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Beit Midrash
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The answer: Perhaps Pharaoh’s wise men would make a mistake in their reckoning of the time and then say: "Moshe is a liar."
This interpretation would seem to fly in the face of all reasonable thought. After all, Moshe had correctly predicted nine terrible and unusual events that had literally plagued the Egyptian people. He then predicted the most terrible of all - the death of Egypt ’s first-borns. Imagine that he had said that this would take place exactly at midnight. Let’s assume that the palace clocks were inaccurate and according to their time all the first-borns died at midnight plus twenty seconds. What is the response of Egypt ’s best and brightest?
"You see how Moshe is nothing but a liar."
The level of self deception and refusal to face facts is so mind boggling that we might well wonder at the sanity of such wise men or, alternatively, at what the Tamudic sages were trying to tell us in this seemingly odd interpretation.
Perhaps the lesson to be drawn from this discussion is that the Rabbis profoundly understood the true nature of man and the depths of his psyche:
1) We don’t like to face unpleasant truths.
2) The power of rationalization to substitute good reasons for real reasons is boundless.
3) Man will grab at the thinnest of straws to deny the reality which stares him in the face.
Should we be surprised by the ancient Egyptian think tank’s reaction? After all, modern Jewish history has seen its Egypts and their wise men, perhaps those Ph.D.s who met at Wansee or commanded Einsatzgruppen. It has witnessed the birth of a Jewish State in which Jews no longer have to live under non-Jewish rule, in which Torah flourishes, and in which we are called to help shape our destiny.
Is it possible there are yet those wise and many who are more than wise who are still waiting because they think that this great drama of reishit tzemichat geulateinu is but an illusion? Do their sojourns in the Egypts of Jewish History continue because the details of the reishit do not meet their redemption clocks?
May it be that those who dwell in Goshen ’s darkness see a great light.
Moshe emet - it is we who may miss the mark.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
