from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
October 31st 6 2025 -Volume 15 Issue 9th of Cheshvan 5786
Lot and Found
Disclaimer: Any similarities between the children of any biblical figures mentioned in this E-Mail and members of my family is purely a figment of the imagination- except I've got a bit of Avraham and Aliza's kind of like Sarah Immeinu.
Avram was getting nervous. What was going to be? He had a good life. Certainly not an easy one, but a meaningful one, that's for sure. It wasn't easy taking on the entire world. His Dad would've loved for him to join him in the successful family business. Meco Idols, but it just wasn't for him. He couldn't see himself sitting farshtunkeheh metal idols his father had just made to a bunch of goyim all day. He wanted something more meaningful. So he found Hashem, and built a lifetime out of teaching His Torah to the world.
Sure it meant a lot of traveling. That's what happened when you enter the Jewish non-prophet world. Because he really wasn't a prophet yet. Hashem never even appeared to him. But he knew it was right and the world was finally coming along. His He was making it. Hashem was on the page for millions. His "God Find Me" campaign was taking off. His Godsapp status was hot. He had tons of followers. Sure he wished that some would sponsor his weekly E-Mails, besides just reading them and jumping to the jokes on the bottom. But it was never about the money for him. Hashem would provide and had not only taken care of him, but he made him fabulously successful as well.
His shul was packed each Shabbos. His community was growing. His wife has plenty of friends, help, and cleaning ladies. Yeah, they still lived in that tent that everyone and their brother and camel could just pop into. But that's why they built it with doors on all sides. It's why they didn't live in a fancy house that people would be intimidated by. Yeah sure Sarah, still made them take off their shoes when they came in, but that was more because of the sand on their feet that they worshiped rather than the new rugs and carpets. At least that's what she said…So things were good for the most part. The only question that kept him up at nights though, was what would be after he was gone.
Who would carry on the family business? Who would make sure the world knew about Hashem? Who would bring his politically incorrect messages to the next generation and teach them that all of the other religions in the world are baloney, stupidity and smell like camel poop. That there was One God. That He loved them. That He was always there for them. And that the greatest thing in the world was to be close to Him. Sure, he made up lots of great songs that he hoped would have some staying power in the next generation. Od yoter tov was really hot, Thank You Hashem was getting a bit old, but his Mimkomcha was timeless and that neeii neeii neiii trend of wordless songs that just go on and on was something that would have lasting power. It was like that chulent thing his wife came up with. That was never going out. People were even eating it Thursday night and leftovers on Sunday. But without someone to keep up the legacy, Avraham was scared that the movement would die. Hashem would be forgotten.
All that would be left would be a bunch of godless people sitting around a bonfire in a place called Uman eating chulent, smoking weed, stuttering na na nam names of dead Rabbis and dancing euphorically in drug induced circles. Even worse they might be sitting in yeshiva miserably reading all those scrolls and laws He divined about oxen goring, lost talises and levirate marriages (whatever that meant) and just waiting to get out to the streets and protest something, forgetting that they have a Father in heaven that loves them, and life is about being close and having a relationship with Him rather than just reading His "Most Enjoyable Book" series, as entertaining and inspiring as it is. That wasn't a bright future. That wouldn't bring Mashiach. Avraham needed someone to take over, and Hashem hadn't blessed him or Sarah with any kids.
Now the truth is although he didn't have any biological kids, yet… He always added on that "yet", because he knew that miracles happen, and he knew there was no yiush ba'olam klal- a yid never breaks or gives up hope. He even made up a song about that. So yes, despite his age he knew it was still possible, but in the meantime just in case that wasn't in the cards, he did start to consider his options and he had two not so bad ones in front of him. First of all he had his nephew Lot. I mean he was a good kid. He was his adopted child. The son he never had.
