Wisdumb Lessons- Ki Tavo 5777/ 2017

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

September 8^th 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 44 17^th of Elul 5777

Parshat Ki Tavo

Wisdumb Lessons

I don’t like dentists. I don’t like mechanics either. I have the same problem with both of them. See I know nothing about the inside of a car hood. I don’t know what makes it run. I can barely even figure out how the stereo works in most of these new cars today. But I know that every so often my car has to go to the mechanic for a “check-up” . They change the oil, the filters and fill up some fluids.They check out the brakes and change some pads. It should be simple. In the States they would do this for like 10-15 bucks if I remember correctly at Jiffy Lube or something. Yet inevitably what happens is that they come back to you with this “Aha we got one” kind of look and tell you “Oh you have to change your catylictic carbulator” or “your left axle wing nut seems to be dripping some fluids, when was the last time you had that checked or replaced?” Now of course I have no idea what these things or if there are even such parts in a car. That’s the way they test you to see how much they can take advantage of you. When you tell them that you don’t know, that is their cue to tell you that it’s supposed be changed every 100 thousand miles and whadaya know I’m at 101,000, so its time. They’re very patronizing of course, as they say listen you don’t have to do it here now, but they can’t guarantee that my car will live another day or two without it and they’ll give me a discount to do it now. So of course I have no choice and I get the work done on some mysterious part and just rack it up to my never having taken auto mechanics in school.

Same thing with the Dentist. See, I avoid them. I avoid all doctors. My feeling is if it ain’t broke why fix it? My wife on the other hand feels that it is very important for me to go for “checkups”. I don’t have a high enough life-insurance policy it seems and I guess she feels it might be worthwhile to keep me around for a bit until I pay off some of our debts and who know maybe even put away some savings. Checkups are essential in her mind to keeping me around. So I go in. They weigh me and nod tskk tskk tsskk… Israeli doctors are particularly good at doing that. They take my blood pressure and make some more funny noises and then they tell me that I really should lose weight, exercise more, have less shwarmas and in general to become a different person. They of course tell me, that I don’t have to do this if I don’t want to. But if I love my family he can’t guarantee I’ll be around if I don’t. Unfortunately I can’t just pay him some money to just fix the problem, So I leave with some guilt and thoughts of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular “teshuva” that lasts for about 5 minutes and just tell my wife that the doctor said everything will be fine.

Dentists though have a special place in my heart and mouth though. See there my wife tells me I have to go for checkup and cleaning. Once again- my teeth are fine, they look clean to me and after all who’s really looking at them anyways. It’s what comes out of my mouth that people are paying attention to right? She however uses my weak point and tells me that it’s free. See we have the platinum Kupat Cholim-that’s our socialized medicine clinic- plan which offers a free annual checkup. And if it’s free then I have to do it. Now this platinum Kupat Cholim thing is also a scam. They tell you it’s free, but ultimately they find all the things that are not covered under the plan and whadaya know that’s what needs to be fixed, but don’t worry because we have platinum we will get a discount, which interestingly enough is still more expensive than if I just go to a private dentist to take care of it….See why I really hate dentists.

So anyways two weeks ago my wife convinces me to go for my cleaning and as could be predicted they told me that I needed a root canal on top of the one I have already. Which really was doing fine and not troubling me at all. They also said that one of my wisdom teeth needed to be extracted. Again I pride myself on my wisdom, and I wasn’t ready to give it up yet. We’ve been together for quite a few decades now. And almost like Samson, maybe the secret to my brilliance is in that tooth. So I came home told my wife that everything was fine and since it wasn’t bothering me at all anyways, I figured it was just another one of those dentist scam things. Dentists in Israel don’t make as much as they do in America and they gotta get it from where they can. But this American Oleh wasn’t going to fall for it.

The problem was I didn’t realize to what extent they would go to. See a few days later, Friday night I was sitting down at my Shabbos table. As I bit into the delicious healthy spelt challah my wife makes. Healthy of course to insure I will be around for a while. Sure enough I feel my filling come out. Just like that. Boom. Pop. I’m looking at my wisdom tooth filling that was perfectly fine before these dentists broke it to make sure I would come back. It’s the only explanation. It was fine until I went in for that cleaning. Yeah…they were determined to clean me out, that’s for sure. So with no choice I went back. I paid my dues. They yanked my wisdom tooth. Gleefully I might say. I’m in pain. If this E-mail is dumber than usual, now you know why. Did I mention I don’t like dentists...?

One of the interesting thing I noticed and was thinking about as they were pulling my tooth is that they kept referring to it as the shein bina. That’s the word in Hebrew for wisdom tooth. For some reason this bothered me. See, the word for wisdom in Hebrew is chochma. A scholar- something I was before they stole my tooth – is a talmid chacham. The word bina- though means understanding. A shein bina is an understanding tooth. Ani lo meivin- means I don’t understand. And a maven in Hebrew, Yiddish and even English is someone who understands things or is an expert on thing. There’s a difference between the two. In fact in Torah etymology each word has its own particular nuances and chochma and bina are two very different things.

There is another word as well for this intellectual information that word is da’as which can be translated as knowledge. These three terms can be found in the first of our personal prayers that we recite in our daily amida prayer.

“You grant man knowledge and teach mankind wisdom, Grace us from You wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Blessed are You Hashem the grantor of knowledge.”

Incidentally if you didn’t put it together these three things are in fact the acronym which Chabad stands for CH’ohchma, Bina Daas. So where better then to Chabad to understand what they are all about. Chochma in the great works of the Baal Hatanya, he explains is is a spark, it is the first flash of an idea. For example, sometimes one is struggling over a problem and they get a flash of inspiration, a "Eureka" if you will. The Gaon of Vilna explains it as the Divine wisdom that comes directly from Hashem. In fact the letters of chochma also spell when rearranged the words koach ma- the potentiality of what is. It is the building blocks of what comes only from above.

Bina on the other hand is the next step. It comes from the word boneh to build. It is taking that wisdom, that information that one has received and contemplating and understanding the way he personally relates to it. It is therefore constantly changing as generations come and go. The two chochma and bina are referred to in the Zohar as the two friends that never part from one another. The Talmud tells us that women were granted an extra sense of bina over men. chochma –wisdom that initial spark is the man’s part. It’s that momentary flash that he brings to the table. The woman takes that idea and develops it, nurtures it.  When it comes to creating life, she does so for 9 months. Men can’t be pregnant. Bina is not our thing. We’re programmed to bring the quick solution and to move on to the next project or idea. Maybe that’s why in Israel it’s called the Bina tooth. Here in Israel, where the Talmud tells us that the air one breathes is full of wisdom, as soon as it gets in our mouths we begin the process of bina understanding it and taking it apart and constructing it and making it better. In America they’re still a step behind and they are just plain old dumb American airspace and it only becomes wisdom once they start biting into it or sinking their teeth in it. I know your groaning now but I warned you this E-Mail was gonna be dumber than usual…L.

