Giving Thanks vs Thanksgiving- Vayetzei 2017 / 5778

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

November 24^th 2017 -Volume 8 Issue 6 6^th Kislev 5778

Parshat Vayeitzei

Giving Thanks vs Thanksgiving

 

Can somebody out there perhaps explain to me what a secular holiday is? O.K, I understand July 4^th as a patriotic commemoration day and an American holiday. It’s a day when one expresses his joy about being an American. Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Mother, Father, Secretary I guess those are all days when we are supposed to show gratitude and appreciation to our troops, parents, secretaries, grandmother, mailman, and anyone else that Hallmark comes up with a “holiday” for. (I’m still waiting for Rabbis Day to finally make it big J). But then we come to Thanksgiving- a day I am told is, and should be celebrated as a secular holiday. Who are we meant to be saying thanks to? Anyone Hallmark hasn’t declared a holiday yet for?

 

Now far be it for me to argue with more days off from work, and days when people have that once a year (so so sad…), that they get together with their families and actually express appreciation to one another for things in their lives. But for those of us who are blessed by Hashem with the day of Shabbos each week, the time when for observant Jews all of this pretty much takes place, frankly a Thursday night fancy family dinner seems like bad scheduling. Uncalled for and probably even unnecessary. But hey, I like turkey just as much as the next guy so I’m not complaining. But for those of you that will be eating their leftover Turkey on Friday night for Shabbat meal and are still feeling up to re-digesting some Thanksgiving thoughts than perhaps this Torah E-mail might give you a new perspective on gratitude, a revolutionary one; one that the Midrash tells us it took over 2000 years to come up with.

 

In this weeks Torah portion we are told of the birth of the 12 tribes by the four wives of Jacob- Yaakov. See, Yaakov was really planning on only marrying one, his beloved Rachel. But as fate, his tricky father-in-law, and his unbelievably dedicated (to her sister) and heroic fiancée would have it, he married her sister Leah instead. The Torah tells us that Leah felt hated. After all she wasn’t her chosen and preferred younger sister. But then she started having children, Reuben, Shimon, Levi, each one were named with the anguish and hope that perhaps this one would bring her husband’s affection that she felt she was lacking. But then she had child number 4. And something changed for Leah. She called him Yehudah (praised one) saying “This time I will thank Hashem.”

 

The Medrash I mentioned before makes a fascinating statement. It says that from the time of the Creation of the world there was none who praised God, until Leah came and named her son Yehudah. The obvious question is what does this mean? Abraham praised God, so did Noah, and Adam. We even find that prayers were instituted by these great men; great songs and beautiful Psalms. What was it that Leah innovated, that the Medrash is referring to? Rav Yisrael Yackov Fisher, one of the great leaders of the Jewish court in Jerusalem who passed a few years ago, suggests a novel, deep insight into Leah’s praise and thanksgiving. In truth, he notes, nothing had really changed for Leah. Yes it was another son, but Rachel still remained wife number 1. Yet, with this child she realized that she had to undergo an incredible paradigm shift. She saw, with the birth of Yehudah, that she would have more of the twelve tribes than any of the other wives would have. Twelve tribes- four wives-should equal 3 tribes a piece. But she had a 4^th. She understood that as painful and challenging as her marriage and her life was. Hashem was looking out for her. She gave thanks and praise even for all the challenge and emotional hardship she was undergoing. She saw in the spurning that she perceived from her husband, that it was in fact a Divine hand that was causing her this pain, so that she alone of all the Matriarchs would not have to suffer infertility and would merit bringing the Jewish people into existence.

 

It was that praise that the Medrash is referring to that had never yet been sung before God. Until then Hashem was always praised and thanked when things were going good; when miracles, good bounty and joy were felt. But finding praise and offering gratitude when the pain and anguish are still there. Discovering and acknowledging the Almighty who only seeks our good and loves us more than we can ever imagine when his hand is hidden from us, that was the invention of Leah. She memorialized it in the naming of that son Yehudah, who not so incidentally became the great great… grandfather – of the king of all praise, but particularly of praise in times of crisis and challenge; the one and only King David the author of Psalms.

