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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Shlach Lecha
The first question can be dealt with on a straightforward level. Yericho was situated close to the crossing region of the Jordan, and in that way stood as a gateway to the Land as a whole. Midrash Tanchuma (B’haalotcha 18) indeed calls it the lock of the Land, and explains the reasoning that "if Yericho is conquered, the Land is conquered." Yet, the other questions remain unanswered.
A spiritual approach will provide a deep answer for all the questions. The Land of Israel is a holy land, and as the mishna (Mikvaot 8:1) says, it is pure. This status began when Yehoshua Bin Nun brought the nation into the Land, turning the Land of C’na’an into Eretz Yisrael. This was not a geographical or a political change but a spiritual one.
C’na’an, the person, was the partner of his father, Cham, in the horrible act that was done to Noach when the latter was drunk (Bereishit 9:21-22). Whether it was castration or sodomy (see Rashi ad loc.), it was certainly an act that contradicted a life of sanctity and purity. About such a lifestyle, Chazal already taught us through the plans of Bilam: "The G-d of this nation hates promiscuity. Let me give you advice: ‘put up partitions and place in them zonot’" (Sanhedrin 106a).
Yehoshua’s spies came to the house of Rachav, the local zonah, and the result was that she repented and converted. She, who had represented the situation of the Land before Bnei Yisrael entered it, now represented the transformation of the Land into Eretz Yisrael. The city, then, had to remain in its destroyed form to symbolize the transformation. Rebuilding it could be understood as an attempt to return to the ways of the Land before the spies came to Yericho. The mound of ruins in the gateway to the country needed to announce before those who entered: "This is the Land of Israel, not the Land of Cham and C’na’an," prompting Yehosua’s ban and curse on the rebuilding.
A strong indication of the above thesis can be found in Melachim. The wicked kings that sprouted up learned from and imported wives from the neighbors. The most notorious of these wicked queens was Izevel, wife of Achav and princess of the Tziddonim, descendants of the firstborn of C’na’an. She was well known in the field of promiscuity, and her worship involved it (see Melachim I 22:38). It thus should not come as a surprise that Achav’s friend Chiel is the one who built the ruins of Yericho. This is mentioned after the navi says that Achav worshipped Asheira, the female element of the worship of the Ba’al (ibid. 16:33).
If we want to hold on securely to the Land, we should try to ensure that it be treated like the Land of Israel and not the Land of C’na’an.
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.