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Beit Midrash
- Jewish Laws and Thoughts
- Middot - Character Traits
Last week an Arab Israeli here in Israel was arrested for plotting and almost executing a mass murder of Jewish Israelis - civilians whom he did not know and had done him no personal harm. It was revealed that the young daughter of this would be terrorist and potential murderer had only three weeks earlier undergone life saving surgery at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, said surgery performed gratis of the State of Israel and by an expert group of Jewish medical personnel. One would have thought that a shred of decency, a whiff of gratitude, would have swayed this admitted plotter to kill innocents to refrain from his nefarious intents.. But hatred warps all correct logical and emotional response to situations such as this one. Proud to be a martyr for his understanding of his faith and devoted to his hatred of Jews, there is no room left in his psyche and soul to consider in the light of gratitude what his attitude and behavior towards Israeli Jews should be. American Jews, well meaning and naïve in the extreme, raised fifteen million dollars to purchase from the UN relief organizations the green houses and hothouses of the great Israeli agricultural achievement of Gush Katif on the borders of Hamas’ Gaza. The Hamas-led rioters destroyed all of this infrastructure completely and willfully on the specious claim that they did not want to be beholden to Jewish generosity. Needless to say none of the hothouses or greenhouses have ever been rebuilt five years later. Only complaints and false weeping about being under siege and remaining impoverished emanates from official Gaza. It is difficult to make peace with people who do not have within themselves any sense whatever of the necessary proprietary emotion of gratitude towards others for help rendered to them.
The prophets of Israel long ago lamented the lack of gratitude that Jews exhibited towards their Creator. God says to them in a manner of speaking: "You took the gifts of wealth and life that I granted you and used them to fashion idols and promote evil." It is not only the idols and evil that God complains about, so to speak. It is the sheer audacious cold hearted ingratitude that drives that behavior and brings down God’s wrath against the people. The prophet Yeshayahu points out that even in the animal world the domesticated animal recognizes its owner and provider of food and care. But "my people knew not" and thus that ingratitude led to the destruction of the Temple and Jewish exile and dispersion. There is an element of ingratitude involved in the relationship of certain segments of our current society to the temporal State of Israel. Is it not unseemly to take sustenance and benefits galore from the State and yet curse and revile it at the very same moment? How does that square up with Jewish values and true Torah behavior? A person with a sense of gratitude can feel contented and full with one’s lot in life. The ungrateful ones always feel deprived, frustrated and angry at the world and everyone else. We should all learn to say a proper thank you at correct occasions and to really mean it.
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
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.
