Insights and Inspiration
from
the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz
"Your friend
in Karmiel"
August 6th 2021 -Volume 11 Issue 43 28th
Av
Parshat Re'eh
The Last Chulent
(Check out the link to my latest Mishpacha tour article below!)
There a few
life-changing Shabossos that one has in
their lives. In my life there are a few that will always stand out. The first
of course was my Bar Mitzva Shabbos. It doesn't really get more life-changing
than that. In one weekend I was transformed from a boy to someone who was
supposed to start behaving like a man. I don't know if that ever really
happened, so perhaps it's more accurate to say that I became responsible for my
actions, my sins, my mitzvos, my obligations at least as far as heaven was
concerned. Life-changing. I was no longer the same person as I was before that.
Fast forward from that Shabbos about
10 years or so and I stood up there at the Bima again and they pelted me with
candies as they did 10 years prior. This was my Shabbos Aufruf or Shabbat
Chatan as they call it here. The coming week I would be a married man. Life
would no longer just be about me. I would now have somebody else in my life to
worry about me… I mean to worry about them J… It was heavy. It was intense. My bachelor party days were
over. And despite being a fairly frum yeshiva guy I had an awfully good
time. I learned in Lakewood … remember.
Would I ever have fun again? Would I frum out? Am I really capable of being
there emotionally, materially, spiritually for another person? For her? It was
scary and certainly life-changing. Schwartzy the yeshiva guy's life was
certainly over.
The next two Shabbosos really go
together. The first was the Shabbos that my wife told me that she was pregnant
a year or so after we were married. That was scary. This marriage thing was for
real now. We officially have baggage now if it doesn't work out. Not that there
were any problems, questions, doubts or surprises for me that first year. There
never is any Shana Rishona which is always idyllic…. Uh huh. Remember that
Yonah and Batya. But this was terrifying. There's going to be someone in my
life that I'm supposed to be a role model for. That is supposed to look up to
me. That I will probably have to pay a lot of money for therapy for if I mess
up. When I met Shani for the first time it was even scarier. Because she was so
cute and so precious. What did she do wrong in a previous life to get stuck
with a Dad like me?
When Yonah came along- and he was
actually born on Shabbos it was even more scary. His Bris was on Shabbos and
I'll never forget thinking what a precious gift Hashem has entrusted me with. Does
He really know what he's doing leaving this precious little neshoma in my hand?
My mother asked the same question by the way when she saw him… But the truth is
Thank God for my wife who was and is really good at this parenting thing. And
therapy really isn't as expensive as I had thought anyways. So it all turned
out good.
Yet of all of the life-changing
Shabboses in my life this Shabbos is perhaps the most dramatic and terrifying
for me. See, all the other ones were really emotional or status changing life
transitions that came with new and different expectations, hopes and dreams.
This Shabbos though is the first in my life where my life will be changing
physically in a real significant way. It is the Shabbos that I have aptly named
the Shabbos of the Last Chulent.
Now I know that sounds very
melodramatic. And it is. But that 's the way that I deal with things. You see,
this coming Tuesday I will be going under the knife – laparoscopically of course,
just continuing to be melodramatic- and having the gastric bypass stomach
surgery, something I made fun of for years and that I swore I could never see
myself doing. Well you know how they say that someday you're going to have to
eat those words. Well it seems, that words are pretty much the only thing I'm
going to be eating for a while. Now I
know that I will eventually be able to eat chulent and even most other things
eventually once again in a lot of months or year, but it won't be the same.
What the surgery does is pretty much leave you with a stomach the size of about
an egg. From what I have heard from most of the people I have spoken to that
have done it, after a half a piece of gefilte fish, a few spoons of soup, a
half a drumstick or a wing or two and a sliver of kugel and a spoon or two of
farfel they feel stuffed. One guy told me that after a quarter of a small bowl
of chulent he feels like he ate two shwarmas. I told him that I can easily
knock off three, Fuggedabout, the three of four platefuls of chulent I can
easily put down on a Shabbos… And that's after the salatim soaked up
with half a loaf of Challa, kugels, liver and what's for dessert
thank-you-very-much. Yes, this is going to be life-changing.
Before Corona I never really felt
the need for this surgery. The truth is I never really felt that my
overweight-ness or obesity hampered me at all. I was touring and running around
the country every day. I was active climbing, hiking and running all over the
place. Sure I knew that it was a health risk and that certainly I have plenty
of lousy genes in my family that increased my risk of things I don't even want
to think about and pretty much ignored. Yet, I felt fine and I was young right?
