and its leader challenged Moshe in the wilderness with Zimri and the Moabite/Midianite women, didn’t favour them too much. He needed to be kept away from the rest of the Tribes so he was stuck down in the South by the Negev within the tribe of Yehudah for safe-keeping.

His portion included the special city of Beer Sheva in the South, Tziglag which is a city that King David later fled to, a place called Chatzar Susa- which is very likely today where the ancient Mishnaic and Talmudic of Susiya gets its name and is located. As well thy had a city called Rimon, which might be where Mitzpe Rimon gets its name from although that magnificent crater is further South then the border of Israel was at that time.

Now despite being stuck out in the boondocks, our sages tell us that Shimon, got around. It seems they went into chinuch- Jewish education. Thus they, like their brother Levi, were spread out all over the 12 tribes and Land of Israel. From experience I can tell you, working in Jewish education can take you all over the map. Take it from the Rabbi who ended up in NY, NJ, Iowa, Virginia and Seattle. But this was a fulfilment of the blessing of Yaakov to the tribe that he will divide them amongst Yaakov and scatter them among Israel.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S REALLY TERRIBLE WORK JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Two factory workers are talking to each other one day. The woman says, “I can make the boss give me the day off.”

The man replies, “Oh yeah? And how would you do that?”

The woman says, “Just wait and see.”

She then hangs upside down from the ceiling.

The boss comes in and says, “What are you doing?”

The woman replies, “I’m a light bulb.”

The boss then says, “You’ve been working so much that you’ve gone crazy. I think you need to take the day off.”

As the woman leaves, the man starts to follow her and the boss says, “Where are you going?”

The man says, “I’m going home, too. I can’t work in the dark.”

I have a lot of jokes about unemployed people but none of them work.

So you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking for. There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available. With a 1 hour lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work. You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days per year available for work. We are off 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days. We generously give 14 day’s vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and I'll be darned if you are going to take that day off! 

 I went for an interview for an office job today. The interviewer told me I'd start on $2,000 a month and then after 6 months I'd be on $2,500 a month.
I told them I'd start in 6 months.

I just lost my job as a psychic. I did not see that coming.

I worked very hard to get to where I am in life. An unemployed university graduate.

Inspecting mirrors is a job I could really see myself doing.

Sure I’m willing to work longer hours at work. As long as they’re lunch hours

Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn’t hack it, so they gave me the ax.

After that, I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn’t suited for it. Mainly because it was a so-so job.

Next, I tried working in a muffler factory but that was exhausting.

I wanted to be a barber, but I just couldn’t cut it.

Then I tried to be a chef–figured it would add a little spice to my life but I just didn’t have the thyme.

I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn’t have any patients.

I became a professional fisherman but discovered that I couldn’t live on my net income.

Thought about becoming a witch, so I tried that for a spell.

I’m aspirin’ to be a chemist.

I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining.

I got a job at a zoo feeding giraffes but I was fired because I wasn’t up to it.

After many years of trying to find steady work, I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.

I applied for a job in Australia but seems I don’t have the right koalifications.

I had a job at MinuteMaid orange juice. I got fired because I couldn’t concentrate.

I used to be a postman until I got the sack.

I worked at the bank as a teller for a while…until I starting losing interest.

I wanted to be a baker, really kneaded the dough.

I focused on being a photographer, but nothing ever developed

An employee is getting to know her new co-workers when the topic of her last job comes up. One co-worker asks why she left that job.
"It was something my boss said," the woman replied.
"Why? What did he say?" the co-worker asked.
"You’re fired."

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

Answer is D–  This was a shot in the dark. I really wasn’t sure where the watershed line is in Yerushalayim. For those unfamiliar with the concept it is the middle of the har hamerkazi- the central mountain range that runs through the country and where the water flows down on both sides. I knew it flows near the old city and down King George and Yaffo and somehow in the recesses of my brain I remembered it was Katef Hinnom. Os having no clue I went with that as Romema is right off Yaffo by the entrance of the city as well. Truth is it crosses Mt. Scopus as well as Armon Hanetiziv by the tayelet as well, but those were the trick answers as the other choice was wrong. So I got lucky and the score is Schwartz 22 and 6 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.

