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Yet we are witness to terribly vicious and damaging infighting between them that can only weaken their influence and erode the respect for Torah amongst the general population. Bayit Hayehudi needlessly excluded Shas and United Torah Judaism when forming its coalition cabinet. In turn, parts of the Haredi sector publicly declare they will boycott products from the settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Europe, are you listening? Is there a greater insanity than this? Self- inflicted wounds go deepest and are the most painful of all blows. Of course Bayit Hayehudi is exacting revenge for the passive attitude (and sometimes active support of the Rabin and Sharon governments) during the debates on the Oslo Accords and later with regard to the destruction of Gush Katif.
Anger against the Haredim may be justified for their past mistakes and policies but common sense should be able to overcome inner anger. Tearing the religious world in Israel asunder will accomplish little for any of the antagonists and nothing positive for the society as a whole. Believing one’s own political rhetoric is a sign of the lack of common sense.
Common sense also tells us that sanctions and diplomacy are not likely to deter Iran from pursuing its decades-long goal of possessing nuclear weapons of mass destruction. For over a half century the world has tried to control North Korea in this fashion. As the current situation indicates, these policies have in no way deterred the mad leaders of North Korea from pursuing their risky game of atomic chicken.
Common sense and history, past and recent, has taught us that megalomaniac dictators can never really be appeased. Sooner or later they have to be confronted and usually the sooner is better. Common sense teaches us that there is good and evil, right and wrong, aggressor and victims in the world. Common sense excludes concepts of moral equivalency and the thinking that everybody is okay no matter what.
Common sense impels nations and individuals to defend themselves against unwarranted assaults and terror. Common sense prohibits relinquishing the existing tangible assets for intangible promises of the future. Munich and Oslo are pretty good examples of the lack of common sense. Churchill famously said that at Munich, Chamberlain sacrificed honor in order to avoid war - but that he then had both dishonor and war. And so it was.
The reason that common sense is so often ignored is that it usually leaves one with a painful decision to make. Human nature abhors having to make painful decisions. Hence, common sense is relegated to one’s subconscious and reappears as regret and attempted repentance.
It is interesting to note that Judaism and Jewish tradition placed great emphasis on common sense. The two books of the Bible authored by King Solomon, Kohelet and Mishlei, are books of common sense – with their universal qualities and practical views of life and the world. My teachers in the yeshiva would often refute some ingenious answer that I would come up with to answer a difficult Talmudic conundrum by simply saying that it did not fit the common sense of the subject under discussion.
Basically they taught that if it does not make sense then it is not Torah true. In Judaism, faith and the unknown is balanced by logic and good common sense. Even rigorous scholarship has to be tempered by common sense. In Mishlei, King Solomon’s main object of scorn is not so much the sinner – for who does not sin at some point of life – but the fool, the one who lacks common sense.
In King Solomon’s view, as expressed in this immortal book, the lack of common sense will inevitably lead to profound error and eventual disaster. No one sets out to make disastrous errors or foolish judgments. Yet if one’s thought processes are not distilled through the instinctive common sense that exists within all of us, grave mistakes of judgment will continually plague us. Judaism believes in a collective common sense in society as a whole. "See what the people think" is a common refrain in the Talmud, We should strive to make common sense more common in our daily personal and national life.
Subjects of Jewish Thougts Why Must I be Religious to be a Moral Person? - Part I
Rav Kook, Musar Hakodesh
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.