At least at heart and in spirit. And the truth is I still feel that way, except
that now it's only in spirit. The body has become a drag and it's not fun. And
after a few friends of mine underwent scary health stuff- and they're in twice
the better shape than I am- I realized the time had finally come. My eating
life was over. I had nice long 50 year run and probably ate more chulent than
most people have in three lifetimes.
I know what you're thinking. Why
don't you just go a diet. Uh huh… Been there- done that. I probably lost more
weight in my life then my whole family weighs put together and Shani is due any
day now IYH… Losing weight is easy I've done it a million times. The problem is
that after you hit that plateau and nothing is coming off anymore and you still
have plenty to go and you're still crunching on those carrots and passing up on
the Pizza it just feels like a "waist" of time- pun intended. It's
time for something dramatic. And so this Shabbos will be my last
"real" Shabbos meal for a long time; at least as I have defined it
until now. With my urging my wife of course has been cooking all week.
Now as I always do at this point in
the week, I open up the Torah portion and check out Hashem's always timely
message that he has for me. It's why we have Parshat Ha'Shavua, to look in the
Torah and read what Hashem feels we need to hear this week. And what do you
know. This week's Torah portion providentially enough is probably the one with
the biggest menu in the Torah. The Parsha which begins with Moshe urging us to
take life seriously by looking at the blessing and curse that Hashem has laid
out for us when we either follow or alternatively god forbid disobey the Torah
quickly moves to the dramatic change that occurs to our our nation when we come
to the land of Israel.
However, in every desire of your
soul, you may slaughter and eat meat in all your cities, according to the
blessing of the Lord, your God, which He gave you; the unclean and the clean
may eat thereof, as of the deer, and as of the gazelle.
In the wilderness we could only eat
sacrificial meat. In the holy land we can slaughter and redeem sacrifices that
have been blemished and eat them. It then continues and tells us that really
any Kosher meat can be eaten.
When Hashem, your God, expands your
boundary, as He has spoken to you, and you say, "I will eat meat,"
because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, according to every
desire of your soul. If the place the Lord, your God, chooses to put His
Name there, will be distant from you, you may slaughter of your cattle and of
your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may
eat in your cities, according to every desire of your soul.
There's a lot of desire there it
seems for the Torah and the Torah in fact sanctions and blesses it. This is in
fact the verse in the Torah that is the source for the commandment to slaughter
animals. But it's not just steaks,
burgers and shwarmas that the parsha concerns itself this week. It gets into
the kosher birds we can eat and even the delicious fish with fins and scales
that we can have with chrain and mayonnaise before we eat our chicken soup with
juicy chicken pipiklach in them and of course those turkey cold cuts. Yeah…
This week is the Parsha of the last Schwartz supper and Hashem has prepared a
menu for me to remember.
Yet as I read this menu, I think to
myself how incredible our Torah and Judaism is. Our religion, the blessing and
our lives are built around food. The first sin of Adam was eating the wrong
thing and as our job in this earth is to rectify that sin by eating only that
which is permitted to us. While we are in the wilderness before coming to the
land of Israel we could only do that through partaking in sacrifices that had
been consecrated; at least if you wanted to eat flayshigs- and who are we fooling
that's the only real type of meal that counts. Upon coming into Israel we have
become so elevated that our bellies themselves are like temples and altars. Our
desire for food and meat is like that of the Mizbayach, it is as the desire of
Hashem is for sacrifices.
I'm reminded of the story of one of
the Chasidic Rebbis (maybe it was the Tolner?) that before 1948 would regularly
got to Kever Rachel and pour out his heart to Hashem in the merit of Mama
Rachel. Yet after we lost access to it in the war of independence he was no
longer able to come. When in 1967 it was once again liberated and Israeli
control, the Rebbi returned with all of his chasidim for the first time in 19
years. Before entering though the Rebbi told his students to set up a large table
laden with all the best delicacies for the Tish that he would hold before
entering. He explained to his perplexed Chasidim that he did this because every
Jewish child know that there is nothing that gives a Jewish Mother ore nachas
then feeding her children and knowing that they are well-fed. My mother always
particularly pleased with me it seems. Similarly, Hashem desires that we eat
well. And if we do so and appreciate our body as one that is giving pleasure to
Hashem in our eating then we have truly joined heaven and earth in the holiest
way.
At the same time though this Parsha
of food gives us one major warning that it repeats as well.
