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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Purim & The Month of Adar
- The Essence of Purim
The rabbis indicate that on Purim one should arrive at a state were one knows no longer the difference between blessing Mordecai and cursing Haman. Even more troubling is the fact that we find it difficult to identify who is the real Haman and who is the real Mordecai in our lives. Haman often dresses in the clothing of Mordecai and disguises himself ably. And Mordecai is often seen wearing kingly non-Jewish clothing that is but a costume and not his reality. In a world of disguises and costumes it certainly is difficult to identify heroes and villains, the good and the not so good. Is the professed love of Israel proclaimed by J Street and Peace Now a disguise that hides their true enmity to Israel’s current existence as a Jewish state? Or maybe they really love Israel and their harmful anti-Israel statements and policies are only a costume but not their real agenda and identity? How is one to know definitely? The European Union, the American State Department and the American President and administration all profess their loyalty to Israel’s rightful existence. Is that what they really think and believe? Can they ever be relied upon when moments of truth and hard decisions arrive? Are they cursed Haman or blessed Mordecai? And how are we to be able to discern this difference? Difficult Purim questions exist in our world.
At the end of all matters the Lord apparently decides on these matters. We can only do our best and act as reasonably and rationally as possible to protect our own self interest. Purim points out to us that all matters regarding the Jewish people and certainly the Jewish state are existential in their very nature. Wrong decisions and misreading the true face of events will always result in wrong policies, painful defeats and the spilling of Jewish blood. The last twenty years of Israeli diplomacy points out the truth of this statement. Rabin and Peres did not see Arafat as Haman. They were dead wrong. Netanyahu originally misjudged Abu Mazen. He was also wrong. The whole world mistook the Arab Spring as a positive thing and threw long time allies under the revolutionary Islamic bus. They are daily being proven wrong. And what would be our position today if Assad the father accepted Ehud Barak’s offer of almost all the Golan to be returned to Syria? Only the Lord has saved us from our mistakes and errors of wrong identification and poor judgment. And we all know that the hidden miracle of Purim is the Lord’s actions, so to speak, behind the scenes and through the actions and behavior of various human beings. So we are once again returned to Purim like circumstances in our own times and situations. Look carefully and see who is wearing the costume and who is wearing a disguise. Our future depends upon this.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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.
