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This opening pasuk from our Sedra is perplexing, is it not? It never finishes the sentence! It informs us that there is a blessing if we listen to the Mitzvot, & a k’lala if we do not listen, but it never tells us exactly what that bracha (or k’lala) is!! Will we be rich, safe, healthy, if we follow the Mitzvot? We're never told; the verse just leaves us hanging there, scratching our heads in puzzlement!
When I was younger, my father z"l used to give our family a riddle or quiz at Shabbat dinners (maybe that’s how I got hooked on trivia!). One of his more famous riddles was, "How long is a Chinaman’s name?" We looked at one another with a blank and bewildered stare - we had no clue! Maybe it was short, like Mao, or long like Chiang Kai-Shek; how the heck were we supposed to know how long his name is?!
We agonized for quite a while over his question until Dad finally smiled & said, "Who ever told you it was a question?!
And then we figured it out, of course; dad was not ASKING anything; he was making a definitive statement: "How Long is a Chinaman’s name!"
And now the pasuk makes perfect sense: Blessings come to us when we listen; curses when we don’t. The ability to listen is in itself a great bracha; one need look no further. By listening to Hashem, we discipline ourselves into becoming listeners and THAT is its own reward! For when we listen, we learn (that’s why we have two ears, but only one mouth!). When we listen to others we connect to them, relate to them, form a bond with them.
We Jews are expert talkers. We all have our own cell phones & 100 different ways to talk to one another (Skype, Viber, Noknok, FaceTime, etc). But listening has
become somewhat of a lost art, perhaps because we are too busy, too impatient, too self-centered. We seem much more interested in having others know what WE think,
rather than discovering what THEY think & feel. But, as Susie smartly says, sometimes people aren't looking for an answer; they just want to know that others hear them, that someone out there is listening – and that’s enough.
We are about to enter Elul, the gateway to the High Holy Days, the month of "I am my beloved’s & my beloved is mine." We want to hear the sound of the Shofar & be
spiritually aroused; we want Hashem to hear our prayers & bless us with new life. The key to that happening is to talk less, & listen more. To hear the sounds of the world
around us, the call of the Divine, & the pleas – spoken or unspoken – of our fellow Jews. I'm sure you would agree that G-d is the universe's greatest listener; millions of prayers are directed towards Him every day, one of the most potent being "Shma Koleynu - Hear our voice." Shouldn't we emulate Hashem and be a good listener, too?
Listening, I suggest, is the surest path to blessing. You hear?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