However, be strong not to eat the
blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the
flesh.
Frankly I do like my meat a little
on the rare side. It's best when it's a juicy steak. Yet blood is something I
really do not have a desire for. Interestingly enough Rashi brings two opinions
about this blood prohibition that the Torah seems to feel the need to accentuate
to us with the extra heeding of "Be strong". The opinion of Rebbi
Yehudah is that the Jews have a natural propensity for foreign cuisine. We have
kosher Italian, French, Indian, Japanese, Chinese and even Vietnamese
restaraunts and that's on one block alone in Flatbush, Monsey and Lakewood Ir Hakodesh.
In Israel they even have Ethiopian restaraunts although I don't know why. I
thought there were just starving people there that would die if I didn't finish
what was on my plate. So in the same way the gentiles back then ate blood food
and Hashem was warning us not to get sucked into or start sucking on that to be
precise.
Rebbi Shimon Ben Azzai though tells
us that most people don't like blood, the Torah is using this as an extreme
example to teach us that if for the not eating of blood which we have no
natural desire for we have to be careful, how much more so do we have to be
careful about observing commandments that we have a natural predilection to
violate.
The Gaon of Vilna though and his
student Reb Chaim Volozhin though see in the end of the verse the essence of the
Torah's exhortation. We should be careful not to eat our "souls" with
our "flesh". Food can become an obsession. Food is meant to bring and
raise our souls up however if we become to engrossed in the desire-desire-desire
that the Torah repeats in permitting and even blessing us with its consummation
than we can easily slide down that gastrointestinal tract to swallowing our
souls up with the steaks. It becomes just about the food. It becomes just about
my pleasure. We've forgotten that it's an offering to Hashem we are
sanctifying. We're fressing like the Goyim according to Rebbi Yehuda,
and according to Rebbi Shimon this can happen with all of the Mitzvos that we
do that we enjoy as well. It's about us. It's about our belly and enjoyment and
the fun and the deliciousness of it all. It's become feel-good Judaism and rather
than the Feel- God Judaism it's meant to be.
When I had my initial consultation
with the surgeon he asked me if I felt that I could keep the eating regimen
that the post-operation lifestyle would entail; basically eating really tiny
portions of nothing for the rest of my life. I told him that of course I
didn't. If I felt that I had the self-control on my own to keep that type of
diet long term than I wouldn't do the surgery in the first place. The reason
why I was doing the surgery was because from what I understood that once you
did it you really were unable to "pack it in" like I do now. But the
truth is, I told the doctor. I always intellectually and perhaps even
spiritually wanted to be the person that could slowly eat and taste their food,
chewing on each bite slowly and savoring the tastes and flavors of each smile
bite and enjoying it and being satisfied with that, rather than just inhaling
my plate as I do today. It's my hope that this process will enable me to become
that type person. A person who is not swallowing his soul, but is living and
appreciating Hashem and His goodness in every bite that He blesses us with. To
truly experience V'Achalta, V'Savata u'veirachta- to eat even a mere
kzayis and feel satisfied with it enough to thank Hashem for.
We enter the month of Elul this Shabbos.
It's a month when we begin to engage in the process of teshuva. The Torah
describes that work as one of being U'maltem es orlas livavchem- to circumcise
the foreskin of our hearts. Our hearts are pure. We've got lots of build-up on
them; a lot of extra weight that we need to remove. Our spiritual arteries are getting
clogged up. I have a long way to go until I get to the spiritual heart
operation, yet perhaps by starting with what's on my plate every day and
elevating each bite, just as my physical heart's chances for a healthy life
will be much better, my spiritual hearts will as well. As this is my first
surgery ever in my life if you can keep my name Ephraim Ben Esther Baila in
your prayers this coming Tuesday it would mean a lot to me. Also don't get nervous
if you don't hear from me next week… I might take a brief recovery hiatus.
Have a deliciously
healthy Shabbos and spiritually healthy Rosh Chodesh Elul
Rabbi Ephraim
Schwartz
**************
WE'RE BACK IN MISHPACHA MAGAZINE AGAIN!!!
Check out Rabbi Schwartz'es latest
TANACH TOUR OF THE JEZRE"EL VALLEY
Read and see the great stories of the books of the
prophets come alive in this amazing tour
https://mishpacha.com/the-hills-are-alive-2/
While you're at it be sure to catch up on all of my
videos over there and other amazing tours you may have missed
https://mishpacha.com/contributors/rabbi-ephraim-schwartz/
Like, Share, and Message our editor how much you enjoy
these articles!!!