He had taken him in when he was an orphan and his father was killed. Terrible story, he was chopped up and burnt in an oven, by a real wicked enemy that still was around, called Nimrod. Avram miraculously was saved, but his brother was killed. And this was his kid. And he was a good kid. He had potential. Avraham taught him everything he knew and he pretty much was holding his own already. He heard that people even needed protekzia to get into his shiur. He had lots of shepherds. He was grazing the land and teaching them about Eretz Yisrael. Perhaps even a bit more passionately then Avram himself. He remembers when they had to leave Israel to go to shmutz la'aretz to raise some money to put food on their table because of that whole famine thing, back in the old days, before he made it big. They went from inn to inn and owed money wherever they went. But Lot just came along. He kept quiet. Even though he could've sold them out. Even there by Pharaoh's house. Lot kept his mouth shut. He stayed by Avram's side. He was loyal. He would give his life for chesed, just like his uncle. He was good people. Maybe he could take over the business. He could be the next Avraham.
Yet, Avraham had his concerns as well. See there was that drinking thing, that Lot's been hitting the bottle a bit lately. Which is kind of strange. Sure a few l'chaims here and there never hurt anyone. How does that thing go again about an "Arak a day keeps the bloodletter away". But still too often he's been finding him out cold and not even knowing who he's sleeping with. As well Avraham was pretty concerned about the new crowd he's been hanging with. His shepherds have been moving on to those Cannani hilltops and grazing there, despite the fact that they didn't belong to Avram yet. He's been hanging out with some of those non friendly types out in the kibbutzim by Sodom. Sure he probably went there to be "mikarev" them, to bring them close to Hashem. But Avram wasn't sure Lot was up for the task. He was a bit too young and susceptible for that smartphone he was walking around with and posting on social media. Yeah, Sodom needed a Chabad house, but did Lot have what it takes to not get sucked into their sick, depraved tzadik-less world?
Perhaps even more concerning to Avram was Lot's kids. His two oldest daughters certainly were problematic. Avram was pretty sure that they would get sucked into that world over there. Nobody had kosher phones in Sodom. Most of the people there were pretty self-absorbed. Many of them even thought they could create their own deep state and country that would be separate from everyone else. They'd live with their Sodomite kings and friends, sure they would be under the domination of that Nimrod guy, who had killed their grandfather, but the people in Sodom were already rebelling against him. There was a movement for an independent Sodomite state there in the Jordan Valley. Who needed Avram and his old fashioned ways about a God that created the world once upon a time. The kidmo shel Olam- the one that came before the world started and created it with a purpose. They wanted to move forward. Progress. Not kedem- not before.
Yeah, those two older daughters and their boyfriends were a problem. Even more concerning were those two other daughters of his. Avram saw something special in them. Like a pearl that was hiding in the dust, like a walnut buried in some camel poop. And Avram was scared that there in Sodom they would lose it all. That Lot wasn't ready to make it on his own. That Avram's legacy and the future of mankind would be lost if Lot left yeshiva and tried to strike it on his own. But what could he do? We can raise our children. We can provide them with everything they need. But at the end of the day, they have to spread their own wings. They have their own journey. They have to find their own paths. Avram and Sarah's job is just to continue to always be there for them. To never give up hope and to keep davening that one day they'll get it and come home.
The commentaries tell us that perhaps what drew Lot to "leave the derech" or at least the path of Avram, was that he was perhaps too spoiled. There is really only one verse that gives us any insight into Lot's change. Into what made him leave his yeshiva education, the Torah and beauty and closeness of life with Avram and decide to find his own path.
And also Lot who walked with Avram had sheep, cattle and tents. And the land couldn’t sustain them to dwell together.
What changed for Lot is that he won the Lott-to. He made lots of money really quick and he thought he was a big boy now and could do what he wants.
How did he make his money? It was back in that Corona plague Hashem brought in Egypt when they ran away broke and penniless over there. Miraculously Hashem protected Sarah who was kidnapped there. And Pharaoh paid them all off to leave quietly. And Lot saw blessing. Lots and lots of blessing. His wealth exploded. He was taking out fancy penthouse apartments in Jerusalem over Sukkos and paying exorbitant amounts of money for a tour guide there. Sure he gave lots of charity. But with that came a sense of entitlement. A desire to do something bigger with that new found wealth. To strike it off on his own away from Avram. To build his own little empire that might even be bigger than Avram's. To move out to the city that was rebelling against Nimrod, rather than just passively live in a tent, like Avram did without ever taking revenge against the man who threw his father into a furnace.