Finally knowledge is the incorporation or internalization of that wisdom and knowledge and truly becoming one with it. The biblical term as we all know for intimacy is man “knowing” his wife. That is the prayer we say each morning Hashem is the one that gives us the ability to achieve knowledge. We do this through chochma we receive and bina process of extrapolating and nurturing it and ultimately we transform it all and internalize into knowledge. This is truly the function of the entire world the prophet Isaiah describes the Messianic era as when the whole world will full of knowledge like a water covering the sea. That’s what we are here in this world to try to achieve.

This week’s Torah portion interestingly enough is really describes this process of chochma and bina and daas perfectly throughout the entire portion. The parsha begins with Hashem telling us that we will come to the land. The place where we are meant to shine out that light and knowledge from. We will harvest we will plant. Just like everyone else does wherever else they go. Our crops grow we have that wisdom. That inspiration. But then something changes. We take our first fruits and bring them to the temple. To the Kohen. Before Hashem. We make a public declaration. We preform Bina. We recount our history and announce that Hashem is the source of all of our blessing. Now and forever. We then internalize the Torah tells us by recognizing that this covenant that we share this bond this information places upon us the ultimate obligations to fulfill the commandments. He commands us- gives us the knowledge. We follow His ways. We become to him His treasured nation making us above all nations to be dedicated to Him with praise and splendor. Like a bride and a groom, a chasan and Kalla bound together with that loving intimate knowledge.

This idea continues in the next command as well where Moshe commands the Jewish people together with the elders and the Kohanim and Levis that when they come to Israel the first act they do is going to be to go to these two mountains and enter into the covenant, the marriage with all the blessings and responsibilities and the pitfall and curses if we do not fulfill our mandate. The Elders are there because they ae the source of the chochma, the Kohanim represent the Bina the development of that knowledge, the Levi’im are the ones that will sing and teach and facilitate the internalization of it all.  We are one. We answer Amen.  The world will come to its fulfillment.

The portion concludes with Moshe reassuring and asserting the essence of it all

Devarim ( 29:1) You have seen all that Hashem has done before your wise in the land of Egypt… the great signs and miracles which your eyes have seen..

And Hashem has not given you a heart to ‘know’ and eyes to see and ears to hear until this very day…

And you have come to this land and Sichon the king of Cheshbon and Og the King of Bashan came out to us and we smote them. And we have taken their land and it was given to us as an inheritance to Reuvein, Gad and half the tribe of Menashe.

And you shall guard this covenant and you shall preform it in order that you will taskilu- be successful in all that you do.

I translated the word taskilu above as succesful as Rashi and the Unkelus do. However the the word in fact comes from the same root as sechel- intelligence and in fact the Seforno concludes this portion explaining

“In order that you will achieve to direct all of your actions for the eternal life and for the present life”

Life, wisdom, understanding, meaning all of those things that we seek to achieve in holiness can only be acquired if we open our eyes, we focus our hearts and we internalize this most amazing of ideas. Now that’s something to sink your teeth into. Ouch!

Have a simchadike Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Az es kumt tsonvaitik fargest men kopvaitik.”. When a toothache comes, you forget your headache.

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/w9FB8R1mdjw   – Bill Cosby on Dentists… Classic and still funny after all these years..

https://youtu.be/ZJxFHSE1Rv4    – Life of meaning New song Naftali Bluimenthal pretty catchy

https://youtu.be/6-6UkU8nWZw  – Aseh LMaan Shemecha Yitzchak Fuchs

https://youtu.be/CR-eLYCSw54  - Ich Kum Shonyn Aheim- Yiddish song Motty Illowitz

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q.   A site where “Free Masons” have been known to convene (gather):
a. The Hulda stairs
b. The Nicanor cave
c. Zedekiah’s cave
d. The Tombs of the Kings

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE WEEK

Ki Tavo- There are some verses and chapters in the Torah that are difficult to read. Not because the words are hard or the translation but rather because when the Torah talks tough it gets scary. Particularly this is true when it comes to the exhortations and “curses” that Moshe tells us if we do not follow the words of the Torah. After thousands of years in exile we have seen these prophecies fulfilled tragically enough to us from the destructions of the Temples to modern times. Yet the Rashis on these verses can be particularly upbeat. Even on the most frightening of predictions Rashi seems to find an upside to it. He sees in the gloom and doom the rays of light and hope.

One of those predictions that seems particularly harsh

Devarim (28:63) Vhaya Ka’asher Sas- And it will be as Hashem rejoiced-to do good to you and to multiply you, Kein Yasis- so too Hashem will rejoice- on you to make you perish and destroy you.

Wow! It’s one thing to say that Hashem must destroy us, but that he will be happy that we will be destroyed! As happy as when he does good for us? How can that be? The Shomer Emunim notes that Hashem is not even happy when His enemies- like the Egyptians were drowning in the Red Sea and he prohibited the angels from singing His praise. So Rashi kicks in by pointing out that the word that Hashem will rejoice- Yasis actually means He will make rejoice- this is different than Onkelos’s translation incidentally- And Rashi therefore understands the verse as saying

He will make your enemies rejoice over you to make you perish.

In fact in older prints of Rashi mentioned in the mikraot Gedolot addition it adds

That Hashem Himself does not rejoice. We learn from here that Hashem does not rejoice upon the downfall of the wicked, as it does not say yasus- He will rejoice, rather yasis that he will make others rejoice. However in the goodness to the righteous Hashem Himself rejoices as it says sas-   as Hashem rejoices.

The Shomer Emunim himself explains the verse according to Unkelos intepertation in that Hashem rejoices when He destroys us as much as when He does good for us because He understands that the pains and tribulations and suffering that we undergo are only there to remove any evil and to purify and allow us to rise to even greater heights thus insuring our eternality.

Perhaps that can help explain Rashi as well, as the suffering that we have that the nations of the world are rejoicing over our downfall is part of the process of us redeeming ourselves and atoning for our sins.

Regardless, once again Rashi takes a verse that is too troubling to read and turns into into a tool to appreciate how close Hashem is to us even in our most challenging times.

Rabbi Aharon Roth- the Shomer Eminim (1894-1947) – Amongst the Todos Aharon and Toldos Avrahm Yitzchak Yerushalmi Jews he is known as the “Alter Rebbe” as he was the founder of the current chasidut. He was born in Hungary and studied by the great Rebbes of Bluzhov, Vishnitz and ultimately Satmar. He was known for his devotion and dedication to living at the highest spiritual lifestyle. In 1925 he moved to Palestine to Jerusalem and founded in Meah Shearim his yeshiva. He wrote his seminal work called Shome Emunim on the importance of reciting Amen. He moved back to Europe in 1929 leaving his chasidim behind. In 1940 he returned to Israel and he died in 1947 while in middle of grinding his flour for Matzos for Pesach.