*****************************************
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK
"
Faran dareh gvirim un fetch oremeleit.." – There are plenty of riche people that are skinny and poor
ones that are fat.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK
40)
The beginning of Torah reading every year is in:
A)
Rosh Hashana
B)
Yom Kippur
C)
Simchat Torah
D)
Celebration of giving of the Torah – Shavuot
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
https://youtu.be/pMEWEC9UfQk
– Check out this fantastic Sampler
video of my dear friend and arranger Dovid Lowy (who sang by Yonah's wedding)
for his latest Acoustic album. Awesome!! I've been listening to the album all
week…
https://youtu.be/Cb5_V11Uauk
– Yaakov Shwekey's got a new exciting video out
this week as well. Yavo Ha'Yom- He really is the king of cool videos that tell
a story and brings the song to life.
https://youtu.be/DPF7oV8vCBo - Ari Goldwag
though is certainly the king of the funnest Jewish music videos with so many
having over a million hits. Get in early on this latest one Yesh Li Ha'Kol…
https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/mi-adir
- And
for those of you that missed last week. Here's my Son Yonah's composition that
was played for his Chuppa…beautiful Mi Adir aung and arranged by Dovid Lowy!
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/ ERETZ YISRAEL CONNECTION OF THE
WEEK
The Blessing of
the Curse – Parshat Re'eh-
There is a famous rule our Rabbis tell us that Eretz Yisrael is only
acquired with tribulations- yissurim. There's no such thing as an easy Aliyah.
There will always be challenges. In fact, it's not only Eretz Yisrael, but our
sages tell us that there were three things that were given to us as a present
however they were only given with yissurim and that list includes Torah and
Olam Ha'bah- the world to come. The question of course begs itself of why is
this necessary. What type of gift is it if Hashem tells us that he's going to
give us all types of pains and troubles to receive it.
The truth is
that very question as well applies to the first verse in this week's parsha
which as well as last week repeatedly talks about the specialness of our holy
Land and the gift, inheritance and final resting place it will serve for our
nation. The Parsha begins with Moshe telling us
"Re'eh
hinei anochi nosein lifneyche hayom bracha v'klala- See that I give before you
today blessing and curse.
The bracha is
if we listen to the mitzvos and commandments and if we don't listen it will be
a curse. The question is though once again the terminology of "giving
you" seems like it would be a present and what type of present is a curse.
The answer
though is that the curse and the tribulations are as well all blessing and they
are the means of us being able to receive the gifts Hashem has for us. A gift's
value is always predicated on the receiver's appreciation of it. For example if
someone gives a vegetarian a nice delicious juicy steak or a good big bowl of
meaty chulent it won't really do anything for them. If one gives an adult a new
set of lego, if one gives a child a set of Shas or a large set of books as well,
they want to know if they can have the receipt to return it. Yet if one gave me
the steak, or the sefarim I would be delighted. It would be amazing!
Similarly Eretz
Yisrael, Torah and the World to Come are such lofty spiritual gifts that unless
we are on the proper spiritual maturity level they would be meaningless to us.
So what Hashem does is that he builds us up. He gives us yissurim- he makes it
difficult. We have to work for us. We have to receive the curse and see Hashem
in that and still persevere, still say we want it, still sing Ani Maamin.
Recite the words that King David writes that we will begin reciting every day
this month.
Achas Sho'alti
Me'eis Hashem- I have one request from You Hashem.
Shivti B'veis
Hashem Kol Yemei Chayai- All I want is to dwell within Your home my entire
life.
Each time we
say this. Each time we overcome the challenges before us we grow higher and
higher spiritually and our appreciation of that great present of Eretz Yisrael,
Torah, and the Wrold to come becomes greater and greater.
Thus Moshe tell
us that we should look at the tremendous gifts Hashem has given us through the
blessing and the curse. The blessing is of course the land and the curse that
he gives us raises us up to appreciate it and receive it on the highest levels.
So when you move here and if you are already here keep this idea in mind. All
of the blessing and curses you experience here are from Him. It's just making
our present greater and greater.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE
WEEK
Dovid Reconciles-
840 BC – A good leader is one who is willing to
put his personal agenda's aside and one who recognizes that his job is to unite
and bring together the people and nation he represents. The failures of most
political leaders is when they are furthering their own self-interests instead.
Dovid exemplifies putting the people first and particularly as he brings
together the nation.
