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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Ein Ayah
We read the pasuk with the double language of "shamoah tishma" (Shemot 15:26) as follows: If you listen to the old, you will listen to the new, and if your heart turns away, you will subsequently not listen.
Ein Ayah: It is possible to have a love of Torah knowledge in two ways. One is based on valuing the Torah and the shleimut (completeness) it brings. The second is that some people naturally love knowledge, in general.
There is a special condition regarding Torah that one must have a special love for it based on its holy value. That is why we expect one to love even the ideas he already heard and treat them as if they were new. Only if he accomplishes that will Hashem bless him with the gift of fully understanding new information as one who learns Torah with noble intentions. This is the gemara’s intention: by hearing the old, out of love of Torah, he will hear the new.
In contrast if one turns away from Torah that is not new, he lacks true love and has only coarse love of knowledge in general, and he will not understand. This is because the Torah will not shine its countenance on him, and he will not be able to properly accept it. Ultimately, he will not even enjoy learning Torah intellectually, for "Hashem wants those who fear Him" (Tehillim 147:11).
The Level of Specificity of Berachot
(condensed from Ein Ayah, Berachot 6:38)
Gemara: On vegetables, one recites: "Borei pri ha’adama" (He who creates the fruit of the land). Rabbi Yehuda says: "Borei minei desha’im" (He who creates the species of grasses). Rabbi Zeira or perhaps Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said: What is the pasuk that supports [Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion]? "Blessed is Hashem day by day" (Tehillim 68:20). Do we bless Him only in the day and not at night? Rather, it comes to say that every day we should "give" to Him according to its blessings. So too, here, for every different species we should give Him praise according to its specific blessing.
Ein Ayah: There is a difference between general knowledge of Hashem’s kind ways and specific knowledge of it. The Zohar (Vayikra, Behar 111) compares the former to a servant of Hashem and the latter to a son of Hashem. A wise man can look discerningly at the different elements of wisdom and learn about the Creator by looking at the creations.
When one looks at the world at night, he can observe things in a general manner, as the pasuk (Tehillim 8:4) says: "When I see Your sky, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You arranged." During the daytime, one can notice every detail of the creation and see the wisdom contained therein. For this reason, the gemara brought a pasuk that stresses that Hashem is blessed in relation to the day, as greater detail that is discerned results in the blessing of Hashem making a more significant impression. That is what the gemara meant when asking whether only in the daytime one blesses, as even in the night there is what to bless about. It is just that in the day one has the advantage of being able to make more specific berachot and indeed we can thank Hashem for His greatness as finds expression every day in its own way.
The difference between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbanan is that Rabbi Yehuda understood that the idea of being as specific as possible about the creations is an obligation, for which reason the language of the berachot specifically distinguishes between different types of vegetation. Rabbanan may have reasoned that this type of detail is beyond the level of the average person. Rather, one can suffice by realizing Hashem’s role as the Creator of all, Who did, does and will do everything, and by serving Him faithfully.
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.