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Yordim –I know this column is for Jews in Israel and by definition yordim- the term used for Jews that have emigrated from Israel to the diaspora aren’t in Israel, but lo and behold it seems that you can run but can’t get away as many of these Jews are here whether for visits or to get some good shwarma and chumus that of course you can’t get anywhere else. According to estimates there are close to a million Israelis and their families living outside of Israel, most in North America. There is a long history of Jews leaving Israel voluntarily. The first two Aliyot in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s saw from 50-80% return to their places of origin unable to make it here. After the establishment of the State it certainly dropped and the Aliya rate has always been significantly more than the yerida rate. The primary reasons why Jews leave the land their ancestors have dreamt of living in interestingly enough is not because of security or even political reasons. Rather the main reasons have been for the quality of life, employment opportunities or because of a spouse that they met from another question. Maimonides, who himself was not able to live in Israel as he was the doctor for Salaadin in Egypt and wasn’t allowed to leave, writes that the only time it is permitted to leave Israel is to find a wife, or make a living or to study Torah and even then he says one should return to Israel as soon as he accomplishes that goal. It is interesting, as an Oleh to Israel to talk to many of these yordim and they speak about Israel with a tremendous amount of fondness. Many of them long for Israel, perhaps even more so than their Diaspora counterparts. This is despite them finding much success and even developing mini- “Israeli communities” in the cities they live. The main cities where these Israeli can be found are in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Although there’s not too many shopping malls that yo can got to where you won’t find some Israelis selling Dead Sea products or some other chatchkes. Although those sales people Israelis certainly plan on returning and are usually just taking a hiatus after the army service and to make a few bucks.

 Whereas once in Israel yordim were looked upon with scorn today that sentiment has changed and many people appreciate that many of these yordim are our biggest advocates in the Diaspora. Even more interesting, I can share with you from personal experience, is that many of these yordim that are secular and while they were in Israel had no interest in anything Torah or Jewish oriented, yet when they find themselves in America, without the luxury of their Jewish Identity being defined by living in Israel, for the first time begin to incorporate more and more observance and tradition into their lives. As I said a Jew can run but never to far…

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JEWISH JOKES OF THE WEEK

Q: What does the dentist of the year get? A: A little plaque

 Q: What did the dentist say to the computer? A: This won't hurt a byte

Q: What did the dentist see at the North Pole? A: A molar bear Q:

What did the dentist say to the golfer? A: "You have a hole in one. "

Q: Why did the king go to the dentist? A: To get a new crown!

Q: Why did the deer need braces? A: He had buck teeth

 Q: At what time do most people go to the dentist? A: At tooth-hurty (2:30).

 Q: Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused a Novocain injection during root canal treatment? A: He wanted to transcend dental medication!

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Answer is C– Who would have thought that you could find Freemasons that ancient Masonic lodges had anything to do with Israel. But the truth is that this medieval workers fraternity has its bases in the building of Solomon’s Temple and his “Mason” Hiram and much of their secretive and mysterious rituals revolve around that.. It is there for most appropriate in fact that there should be an annual ceremony in the cave of Tzidkiya which was a quarry from the times of the kings of Israel although more likely than not it wasn’t used for Solomon’s Temple but rather from the 2^nd Temple and Herod’s period. It got its name from the Midrash that described Zedekiya fleeing from the Babylonian assault during the destruction of the first Temple and the Midrash tells us that he had a cave that led to a tunnel that went all the way to Yericho and when he came out they found him and blinded him and took him back to Babylonian as a captive.

The Lion, the Itch and the War Job- Ki Teitzei 2017 / 5777

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

September 1^st 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 43 10^th of Elul 5777

Parshat Ki Teitzei

The Lion, the Itch and the War Job

Mazel Tov! He was finally getting married. It was about time already. The jungle had been waiting a long time for this special moment. It was gonna be the wedding of the century. All the animals were invited. The elephants were all dieting to prepare for the great feast and to fit into their outfits, the monkeys had all their shtick planned, the beavers and foxes got their best shtreimels fixed up and those yeshivishe black and white zebras even decided to take a shower for the occasion. Even the little mice were invited. It was the King of the Jungle’s big day and no one wanted to miss the simcha of the year. Akuna MazalTov.

When the special day came everyone came over to Ahreleh the lion seated on his big throne and gave him their special blessings. As Mendele’h the little mouse walked over he gave the groom a big hug, well as big of a hug as mouse can give a lion that is and handed him an envelope with a nice check in it saying.

“Mazel Tov, my dear brother, here’s a small gift from your loving buddy, Mendy.”

The Lion’s face turned red or orange as lions do and he gave out a roar.

“Listen mouse” he said, “I don’t know who you think you are. I invited you to the wedding because I invited the entire jungle. But what makes you think that you are my brother, my buddy?!”

Mendeleh looked up at him with a knowing smile and sighed and said

“Ahhh… boychikl… Before I got married I was also a lion….”

Sigh….. It’s a joke that every married man laughs at wryfully…While most jewish women do gleefully. I always tell people if they ask me what my status in the house is that I am the Baal HaBoss- I’m the husband of the Boss. I just follow orders and find that I get into less trouble that way. It’s a good piece of advice and makes life so much smoother once we learn our roles properly. I don’t think this is true, by the way for only Jewish marriages. I think that in many cultures the women is really the one that is wearing the pants in the family. Except maybe Italians, they’re ‘Real Men”. Their wives know that the linguini better be on the table when Papa gets home or boom. As they say in a Italy

 “A prima donna matrimonio, la seconda compagnia, la terza un 'eresia.-  A first wife makes for a good marriage, a second wife is just a companion and the third is good for nothing.” 

 Arrivederci!

Marriage is certainly one of the oldest institutions in the world. It goes back to the Beginning in Eden when Hashem took a look at Adam wandering around the garden trying to find where he left his car keys and He realized that he had no one to blame it on but himself. So Hashem made the declaration

“Lo tov l’adam lihiyot livad- it is not good for man to alone, I will make him a helper opposite him.”

And man went to sleep for the last time without someone poking him in middle of the night and Eve was born. He very quickly blamed her for feeding him the wrong dinner and he has been paying the price since.

Jokes aside though there certainly is a common denominator between all marriages in all cultures and religions around the world. People are programmed to seek out their “soul-mate” There is something inside of us that understands that we are incomplete without someone else to share our lives with in the most intimate and the most pragmatic of ways.

Not everyone is good at marriage though. The world it seems has certainly changed in the “till death do us part”- commitment aspect of marriage that was once the glue that held families together in good times, in bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more… Sorry just spacing out a bit here…J. In fact the divorce rate has risen all over the world in the past thirty years where in America the rate is terrifyingly close to 50%. Even in Israel it has risen from 2% in 1973 to 14% in 2014. Sure there are people that will argue that in the past there were just as many unhappy marriages that just stayed together because of the stigma of divorce and thank god we have ‘progressed” to the point where that is no longer the case and people can “move on” without any fear of social backlash. The Talmud though definitely has a definite other take on this though.