His first move
is to send word to his own tribe that with Avshalom's downfall it was time for
them to welcome him back and take their fellow landsman back as their King.
Sure enough they came around. As well he took Ammasah who had been Yoav's
general and replaced Yoav with him making him the new general and in effect
pardoning him for his part in the rebellion. This would of course raise
consternation in Yoav and eventually would lead to both of their downfalls.
Next on the
list was Shimi'I ben Geira who came with Ziva and Mepiboshes, Shaul's servant
and his son and 1000 Benjaminites. They as well implored Dovid to forgive them.
Shimi'i. explained away his dissent by stating that it was his impression that
Dovid had lost the kingdom because of his sin and it was his obligation to back
up Avshalom. Mepiboshes told Dovid that he wanted to come but he was tricked by
Ziva who told him that he shouldn't come and being a cripple he had no way of
getting there. Dovid assured both of them that he would not avenge himself on
them. Although in Mepiboshes's case he does give half his possessions to Ziva,
because he was still skeptical of his intentions. For this, the midrash tells
us, Dovid's kingdom itself will eventually be divided after Shlomo's rule.
Don't listen to Lashon Hara is the lesson here.
Dovid as well
rewards the son of Barzilai Ha'Giladi and brings him back to Jerusalem with
him. With Dovid's return the Jewish people rally around him. However like most
good things in Dovid's life it doesn't last for long. Next week we discuss the
next rebellion of Sheva ben Bichri.
RABBI SCHWARTZ’S
FAT AND SKINNY JOKES OF THE WEEK
Berel the
portly chasid walks out of a big Shul Kiddush and turns to his skinny friend Yanky
who just arrived and says: "when people look at you, they think the
world's starving to death"
Without blinking an eye Yanky responds "when they look at you, they know why"
What did the skinny cow shed farmer say to his wife? I
need to whey more
As a fat guy, I tend to avoid wearing skinny jeans. I
find it very difficult to pull it off.
My wife turned to me the other day and said, "You
are so skinny.". Then she grabbed me by the love handles and said,
"Just look at all this skin.
I am an obese man identifying as a skinny man...I am
trans-fat.
I also have a
morbidly obese friend, but he identifies as skinny. He’s trans slender
What do you call a skinny Palestinian cow? A moo-slim
Everyone in my family has extremely skinny legs, so we
all have to have our pants custom made. It's terribly expensive. It's those
lousy skinny genes.
My son was depressed because of his obesity. "Trust
me," I told him, "skinny people get down too."
"Not when you're on a see-saw with them,"
he said
Rachel told Leah that she decided to go on a diet. That
evening when she called, Leah could hear that her mouth was full, so she asked
what her sister was eating.
"A cupcake," Rachel mumbled.
“I thought you just started your diet,” said Leah.
"I did. But I got on the scale, and it read 149 1/2
pounds. I decided that was no place to start a diet, so I’m rounding it off to
150."
A man goes to the doctor and says, "Doc, I would
like to live a long life. What should I do?"
"I think that is a wise decision," the
doctor replies. "Let's see, do you smoke?"
"Oh.. Half a pack a day."
"Starting NOW, no more smoking." The man
agrees.
The doctor then asks, "Do you drink?"
"Oh, well Doc, not much, just a bit of wine with
my meals, and a beer or two every once in a while."
"Starting
now, you drink only water. No exceptions."
The man is a bit upset, but also agrees. The doctor asks,
"How do you eat?"
"Oh, well,
you know, Doc, normal stuff."
"Starting
now you are going on a very strict diet. You are going to eat only raw
vegetables, with no dressing, and non-fat cottage cheese."
The man is now
really worried. "Doc, is all this really necessary?"
"Do you want to live long?" "Yes."
"Well then, it's absolutely necessary. And don't even think of breaking
the diet."
The man is appalled. "Doc... Are you sure I'm
going to live longer this way?"
The doctor replies "I have no idea, but however
long you live, I assure you is going to seem like an eternity!
*********************************
Answer is C- This one is a freebie for any frum tour
guide and the truth is even secular Israelis generally should know the answer
to this question, although I wouldn't be surprised if some got this wrong. Now
what this has to tour guiding, I have no idea… but I'll take the freebie. So
Simchas Torah is of course the correct answer. If you didn't know that, it's
time to go back to school…or yeshiva. So
the score is 32 for Rabbi Schwartz and 8 for the Ministry of Tourism on this
exam.