The Torah and kindness and schnitzel and Shabbos meals that Avram provided for everyone was all fine and good. But it was old school. It was time to move out to the kibbutzim, settle the land, rebel against the enemies, even if it meant sacrificing some of the spiritual benefits of living in the proximity of Avram and his Torah. Hey, Hashem gave him money for a reason. There was no room for Avram's way of life and Lot's worldview in the small grazing hills around Chevron, Bnai Brak, Jerusalem, Lakewood or Boro Park. The shetachim were calling him. It was time to move out to the Five Towns of Sodom and Amora. To Jackson. To Teaneck. And thus he became a Teaneck shenishba. And Avraham was childless once again.
"Avram dwelled in Canaan, and Lot was far away in "with his tent until Canaan". It's a fascinating verse. A verse that tells us something about Lot and about hope. He had left… yet he still had tents and breadcrumbs back to Avram. There was still a lifeline left.
It is at that moment when things looked so bleak for Avram, that Hashem appears to him. It's the first time that He tells him that he will have Eretz Yisrael. That he will have children. That there is a bright future awaiting. He has to do just two things. Lift up his eyes and walk. Don't look down. Look up. Don't look at what you think you lost, but rather at the future you can and will have. A future that you couldn't even dream would happen awaits you. Your job is to just keep walking. Step by step. Day by day. Take a look at the world and watch. A glorious future you couldn't even imagine is about to unfold.
And whadaya know? It does. All of a sudden there is a war. Nimrod that old enemy who Avram never got revenge from. That old nemesis who had built the tower of Bavel. Who had killed his brother. Who had waged war against Hashem and thrown Avram in the furnace and forced Avram to flee and establish a new home raised his ugly murderous kaffiyeh wearing head again. He always does. He launched an attack burns, destroys, pillages. He doesn't differentiate between Jew or non-jew either. They're all his enemy. The entire West Bankian world too. But then he gets his prize. He takes a hostage. He takes Lot "v'eis rechusho ben achi Avram"- and his possessions, then son of the brother of Avram. It's a strange pasuk we'll talk about it in a second…
This is the break Avram was waiting for. The ceasefire with Nimrod that held until now was over. Avram leaps to action. He takes with him 318 men, which is a strange number, yet Rashi quotes the Midrash that it was in fact Eliezer his servant whose name in gematria equals 318. According the the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel Eliezer in fact was the son of Nimrod. Cool! It was like one of those Luke kills Darth Vader moments. Lot is home. Nimrod is dead. Hashem rules forever the entire world announces.
We are even introduced to Yerushalayim for the first time in the Torah. As the Gaon of Vilna teaches us the first time something is mentioned in the Torah is the secret of its essence. Yerushalayim appears when the hostages come home after the war. When we don't give up on our children that may have moved to Sodom. That we give our lives and fight the world for them. When we unabashedly tell that same Sodomite world afterwards that we don't need a penny from them. Not their guns, their missiles, their planes, their tanks, their votes in the United Nations, or their rallies support or Universities. We don't want or need you saying that you made Avram great again. That's a desecration of Hashem's name. We raise our hands to the Master of the Universe, of heaven and earth. That's when Jerusalem brings out the wine and the sacrifices. That's when we the prophecy begins to be fulfilled.
Lot was not that son of Avram, Hashem tells us in this parsha later on, that will inherit him. Next week, we'll talk about option B. Yishmael and option C. Yitzchak. Yet before we get to them, we need to go through Lot first. Because Lot has the spirit of Mashiach inside of him. His union with his daughters will produce Amon and Moav. Buried in Amon and Moav's DNA will be the spark of Rus and Dovid Ha'Melech and Naama Ha'Amonit the wife of Shlomo Ha'Melech. Before we get to Yerushalyim we need to rescue the soul of Mashiach.
