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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Three Weeks
- The Ninth of Av
There seem to be two elements of mourning that are practiced for family members. The shiva (seven day period of mourning) and shloshim (thirty days) seem to have a great element of dealing with and channeling the feelings that are normally expected to be there. The Sefer Hachinuch (#265) goes in the direction of seeing the pain as a correct punishment for the mourner that can bring him to repentance. The Gesher Hachayim (19:2) prefers the explanation that mourning death heightens our appreciation of life. In any case, the practices do not so much create the feelings of sadness but channel them. However, the second element is to extend the practices when feelings have greatly subsided. Thus, the full year that one observes for his parents (whereas there are only thirty days for a spouse, which is generally a harder loss), is due to the obligation to honor one’s parents. We do not allow the feeling of loss to slip away but do things to prolong it.
Regarding the national mourning, the matter may have changed over history. The gemara (Ketubot 62a) tells the following interesting story. Amoraim said that sad news that makes one sigh significantly weakens the body and that it is particularly so regarding thinking about the destroyed Beit Hamikdash. A non-Jew was having trouble keeping up walking with a Jew and therefore tried to use the technique the gemara referred to by reminding him of the Beit Hamikdash. While the Jew responded with a sigh, he did not slow down because, explains the gemara, the destruction was too long ago. In our days, you can add another 1,500 years to the distance. With other reasons to not feel the depths of the exile so strongly, we are not in the mode of naturally feeling the pain. Rather, our acts of mourning are a planned exercise in reliving as fully as possible a feeling of loss. In this way, it is like a yahrtzeit where one makes a point of remembering the day of the death so as to commemorate it appropriately.
Interestingly, there are sources that indicate that the yearly anniversary is not just a convenient time to remember but that it is a day that can bring harsh realities, according to some, to the deceased and according to others to the live child. Reciting Kaddish and for some, fasting, are ways to deal with these dangers. The national mourning is similar, as the month of Av is not just sad but contains difficult times, and it pays to stay away from danger and dealings with non-Jews (Ta’anit 29b). The way we deal with it is to focus on what went wrong and on our desire to renew our relationship with Hashem, which we lost with the loss of the Temple (see Siftei Chayim, Moadim III, pp. 294-299). May we be successful in that attempt.
Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: A Crown and its Scepter – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 294-5
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