 

Judaism doesn’t believe in secular holidays. Holidays are meant to be moments when we pause from the routine of our daily lives and elevate them, by bringing ourselves one step closer to the Divine. It’s easy and nice to sit around a table and express thanks to one another, particularly, those that you certainly owe that to for, unfortunately, too long of a time. But what about those that you don’t necessarily feel have done too many good things for you? What about the people who have perhaps pained you, troubled you, and even been downright nasty? Can you express gratitude for them too? Can you see the Hand of God in their actions and can you still feel thankful and blessed? Not if it’s a secular holiday. Not if life is just about turkey, Black Friday shopping sprees and nice family get-togethers you can’t.

 

When Thanksgiving was first established it was a religious holiday. The Pilgrims, although not necessarily coming from a Jewish perspective understood that to be truly thankful and grateful for our existence there had to be an acknowledgement of the Creator of the world, who controls and guides our every circumstance. Our tradition tells us this shouldn’t just be a once a year, but every moment of our life we should live with that thanks and knowledge. So as you enjoy your Shabbos meal this week, why don’t you turn it into a thanksgiving meal? Make Kiddush, appreciate the One who Created us and brings us every circumstance for our good. Remember the weekends not over yet you can still make it a holy Thanksgiving.

Have a thankful Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Ven me zol Got danken far guts, volt nit zein kain tseit tsu baklogen zikh oif shlechts.”- If we thanked God for the good things, there wouldn’t be time to weep over the bad.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q. The buildings at the Suzanne Dellal Center were once used as:

A. Schools

B. Electric power facilities

C. Houses belonging to Aharon Shalush

D. The Saraya

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

https://soundcloud.com/ephraim-schwartz/yesimcha - My latest composition in honor of the 12 tribes of Israel born this weeks and the Matriarchs. Yesimcha Elokim the Friday night blessing… Beautiful!

https://youtu.be/DR8W_O_TRAk   - “Politically Correct” Thanksgiving Jimmy Kimmel funny

https://youtu.be/-Tnv2AgCcS4    -Chabad Rabbis Make Jokes

https://youtu.be/bguqj7VaZxk - Lubavitcher Rebbe on Thanksgiving- fascinating!

https://youtu.be/5JcJAWK6tCQ - Ari Lesser Give Thanks! Cool!

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S HAFTORA CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

The Haftora this week as many Haftoras do with a reference at its beginning. However not all of them begin as explicitly as this one does.

Hoshea (12:13) And Yaakov fled from the field of Aram and Yisrael worked for his wife and for a wife he guarded (the sheep)

If one had to put the entire parsha into one sentence that would probably be it. But of course the Haftora consists of more than one sentence. Our sages chose the entire haftorah because within it are the messages that we need to be learning from the story of the parsha. Yaakov, more than all of the other forefathers, underwent challenges and particularly the struggle of a Jew in Exile. Hoshaya is prophesizing in a dark period during the divided kingdom of Israel. The Northern kingdom that had broken off right after the death of King Solomon, with the king Yeravam of the tribe of Ephraim. Broke off out of righteous indignation

When Ephraim spoke there was trembling, he was exalted in Israel.

Yet ultimately the righteous indignation led to arrogance and the worship of the Baal and idolatry. It’s what happens when you think that the ends justify the means. Hashem may not have been happy with Rechavam, Shlomo’s heir and certainly not with the idolatrous queens that Shlomo had brought into the kingdom. Yet that was still better than dividing the people Israel, dividing the tribes and creating an alternate temple. Because ultimately that way leads to idolatry. The idolatry of Baal- that there is another owner and manager of the world besides our Almighty. In our parsha we have Rachel who knows she is supposed to be Yaakov’s wife, but realizes that would come at the expense of her sister Leah’s embarrassment, is willing to give it up. She could have been indignant. She could have said that Leah was not the right person for the job. She could have said that Yaakov would be so upset that he would never marry her after that betrayal. But she didn’t make her own justification. The tribes of Israel were formed from this principled decision. We are best when we are united in cause and don’t try to question the ways of Hashem. If we are focused on “kissing calves” as offerings to Hashem at the expense of “slaughtering men” in the words of the prophet than ultimately we will be destroyed. However if we return to Hashem even if we don’t have the calves, but our prayers our words “will substitute for the calves.”. We just need to know as the prophet and haftorah concludes 