Kaddish Zugger- Parshat Kedoshim / Emor /Yom Ha'atzmaut 2019/ 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 10^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 31-5^th of Iyar 5779

Parshat Kedoshim/Emor

Kaddish Zugger

So here in Israel we are a parsha ahead of you guys in chutz la’aretz. See after the exodus from Egypt that we just celebrated on Pesach the holiday of our redemption, some of the Jews came to Israel. The others died in the wilderness. They didn’t want to come to Israel. They stayed a parsha behind.
Now I’m sure they figured that the ones that got a head start will sort things out for them with the nation that were living there first. Y’know set up some familiar midbar style pizza shop or burger places, signs that are actually spelled correctly in their familiar wilderness-lehngvitch, the familiar concepts of customer service, like how the waiter would bring them their manna exactly as they ordered it right outside their door each morning like clockwork, so they wouldn’t have to call five times to ask when it was coming  and to find out that they brought the wrong thing as they yelled at you for being impatient. They were hoping that they would set up a country with politicians that actually cared more about fixing and defending their country than serving their own self-interests and pacifying the rest of the world. So they stayed behind.
The ones that came here were certainly a step-closer to the ultimate redemption than those back in the wilderness. After-all they were living in God’s promised land. They were getting a mitzva for every breath and step they took here. Every mitzva they fulfilled here actually was more than, what Nachmanides described as, just being done to stay in practice until one gets to preform it in the land Hashem meant for them to realize their spiritual purpose. They were keeping Shabbos, putting on teffilin, sitting in their sukkos and learning Torah for real. As the Torah says they were meant to be kept. “In the land I have given you”. Or to quote the Gaon of Vilna

Aderes Eliyahu (Devarim 4:5, 8:1) “The primary fulfilment of the commandments is dependent on the land. Outside of the land one only fulfills them to know how to do them when he comes to live in Israel”

In fact, in parshat Kedoshim after the Torah’s exhortations about all of sins of forbidden relationships, the Torah concludes with the words “and the land will not vomit you out”. The Ra’avan quotes the Rashba suggesting that we see from here that even the prohibitions and sins only really have the severe negative spiritual connotations here in Israel as well. Mitzvos have meaning here, averios have meaning here, life has more meaning. There’s a reason it’s called Is-Real J.  So it’s no wonder that after Pesach, particularly this year, which most certainly should be the year of the final redemption, the ones that are living in Israel should be a step and parsha ahead. We are after-all a step closer to the redemption. Hey, it’s Yom Ha’atzamaut today, I’m allowed to get a bit spiritually patriotic.
Now being as my reading audience-at least those of you that didn’t get too offended or provoked and delete after the first few paragraphs, consist of people in both Israel and the Diaspora. I have made it my goal over the next few weeks/months until we get back together again to try to find and write about the common themes that both parshas share; yours and ours. That way we can all be on the same page. Of course that means I’ll have to find common jokes, and offend everyone equally, but there should be one common dvar torah in both parshas that we can tap into. If not, I’ll just make one up. I’m a tour guide, I’m good at doing that J.
This week there is a theme and verse that finds its way into both Torah portions. Last week in Israel we read Kedoshim, the mitzvos of being holy- for I am holy; Hashem you God. This week--(SPOILER ALERT for you chutznikim)- the Torah portion of Emor which primarily deals with the mitzvos of the Kohanim and the laws of holidays and their observances as well mentions the mitzva of being holy.

Vayikra (22:32) And you shall not desecrate My Holy name and I shall be sanctified amongst the children of Israel; I am Hashem who sanctifies you.

