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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The High Holidays
- Yom Kippur
Several statements of Chazal connect our behavior and appearance on Yom Kippur to that of the angels serving Hashem in the Heavens on a daily basis. Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer (45) tells that Hashem grants Samael power over Israel on Yom Kippur if he can find sin in us, but that he finds us like angels: we do not eat or drink, we are without shoes, we stand a lot, and we have peace between us. Indeed, the five inuyim, in which we refrain from basic human luxuries and even necessities, make us resemble angels, whom we do not attempt to imitate during the rest of the year (except, to some extent, during Shemoneh Esrei and Kedusha).
Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop (Mei Marom, vol. VII, 43) sees us as resembling Adam before his sin and explains the significance of not eating along those lines. It is possible for people to be "above time." Eliyahu did this during the 40 days that he walked with the strength received from that which he ate before leaving (Melachim I, 19:8). Adam also was on this level before his sin, as the food that he ate could have satiated him continuously. The natural processes that prevent this are related to our enslavement to the natural passage of time.
By refraining from eating on Yom Kippur, says Rav Charlop, we signify that the food that we eat before Yom Kippur (which is a special mitzva) can last us as we reach toward the high level of the first human before his sin. That food is thus reminiscent of the fruit of the Garden of Eden. Indeed, Adam himself was on a level that was similar to an angel and in some ways above their level (see Bereishit Rabba 8, which tells that originally, the angels were confused by Adam’s greatness and wanted to say Kedusha to him).
It is important to view the mitzvot of the day not only as an obligation and not only as a condition for getting through the day with a maximum of atonement and a minimum of sin. Rather, it is an opportunity to experience being on the type of level where we can feel our own potential for greatness, and hopefully want to adopt much more of it throughout the year than we did in the past. True, we remain fully human, and those who medically need to eat must do so and not get carried away with the comparison to angels, Adam, or Eliyahu. However, we should all focus on those special powers that, perhaps we identify in uniquely holy individuals, but fail to see in ourselves.
Chemdat Yamim (3141)
Rabbi Yossef Carmel
1 - The Right Pace to Leave a Holy Place
2 - An Individual Who is a Community
3 - Giving More Than You Have?
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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.