Ibid : (14:10) The ways of Hashem are straight; the righteous will walk in them and the sinners will stumble over them”

One can imagine Yaakov throughout his 20 years dealing with his crooked uncle and father-in-law repeating these words to himself. Let Lavan try what he will, let him change the deal a hundred times, but Yaakov will always be straight. Hashem will do what he needs to do and it is in Him I put my faith.

Hoshaya Ben Be’eri (600-530 BC)- Certainly one of the most fascinating of prophets, the talmud in pesachim tells us that Hoshea prophecized at the same time as Isaiah, Micha and Amos but he was the greatest of all of them. He was a prophet after the division of the 10 Northern tribes from Yehuda and Binyamin in Jerusalem and he lived in the North of Israel. Much of his prophecies revolve around the sin of idolatry that the Jews in the North, whome he refers to as Ephraim, can’t seem to kick and he foretells of the doom that will befall them. He is buried in the old cemetery of Tzfat according to the tradition of the Ari”Zl making it the oldest grave there.

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

Tower of Babel 1765 BC – No the tower is not in Israel. Bavel is the Iraq and Iran area. Yet the concept of the tower, mankind trying to build something to go up to heaven, the battle of science and technology and its utilization as a weapon against God rather than proof of his existence and his infinite wisdom of His created universe is certainly a topic that can be appreciated in the numerous science and space museums in Israel. Israel has the most museums per capita in the world. Not bad huh! Perhaps the best place to appreciate that longing to reach the skies is the Ilan Ramon museum in Mitzpeh Ramon, where one can see live footage of Israel’s first Jewish astronaut and his tragic death on the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. Perhaps the most visited science and Israel’s largest is the Madatech in Haifa which is in the former home of the Technion, Israel’s science university. With close to a half a million visitors a year the over 600 interactive displays really cover the wide range of Sciences and technological innovations this country has. Tel Aviv has the Weizman museum, Jerusalem has the Bloomfield. All of the museums are geared for families, schools, students and are hands on. Too me however what is most meaningful though is how many Kippas, an religious scientists there are in Israel that correct that sin of the tower of Bavel. They use technology as a tool to reveal the godliness and wisdom of Hashem and in what he has granted us. And that’s what the State of Israel is supposed to be about.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S JEWISH THANKSGIVING JOKES OF THE WEEK

Down South during World War II, a sergeant gets a telephone call from a woman. "I would love it," she said, "if you could bring five of your soldiers to my house for Thanksgiving dinner."

"Certainly, ma'am," replied the sergeant. "Just make sure they aren't Jews," said the woman.

"Will do," replied the sergeant.

So that Thanksgiving while the woman is baking, the doorbell rings. She opens her door and, to her horror, five black soldiers are standing in front of her. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "There must have been some terrible mistake!"

"No Ma’am," said one of the soldiers. "Sergeant Greenberg never makes a mistake!"

Laws of Thanksgiving for the very Yeshivish only

Let’s be very careful this Thanksgiving not to get too caught up in the festivities and forget the finer details of the day.