Even more fascinating is the AriZ"l tells us that "Rechusho Ben Achi avram" is an acronym for Rava, the great Talmudic scholar, that is in fact the one that teaches us a scholar is compared to a walnut, that even it falls in the dirt, the nut inside always stays pure (Chagiga 15: for those Oraysa learners). The Shvilei Pinchas notes that Rava is the one as well that teaches us that there is a mitzva to drink on Purim. To use that wine that Lot drank to reveal the spark of redemption and elevate it. He's the one that teaches us that sometimes we have to violate the Torah to uphold it. That the sparks of holiness can come out of the darkest and seemingly unlikely and least spiritual looking places. He is the one that teaches us that when Dovid Hamelech sings to Hashem "pitachta i'mosaroi- that Hashem has opened up my bonds. That he is referring to the DNA strands that were hidden in Lot of Amon and Moav that Hashem rescued and released.
Disclaimer number 2: Any similarities between the ancient stories of the Torah and what's happening in our world today are not figments of your imagination. Binu shnos dor v'dor- know what happens in all generations. Ma'asei avos siman la'banim- the stories of our ancestors are the sign and omen for us, their children today. The period of Mashiach, of Yerushalayim, is the return of the children to their fathers and the fathers to their children. It's of sparks of holiness coming out of released hostages. It's from children who may seem the most unlikely. It's from students of Avraham picking up swords and wiping out our enemies; the enemies of Hashem. It's not a story of then. It's ba'yamim ha'heim ba'zman ha'zeh. It's us today.
Have a magnificent marvelous Shabbos,
************************
YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Oib di velt vet verren oisgelaizt, iz es nor in zechus fun kinder."- If the world will ever be redeemed, it will be only through the merit of children.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Antiochus IV Epiphanes belonged to the ________ dynasty
Who was the Roman general who put an end to the independence of the Hasmonean
kingdom in the Land of Israel?
A. Julius Caesar
B. Pompeius (Pompey)
C. Augustus
D. Antonius
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://on.soundcloud.com/cEeqiAvnM3Ine5wZOf – In honor of the parsha My Latest Composition and the best most fun song you will sing this Shabbos and every parshat Noach at least with your kids at your meal. Yona Motza! Great arrangements and vocals by Dovid Lowy and you MUSt Listen until the very shticky ending!
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/kum – Hashem promises and commands Avraham to walk and inherit the land. Our sages tell us that whoever walks four steps in Israel is guaranteed a portion in the world to come. This became the words and song for all my hikes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yl1NoOE994 - Yonatan Razel and Shulem Lemmer- what a combination beautiful song One more Dance…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbD-lM6tfc8 – Hanan Ben Ari's latest "Lo Hameshuga Ha'yechidi- not the only crazy one
…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2gBJ58drtg –In honor of Mashiv Haruach October Rain with Shulem
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK
The Firey Furnace- 582 BC – The stage is set. Nevuchadnezzar has called all of his vassal kings and leaders to the big event revealing his glorious statue to himself. Chananya, Mishael and Azarya (CMA) refuse to bow while every one else does. They remain standing upright. They did this even though they knew from the prophet Yechezkel that Hashem wouldn't perform a miracle for them. Yet, they would not be part of a Chilul Hashem, they wouldn't even flee and hide. They wanted the world to know that there was one God in Israel, and they would stand up and even sacrifice their lives for his honor and rather than allow a desecration of His name to take place without anyone protesting.
There's a march yesterday in Jerusalem. One of the songs they sing is that we will go in the path of the Torah even in fire and water. Ba'eish u'ba'mayim. It's a nice song… but would they do what these guys did?
They were brought before Nevuchadnezzar. He threated them with a fiery furnace if they don't bow. They refused and he had it heated up. Perhaps the nicest remains of a furnace that I know of is in Tel Shilo, ancient Shilo. There you can see a furnace which is basically a big large pit that is in the ground. On the bottom it has all the wood. And on the top there are walls and holes for the smoke to go out, and a floor and shelves where they would make earthenware pots in it. This is a small furnace certainly compared to the one Nevuchadnezzar had prepared for them. But you get the basic idea.
