Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend in Karmiel"
February 10th 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 16 14th
Shevat 5777
Parshat Beshalach / Tu B’Shvat
Trick or Tree
It was my least favorite topic in Tour guide
school. To me a tree is a tree. There are trees that have delicious fruit that
I can eat and trees that are there to just decorate the plate, so to speak.
Like that green leafy stuff that they put on the plates with chopped liver in a
nice ball in the middle. I think they call it lettuce, cabbage, parsley or
something like that. It’s pretty, but does they name really matter? And yet
scientists seem to have nothing better to do than to develop courses of study
like botany or dendrology-bet you didn’t even know it was called that huh? See
of how little importance it is. Well in tour guiding school we had to learn
this stuff. They knew that people would be in our cars or minibuses on tours
and feel the need to get their money’s worth by asking their tour guide endless
questions about things they really don’t care much about and are really not
even interested in. But we’re paying good money for this guide and you bet your
shekel’s bottom he is going to talk to the entire time, even if it is about
trees…
When I first started tour guiding even, even
before I finished my course…shhhhh…don’t tell anybody it’s technically illegal,
but the masses were impatient, what could I do? How could I say no? And I had
to pay for this course somehow or another. Besides you really can’t pass the
tests by just taking the course and without any experience guiding. Anyways
when I started guiding people would inevitably ask me The Question. “What type
of tree is that?” So the standard answer that I would give, which generally
worked was obviously it was an avocado. Why an avocado? I don’t know. I barely
know what an avocado is. I think it’s the green mushy thing that I pick out of
my sushi. But I figured neither did anyone else. It was working fine until one
day some really smart kid asked me why there were oranges growing on the avocado
tree. Uh Oh… Thank god I was a very experienced Rabbi for a very long time and
well trained in making up wise things as I go along and stating them with quite
a bit off confidence. Many times even quoting ancient sources from great Rabbis
to support my penetrating insight is. So I very quickly explained that it was
part of the genius of Israel; that we could make anything happen and grow in this
country. Even oranges on avocado trees. He nodded, truly inspired by the
brilliance of our people and country and the tour guides infallible integrity
was intact. The parents didn’t notice my little tree trick because they were
playing on their smartphones. Whewwww…. Saved.
This Shabbos is Tu B’Shvat; The New Year for
trees. Since those years when I first started guiding, I have become a bit more
knowledgeable about those tall leafy things that adorn our beautiful country. But
a good tour guide is not there to just talk about trees and know which one is
which. Any dendrologist can do that. My job is to make it interesting,
inspiring, and connect those who are coming to Israel with the incredible
holiness and meaning everything here has to offer. So we talk about the tzadik
connection of palm trees, the profound significance of almond/shkeidiya
trees have, the connection between sabras and Israelis and of course all the
different hints and secrets of the pomegranate trees. But it’s Tu B’Shvat so we
have to go deeper.
What does it mean to be the New Year of trees?
What is Tu B’Shvat all about? The holiday as celebrated today really starts
around the time of the great Kabbalist of Tzfat, the ARI”ZL. The Talmud and
early sources do not mention it at all. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana states that
there are four New Years.
The New Year for the establishment of Kings and
for holidays is Nissan. The new Year for the tithes of cattle is the first of
Elul (or Tishrei according to Rebbi Elazar and Rebbi Shimon), the New Year for
Shemitta Yovel and vegetable tithes is Rosh Hashana, and then the Mishna states
“The first of Shevat is
the New Year for tree like the words of Beit
Shamai, Beit Hillel says it is the 15th.”
Rashi explains that the law is that tithes
cannot be taken off from one’s year crop for a previous year’s crop. The
cut-off point that divides the crops is either Rosh Chodesh or TU-(the 15th)
of Shvat according to Beith Hillel and Shammai. The reason for Shvat being the
cutoff point is because the majority of the winter rains have fallen and thus
the sap begins to rise signifying new growth.
Yet there is something much deeper in the words
of the Mishna. For the Mishna describes this New Year as the New Year of the
Tree-singular. Unlike the other items mentioned in the Mishna such as holidays,
kings, vegetables and the like. What tree are we talking about? Rabbi Tzadok
HaKohein of Lublin notes rather cryptically that this is referring to “The Tree”,
you know, the famous one; The Tree of Knowledge where it all started from. Tu B’Shvat,
he suggests is the day that we atone and rectify that original sin of Adam and
Chava who ate from the tree and thereby caused the “earth to be cursed”.
We therefore eat all types of fruits and make blessings upon them in order to
inject them with holiness.
But why TU B’Shvat? And what is the significance
of the dispute between Hillel and Shamai over the 1st or the 15th
of the month? So Reb Shmuel Engel suggests a fascinating idea. He notes that
the 1/3 is halachically the tipping point when something becomes recognized and
viable. When a fetus is 3 months old it is considered to have reached the stage
of hukar ubber (no not the car service app) the fetus is recognizable.
