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Beit Midrash
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- The Month of Elul
In my long decades of rabbinic experience I have noticed how children are disappointed in their parents, parents are disappointed in their children, spouses are disappointed with each other, synagogue members are disappointed with their rabbi and rabbis are disappointed with their congregations, in-laws are disappointed with in-laws and this type of list grows endless. Part of the reason for this prevailing sense of disappointment is the presence within us of originally too high expectations. In counseling young couples trying to get past the rough patches of their recent marriage I have always noticed the presence of unreasonably high expectations of each other as being the root of the problem. Life should be approached with high optimism but also with minimal expectations. The Talmud in one of its famous statements teaches: "Why should humans complain and be disappointed? Is it not sufficient that one is still alive?" Reality will always clash with our hopes and plans and feelings of entitlement. The great current Hebrew phrase zeh mah sheyesh - this is the reality of the situation that we face - is the touchstone of Jewish survival and accomplishment over the ages.
If there ever is a people entitled, so to speak, to feel cheated and disappointed it is the Jewish people, hated, hounded and persecuted for centuries on end. Yet, the feeling of disappointment in its unrealized destiny and the Jewish fate and situation generally never was allowed to take hold in Jewish life. And this resistance to allowing the emotion of disappointment to overwhelm our lives extended to the Jewish home and family as well. The Jew was born with lofty ambitions and hopes for spiritual greatness coupled with a lowered level of expectation in worldly matters. Divorce was much rarer in Jewish society than it is today though that does not necessarily mean that all marriages were happy and smooth relationships. But minimizing expectations helped build homes and families on solid foundations. The drive for excessive wealth was also tempered - nevertheless poverty is not a virtue in Jewish life and thought - but standards of living were moderate even when one had the money to live in a grander style. The differences in wealth and grandeur were minimized in Jewish society and this helped squelch a general feeling of disappointment in one’s self or in life generally. Judaism always preached that less is more in all facets of life. Such an attitude will undoubtedly minimize disappointments, which by the way will nevertheless always still occur for that is the stuff that life is made up of.
The month of Elul is a good time for us to deal with our disappointments in life and help minimize if not even dissipate many of them. Forgiveness of others and of ourselves as well is the entry gate to true repentance, mental health and ultimate salvation. Forgiveness is a way to deal with disappointment. It does not eliminate the feeling but it allows one to move on and deal with it in a more positive fashion. This is an important Elul idea to keep in mind and to attempt to implement it in our daily lives year round.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
