Emuna

Usually heavy topics with important ramifications are relatively difficult, & that's why it's surprisingly easy to speak, even though words can extremely help or harm (gossip, embarrassment). Rav Kook suggests that God made it relatively easy to speak so that the important benefit can be reaped without much effort, with many halachic ramifications, as well, e.g. oaths, vows, kidushin, hekdesh & making people feel good with compliments, encouragement, etc. Even a small scream without words, usually activates us to action. Rav Kook also writes about the order of proper speech, that begins with thought, which leads to words, which lead to actions, & the special power of words in Eretz Yisrael, L& of Hebrew (Lashon HaKodesh) & Prophecy

Most people would like to be wealthy, and even pray that God should grant it to them. Obviously wealth enables giving more tzedaka, but on the other hand, all of life is challenges, and money is a difficult one (although everyone wants it!). Judaism says that it's best to be middle-class, not too rich and not too poor, yet Torah is found mostly among the poor! The class deals with the importance in finding scholarships davka for those who need them will probably be the best students. There are many logical reasons for this, yet most ignore them. Aside from the problems of spoiling one's children, wealth often leads to arrogance and exaggerated self-worth, inflating one's ego and losing touch with reality, humility and more.

When we see one who has a physical deformity, challenge or sickness, it inevitably awakens pity & kindness, even for those who are total strangers & see from afar. This is the tikun or educational fixing of "Sinat Chinam", needless hate, towards the innocent or even the foreigner. Upon feeling this pity & kindness from others, even the cruel will taste the pleasantness & benefits of this unearned love - "Ahavat Chinam", & society will gradually improve. Rav Kook adds that all people have a Godly spark, a conscience & natural morality, where if they didn't "overcome" it through negative free-will, is just waiting to be realized. & even if one chooses to overcome his goodness, it can be re-awakened through incidents & positive experiences.

As a continuation of the class on "The Different Levels On Which G-d Runs the World", this class is on the different levels of sickness, whether ours or those around us. Just as fast-days are a self-induced weakness, which brings us to analyze our lives, priorities & actions, when God sends a sickness, it's not necessarily a punishment but rather a "wake-up call" to induce soul-searching. Life is comprised of such small incidents, some pleasant & others not, some direct & others less so, to keep us awake that we shouldn't live like robots, but rather utilize our Godly free-will to its utmost extent, keeping our lives meaningful & idealistic. Accordingly, even the "bad" messages are seen by Rav Kook as: The process of gradual good.

Anyone who believes that G-d runs the world knows that he does so via various ways & on many different levels. Rav Kook deals with these many venues how He transmits messages to us & analyzes the extent of the direct & indirect levels, including dreams (mine & those around me) sickness (mine & those around me), accidents, challenges etc. The question of "why bad things happen to good people" is based upon the mistaken & even childish thought that life is supposed to be smooth, as opposed to Judaism which sees life as challenges, some pleasant & others not, which are sent us as G-d's way of helping us grow, be independent & Godly. Many aspects of life have nothing to do with "reward & punishment", but are "wake-up calls" to analyze ourselves.

Most people don't realize the extent of self-sacrifice, both physical (financial, health, time, worry, etc.) & spiritual (e.g. their own learning, marriage, children) that rabbis, community leaders & general volunteers lose by serving their students & community. Rabbi's children especially suffer, resenting the high expectations from a very young age! Inevitably, some even rebel against religion or communal service, either consciously or sub-consciously holding "them" responsible for their lost time with their parent. Some rebel to gain their parent's attention. Rav Kook deals with these painful phenomena of literal Mesirut Nefesh (not just Mesirut "Guf"!) & the limits involved, explaining the importance of serving Am Yisrael= serving G-d.

We find various rabbis in rabbinic literature who built their spirituality through fasting and depriving themselves of physical pleasure. Rav Kook explains that this is like "shock treatment" or bitter medicine, which healthy people don't need. In Torat Eretz Yisrael, the Living Torah most applicable to the modern world, the approach of unity is to reveal the harmony between the physical and spiritual worlds. In Israel, where even the physical is spiritual and the atmosphere is Jewish, it's much more conducive to living a life of modern orthodoxy without the dangers of losing our proportions, priorities or getting influenced by western society. Accordingly Rav Kook explains the machloket between Rava & Abaye in Masechet Shabbat.