The Midrash tells us many miracles that happened to them. The first is that Nevuchadnezzar had it heated up to 7 times the usual amount. It was so hot that soldiers were killed from the sparks that came out of it when they threw them bound together in. The next miracle was that Hashem wanted this to be seen by everyone. So he worked it out that the furnace floated up from the ground. The walls on the side fell off so that everyone could witness it. The plaster that was around the furnace burnt up and the heat killed the soldiers that surrounded it. The statue itself turned its face from them and four kings and their jolly men that snitched to Nevuchadnezzar on them were killed as well.
Inside however they seemed to be doing fine. In fact, the verses tell us that Nevuchadnezzar. looked inside and saw them walking around with a fourth person, an angel sent to untie them and save them. His brain exploded from this great miracle. He immediately began to praise Hashem. He praised them. He elevated them in his government and he issued decrees that no one was ever allowed to speak bad about the God of Israel again. If they did then they would be chopped up into little pieces and their houses would become trash heaps. That's pretty radical, from the guy that destroyed the Temple not so long before…
Yet that wasn't enough for Nevuchadnezzar. He continues his mission to praise Hashem. He has dreams interpretations. It's a fascinating relationship this king and murderer has with Hashem and the Jewish people. It's almost reminiscent of Pharaoh. It seems part of this whole story of ours is that the evil doers need to recognize Hashem. For that to happen we need heroes that will be willing to do everything for His honor. If we don't walk through fire and water, why should they believe us?
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TERRIBLE LOTTO JOKES OF THE WEEK
At breakfast, Yankel asked his wife “What would you do I if won the lottery?”
She replied, “I’d take half, and then leave you.”
“Great,” he said “I won $12 yesterday. Here’s $6. Stay in touch.”
I won $1M in the lottery. And as I promised to Hashem before hand if I won. I gave a quarter of it to charity, and put the other $999,999.75 in the bank.
My friend Berel won a million dollars the other day so I asked him what will he do with his winnings?
Berel said "Probably pay off my credit card debt".
I said "what about the rest of it?"
Berel said "well I suppose it'll get paid off eventually".
I use to do the lottery but then I heard the chances of getting hit by a car on the way to buy it are higher than the chances of winning. I don't know if that's true or not but it was enough for me to stop.
Now i send my mother in law to buy it for me.
If I ever win the lottery, I'm going to share it with everyone. Not the money, just going to let you know that I've won.
I always wanted to won the lottery, like my father.
Your father won the lottery?
No, but he wanted too.
What's the difference between a man arguing with his wife and a man with a lottery ticket? The man with a lottery ticket actually has a chance to win.
If you find $60-80 to be too expensive for ancestry DNA kits, I have a cheap alternative...
Announce that you won the lottery and you'll quickly find relatives you never knew you had!.
A reporter asked a man how he felt when he found out that he won the lottery.
"As soon I saw the numbers line up, I knew it was going to be a wife changing experience.
Moishie and Shaindy a cute little Meah Shearim family win the lottery...
Shaindy turns to Moishie and asks “Moishie - what are going to do about all those shnorr letters?
Moishie says “We keep sending them!”
*******************************************
The answer to this week”s question is B – Another week another 50/50 I got the first part right. It was fairly easy. Antiochus the "mad man " which was a roman play on the word epiphanes instead of epimanes. Which meant great one. Was the wicked king who made all decrees against Jews that led to the Chanuka story. By the way fun Chanuka fact as we get close to the holiday and the mood. Antiochus's fate was according to book of the Macabees that Hashem punished him with serious bowel problems and worms in his body that pretty much ate him up. He didn’t' give up though and continued to chase and persecute the Jews until he was thrown off a chariot and broken all over dying with a stench that even his guards and servants couldn't get near. That's what should happen to all of our enemies. Part II I got wrong. I didn't have a clue. I mean I knew that it wasn't Anotnius who was after the Temple destroyed as well as Caesar. Wasn't sure about the rest. I went with Augustus, but the right answer was Pompey. Oh well.. So half and half and thus the new score is Rabbi Schwartz having a 4 point and the MOT having 1 point on this latest Ministry of Tourism exam.