“Tav l’meisav tan do, mlmeisav armalasa- it is better for two people to sit as a couple then as a widow.

The Talmud uses this logic to explain that it is better to stay in a marriage as a couple even with an undesirable person than to be alone. This of course does not include cases of abuse and other things of course. But in general marriage is always the preferred status. In fact we are told that when a couple gets divorced it is as if the altar itself sheds tears. Why particularly the Altar many of the commentaries ask?

The answer perhaps is that the function of the altar is to bring sacrifices. It is for a person to feel that there is something that has come between Hashem and himself that unless recognized, unless one takes account of that moment, that event than the gap will become even greater. I don’t only speak about sins and mistakes that we make in our lives for which a sacrifice is warranted, but for happy occasions as well, there are thanksgiving offerings, there are peace offerings, there are holiday, Shabbat, first borns, one’s entire years life cycles are made real when we come to the altar and bring the Kohen are offering and connect with the moment by giving something special of ourselves and including Hashem in that occasion. Without someone to share that with then really what is it all worth. That is the essence of marriage as well. One who tragically doesn’t have that special someone with which to grow in developing that trait of completing ones life’s growth, challenges and simchas is missing that special tool Hashem programmed us all with to be our “helper-opposite ‘Him- the partner to help us realize that we are always Shivisi Hashem Lnegdi Tamid- that we place Hashem opposite us always. It is for that reason that the altar is the vessel that sheds tears. For the mizabayach is the place where we become most connected with Hashem.

Why am I writing about this subject this week, you wish to know? Well first of all my wife is out of town and I can’t find my car keys…J. No but really, This week the Torah portion which is titled Ki Teitzei La’Milchama Al Oyvecha- which begins talking about the going out to battle and a man finding an inappropriate woman that he has an ‘itch’ for which he feels just must ‘scratch’.  Ultimately the Torah tells us this will lead to dire consequences bad children and other not fun stuff. But the entire portion in fact is chock full of mitzvos that relate to marriage. It talks about all types of violent and inappropriate physically driven seductions and worse, it talks about terrible husbands that spread bad rumors about their wives, cheating spouses, a man with two wives, women of ill repute, and even when it talks about the mitzva of marriage the source for the concept of betrothal before marriage

Devarim (22:13) Ki Yikach Ish Isha- When a man will take a woman

It is mentioned in the context of failed marriage and the mitzva to divorce. The one thing that is missing perhaps from this entire list of mitzvos, of which the Torah seems to pack into this week’s Torah portion is the mitzva to love one’s wife, to cherish, to hold dear. We are told to love the convert, our fellow neighbor, Hashem, what about our spouses?

Maimonides in the beginning of his laws of marriage does something unique. He describes the history of it all

“Before the Torah was given a man would meet a woman in the market (see where the term comes fromJ) if he wanted and she wanted to get married he would bring into her home and she would be his wife.

Once the Torah was given Israel was commanded that if a man wanted to marry a woman he would bring her before witnesses and betroth her and then after he would marry her… And this betrothal is called Kiddushin and it is a positive commandment from the Torah”

This is a puzzling Rambam and very not like his style. The Rambam doesn’t start off other laws with a history lesson. He doesn’t’ say anywhere that ‘before the Torah people could eat un-slaughtered animal and now we have to pay double and get them shechted and this is a mitzva’, or ‘before the Torah we could wear four cornered garments without Tzitzit’. So why by marriage does he feel it is necessary to introduce these laws with a trip down memory lane to the ‘good ole’ days’? I believe that what Maimonides is doing is explaining the essence of what a Jewish marriage is about. The Torah does not tell us that one should love honor and respect one’s wife because that’s natural. Everyone knows that. Even gentiles, even before the Torah was given had a concept of marriage. Judaism is about something more. It’s about Kiddushin. It’s about not just jumping into the ‘house’ from the market place and spending the rest of your life with someone you care about. It’s about bringing her to witnesses appreciating the sanctity of the moment. Making a declaration before Hashem K’daas Moshe V’Yisrael- Like the laws of Moses and Israel. The process of betrothal does two things it prohibits and dedicates the two of you together and forbids any external relation. You are not yet one. That will happen with marriage, but you have made a commitment that this will be home that will include Hashem and lift up the world together.

It is for this reason as well when the laws of marriage are mentioned in this week’s Torah portion all of the pitfalls of marriage are delineated. It’s not just about love and romance. Those things everyone has. It’s about appreciating that the two of you are on the most important ‘battlefield’ of the world. It’s the two of you that will be fighting against all the distractions, temptations and challenges to build that most important Jewish home. To create a place of Kedusha.

There is another reason why this topic comes to mind this week. My sister-in-law Yehudis will IYH be marrying her bashert Yoily (I love that name-by the way). We have all waited, davened, and anticipated this great moment. It’s finally here. May Hashem bless the two of you that you merit to build an incredible home, one that is full of the love and joy that every other marriage in the world builds its foundation upon. But as well may it be a home of kedusha and tahara, one that sees you through all the challenges that both of you have surmounted until now and become stronger as a result of. A house that completes the two of you and that brings the shechina into it and is a light unto Klal Yisrael. And Yoily, my brother, if it ever gets too rough, remember… I was once a lion too…J Mazel Tov!

Have a lovingly amazing Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Der “harey-at” iz a kurtser prolog tsu a lange drame”. The wedding vow is a short prologue to a long drama

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/JB-RNaSz7KQ    – Chasidish Despacito?

https://youtu.be/ZtQhJ_Ui5Kw   – Maccabeats Despacito?

https://youtu.be/5zO6M_g0Ddo   – Israeli Violinist Despacito?

https://youtu.be/n6Y5zZlq1JQ - Breslav Despacito?

https://youtu.be/BabXYevQwmE - Laurel and Hardy Despacito? Had enough yet?

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q.  A hanging (suspended) tree sculpture designed by the sculptor Ran Morin is located in:
a. Sejera
b. Haifa
c. Nazareth
d. Jaffa

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE WEEK

Ki Teitzei- One of the enlightening things to me in this column is not only the original ways we learn and study Rashi, but the little bios that follow this column of the individual who gave this insight as well. Oh, that’s what it says in the italicized paragraphs that follow this column, you’re thinking…It’s alright if you don’t read it, there’s way too much information in this E-Mail anyways and you gotta skip something, right? And it’s definitely not going to be the jokes. But anyways I just find it amazing that the greatest minds and Jewish leaders for almost 1000 years since Rashi wrote his commentary, have been pondering, learning, innovating and finding meaning and insight into his concise and seemingly easy commentary. It is even more inspiring to me when one of the greatest leaders of today’s generation does so as well.

In this week’s portion of Ki Teitzei the parsha begins with the mitzva of yifat Toar a captured one who caught the eye of one of the soldiers and the process of converting her and marrying her. The Torah concludes this portion with the commandment that if he does not desire her than he should divorce her and she is sent home to her parents home.