Two parshas that deal with becoming holy. Two parshas that mandate us to reveal the holiness of Hashem within us. Last week’s parsha though as opposed to this one tells us about becoming holy in a very simple sense. Don’t lie, honor your parents, love your friend, observe Shabbos, feed the poor, don’t oppress those that are less fortunate or pedigreed. Don’t marry any close relatives and be faithful to your marriage. Psshhhhhh. What a holy guy!
Emor on the other hand seems to be more of what we would describe as holy. Kohanim/ priests maintaining levels of sanctity. The people they are not allowed to marry, the impurities they have to avoid, the foods and purity they require to eat their special gifts and the physical blemishes that invalidate them for serving in the Beis Hamikdash. Holy heebejeebee stuff. A parsha about holiness, it seems, for the guys that are a parsha ahead of last week’s simple stuff. Yet those laws as well conclude with the concept of Hashem’s sanctification amongst all of Israel. In fact, the above quoted verse become the source that we are only permitted to read the Torah, say kaddish and kedusha when Hashem is “amongst Israel”; when there is a minyan in the house.
What is kedusha- holiness? This morning I received a whatsapp from my cousin Yoni. “Are you saying kaddish for Bubby today?” It hit me. I had become the family kaddish zugger. My Uncle Mendy OB”M had been the one until now to recite the kaddish for his and my father OB’M’s parents; Babbi today, Zayide next week. With his passing last year, the family mantle fell on my shoulders.  
It wasn’t my first time saying Kaddish. I recite it every year for my father, but as he died when I was very young I never really knew him. I recite kaddish as well for some of the members of my former shul in Seattle. The ones who never had any “kaddish zuggers” of their own. But this morning was different. I had become the family kaddish zugger. The legacy of passing on that message of Hashem’s name becoming great and revealed to the entire world that all of my ancestors had proclaimed had now officially fallen on my shoulders. 
Kaddish is a fascinating custom/mitzva. We mark and bring merit to the holy ones that left this world, by standing up amongst 10 fellow Jews and proclaiming that our mission here is to sanctify Hashem’s name. We possess holiness and in our holiest most personal communication with Hashem, our prayers, we need to pause repeatedly and respond in a unison that we have a national mission to sanctify that name in the world. For almost a year, the mourner that is consumed with his memories of the deceased, the sense of loss and the reality and the impurity of thoughts of our physical mortality, is called upon to stand before all and proclaim that we there is a name of Hashem that is eternal. Am Yisrael chai and Od Avinu Chai. Bchayeichon Uvichayei Dchol Bais Yisrael- in our lives and in the lives of the entire house of Israel. That is the job of the kaddish zugger.
But our job is not merely to be kaddish zuggers. The Viznitzer Rebbe ZT”L Reb Yisrael once visited a small town and found a minyan for Mincha. He was quite surprised though when after the prayer almost the entire congregation got up and began reciting the final mourner’s kaddish. (Ever been to a shul like that? I remember quite a few in the communities I have lived in.) He went over to the shamash of the shul and asked him.
“Is that gantzeh beis knesses yesomim- is the entire synagogue only orphans?”
The gabbai responded that sadly the shul has a hard time getting people to come to minyan. People work hard, they have other things to take care of, they just don’t feel inspired enough to come. The only ones that make it are the kaddish zuggers. The ones that have a chiyuv. The ones that are in mourning for their parents.
The Rebbe than told him that he understood a Talmud that he had difficult with until that point. The Talmud tells us that Rebbi Yochanan was quite shocked when he heard the Jews in Bavel, in the diaspora were living long lives. That there was a large elderly community. Doesn’t the Torah tell us that
“in order that you will lengthen your days upon the land that Hashem has sworn to your Forefathers.”
The blessing of long life is only in Israel. (Number 7 in today’s ranking in the world as opposed to the US which is number 43). So how is it possible that they are living long in Bavel? Reb Yochanan responded that he understood once he heard that the Jews in Bavel were meticulous about shul attendance. It made sense that they  would then merited long lives. See, the Rebbe explained, the reason why Hashem has people not live long. why he allows the angel of death free reign, is because it is the only way in some communities to get people to come to shul. You need the kaddish zuggers to make a minyan. Hashem “needs” them there because that is the only time and way that His name is being sanctified, that it is being proclaimed in the world.
Once Reb Yochanan heard that the people were committed regardless to coming to shul, that they would sanctify Hashem’s name even outside of their year of kaddish, but even in their daily interactions, in the lives that they lived, in the way that they treated their fellow man. He then understood why they merited to live long lives as well. They weren’t just kaddish zuggers they were Kaddish livers (not to be confused with the chopped kind they serve Shabbos lunch that’s Kiddush livers-sorry that just came out of my keyboard). They lived lives of kedoshim. They brought Hashem’s name through their lives to the world. They sanctified Him amongst Israel.
There are two parshas of holiness and we have two roles of holiness. We first need to create our nation as a holy one. That is Parshat Kedoshim. Those are the laws of how we become a nation that the entire world will emulate by showing His presence amongst our people. How we treat another, reveal the divine spark in  each human and create a just faithful society. Then there is Parshat Emor; the parsha that follows that one. It is the week ahead. It’s the one in Eretz Yisrael. It the laws of the Kohanim. It is the higher spirituality of the Kohanim; the bridge between the two worlds. It is purity of body, of thought, of preparation of a world that has a temple in it. That will have a house where Hashem will reside in it. We are meant to be that nation of Kohanim. We are meant to uplift Him from here.
 It’s been 71 years since the world recognized that Eretz Yisrael is the Jewish homeland where we were meant to fulfill our divine mandate. 72, actually, since the historic vote on November 29^th 1947. May this be the year that we achieve the culmination of the fulfilment of our mandate, when we can proclaim the holiness of Hashem that is within us to the entire world. When they will all respond Amein.
Have an amazing celebratory and holy Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

