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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The High Holidays
- The Month of Elul
All of us are beset by the problems of everyday life - children, family, finances, work and the pressures of time. In such a situation it is naturally difficult to deal with lofty spiritual matters and issues of self-improvement spiritual progression. In Eastern Europe great people would withdraw from their every day lives and spend the month of Elul in splendid isolation and contemplation. For most of us this is an impossibility given our schedules and life responsibilities. Nevertheless it is important to know that such behavior was deemed necessary by people of impeccable greatness and piety. We can all afford at least a few moments a day for serious thought and contemplation. Someone once asked the great rabbi Yisrael Lipkin of Salant, the founder of the Mussar movement in Lithuania in the nineteenth century that if one has only ten minutes a day to spare should one study Mussar or concentrate on Talmud. Rabbi Yisrael answered that one should stud Mussar for then he will realize that he has more than ten minutes a day available for the study of Torah. In brutal actuality, we all have sufficient time every day to think about our true selves and where we are headed. But since we are not trained or accustomed to think in those paths and are prone to give up on our spiritual growth rather easily we comfort ourselves to believe that we really have only ten minutes a day available for our souls. The month of preparation for the High Holidays is meant to allow us to climb out of this rut of hopelessness and life’s pressures. We should attempt to truly exploit the opportunity for spiritual growth that this month presents to us.
Spiritual growth comes in small increments and rarely is it achieved through dramatic, sudden, unexpected leaps of faith or epiphanies. The fact that spiritual growth is a long range goal and a far journey oftentimes deters people from taking the first step on this road to personal growth and greatness. We are always interested in instant diets, quick fixes and simplistic solutions and this tendency prevents us from pursuing the only true path that can lead to a better life and better living. We all have heard the famous maxim that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first lone step taken toward the destined goal. This is certainly true as regarding one’s spiritual growth and the improvement of one’s character traits. Our father Yaakov is represented in the Torah as a wrestler who contends with an angel. He also wrestles with himself, so to speak. The main struggle in life is really with one’s self. The preparation for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur lies in the recognition and acceptance of this lesson of life.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
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.