 No turkey allowed to be eaten 30 days before the holiday (some hold starting from November 1)

 The night before Thanksgiving, search for the bread stuffing

 The morning of Thanksgiving, burn the autumn leaves

 In Israel, celebrate one day of Thanksgiving; in chutz l’aretz, it’s a two-day Yom Tov

 On Thanksgiving, start counting the days until you reach XMAS (“Today is the first day, which leaves 29 more shopping days until XMAS)

One must eat at least a k’zayis of cranberry sauce (minimal halachic size) with his turkey past plag on thanksgiving, but should ideally wait for nightfall.
A turkey may be roasted, grilled fried, or cooked in any manner וכל המרבה הרי זה משובח- He who increases is praiseworthy
One who eats packaged cold cut turkey has fulfilled his obligation בדיעבד,- post-facto although not ideal and there or those who say the you can be יוצא- (fulfill your obligation ) with the Tirat Tzvi salami as its contents is majority turkey.
Women are exempt from watching football as it’s considered a מצוות עשה שהזמן גרמה (a positive time dependent mitzvah), but they are obligated in watching the Macy’s Day parade as they too are involved in the parade.
One who forgot to watch football or who was otherwise incapacitated with the necessities of the day may do tashlumin (make up) with NFL replay but must watch the games in the order of their broadcast. One who does tashlumin with NFL shortcuts is called a sinner but has never the less fulfilled his obligation.
One who does not tell over the story of the Pilgrims arrival in Plymouth Rock during the Thanksgiving meal has has not fulfilled his obligation of the day.
 Every participant of the meal should see themselves as if they had left England. We are noheg to act out the interaction between the pilgrims and the Indians. Pilgrim hats are not absolutely necessary והמחמיר תבוא עליו ברכה- he who is stringent will receive a blessing
Everyone must be thankful for at least two things but no more than four as being thankful for too many things is considered יוהרה- haughtiness. One must express what he is thankful for it’s not sufficient just to think of them. דברים שבלב אינם דברים.-thinks in the heart only are not considered binding
Pies and cobblers should be the last food consumed on thanksgiving and should be eaten before midnight.

The Four Questions for Thanksgiving

4) First of the four questions asked at the Thanksgiving table: “On all other weekday afternoons, there are no footbal games on TV.  Why are there football games on TV on this day?”

3) Second of the four questions: “On all other days, the department stores open at noon.  Why are the department stores open before noon on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving?”

2) Third of the four questions: “Why do the right wing yeshivas have classes on Thanksgiving morning, while Modern Orthodox day schools are closed?”

1) Fourth of the four questions: “On all other nights there is some traffic to Long Island. Why is there so much traffic to Long Island on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving?”

Top Ten Ways you know you are  at a Jewish Thanksgiving Dinner

10. Your grandmother asks for the gravy by requesting “the turkey schmaltz”

9. “The turkey is served!” line is followed by someone cracking open an expired Empire deli pack

8. Leftover vegetable kugel is suddenly titled “stuffing”

7. Your neighbor comes over to borrow your hat and jacket for his Pilgrim outfit

6. Someone accidentally starts singing shalom aleichem

5. Dinner is delayed while family clears off the table of Macy’s coupons

4. Meal cancelled due to prohibition on using Indian customs and the fact that your mom is busy cooking for shabbos

3. Homemade pies are from Gourmet Glatt

2. Someone shares a really bad gematria dvar torah connecting Pocahontas and Hashem

1. It’s Friday night.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S SHABBAT CARTOON OF THE WEEK

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Answer is A – I would’ve skipped this question, if I was taking this exam. You’re allowed to skip 5 out of 50 of the questions and this would have been one of them. To be honest I don’t even know what the Suzanne Delal buildings are. Perhaps if I did more tours of the architechture and buildings of Old Tel Aviv, Yaffo and Neve Zedek, I would be more familiar with it. But fortunately for me that’s not really what my tourists are looking for… Anyways once I wiki’d it did come back to me. The Delal center is the major dance school in Neve Tzedek. Nice building. Actually it was designed by Shalush, so there was the sneak in their question. But it was formerly the Alliance school- Kol Yisrael Chaveirim and the chibat tzion girls school. The electric station is a park and mall now in Tel Aviv and the Saraya house in Yaffo is actually a theater for Israeli and arab groups- so that’s the other trick in the question. AS I said, not anything most of my tourists are interested in. So I deleted from my limited space in my brain.