Similarly in the laws of Shemita produce 1/3 growth defines which year it is
part of. Even in the laws of Shabbos food is considered minimally cooked
already at the point of 1/3. That being the case he suggests that the Teshuva
that we do during the High Holidays comes to fruition in the month of Shvat 4
month or 1/3 of the year later. There are though two types of teshuva that we
do. On Rosh Hashana we repent out of yirah/ fear of Hashem. Sukkos
however in the Torah refers to the mitzva of taking the lulav as
“And you shall take on
the First day”- by which the Midrash
explains that although it is on the 15th of the month rather than
the 1st it is called the First because it is the “First of the accounting
of sins”
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explains this
by noting that when one repents out of fear then he can achieve atonement for
his sins. However on Sukkot the days of joy that follow the High Holidays we
repent out of love for Hashem. When one repents out of love then his previous
sins not only get forgiven but in fact they become merits for him. Thus on
Sukkos Hashem calculates our sins for he then turns them all into merits on our
behalf.
This being the case Rav Engel suggest is the
dispute between Shamai and Hillel. For Shamai represents strict and harsh
judgement. It was Shamai that could not convert the individual who came to him
on the condition he teach him the entire Torah on one foot. For if the concept
is fear and judgement then one has to learn all of the Torah. Hillel on the
other hand- or foot J, had no problem. He taught him that he should
not doing anything hateful to his friend that he wouldn’t want done to him.
That is love. His friend can even be interpreted as Hashem. If one has love for
Hashem and for others than he can transform any wrong doing into a merit. This
is therefore their dispute in regards to the holiday of the New Year for the
Tree- the original Tree, the original sin. Shamai says that the day of the
recognition of the atonement is 4 months or 1/3 of the year after the original Rosh
Hashana when Adam sinned and did teshuva out of fear and awe of Hashem. It is
why the Mishna says like the words of Beit Shamai- referring to the previous
positions of Shamai that favor an outlook of strict judgement and service of
Hashem through yirah. Hillel on
the other hand sees love and kindness and the holiday of Sukkot as the starting
point for teshuva, he thus learns that the day of its fruition is on Tu Bshvat.
Pretty deep, no? The day of the fruition of
teshuva of love. The blossoming of that joy that we experienced when we took
those four species on Sukkos in our Sukka. Under the stars, beneath the freshly
cut tree branches that serve as our schach in the shade of Hashem. The
winter is not the most romantic or loving time of year. It’s cold, it’s wet It’s
rainy and dark. It’s like Adam HaRishon after the first sin of the tree. But
from that sin Teshuva was born. We were given a second chance. We have the
opportunity to return to Eden. To turn that cursed dark dirty earth into holy
trees infused with blessing and the fruits of Hashem. The sap is rising, the
flowers are starting grow on the almonds already. Hashkediya Porachat.
It is time for the eternal Chag Ha’Ilanot.
Have fruitful Shabbos and delicious Tu BShvat,
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
**********************
RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/B90edi_4AWI – Sheweky Ilan Ilan song
https://youtu.be/2uj7tEHiFZ8 - And my favorite version from Abie Rottenberg
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“A yung baimeleh baigt zikh; an alter brecht
zikh”- A young tree bends; an
old tree breaks
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
answer below at end of Email
Q. The burial place of two women
whose names are “Etio” is located in:
a. The Beit Jamal Monastery
b. The Protestant cemetery on Mt. Zion
c. The Tombs of the Kings
d. Beit Shearim
a. The Beit Jamal Monastery
b. The Protestant cemetery on Mt. Zion
c. The Tombs of the Kings
d. Beit Shearim
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE
WEEK
We daven every day. Much of our daily prayers
come from verses in the Torah. Yet as we know there is so much depth to the
words that we use in our prayers that we barely have time to focus on, as we are
rushed and have to get going, to much more important things in life than talk
to the Master and Creator of the World and the King of all Kings right? Yeah… I
know the feeling. Yet when we arrive at the Torah portions that include parts
of our prayers it is worthwhile to really pay attention to those Rashi’s for
those insights that he gives are really ones that can enhance our daily prayers
to Hashem as we get a deeper insight into some of the words and verses.
In this week’s Torah portion we have the song
the Jews sang at the sea that we recite each morning before the blessings of
Shema. The concluding verses say
Shemos (15:19) Ki Va Sus-when the horse Pharaoh with his
chariots and horsemen came in the sea
Rashi on the words Ki Va- writes two
words K’aasher Ba- As Pharaoh came.
What is Rashi trying to say? What is the
difference between when he came or as he came? Rashi is not merely translating
he is highlighting this for us. And it is so easy to miss his point.
Rabbeinu Bachaya explains this Rashi that this
is a continuation and a recap of the beginning of the song. The song started
off Az Yashir Moshe- then Moshe and the children of Israel. The song is
concluding and explaining that this actually took place as Pharaoh and his
horsemen entered the sea. This insight he explains is an entirely different
perspective of the story. The Jews didn’t sing the song when they arrived on
the other end and saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. Rather, this is the song
they sung as they were crossing while the Egyptians were coming in after them.
