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Some people care; others do not.
Some people care about what happens to the Jewish people and what happens to the Land of Israel; for others, these matters are not high up on the list of their priorities.
There are those who, more than anything else, are filled with a desire to magnify the honor of God and the dignity of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lutzatto, the "Ramchal," in his classic work, "Mesillat Yesharim," writes (end of chapter 19): "It cannot be said that one who is motivated in his Divine service by a desire purify his soul before his Creator so that he can come to sit in His presence together with the just and the saintly, to see the pleasantness of God, to dwell within His sanctuary and to receive the reward of the World to Come - it cannot be said that such a person is badly motivated.
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On the other hand," The "Ramchal" continues, "we cannot say that his motivation is a very good one either. For, as long as a person is concerned with his own good, his Divine service is also performed for his own good. The true motivation, which is common to saints, who have exerted themselves and persevered to acquire it, is to serve solely for the purpose of magnifying and extending the honor of the Master of Blessed Name. One will serve for this end only after he has grown strong in love for the Blessed One, and longs and lusts for the magnification of His honor, and is pained by anything which detracts from it. He will hope that he is at least doing his part towards magnifying the honor of the Blessed One and he will wish that all others possessed this aspiration. The shortcomings of others in this respect will pain and grieve him, not to speak of his own unintentional and accidental lapses and those resulting from his natural weakness, etc."
The "Ramchal" continues: "The Saintly attitude we are discussing has been set forth in Tanna d’bei Eliyahu (Chapter 4): ‘Every sage in Israel who possesses the words of the Torah according to their true significance and grieves for the honor of the Holy One Blessed be He and for the honor of Jerusalem and of the Temple and for the swift flowering of salvation and the ingathering of the exiles, attains to the infusion of the Divine spirit in his words...’ This, then, is the proper frame of mind for one to cultivate, removed as it is from all considerations of personal pleasure, directed only towards the honor of the Presence and towards the sanctification of His Name, which is sanctified by his creations when they do his will."
And so, this trait of caring - that people are concerned about the Honor of Heaven and desire the growth of both God’s and Israel’s prestige - is a true indication of saintliness. For, one who cares about such things understands that the Honor of God can only be magnified through the redemption of Israel and the amplification of Israel’s honor. He understands that, as we have seen in the passage from Tanna d’bei Eliyahu cited by the Ramchal, these two matters interdependent.
Those who are concerned about the honor of Jerusalem, the Holy Temple and the redemption, to the point where they are entirely absorbed in these issues - such people possess saintliness. They take constructive steps to achieve this end, thus working together with the Almighty himself to bring about the redemption. Via the redemption, the true, great, and complete honor of the God of Israel reveals itself.
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The translation of Mesillat Yesharim in the above article was taken from Fideism’s "The Path of the Just," translated by Shraga Silverstein.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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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.
