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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Tzvi Yoel Ben Moshe HaLevi
For centuries, this may have been a non-issue. But now it is one of the thorniest questions in the Jewish debate: What, exactly, is the responsibility of the Jews here to the Jews there, & vice-versa.
Like every other important subject, this, too, can be found in the Torah. And so we turn to this week's Sedra. There Moshe, on his way toEretz Yisrael, confronts his father-in-law Chovav (Yitro) & implores him: "Come with us, & it will be good for you, for Hashem has spoken well ofBnei Yisrael." (10:28)
Yitro shakes his head. "I will not go; but to my land & my family I will go - Ki im el artzi v'el molad'ti eylech." In 7 choice words, Yitro employs the classic arguments against making Aliyah:
My Land: "All my real estate, all my business interests, all my accumulated wealth is there. How can I leave it all behind for theuncertainty of an unsown land?"
My Land: "The place I come from is 'mine.' I'm comfortable with the language there, the culture, the idioms, the weather, the ins & outs of that place. I feel at home there; I'll never, ever, acclimate to a new life in Israel."
My Family: "You know, family is everything. How am I going to leave my elderly parents, my brothers & sisters, my aunts & uncles? I need them, they need me, we need each other. IF they were all coming, OK. But THEY are staying put, so I have to do what the majority wants."
Moshe tries one more plea with Yitro: "I beg you, do not forsake us," & then he returns to his first point: "If you go with us, then the good which Hashem does for us, he will do for you, too."
Moshe the Wise knows that he cannot counter the emotional arguments of kin & comfort. So he reiterates the same promise Hashem told Avraham when he said "Lech-LECHA," go FOR YOU, namely: "ISRAEL IS GOOD FOR THE JEW!" While Diasporas appear comfy & cushy, they all eventually turn tragically hostile. Centuries of Jewish settlement in the Galut can disappear in short order, taking all the shuls, schools and people with it. History, alas, does not lie.
Does Yitro reconsider & come to Israel? No one knows for sure; the text doesn't say and the evidence is inconclusive. So, too, the ongoing tug-of-war over Aliyah remains - then and now - an open question. It is the answer to that question - in the hands of each and every Jew - which may very well determine the fate of Klal Yisrael.
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