Rashi on that mitzva notes

Devarim (21:14) And it shall be if he does not desire her and she shall send her to herself- The verse is foretelling you that he will ultimately hate her.

Reb Eliyahu Mizrachi asks where do our sages, whom Rashi is quoting, know and see from the verse that he will end up hating her and divorcing her. The Torah merely says that if he doesn’t desire her what the protocol is. Reb Chayim Kanievsky notes that the Torah uses the word v’haya- And it shall be. There are two words that mean and it shall be; vayehi and vihaya. Vahyehi is used when it is a bad thing that will happen and vhaya is when it is a good thing. Suggests Reb Chayim, that seemingly the usage of the word v’haya over here is telling me that there is something good about this failed marriage. It is that they will not bear children. For as Rashi tells us, the outcome of this marriage will ultimately be a Ben Sorer Umoreh a wayward child that will ultimately be sentenced to death in the following passage. Similarly we find this same terminology, he notes, in the next portion that talks about a man who takes two wives and he there is one he hates and one he lioves. v’haya ha’ben habechor lasenuah- And it shall be the first-born son is born to the hated wife- Again the Torah usuesd to teach us that the hated mother is happy because she has the first-born. It is ofr this reason Rashi points out that the verse is telling you- with the usage of the good-news term v’haya- that he will ultimately hate her and divorce her.

Isn’t it inspiring to know that Reb Chayim Kanievsky is learning the same Rashi we are?

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (1928-till Mashiach comes J) – I believe it is non-debatable that Reb Chaim is the unchallenged Gadol HaDor- leader of the Jewish people today. This is certainly true of the Yeshiva world, but even in Chasidic and modern orthodox world the name Reb Chaim requires no last name to identify him. It is hard to argue about a man who is literally a walking Torah scroll, who completes the entire Torah (Mishna, Talmud, Midrash and all other accompanying early works of the Oral tradition). Yet at the same time sits hours each day and greets and blesses and guides those that seek his leadership and guidance from all over the world in his tiny little apartment in Bnai Brak.

Born of an illustrious Torah home Reb Chaim Kanievsky was born in Pinskto Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky as the Steipler Gaon and Rebbitzen Miriam Karelitz, sister of Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz or the Chazon Ish. He married Batsheva Elyashiv, daughter of Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv (grandson of Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, also known as the Leshem) and granddaughter of Rav Aryeh Levin the "Tzaddik of Jerusalem. It doesn’t get more prestigious than that.

A fun fact that you may not have been aware of though was that during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, Rav Kanievsky, then a student at the Lomza Yeshiva, was conscripted for temporary army service in the general mobilization. He was assigned to stand guard on a large hill near Jaffa.So one could say he was a soldier as well.

Perhaps one of the most incredible things that Rav Chaim has been pushing over the last few years, interestingly enough, I have heard from many that have visited him, is that Jews should move to Eretz Yisrael. He feels strongly that Mashiach is literally around the corner and has said as much, and feels it would be good for all of us to be here already for the time is now. May his words be readily fulfilled.

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Shofar Blowers –My kids tell me I’m getting desperate, It’s the end of the year and I’m scrambling for new types of Jews you meet in Israel. I don’t think so. Anyways this might be a stretch but you do see these guys all around. It seems to be a thing in this country, to randomly blow shofars at different places. Certainly in the old city of Jerusalem or Tzfat during  Bar Mitzva ceremonies or weddings.When walks around the Shuk in Jerusalem as well there inevitably might be someone blowing his shofar as well. But I’ve seen shofar blowers on Masada, in train stations, on the streets of Tel Aviv or other busy cities. Most Jewish rallies are also incomplete without your Shofar blower as well, be they political rallies and certainly by religious ones. Shofar blowers can be random guys with beards, Nachman’s and Chabad guys are certainly the most prevalent. Sfardim as well have a big thing for Shofar blowing by simchas. But then you have your random Chinese guys or Christian tourists that feel very biblical when they walk around with their big shofars and blow them as well. This month of Elul until Rosh Hashana when there is a Jewish custom to blow each morning to awaken everyone to repent. One certainly hears the Shofar blast more often than not. Each time I hear the Shofar, personally, my heart jumps. Is it Mashiach? Is he finally here? I’m still hoping. I imagine the Shofar blowers are as well.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S JEWISH JOKES OF THE WEEK

A Jewish father was very troubled by the way his son turned out and went to see his rabbi about it.

“Rabbi, I brought him up in the faith, gave him a very expensive Bar Mitzvah and it cost me a fortune to educate him. Then he tells me last week, he’s decided to be a Christian. Rabbi, where did I go wrong?”

The rabbi strokes his beard and says, “Funny you should come to me. I too, brought up my son as a boy of faith, sent him to university and it cost me a fortune and then one day he comes to me and tells me he wants to be a Christian.”

“What did you do?” asked the man of the rabbi.

“I turned to God for the answer,” replied the rabbi.

“What did he say?” asked the man.

He said, “Funny you should come to me...”

A young Jewish guy develops a crush on a girl, but when he tells his Father about her, the old boy just wants to know her family name. When the young guy tells him that the girl's name is Ford, the old boy tells him that Ford is not a good Jewish name, and he must forget her, and go and find a nice Jewish girl. So time passes, and the young guy finds another girl, but her name is Austin, so his Father tells him the same thing, to find a nice Jewish girl with a nice Jewish name. So more time passes, and the young guy finds another girl, but this time he is sure that he has solved the problem because the girl's name is Goldberg. "Goldberg !" exclaims his Father, "This makes me very happy because it is a real good Jewish name, and from a good established family" Then he asks what her first name is. "Is it one of my favourite names, like Rachael, or Rebecca ?" "No Father" replied the young guy. "It's Whoopi"

Q - What do Jewish wives make for supper?
A - Reservations.

Lionel from London is taking his University gap year in America and he’s visiting as many places there as he can. But whilst spending some time in Oklahoma, he meets and falls deeply in love with a Cherokee girl. Not long after, they decide to get married and Lionel rings his mother to tell her the good news.
"Mum, I’ve found my future wife and we’re getting married over here. I’m going to send you the air tickets to join us."
"Mazeltov Lionel," his mother says. "I’m so pleased, but is she ……. Jewish?"
"No mum," Lionel replies, "she’s not. But she promises to act as a Jewish wife."
"Oy," his mother wails, "I’ve always wanted you to marry a lovely Jewish girl."
"You can’t have everything mum," Lionel says. "And another thing I must tell you. She lives on a reservation and that’s where we’ll be living after we marry."
"I can’t take any more of this," cries his mother, "I don’t want the tickets and I don’t want to speak to you again." And with that she slams down the phone.
Almost a year later, Lionel rings his mother and tells her that they are expecting a baby.  His mother doesn’t slam down the phone but says, very politely and unemotionally, "That’s nice, son, I’m happy for you both."
Eight months later, Lionel again rings his mother and says, "Mum, I just want to say that last night my wife gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. I also want you to know that we’ve agreed to give our son a Jewish name."
Upon hearing this unexpected news, his mother shouts out with happiness. "Oh Lionel, bubbeleh, this is wonderful news," she cries, "I've been waiting for this moment all my life. You’ve both made me more happy than you could ever know."
"That's fantastic, mum," replies Lionel. "I’m so glad that you and I are back together as mother and son."
"And what," asks his proud and happy mother, "is my lovely grandson’s name going to be?"
Lionel replies, proudly, "Smoked Whitefish."

