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Beit Midrash
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The other side of this coin is that the people of Israel were commanded to give extra honor and deference to the kohanim. Being a kohein one wears a special Godly crown. And it is that heaven granted crown that people are to admire and honor.Since there are no perfect human beings it is easy to find faults and weaknesses within individual kohanim. People would therefore denegrate the kohein whom they felt to be imperfect, for after all did not the prophet himself state that the kohein must appear to his public as though he were an angel of the Lord. Yet respect for the kohein, every kohein, is built into Jewish custom and ritual. His blessings are to be sought, he is to redeem our first born males, he is to have the opening aliya at the time of the public reading of the Torah, he is to lead us in the prayers after meals and he is to be exmpted from tasks of labor and service that often fall upon other Jews. Thus the kohein was charged with the task of living up to his role as an elite leader of his people while the people were charged with the value of giving honor and a place of primacy in Jewish public life to the kohein. Even though there is presently no Temple in Jerusalem that requires the epecial and exclusive attention of the kohanim, their status in Jewish life and society has been preserved throughout our long history. That is ceratinly the reward of the father of the kohanim, the great Aharon.
This Shiur is published also at Rabbi Kaganof's site
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.