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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The High Holidays
- The Month of Elul
One of the great aspects of Elul is that it dwells upon the future. Months that contain within them days of commemorations and holidays always possess a necessary emphasis on past events, on history and great events that have previously occurred. Elul possesses no such commemorative days. It therefore looks forward to creating a better future for ourselves and our families and communities. It emphasizes that the misdeeds and sad events of the past should be considered as having ended and disappeared and now we can only look forward to better times and more positive behavior in the new year that now appears over our horizon. The emphasis on introspection that I previously described as being part of the Elul package - and introspection always concentrates on dealing with past events and behavior - is tempered and balanced by Elul’s demand to look forward and deal with the future in a hopeful and positive fashion. The ability to balance the past and the future in our lives is always a difficult task. Dwelling on the past often induces unrealistic and distorted nostalgia which again always cripples our ability to deal with our current lives and our future. Once again dealing only with the future and ignoring the events and lessons of the past can only lead to great frustrations and disappointments when our rosy predictions and seeming certainties turn out to be wrong, useless and even dangerous. Elul sets the right tone in emphasizing our future and looking ahead while still demanding that a measure of introspection will allow one to learn from the past year gone by and create better emotional and psychological frame of mind and soul in approaching the future and the new year.
Elul is marked by the sounding of the shofar in the morning synagogue prayer services and by the recitation of selichot in the Sephardic and Near Eastern Jewish communities. These customs are meant to internalize within us the opportunities that the month of Elul offers us for our spiritual restoration and growth enhancement. There are no easy or even proven methods to help this process along within ourselves. Every individual must find his or her way alone. Judaism generally is not a one size fits all faith when it comes to spiritual growth. While we are all bound to perform the commandments of the Torah in their entirety no explicit guide to finding spirituality in one’s life is granted to us. Elul is therefore a time to search deep into one’s own self for the personal road that we all seek to find to become closer to the Creator and to leave a legacy of decency and Jewish commitment to those that will follow us. Elul is truly a special month for all of us.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
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.