Rabbi Levy, one of the wisest of rabbis, is dying. And because he is so loved by his colleagues, many rabbis have gathered around his hospital bedside trying to make his last moments as rewarding as possible.
Whilst the visiting rabbis are praying, one of the nurses comes into the room and offers rabbi Levy a glass of warm milk to drink. But with what little strength he has left, rabbi Levy refuses it.
Seeing this, rabbi Jacobs has an idea. He remembers that he has a bottle of whiskey in his car which he was planning to use for his next kiddush. So whilst his colleagues are watching rabbi Levy’s laboured breaths, he quickly picks up the glass of milk and creeps out to his car. Rabbi Jacobs then opens the bottle of whiskey and pours a generous portion of it into the warm milk. He then goes back to rabbi Levy’s bedside and holds the glass to rabbi Levy’s lips.
"Go on rabbi Levy," says rabbi Jacobs, "please drink some of this milk. It will make you feel a bit better. Really it will."
So rabbi Levy takes a small sip, stares at the glass, drinks a bit more, then smiles and finishes every drop of the milk-and-whiskey mixture.
The other rabbis are humbled when they see rabbi Levy apparently making some kind of recovery. "Rabbi Levy," they say, "please share some of your wisdom with us before you die!"
At this, rabbi Levy raises himself up in his bed and with a pious look on his face points out the window and says, "Don't sell that cow!"

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Answer is D– I  have no clue about this one. Not really that interested in Israeli tree sculptures. Barely even interested in trees, fuggedabout sculptures of trees. But actually after googling this it kind of rang a bell, in the old city of Jaffa on our tour there in the tour guiding course I remember seeing this down one of the alleyways there. It’s a tree hanging in the air from a pot. Can’t imagine too many people knew this answer though. It is definitely one I would have skipped on the exam as we had to answer 45 out of 50.

Parent Things- Shoftim 2017 / 5777

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

August 25^th 2017 -Volume 7 Issue 42 3^rd Elul 5777

Parshat Shoftim

Parent Things

(A golden oldie this week from 5 years ago in honor of Mommy with a short memory leaving her children with me as she goes to the States- and it’s just been too busy of a week to put out an original one…sigh…)

The sun was too hot. It was too warm to play- So I sat in the house on that hot hot warm day.

 Elka is five. Tully is two.- Mom had left for the day. And today was Daddy's day with Thing one and Thing two.

I thought this was a mistake. I should not be about.-Children need a "real parent" when mother is out. There was no Cat in the Hat. (the DVD was broke too)-. No fish in the pot. Just me and my darling Things one and two.

I  call them that, you see- Because they take advantage of me. They knew I did not know the rules, without their mommy.

"Shabbos cereal for breakfast-mommy always lets"-. "She does not care- if we jump on the beds".

"Toilet paper is a fun toy-see how it roll roll rolls"- There is nothing wrong-with swinging from these stairwell poles."

There they stood in life jackets and with bicycle helmets on their heads.-They were wearing their sister’s makeup. When Mommy would come home I knew I would be dead.

"Let's learn a little Torah" said the Father in a hat-. I knew that wouldn't work. Maybe a story from the Parsha...something before they went splat.

So I gave them a little melatonin, a healthy little tranquilizer (that mommy sometimes uses). -And I sat down to my computer... As my adorable little things start their early morning snoozes.

And how has your day been, dear readers? Is there anything more than cute angelic (makeup-covered) faces of a five and two year old sleeping among streams of toilet paper with bicycle helmets snuggling next to each other? I hope their mother feels the same way. Or at least learns that it pays to take the little 'uns along with her next time.

So I open up my Chumash to this week's portion, Shoftim, which contains in it many of the basic laws of creating a society in Israel. The laws of judges and pursuing justice, the laws of kings, prophets, Kohanim (priests) and Levi'im, cities of refuge, war exemptions and responsibilities and finally the strange law of Egla Arufa- the decapitation of a young calf who never had a yoke put upon him by the elders of the city upon finding a murdered body near their city, with the statement that our hand has not spilled this blood. Snuck in between all of these exciting laws, is a short verse that you might miss if you blink but also a very important pieces of advice or more accurately a prohibition.

"There shall not be found amongst you one who passes their son or daughter through fire... (followed by a list of various magic practices, future tellers and practitioners of the "dark arts")....This is an abomination to Hashem all who do these things and because of these abominations Hashem is giving you their land to inherit from them. Be Tamim (complete, pure, blemish-less, faithful.) With Hashem your God."

Now I have only babysat (or parented- as my wife likes to tell me) for one day and I admit I have had certain not-good thoughts during this long exhausting morning. But fire? I think that's getting a little carried away. Maybe they didn't have melatonin back then. But this is definitely a strange commandment. Even more strange is that from the verse it seems that this is our merit and right to inherit the land of Israel. Two more quick points so that we could put the puzzle together, what is the connection between the prohibition of sacrificing your child in fire and the practice of magic or future-telling and why does this mitzvah conclude with the commandment to be pure before Hashem?

The great 13^th century work on Jewish mitzvos, the Sefer Hachinuch, notes that the Talmud derives from a different verse that the strange qualification that this prohibition only applies when one sacrifices some of his children and not all of them. With this he explains the prohibition and gives us an insight into the idolatrous practice known as Molech. He suggests that the practice was that one would sacrifice one of their children in exchange for a promise from the priests of Molech that the rest of his surviving children or child would live long and have great wealth and blessing. It is for this reason that the prohibition is connected to trying to know or even "beat" the future. This explains as well why the commandment concludes with mitzvah to be faithful and complete with God.  For it is in parenting that we need the most faith.

There is no other area perhaps that causes greater concern or consternation for Jewish parents. Oy...what will be with my children? Will they be successful? Will they ever grow up and take responsibility? When will they start watching out for themselves and being more careful? Imagine if there was a secret pill that you could take that would guarantee your children’s success. Imagine if everybody in the society that you were assimilating in all did something that at first and maybe even second glance and thought didn't seem right, but "everyone is doing it" and "it's the only way your child will make it in this world". Don't you want your child to have the greatest opportunity that he or she could have? Are you really going to deprive him or her from that opportunity?  So it might come at the "burning" expense of some of the other children but at least the chosen, special child will make it...

Have faith in Hashem, the Torah tells us. Don't compromise His values, the Torah's values, our values because of society's promises of success. We only inherit the land because our nation is different in this regard. We will succeed because we can set the tone for what is right. We don't have to sacrifice our children for ideals that may harm their souls. We are not allowed to put one child's future above another’s as necessary as it may seem. We must do as much as we can for each of our kids, and Hashem our Father and third partner in our children's creation will do his part as well.

