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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Ein Ayah
One who sees the Great Sea recites the blessing … when he sees it periodically. How long a break constitutes periodically? Rami bar Abba says in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak: thirty days.
Ein Ayah: The reason for the time period of thirty days is that we learn wisdom from the heavenly bodies, as the pasuk says: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens and see who created these" (Yeshaya 40:26). Of all the heavenly bodies, the one that is closest and most linked to our own planet of Earth is the Moon. That is why the Jewish people count the passage of time based on the orbit of the Moon. The Moon’s creation also has special significance for the needs of our planet. Part of its effect has to do with the fact that the amount of time of the Moon’s orbit is connected to renewed feelings, which makes it appropriate to recite a new beracha based on it.
For this reason, also, new Moons are a time of atonement for Israel, as it is a time when a new spirit takes the place of an old spirit. At that time, it is possible to create a ‘new heart’ in matters of wisdom and fear of Hashem.
The Effects of Environment on a Person
(condensed from Ein Ayah, Berachot 9:165)
Gemara: What is [the significance of the name] Chidekel (the Tigris River)? It represents that its water is chad (crisp) and kal (light). What is [the significance of the name] Prat (the Euphrates River)? It represents that its water is ever increasing. Rava said: that which the people of Mechoza are sharp is due to the fact that they drink from the water of the Tigris.
Ein Ayah: Quality and quantity are two special characteristics. The Tigris excels in the quality of its water and the Euphrates in the quantity of its water (see also Shabbat 65b).
A river’s water has an impact on the local environment. The better the water’s quality, the better the vegetation that grows there and the animals that live there will be. As a result, the people who live in the region and are nourished by the above will acquire special attributes affecting their physical constitution. Even a person’s spiritual makeup, which is connected to the status of his body and its health, will be positively impacted. This teaches us generally how important it is to learn how to improve our physical well-being, as it impacts our spiritual well-being.
The people of Mechoza were known for their sharpness, which, in the intellectual realm, corresponds to the element of quality, in which the waters of the Tigris excelled. This is in contrast to the ability to amass knowledge, which corresponds to the element of quantity. This should teach a person in general that Hashem created everything in a measured-out manner.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
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!
