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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Va'era
G-d tells Moshe that He appeared to the Avot with the name Shaddai, rather than Hashem. And then, in the space of just 8 p’sukim, He refers to himself as Hashem four times:
- "I am Hashem"
- "Tell Bnei Yisrael that I am Hashem"
- "You should know that I am Hashem" and
- "I gave you Israel as a morasha; I am Hashem."
Wow, talk about overkill! Someone is really trying to tell us something – but what exactly is it?
The name Shaddai, says Midrash Raba, derives from di-enough. G-d oversaw the creation of the world and said, "Enough!" Let the seas stop covering the entire world and reveal the land; let the sun shine for just so long and no more, let vegetation grow but not overwhelm the earth.
He also said "Di-Enough" to the Avot and Imahot:
Avraham and Sara have waited a century for a child; Enough! Let Yitzchak be born!
Yitzchak has endured so much enmity between his sons Yakov and Esav; Enough! Let them reconcile (which they do, before Yitzchak dies).
Yakov has seen so much turmoil in his life; Enough! Let him enjoy some peace, which he does when reunited with Yosef and surrounded by all his family for the last 17 years in Egypt.
Yet at the same time that all these blessings are being given out, there is also a "flip-side" to Shaddai. Hashem says to the Avot, on a cosmic, collective level, "Yes, I promised each of you, in our first encounters, that I would give you Israel as a homeland. But I’ve done enough for the time being; I am not yet prepared to totally fulfill that great promise."
The fulfillment will have to wait for Moshe. Only then will Bnei Yisrael leave Egypt, establish themselves as a nation, receive the Torah, and enter the Land of Israel. That, says G-d, is what My name ‘Hashem’ means: He who keeps His promise, He who does not hold back and say ‘Enough’ when it comes to completing the destiny of Am Yisrael.
"Go, Moshe, and tell the people that, at long last, Hashem - and not Shaddai – is taking you home!"
Our generation has been given the cataclysmic z’chut to see Hashem in all His glory: The renaissance of Torah learning, the establishment of the State of Israel, the ingathering of the exiles, the reclamation of the soil, the stunning successes of our holy IDF soldiers in 7 wars.
Is it not time for every Jew to say, "Enough! I, too, must be a part of this dramatic, Divine miracle!"
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.