We have entered the month of Elul, the month when we begin to examine our deeds from the past year as we approach our High Holidays. It is a time when we are meant to get close to our Father. It is a time as well when we should pause and reflect as our children go back to schools and summer vacation is over of how important they are to us. What type of parents we need to be and what sacrifices we shouldn't be making to raise them into the types of people that deserve to inherit the land and that will bring them closer to Hashem. They are our most precious gifts. The angel faces we see when they are sleeping could and should be there all the time. Should be cherished all the time...just as our Father cherishes ours...

I hear them stirring now. Perfect timing. I think we'll go out to the park. Time to do some parenting.

Have a marvelous Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Dos leben iz vi kinderhemdel—kurts un bash.” Life is like a child’s undershirt—short and soiled

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://youtu.be/wxyfwxhFGkc – This brought back memories for me as Yossi Piamenta OBM  played by my wedding with my good friend Gershon Veroba, this is his son Yehuda playing Yossie’s greatest hits. We miss you Yossie!

https://youtu.be/egEuk_lUR2o – My kids favorite song of the week Machar by Mordechai  Shapiro

https://youtu.be/9V2-Ft9cpKk  – In honor of the Klezmer festival in Tzfat this past week.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q.  The route of the “Land of Pursuit” is located (“eretz hamirdafim”):
a. East of Jerusalem, in the Jordan Valley area
b. East of the Gaza Strip
c. Adjacent to the Northern border
d. Between the volcanoes in the Golan Heights

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ILLUMINATING RASHI OF THE WEEK

Shoftim- There are many Midrashim and Talmudic debates about the interpretations and explanations of the text. Our sages tell us that there are “70 faces to the Torah”. Rashi always tries to bring the simplest explanation. It is not his job to bring all the different opinions. So when you come upon a Rashi that mentions a debate about a particular verse then one should examine the reason why he felt it necessary to bring the alternate pshat. This is certainly true when he clearly states that the first pshat is the simple basic one. The reason for the second interpretation therefore must be either because there was something lacking in the first one or there is some message that he feels is essential to appreciate before moving on to the next verse.

Towards the end of this week’s portion the Torah begins to teach us the laws of going out to war and it describes the prelude to battle with the officers calling the army together and handing out deferments to anyone who had just gotten engages, or had built a new house or field and not entered them and enjoyed them yet. They would then at the conclusion of this speech making the following declaration.

Devarim (20:8) And they say ‘Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, and let him not melt the heart of his brothers, like his heart.’

Rashi on this last deferment brings down two explanations.

Rabbi Akiva says that this means as it sounds, that he is unable to stand in the ranks of battle and see swords drawn. Rabbi Yosi HaGalile says that this refers to he who is fearful of sins that he has. This is why the Torah provides him with a pretext of returning to his house, vineyard or his wife to cover up for those who return because of sins that they have, s that people should not discern that they are sinners and one who sees them returning says “perhaps he built a house or planted a vineyard or betrothed a woman.

So this is a beautiful interpretation, certainly one that we would not see in the original text, yet there are many beautiful interpretations in the Torah. If Rashi is bringing it there must be something in the text that forces him to mention it. The Ohr Hachaim, HaKadosh understands that Rashi is teaching us that the essence of Jewish wars were always won with miracles. The Jewish people knew that and understood that and they saw it time and time again. Therefore it would not make sense that someone would be fearful of battle. It wasn’t them that was fighting it, Hashem had promised them that they would win. Rather the only thing that might make them hesitate would be that perhaps they would not merit victory because of their sins. Or maybe the Jewish people might merit victory but individually they might not make it out themselves. As a result of that Rashi explains that this disclaimer by the Officer was addressing those people. Yet even those people might be intimidated and embarrassed to leave the battle-field it is for that reason that Rashi explains that the Torah gave him cover to do that by mentioning the other deferments along with the fearful of his sins. What I find remarkable as well if you think about this is that those soldiers that remained in the army were all people that were confident that they had no sins that would jeopardize their safety and remove Hashem’s benevolence from them. Reb Eliyahu Meir Bloch suggests that this is also a secret for our spiritual battles as well. One should never give up hope and feel that they are not worthy of a miracle. No matter how far we may fall we can always rise up once again.

Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar- TheOhr Hachaim HaKadosh– (1696-1743) – Rabbi Chaim ben Atar, the Rabbi of Sale, called the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh after his popular commentary on the Pentateuch, was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Meknes, Morocco, in 1696 and He was one of the most prominent rabbis in Morocco.

R' Chaim's dream was to go to Israel. After receiving spiritual signs approving his desire, in 1733 he decided to leave his native country and settle in the Land of Israel, then under the Ottoman Empire. He was received with great honor wherever he traveled. This was due to his extensive knowledge, keen intellect and extraordinary piety. He stopped over in Livorno (Italy) where he raised large sums of money for publishing his books and establishing a yeshivah in Israel. With 30 followers he arrived in Israel, four days before Rosh HaShanah 1742 and settled in Acco. R' Chaim and his students spent Yom Kippur in the cave of Elijah the Prophet on Mount Carmel (Haifa), where they all felt a great sense of holiness and witnessed seeing a great Light at the spot where according to tradition Elijah used to pray. The holiday of Purim was spent in Tzfat and Miron, where a great deal of time was spent studying the holy Zohar . They later moved to live in Pki'in for a few months. On the 15th of Ellul 1742 R' Chaim finally arrived in Jerusalem with his group. He immediately established a yeshivah called 'Knesset Yisrael' and second secretive yeshivah for the study of Kabbalah. R' Chaim and his students were constantly going on many journeys (zia'rot)  around the land of  Israel visiting grave sites of the tzaddikim. They used the opportunity to pray for the welfare of Jews all over the world, the success of their yeshivah and its financial supporters.

One of his new students was Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (the Chida), who at that time was only 18 years old. The Chida wrote about his master's greatness: "His heart pulsated with Talmud; he uprooted mountains like a resistless torrent; his holiness was that of an angel of the Lord, ... having severed all connection with the affairs of this world ."His saintly way of life gained him the name Ohr HaCaim HaKadosh (the holy one).”