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

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q.  A stamen is:

A. The organ of the flower that produces the pollen

B. The name of an insect that helps pollination

C. The part that connects the flower to the stem

D. The pollen

RABBI SCHWARTZES COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDG7UbPzXnI   – Meir Green Acapella Rivkahs’ favorite song of the week- Ki ani Yehudi

https://youtu.be/oxP1nTktXdQ   – Ari Goldwag’s latest video Acapella “SMILE”

https://youtu.be/syUSmEbGLs4      –Hatikva Recording from Bergen Belsen concentration camp by survivors April 20^th 1945upon liberation. Powerful!

https://youtu.be/FsoSN9UzuiQ   – Cool history of Hatikva- fascinating…

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Emor– There’s nothing like a good halacha to flex your lomdushe muscles. If it has to do with the laws of the temple and you can tie it into to a modern day practical law then you really win the prize. Sefer Vayikra is the book of choice for briskers and lamdanim because it affords the ability to do precisely that.

In this week’s portion it tells us of the mitzva of the Kohanim that is in fact relevant today, even when there is no Beit Hamikdash. It is the mitzva for every Jew to sanctify the Kohen. Rashi explains that means we should call him up for every holy matter first. He has seniority in leading in bentching or being called to the Torah. Now this law is brought down in shulchan aruch and the RAM’A rules that if one comes in without any prior identification of his Kohen status and claims to be a Kohen we can permit him to read from the Torah first. There’s no problem assuming he is a Kohen because there is no fear that he will ever eat teruma and violate a biblical commandment, as we don’t give teruma/ tithes to any Kohen these days. So even if he is not a real Kohen there is no real sin that he would be committing by getting the Aliyah.

The Chatam Sofer asks though, what should be the difference. Seemingly the fact that he is being called up as a Kohen and taking that rightful position away from a “real” Kohen should be a problem. There is a mitzva to sanctify the Kohen and by this non-Kohen taking the aliya, he is not fulfilling that mitzva.

The Chasam Sofer, being a lamdan of course comes up with a brilliant answer. He suggests that the whole mitzva of vi’kidashto- to sanctify the Kohen is not a personal thing. It’s not a gift to the Kohen, like teruma is. Rather it is showing honor to the role of a Kohen. The holy lineage of Aharon.  If we give him the Aliyah, we are only doing so because we assume he is a Kohen. So even if it is revealed after the fact that he wasn’t a Kohen, ultimately the honor he was given was not to him. We honored the kehuna, as we assumed he was one. Eating teruma on the other hand would be a problem as this is something that only a Kohen can do.

I’ll leave you guys with a lomdushe question though. The Rem”a as well says that the questionable Kohen as well can perform the mitzva of blessing the Jewish people. Seemingly this is a mitzva that only a Kohen is permitted to do. Especially since he is making a bracha upon it that Hashem has commanded him to bless the Jewish people. How would this be permitted?  

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

Division of the Land –Tribe of Yehudah 1265 BC – After the tribes of the children of Yosef, Ephraim and Menashe, who were of course entitled, as we mentioned, to a double portion, Yehuda had the largest and perhaps most important portion of the Israel; the center of the country. His really consists of three geographical regions. The har, the shefela and the midbar- the Judean hills, the lowlands or plains and the Judean Desert. In the south it goes all the way to the border of Edom which is in the Negev. On the East it is spans the entire Dead Sea. And in the West it went up to the Mediteranean (although they were not successful in wiping out the Philistines and taking Gaza). Some things, I guess never change.

It is fascinating and inspiring to me to read through the cities in Tanach and identify the ones that we still have today. The modern cities that were given the same names as the ancient ones in Tanach. It’s a nice tidbit to share with tourists when I guide, and it’s cool that the government of Israel appreciates the significance of utilizing Tanach to restore the names to the cities in the locations where they once were.

So for example in the south of Israel some of the more famous cities that are now there today that are mentioned are Dimona, and chatzor, Zif and Telem in the Negev. Be’er Sheva and Rimon (not to be confused with mitzpeh Rimon, which was outside of the those borders of Israel).

