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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Jewish Holidays
- Passover - Pesach
It is not just that historical Shabbat before liberation that was great, for the greatness of Shabbat is not mainly what is clear but what is hidden. All of the Shabbat experiences that our nation had came together and were a "great Shabbat"; they ensured the liberation, making the people fit for that greatness. "They possessed scrolls from their forefathers, which they would enjoy from Shabbat to Shabbat, when they rested, saying that Hashem would liberate them" (Shemot Rabba 5:18).
What is the secret of a nation that powers try to enslave and destroy with all sorts of clever plans and to erase hope of freedom, but do not succeed? It is Shabbat. The gray weekdays may be days of suffering and low spirits. Shabbat, though, is a day of rest and light, not only of the candles but of the spirit. The light reminds the people of the words of their parents from their childhood and the bright past when the forefathers lived in their homeland; these give hope for a brighter future. It brightens the spirits and raises the stooped backs, as people hold on to faith in the future liberation. A father tells his son and a mother whispers to her daughter: "He will certainly redeem."
If during the week, "These are idol worshippers and those are idol worshippers" (see Shemot Rabba 21:7), "Whoever observes Shabbat properly, even if he worships idols like the generation of Enosh, he will be forgiven" (Shabbat 118b). Shabbat contains a wonderful power that can destroy idol worship, for belief in the Creator of All gives light to the depths of the spirit, which can help it climb out of its deterioration. While the Egyptians physically enslaved and tortured, the purity of the heart was the possession of those oppressed. There is no need to be jealous of the oppressor but to have a feeling of disdain and lack of regard for him.
Shabbat gave the power to the spirit to oppose the idol worship of Pharaoh: "The Nile is mine and I made myself" (Yechezkel 29:3). The bravery of the specific Shabbat Hagadol, where the Israelites took sheep, one of the idols of Egypt, and prepared to slaughter them, was able to make us fit for the liberation. It was all the previous Shabbatot that made this attitude possible and prepared the people to "smash the idols."
If we will merit to soon see a nation of freed people marching vigorously toward a glowing future, it is due to the historical Shabbat Hagadol and the greatness of Shabbat, in general. This is what slaughtered the Egyptian idols and gave the people the standing they needed, and this is the proper preparation for Pesach.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.