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The game I attended was not a particularly exciting or well played one. But my grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed themselves so I was more than satisfied. A grandparent must always be able to show a lighter side of one’s self to one’s future generations. In our current world this is called bonding. Though I was watching the game my mind wandered to consider more weighty matters. The ability to sit through a long game in order to arrive at a final result is what lies at the heart of many issues in our personal and national lives. We crave instant decisions and immediate clarity. "Now" is the imperative word in many segments of our society. My grandchildren have taught me never to leave the game until it is officially ended no matter how lopsided the score may appear at earlier stages of the game. The famous fable regarding the hare and the tortoise applies not only to baseball games but to all of life itself. King Solomon phrased it correctly when he wrote that the race is not always to the swift. The current issues that plague the Jewish world could stand a longer view of them. The role of the Israeli Supreme Court in religious matters, if it should have any role at all, needs long term perspective and not case by case provocations. So does a deeper understanding of the place of religion in a secular "Jewish democratic state." The spinning of its wheels peace process, with the numerous two state solutions advocated but never capable of being implemented over the past ninety years bears a longer perspective and overview as to its current practicality or viability. Life generally and Jewish life particularly is a very long game. Until the game is truly over, so to speak, we really cannot accurately assess winners and losers, wise policies and foolish decisions, hasty actions and truly measured responses. And since like baseball, these issues have no known time constraints it is obvious that we are in for a very long game regarding these matters.
Since our life span is certainly limited and finite there is a natural tendency for humans to be in a hurry. We make all sorts of grandiose plans and predictions - Five Year Plans and the like - about a future about which we are completely ignorant. We forget that the law of unintended consequences is omnipresent in our lives, again both personal and national. We are impatient for the game to end; having lost the wonders of childhood at simply observing what is taking place before our eyes, no matter what the apparent score may be at this given moment. Jewish life with all of its thrills and excitement, boredom and tiredness, improbabilities and constants, is a very long game. Viewing it from this perspective can help one achieve a more sanguine sighting of the sightings and appearances of our lives. As the great baseball sage, Yogi Berra, once commented: "It ain’t over until it’s over!"
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
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Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
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.