In the Shefela and coastline which is the Beit Shemesh area, the named cities that are around today are. Eshtoe’el, Tzora, Zanoach, Tapuach, Gedera, Adualam, and of course Ashdod and Gaza on the coastline. As well of course we have the remains of Tel Azeka, Socho Lachish and Sha’arayim.

In the Judean hills which span from south of Chevron up to the Shefela we have Yatir (good winery!), Cholon (which today is a city although not in the Judean hills), Gilo, Ma’on, Carmel (in the south), Zif, Yuta, Chalchul (not so friendly arab village) Kiryat Ye’arim (Telzstone!)

Finally in the Midbar you have the Yam Hamelach and of course Ein Gedi.

I don’t know how many of these cities you have heard, but I’m sure you’ve heard of quite a few. Isn’t it cool to know that they are mentioned in Tanach as being from the tribes of Israel?

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S KADDISH JOKES  OF THE WEEK

Jacob goes to the races for the first time. As soon as he arrives at Ascot, not knowing anything about horse racing, he goes straight to the paddock to take a closer look. To his surprise, Jacob sees a rabbi blessing one of the horses. Jacob thinks he must be onto a good thing so he writes down the number of the horse and places a £3 bet on it. The horse wins and Jacob wins £21.
Jacob immediately returns to the paddock and there, as before, he sees the rabbi blessing another horse. He writes down the number of this horse and bets his £21 winnings on it. It comes in first and Jacob now has over £100.
This process goes on race after race until Jacob has won £4,650.
It’s now time for the last race of the day and Jacob watches the rabbi bless the final horse. So confident is Jacob that, although the horse is a 20-1 outsider, he bets his entire £4,650 on it. But, Oy Veh, this time the horse struggles in last, a good 20 lengths behind the field.
Jacob is so upset with this outcome that he runs over to the rabbi and says angrily, "Why did every horse you bless win except the last one, rabbi? He came in last."
The rabbi replies, "That's the problem with you Reform Jews. You don't know the difference between a brocheh and a kaddish."

Young Bernie Gold was nearly 12 years old and although he had a lower than average IQ, he was a dutiful and caring son. One day, he was having a chat with his father.
"Dad, it’s Father's Day on Sunday and I want to buy you something. Mum said I should ask you what you wanted."
Mr Gold only needed to think for a moment. "What do I want? I only want one thing - you are 12 months away from your barmitzvah and I would be so very happy if you could learn at last to speak Hebrew."
Bernie groaned aloud, "You know how hard I’m finding it at school to learn new subjects, Dad. I’m such a slow learner. I just don’t think I would be able to learn Hebrew."
Mr Gold looked squarely at his son and said, "Bernie, you’re better than you think you are. I’ll even help you, just as my father helped me. If you could do this for me, it would please me so very much!"
"OK, I'll try Dad, just for you, but please don’t be angry with me if I fail."
So next Sunday, they went to see the Rabbi and soon after that, Bernie was enrolled in the shul’s Hebrew classes. Over the months that followed, Bernie kept his promise by attending regularly and trying as hard as he could.
One day, Mr Gold decided to visit the shul and check on Bernie’s progress. He entered the class in the middle of a lesson and when it came to Bernie’s turn to read, Mr Gold was soon dismayed to discover how little Hebrew Bernie could manage after all the months that had gone by. Bernie was very slow and made many mistakes in his reading.
But even worse, Mr Gold realized that what he was hearing from Bernie was the beginning of the Kaddish. He was shocked – the Kaddish is the prayer for the dead, the words that every son is expected to say after the father's death.
"Rabbi, what on earth are you teaching my son?" argued Mr Gold after the lesson was over. "I'm only in my 40s - I’m a young man still in good health. I go jogging and Israeli dancing every week. Do I really look so ill that you are teaching Bernie to say the Kaddish now?"
The Rabbi replied, "Mr Gold, please God you should live so long that Bernie is able to say the whole of the Kaddish over you!"

One shabbes morning, Rabbi Landau is giving a sermon on ‘the mitzvah of forgiving your enemies’. He talks at length on the subject for nearly 15 minutes and then asks his congregation, “Please raise your hand if you are willing to forgive your enemies.“
About 50% raise their hand.
This upsets Rabbi Landau so he decides to lecture for another ten minutes. He then repeats his question. This time about 80% raise their hand. But the Rabbi is still not satisfied, lectures a bit longer and repeats his question.
This time everybody raises their hand, except an old lady at the back of the shul.
Rabbi Landau asks, “Mrs Levy, aren't you willing to forgive your enemies?”
“I don't have any enemies,” she replies.
“That's very unusual Mrs Levy. How old are you?”
“I'm 98, Rabbi.”
“Please, Mrs Levy, come to the front and tell us how you have lived to 98 and don’t have an enemy in the world.”
Mrs Levy hobbles down the aisle, faces the congregation and says, with a smile, “I outlived the momzers, that’s how.”.

