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Beit Midrash
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The daily prayers of the Jewish people year round always include prayers for bountiful rain to fall in the Land of Israel. During the rainy season those prayers change in their intensity and language. Jews living in New York, huddled under their umbrellas and wrapped in protective headgear, pray for rain in the Land of Israel because that is the location where rainfall is essential for survival and success. On Shmini Atzeret Jews the world over pray for a rainy season in the Land of Israel. In the springtime during the holiday of Pesach the prayers are for dew in the Land of Israel. Consciously or subconsciously Jews are always concerned about the situation in the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel for Jews is comparable to the statement of the great Chasidic rebbe of Berdichev regarding God Himself, so to speak. He said: "One can be for God. One can be against God. But no one can be without God!" The individual Jew can be for the Land of Israel. He can also be for whatever reason against the Land of Israel. But he cannot be without the Land of Israel. And therefore Jews are not only concerned about security, prosperity, social conditions, political developments and governmental policies in Israel - they are concerned about the weather there as well. Their prayers and their conscience force this concern upon them without forethought. There is no way to be a truly traditional Jew without thinking constantly about rainfall in the Land of Israel. We are truly a uniquely strange and wonderful people!
The great miracle workers recorded for us and immortalized in the Talmud are almost all rainmakers. The great Choni even was able to have the ability to fine tune and adjust the fall of rain so that it would be completely beneficial but not disruptive of normal human life. He was criticized for his temerity in being so insistent regarding Heaven but Heaven itself, so to speak, appreciated his efforts on behalf of the people and the Land of Israel and blessed him and his efforts. Heaven always sees things differently than do we humans. Rain is the symbol of Heavenly interest and beneficence to human life. All of us are aware of the necessity of rain for life to continue. The rainy season has now officially begun on the calendar of the Land of Israel. Whether the clouds have looked at the calendar is yet a matter of debate and mystery. But our prayers remind of us the fact that we are in the rainy season and that the Land of Israel desperately needs rain. People begin to realize that Heaven needs to help us, certainly in regard to rainfall in the Holy Land. May the coming rainy season be a blessing for all of us.
Rabbis in Midrash
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
