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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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P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part II
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
Parashat Hashavua Happiness for the Right Reasons
[With painful longing, we share these divrei Torah from our co-Rosh Kollel for close to 40 years, Harav Moshe Ehrenreich zt”l.]
Israel and the Nations A Few Minutes & Many Innovative Ideas on Antisemitism & What to do About It
As we approach the High Holidays, this short lecture (18 minutes) deals with the unfortunate situation of how Israel and the Jewish People stand against antisemitism, analyzing its cause according to Rav Kook, and how to deal with the issue pragmatically & via our prayers.
Ha'azinu PURSUIT is PERFECTION
p. Ha'azinu, Shabbat Shuva
Rav Kook deals with the question of the seemingly hopeless nature of Tshuva. For G-d Himself knows that He created us with free will, which inevitably means we will sometimes make mistakes and choose wrong. This can easily be frustrating, freezing us into inaction and ye'ush (loss of hope). If one sins even once, does he chalila have no choice but suicide?! Moreover, our Godly conscience demands justice, righteousness and perfection, but we all know this is impossible, so what's the solution? Rav Kook's innovative thinking, strongly based on chazal (our sages), offers an inciteful and important aspect to this topic, especially this time of year!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