A Rebbe arrived in a small town to raise funds for his Yeshiva. He was scheduled to speak on Shabbos at the local shul the next day. 

He needed to mail a letter back home to his Yeshiva with the collections he received to help pay the bills. As he walked down the street he saw several children playing together. They were Jewish so he asked the little boy, "What's your name?"

 He responded, " Michael"

 Then the Rebbe asked, "Michael, where is the post office?"

 Michael said, "Three blocks down on your left side with the huge flagpole in the front."

 The Rebbe thought, What a smart child, as he thanked him adding, "Tomorrow I'll be speaking at the neighborhood shul. My Drosh will be about making Gan Eden your home. I hope to see you and your family."

Michael responded, "I don't think so, Rebbe, you don't even know your way to the post office."

A very old man had a dog, his only company for almost of 15 years. Regrettably one day, the dog died. He loved your dog like a son, for that reason he went to see his Rabbi and asked the Rabbi if he would say Kaddish (a prayer for the dead) for the dog.

The Rabbi told him:
- Mr. Bernbaum, you know that we are a very Orthodox Congregation, Kaddish is only for the humans, definitely not for animals. The Rabbi -suggested - that there was a new congregation of Reformist, two streets down. Go and request them to say Kaddish for your dog. You know... this new congregation is very liberal, they may say Kaddish for your dog.

The old man thanked the Rabbi, and in the farewell he added : - Sorry Rabbi, before going there, I make you an extra question, I don't know them and I don't want to offend them. You believe that they will accept my donation of $25,000 for their Congregation in memory of my small and dear Moshe??

- WHAAAATTTT!!!!... screamed the Rabbi ...You never mentioned that your dog Moshe was Jewish ! !

When Moishie was younger, he just hated going to family weddings. All of his uncles and aunts used to come up to him, poke him in the ribs, giggle, and say to him, "Mirtzeh shem ba deer-God willing,you're next, Moishie." 
But they stopped doing that after Moishie started doing the same thing to them at funerals.  

A very wealthy man, old and desperately ill, summons to his bedside his three closest advisors: his doctor, his social worker and his rabbi.

"I know," he says, "they say you can't take it with you. But who knows? Suppose they're mistaken. I'd like to have something with me, just in case. So I am giving each of you an envelope containing one hundred thousand dollars and I would be grateful if at my funeral you would put the envelopes in my coffin, so that if it turns out that it's useful, I'll have something. They each agree to carry out his wish.

Sure enough, after just a few weeks, the old man passes away. At his funeral, each of the three advisors is seen slipping something into the coffin.

After the burial, as the three are walking away together, the doctor turns to the other two and says, "Friends, I have a confession to make. As you know, at the hospital we are desperate because of the cutbacks in funding. Our CAT SCAN machine broke down and we haven't be able to get a new one. So, I took $20,000 of our friend's money for a new CAT SCAN and put the rest in the coffin as he asked."

At this the Social worker says, "I, too, have a confession to make. As you know, our organization is simply overwhelmed by the problem of the homeless. The needs keep increasing and we have nowhere to turn. So I took $50,000 from the envelope for our homeless fund and put the rest in the coffin as our friend requested."

Fixing the other two in his gaze, The Rabbi says, "I am astonished and deeply disappointed that you would treat so casually our solemn undertaking to our friend. I want you to know that I placed in his coffin my personal check for the full one hundred thousand dollars."

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Answer is A–  Got this one right. No thanks to my ministry of tourism course. The course I took was in Hebrew. Never heard the word stamen there. The word they used in Hebrew was avkan; avak being dust or pollen. The word avak, of course I knew from my yeshiva studies as it is mentioned in the torah. Stamen on the other hand, like many words that I never heard in the course that was given in Hebrew I would not have known from what we learned, which actually got me one question wrong on the exam that I took (who ever heard of a casemate wall- I knew what a chomat sogaryim was). But thanks to a good 4^th or 5^th grade science teacher I remembered that the stamen was the reproductive organ of the plant that produces the pollen. And I was right! Thank you Beth Yehuda education J  So the score is Schwartz 21 and 5 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.