Can you imagine the fear and the pounding of the Egyptian hooves coming in as
they were crossing the split sea. Yet the Jewish people had faith. They
continued singing and then their enemies were washed away. It is the song of
the sea literally, the song that was sung while still in the sea. That is the
song of faith that we sing each day, right before we announce Shema Yisrael.
Pretty amazing. Now go to work.
Rabbeinu Bachaya ben
Asher- (1255 - 1340) A student of the Rashba Rabbeinu Bachaya one of the most basic Rishonim
and commentaries on the Torah was one of the greatest commentaries and sages in
Spain. His work on the Torah begins with a verse in Mishlei and continues to
explain questions on the text and he uses midrash and Kabalistic sources very
similar to the style of Nachaminides in his commentary. He served as a a darshan ("preacher")
in his native city of Zaragoza, sharing this position with several others, and he
received a small salary, which was scarcely enough to support him and his
family; but neither his struggle for daily bread nor the reverses that he
suffered (to which he referred in the introduction to his commentary on the
Torah) diminished his zeal for in Torah study in general, and in Biblical
exegesis in particular. His other famous Mussar and philosophy work the
Kad Hakemach contains 60 chapters which discusses the following subjects:
belief and faith in God; the divine attributes and the nature of providence;
the duty of loving God, and of walking before God in simplicity and humility of
heart; the fear of God; Jewish prayer; benevolence, and the love of
mankind; peace; the administration of justice, and the sacredness of the
oath; the duty of respecting the property and honor of one's fellow man; the Jewish
holidays, and halakha.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF
THE WEEK
Hikers – Israel has one of the greatest
network of hikes in the entire world with more than 9000 km (5500 miles) of
marked trails for hiking, biking or jeep driving, and sometimes even for horse
or camel rides. The trails cover most of the country including the West Bank. Israel
has many different hiking options, from very short hikes that can take less
than an hour to multi-day hikes that can take up to many weeks. The
longest hike Shvil Haaretz or Israel trail runs 950 kilometers from Kibbutz
Dan, near the border with Lebanon in the Upper Galilee in the far
north of Israel, to Eilat in the far south of the country. Split into
manageable daily stages, there are places to stop and stay along the way. The Yam
lYam Hike (Sea to Sea) is one of the most popular hiking trails in Israel
literally crossing the country from west to east, from the Mediterranean Sea to
the Sea of Galilee, crossing some of Israel’s most beautiful scenery in the
Western Galilee and Upper Galilee regions. The Sea to Sea hike is walked by
thousands of Israelis and tourists every year, and takes between three to five
days depending on how fast you walk, along marked scenic trails. It starts by
Nahariya through the upper Galile and Meron and Tzfat and ends by the banks of
the Kinneret.
Almost all Israelis are hikers. The
vacation times during the year are packed with hikers of all ages. The truth is
there is a mitzva and kiyum of walking the land to its length and
breadth and showing that it is all our land as part of the mitzva of settling
the land. The tradition goes back to Avraham Avinu. When we walk and hike we
imagine how much Moshe Rabbeinu wished he would have been able to do what we
are doing. The beauty of Israel is that there is so many different climates,
topographies and natural phenomena. We have volcanoes, waterfalls, lush hills
and valleys and beautiful deserts and wilderness. There are of course Israelis
that do this as a full time occupation for month on end, and then you have the
beginners and tourists from all over the world that come to experience the
beauty of Israel. The most important thing, of course, is a good map and lots
of water. Dehydration can come very quick and it is not fun and dangerous. A
tour guide is also not a bad thing to bring along as well.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE TREE JOKES OF THE WEEK
How do trees access the internet? They log
on.
What did the tree do when the bank closed? It
started its own branch.
What type of tree fits in your hand? A palm
tree.
Where do saplings go to learn? Elementree
school.
What is an Oaks Favorite school subject? Treegonometree.
What is every single tree’s least favorite
month? SepTIMMMBERRR!
What must trees drink responsibly? Root beer.
Why do trees hate tests? Because they
get stumped by the questions.
Q: What did the tree wear to the pool party? A: Swimming
trunks!
Q: What did the little tree say to the big tree? A: Leaf
me alone!
What did one tree say
to the other tree? Eitz nice to see you.
**************
Answer is D – I lucked out on this one. I have no idea who is buried in
bait jamal monastery, or in the protestant cemetery on Mt Zion and I’m no even
interested enough to google it. The cemetery of the Kings is north of Shaar
Shechem not the safest place to visit and according to traditions Kalba Savua
the father in law of Rabbi Akiva is buried there and according the Ari”Zl Nakdimon Ben Gurion is buried there although
some archeologists believe that it was the Jewish queen Helene is buried there.
The correct answer though and I know this
because I go there all the time, is Beit Shearim. Beit Shearim, located
in the lower Galile, the burial place of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasai was the central
burial place in Israel after the destruction of the Temple and the Bar Kochva
revolt. There the Etio women are buried an aunt and niece.
