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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Ein Ayah
Ein Ayah: It is proper to become aware that in the matter of spiritual sustenance, as regarding physical food, there must be a proper balance. We have already stated that bread is a metaphor for halacha. It is dry, but it is also the foundation of our nutritional sustenance. However, to do its job, it requires water to enable it to be digested and spread throughout the body as part of the life-giving blood stream.
So too, in the spiritual realm, aggada (hinted at by water) serves to reveal the good effects that the knowledge of and involvement in halacha has. Actually, any true knowledge, even if it is "dry" and shares nothing with the "spiritual logic" that straightens one’s personality and uplifts the soul, helps complete the spirit. The positive impact is actualized when the knowledge is accompanied by the spiritual wisdom and fear of Hashem. These can reveal the way the knowledge makes spiritual impact and purifies a person’s characteristics.
This is all the more true regarding the directly holy knowledge of Torah. Aggada complements the intensive study of halacha, enabling one to extract the desired results from it. Without the study of aggada, which enables the learner to taste fear of sin and love of Hashem, the "dry knowledge" would remain "undigested" and cause "intestinal illness." There is such a phenomenon in the physical world, and, through its metaphor, in the spiritual world.
It is important to find the right balance between the areas of Torah study. [We skip over Rav Kook’s technical dealing with the gemara’s various commentators regarding the metaphor]. It is possible that someone who is already a giant in Torah and has "filled his stomach" with practical knowledge will choose to elevate his spirit by focusing primarily on Divine concepts that are at the root of the words of aggada. It is these that are the goal of man’s self-completion and the road that leads him to salvation from pain and the evil inclination.
The Limits of Remembering Death
(based on Berachot 6:30)
Gemara: One who is used to eating lentils once in thirty days prevents askara (a painful, lethal disease). However, he should not eat lentils every day because it causes bad breath.
Ein Ayah: This teaches a moral lesson because lentils are a classic food for mourners. In the spiritual realm, there is reason to periodically remind oneself of the fact that death is part of life. Fear of punishment is also a healthy thing, as it dampens one’s spirit in a manner that distances him from haughtiness, which causes him to forget Hashem.
However, one should use this tool of rebuke only periodically. On a daily basis one should use the higher level of spiritual encouragement, based on love of goodness and righteousness, according to the pleasantness of Hashem. This is because over-reliance on the simple but harsher tool of fear of punishment causes sadness or craziness and puts bad ideas into the heart. A person can be complete in his views and characteristics only when his spirit is happy, which widens the mind and raises the heart in fear of Hashem. A subdued spirit lowers a person, and the words of Torah will no longer be sweet to him. The metaphor of bad breath is appropriate because in that state one cannot taste the food’s appeal, and he will be missing the spiritual sense of a good smell. The same idea applies in the spiritual realm. Therefore one should not overuse the harsh rebuke of remembering death to fight the evil inclination.
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.
