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Beit Midrash
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Over the long exile of the Jewish people and our complete dispersion over the face of the globe we have stopped at many localities. Sometimes the stop was a relatively short one but most times it was for many centuries duration. Babylonia (present day Iraq) was a home for millennia, while Iberia, North Africa, Poland, Germany and many other European countries housed us for eight hundred years. But somehow no matter how long we stayed in a certain place and how productive and secure we may have felt regarding our situation, all of our way stops proved to be temporary and impermanent ones. The journeys of the Jewish people proved to be in a manner of speaking an endless trek. But it always seemingly had a goal. The great Rabbi Nachman of Breslov stated that "every step I take on this earth leads me towards Jerusalem." All of the stops, no matter how long their duration in the Exile of Israel, were eventually nothing more than way stops. Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk summarized it succinctly in his ringing assessment of Jewish exile: "Woe to the ones who imagine that Berlin is Jerusalem." Well, we now all know that Berlin was far from being Jerusalem but there are names of other current cities in the Jewish Diaspora that can easily be substituted for Berlin in his prescient statement. We pray that our travels are finally coming to an end and we strengthen ourselves on this Shabat of chazak in that hope and wish.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
