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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Ein Ayah
"As the destruction was occurring, Hashem saw and decided to halt the bad (the plague)" (Divrei Hayamim I:21:15). What did He see? Rav said: He saw Yaakov Avinu, as the pasuk says: "Yaakov said when he saw them" (Bereishit 32:3). Shmuel said: He saw the ashes of Yitzchak, as the pasuk says: "Hashem will see for him a sheep" (Bereishit 22:8).
Ein Ayah:The deterioration of the group that comes from the spread of bad ideas cannot fully take hold. It is an important basic characteristic of the Jewish Nation that the ability for them to join together and succeed is a wonderful inheritance that stems back most clearly to Yaakov Avinu. He was the one who first started to prepare a separate nation, by building a house of tribes of the nation that would serve as a testimony. Yaakov said: "This stone that I placed as a monument will be a House of Hashem" (Bereishit 28:22). This is different from Avraham who called that place a mountain and Yitzchak who called it a field (Pesachim 88a), as only that which Yaakov described has walls. This house illustrates the uniqueness of the spirituality of the Jewish Nation in the Land in which Hashem has a particular interest.
Interestingly, specifically about Yaakov we are told that he will have a lot without boundaries. This is because uniqueness that comes from a complete realization is not an over-focusing on individuality even on a national level, but a focusing on influencing and connecting in the best possible way. Therefore, many nations will say, "Let us go up to the mountain of Hashem and the house of the G-d of Yaakov" (Yeshaya 2:3). This is an example of the connecting of two extremes. An individual insulates himself within his own boundaries to create a powerful center for the collective.
For the same reason Yaakov chanced upon the angels of Eretz Yisrael and the angels of outside Eretz Yisrael in one place [which is that which Yaakov saw in the pasuk that the aforementioned gemara cites]. The special place in which Yaakov saw the two sets of angels was fit to receive a name that would make it remembered for all ages – Machanayim (meaning, encampments). Eretz Yisrael, which is the world’s spiritual center, is able to give its power to the areas abroad, and someday the Land will expand and spiritually encompass the whole world.
A nation that has as an inheritance such a profound philosophy can never fully lose the philosophical path that connects these two ideas, of the individual and the collective that is made up by the individuals therein. Therefore, this nation is able to quickly recuperate from the ills of not understanding the need of the individual to preserve righteousness without tolerance for evil. The binding together of the masses will recover and realize how special it is that each individual has complete free choice and is expected to choose life. This choice fits into the promise of a covenant on a collective basis. This covenant is an eternal idea like the existence of the heavens and the earth, which stand before Hashem, as will the offspring of Bnei Yisrael and their name (based on Yeshaya 66:22).
Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: A Crown and its Scepter – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 294-5
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