  The most famous of Rabbi Chaim's works is Ohr HaChaim , a commentary on the Torah. In this work he employes the four methods of exegesis: peshat-explaining the simple meaning; derash-homiletic interpretation; remez-allusion; and sod-the kabbalistic esoteric approach. This book was enthusiastically accepted by Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis alike. His book Chefetz Hashem was his first book, it was a commentary on tractates Shabbat, Horayot and Chulin. His second book was Pri Toar, a commentary on Yoreh De'a (one of the sections of Shulchan Aruch). Rishon Letzion was a book he wrote when living in Jerusalem, its a commentary on Prophets and Writings (NACH) and a few tractates of the Talmud

 The founder of the Chassidic movement, The Baal Shem Tov maintained that if he could join forces with Rabbi Chaim, together they could bring the Messiah. The Baal Shem Tov made several failed attempts to reach the Holy Land. In fact the Baal Shem Tov believed that R' Chaim was the Mashiach of that generation. On the day that R' Chaim came to Jerusalem, The Baal Shem Tov told his students: "Today Mashiach ben Yosef entered Yerushalayim". R' Chaim departed the world at the time of Mincha of shabbat Pinchas. At that exact moment the Baal Shem Tov was eating the 3rd meal of shabbat and uttered out: "the western candle has been extinguished". After shabbat he explained: "The tzaddik in the west, R' Chaim ben Atar left the world. The proof for that is: there is one secret about the washing of the hands (netilat yadayim) which is revealed to only one person in each generation. This secret was known to R' Chaim. When I washed my hands for the 3rd meal, that secret was revealed to me, and that was my sign that the "western candle' was extinguished."

Rabbi Chaim ben Atar was 47 when he departed the world. He was buried outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on Mount Olives. Before the "Six Day War" in 1967, the Jordanians had control over the cemetery where R' Chaim was buried, they destroyed many tomb stones and paved a new road. When the tractor touched the grave site of R' Chaim, it turned upside down and the driver was killed. They tried a second time, and again the tractor turned upside down and the driver was killed. Someone tried to use a hammer, it turned on himself and he was killed too. The grave site was left intact. 

               

R' Chaim had two wives. His first wife Patzonia was unable to bear children for him and encouraged him to marry a second wife. His second wife Ester gave birth to a few daughters. Both of his wives passed away within a few years after R' Chaim's death, and were buried next to him.

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RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TYPES OF JEWS IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Yeshiva Guys –They’re back. Elul Zman is here in Eretz Yisrael and the country once gain fills with Yeshiva bochrim. Although most of our “Types of Jews” are fairly easy to categorize, Yeshiva Guys, like the yeshivas they attend are also not easy to put into a box. To make it even more interesting is that I’m sure that anyone here who is reading this identifies the word Yeshiva guy with their own type of Yeshiva and assume the rest of them are in some other category. So we have the black hat yeshiva guys both American and Israeli, the Americans attend Mir which is the largest Yeshiva in Israel if not the world, as well as Brisk-of which there are quite a few although some don’t consider the other ones to be “real” and then there are many smaller yeshivas and Kollels where these young 19-22 year old Americans study before they go back and find their Shidduchim (Are you ready yet?-Ask your son- sponsored by the Nasi project) The Israel Yeshiva guys go to Chevron, Beit Mattis, Kol Torah, Ateret, Ponovizh, and other names. Israeli Yeshiva guys are also black hatters but an entirely different culture than Americans. Generally their style of learning is different. On one hand many of them are raised more that Torah will be their life-long occupation more than American boys are, at the same time as a result of that there are more of them that maybe in Yeshiva for the wrong reasons- to avoid army service although they may not be cut out for learning.

The next category are Sefardi Yeshiva guys, they are very similar to Israeli ones, certainly from an American perspective. Yet of course from the Israeli Yeshiva Guy perspective they are not in the same league as them, as many more of them ight not be in it for life as they are and many of them are more likely to be short term “learners”.  There are also the Chasidish YG’s. There are thousands of both Israeli and American Chasidish guys in Yeshiva in Israel. Generally they come at a much younger age then their black hat counterparts and they get married younger as well. In the Chasidic world though there isn’t as much difference or friction between the Israeli and American young men as they are all pretty much joined together and united by their Rebbe. There is also on the other end of the spectrum the Kippa Seruga and more Zionistic yeshiva guys. In Hebrew they call them “Benish”im Bnei Yeshiva. When one walks into some of their Yeshivas, like Hakotel in the old city or in the Gush or really any around Israel the Kol Torah is beautifully loud. Many of the young men are very intense and serious about their learning and as well as opposed to the other YG types their learning encompasses studies besides Talmud and law. Many of their yeshivas focus on the study of Tanach as well as Limudie Eretz Yisrael.

So as you see this is a complicated category. But Yeshiva Guys are complicated guys. On one hand we believe that it is their Torah that is holding up and defending the land of Israel and bringing it its divine protection. On the other hand sadly and tragically we tend to focus on the misbehavior and disregard that the small minority of them may have for the each other and for their surrounding environment as they swarm all over the land. Israel is a complicated country as we have noted and there is nothing more complicated than its Yeshiva guys.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S REALLY TERRIBLE BACK-TO-SCHOOL JOKES OF THE WEEK

Luke comes home from his first day of school, and his mother asks, “What did you learn today?”

“Not enough,” Luke replies. “They said I have to go back tomorrow.”

 What’s the king of all school supplies? The ruler.

Teacher: Class, we will have only half a day of school this morning.
Class: Hooray!
Teacher: We will have the other half this afternoon.

Stevie: Hey, Mom, I got a hundred in school today!
Mom: That’s great. What in?
Stevie: A 40 in Reading and a 60 in Spelling.

What kind of school do you go to if you’re…
…an ice cream man? Sundae school.
…a giant? High school.
…a surfer? Boarding school.
…a Crusader? Knight school.

Mom: What did you do at school today?
Mark: We did a guessing game.
Mom: But I thought you were having a math exam.
Mark: That’s right!

Teacher: Daniel, I’ve had to send you to the principal every day this week. What do you have to say for yourself?
Daniel: I’m glad it’s Friday!

What’s the difference between a teacher and a train?  A teacher says, “Spit out that gum!” and a train says, “Chew! Chew!”

Johnny: Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn’t do?
Teacher: Of course not.
Johnny: Good, because I didn’t do my homework.

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

Answer is A– A the 6 day war of 1967 the former Jordanian citizens that lived in Palestine-fled to Jordan which did not want to absorb them and kept them in refugee camps. They in turn, led by Yasser Arafat began what was called the war of attrition coming over across the Jordan river and valley which was the new border of Israel and Jordan and began launching terror attacks; hitting school buses, targeting farmers, settlements and other wonderful things that these animals do. This area for the next few years became called the Land of the pursuits as the Bika brigade of the paratroopers would go from cave to cave hunting them and many Israeli soldiers were lost. It is for this reason that many are nervous till today to drive along the Jordan valley although it really isn’t much of a problem. See in 1970 Jordan was pretty much given a choice by Israel to take care of business or we would and if we would we should set up shop on other side of Jordan River preventing them access to that. They also weren’t too fond of this newly formed race called the “Palestinians” as they were threatening the Hashemite kingdom and its sovereignty. So in Black September of 1970 the Jordanians pretty much went in and wiped out thousands of these refugees in their camps mostly civilians incidentally, not that many people cared and the problem was pretty much solved. It’s something to think about when they start passing moral judgement upon us. Maybe its even something to think about in how we should perhaps be reacting when these guys are attacking and launching terror attacks upon as well.