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Beit Midrash
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What were the motives that drove the Pharaoh and Egypt to persecute the Jews? The Torah grants us some insights. Firstly, Joseph died. As long as he lived there was a sense of appreciation and even adoration for the man who saved Egypt from the destruction of the great famine and established it as the mightiest power of the time. But not only Joseph died, that whole generation, Jew and Egyptian also passed from the scene. In later generations no one remembered Joseph, no one remembered the famine, just as in our time few people now yet remember the Great Depression or even the horrors of World War II. Many Israeli students know nothing about the history of the creation of the State of Israel and thus have doubts about our legitimate claim to the Land of Israel. It is all now only dry facts in history books. And therefore it was almost natural that a Pharaoh would arise "who knew not Joseph." He did not realize how the Jewish people entered Egypt, of what benefit they were to Egypt and what their presence in the country represented in historical and spiritual terms. And new rulers always come to power with "new" agendas of their own to solve age old problems of human existence and social and national life. When their agendas come a cropper and all of the great theories are useless in the face of the harsh realities of society and governing it is natural to look for a scapegoat for that failure. The stranger, the Jew, has always provided that convenient scapegoat. The new rulers of the twentieth century, Stalin and Hitler exploited this to the fullest. The Moslem world till today explains all of its ills and shortcomings on the existence of Israel and the Jews. Thus many parts of the Exodus story repeat themselves today in our lives.
The Torah tells us that the Jews became numerous - a visible and sizeable and recognizable minority living in the midst of Egypt. People and states are intrinsically xenophobic; they do not tolerate minorities gracefully and well. Present day Israel is struggling with such problems and attitudes. So are most of the countries of Europe and the rest of the world. There were too many Jews around for Egyptian sensitivities. And "the land was full of them." They no longer lived in the ghetto of Goshen but moved everywhere in Egypt. Wherever one went one saw a Jew. Hitler’s complaint when living in Vienna was that he always saw Jews on the streets of that city. This sad story has been repeated in almost every country where Jews settled in the time of our exile. Many Jews in Egyptian society attempted to escape Egyptian persecution by assimilating into general Egyptian society. But Pharaoh like Hitler and the Moslem world made it a racial thing, a blemish that could not be erased by even four generations of assimilation. Midrash teaches us that most of those Jews died in Egypt without being part of the Exodus. That is also in my opinion a warning lesson for our times as well.
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.
