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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Tenth of Tevet
- Lessons for the 10th of Tevet
- Family and Society
- Current Events
- Coping with Difficulties
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Asher Ishaayahu Ben Rivka
Fast days of this sort are not merely occasions for recalling the tragedies of our past. They are, more than anything else, days of repentance and introspection. Moreover, the Torah commands the Jewish people to cry out and to sound trumpets even when new calamities beset us, and the Sages established a Mitzvah to fast in response to such hardships, until God shows mercy upon us.
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the "Rambam," describes the sort of calamities which justify such behavior: when foreign nations wage war upon the Jewish people, or impose taxes upon us, or attempt to take our land away from us, or make decrees to nullify Torah commandments - even the most seemingly insignificant among them. In such cases we are obligated to fast and to cry out to God until He shows mercy upon us.
And here, we find that in the past few years nations have indeed come upon us and demanded that we relinquish portions of the Land of Israel to strangers. This is one of the calamities concerning which we are supposed to fast and cry out about. It follows that the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, in our day, must be directed towards the rectification of this calamity. Our fasting must be an attempt to rebuff the pressure of the nations, together with their threats of terrorism and war, and their desire to take our land from us.
Therefore, let this day be a day of fasting, prayer, and crying out to the God of Israel, that He provide us with the strength to defend our land, to stand up to pressure, and to never, under any circumstances, give in to the forces which desire to destroy us.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
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.
