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Beit Midrash
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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Chana bat Chaim
Our rabbis have often taught us that the bitter internal disputes that have plagued Jewish history over the ages and are all too present in our current society as well can all be traced to the genetic imprint created within us by the story of Yosef and his brothers. Yosef is insensitive to the feelings of his brothers, suspects them of deeds that they have never committed and slanders them to their father. They in turn see in this young teenage brother of theirs an existential threat to their very existence and to the ability of the house of Yaakov to survive and prosper. Out of these misunderstandings personal enmities now develop. The ten brothers cannot speak peacefully or civilly to Yosef, so deep is their antagonism to him. They hardened their hearts and stopped up their ears when he wept and pleaded with them when he was in the pit of snakes and scorpions and then finally sold as a slave into Egyptian bondage. This also allows them to fool their ancient father and to witness his grief of decades length without revealing to him their culpability in the disappearance of Yosef. Wrongdoing always leads to further wrongdoings and a lie must inevitability to a cover up of further numerous lies. And all this because of a family fight over misinterpretations and erroneous assumptions of the motives and behavior of others who were bound together by blood and family.
Eventually it will take years and very changed external circumstances in order to reconcile Yosef and his brothers and make the house of Yaakov whole again. Common existential dangers, the enemy from outside, usually have a sobering effect upon simmering internal disputes. Only diehard ideologues continue to whistle past the graveyard, oblivious to the real dangers that confront us. I remember that once I witnessed a traffic policeman here in Jerusalem writing out a summons to someone who had allegedly illegally parked near a synagogue. Their argument grew heated and I was afraid that they could come to blows. Suddenly someone emerged from the synagogue and shouted to them: "We need two more Jews to complete our minyan!" The policeman and the car owner dutifully trudged into the synagogue to help make up the prayer quorum. After the prayer service concluded the policeman and his victim returned outside and immediately resumed their heated discussion as to whether the person’s car was indeed wrongfully parked. The external emergency had ended – the minyan was completed - and now they could repair to their own disputation once more. To a certain extent that vignette is a microcosm of Jewish social and political life today. It seems that we need a discernible external and immediate threat to allow us to forget and forego our internal squabbles at least temporarily. Let us hope that we will find a wiser and better way to deal with our family fights.
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part II
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
Parashat Hashavua Happiness for the Right Reasons
[With painful longing, we share these divrei Torah from our co-Rosh Kollel for close to 40 years, Harav Moshe Ehrenreich zt”l.]
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.
