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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
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This plague was the only one that was not reserved exclusively for the Egyptians. Rashi remarks that there were wayward Jews, who did not want to leave Egypt. They died during the darkness, so the Egyptians wouldn’t see their demise and say, "The Jews are affected no less than we are!"
But hang on a second; we know that even in the desert there were wicked Jews (informants, idolaters, etc.) among the populace. So why did THEY survive the darkness, and only those Jews who refused to leave Egypt perished?
The Lubavitcher Rebbe offers a fascinating insight based on Yom Kippur. That day is so powerful, he says, that it atones for any sin a person may have committed, with ONE exception: the transgression of Yom Kippur itself! If one willingly eats or works on Yom Kippur, he nullifies the day’s saving power and will be held fully accountable for the sin.
Similarly, the courageous decision to leave Egypt was sufficient to atone for whatever sins a person had done and to merit their being saved. But - if someone declared that he did not wish to follow Hashem’s directive to exit that debased land, then he forfeited the merit to be redeemed and died in Egypt during the darkness.
This past week, our Central Bureau of Statistics announced that Israel’s population increased by almost 2% in the last year, and now stands at more than 8 million citizens (of which more than 75% are Jewish). 163,000 babies were born, and we are on course to reach 11.5 million people in just two decades. Already the largest Jewish community in the world, our increasing fertility rate – soon to exceed 3.0 – guarantees that we will IY"H grow exponentially.
Just by living in Israel – Chazal tell us repeatedly – we increase our wisdom and spirituality. Here, we walk down streets like Har Sinai and Nerot Shabbat; the Jewish festivals are our national holidays; it’s hard to find a supermarket that isn’t kosher! Yes, we surely have our challenges, but the twin societal cancers that have ravaged Diaspora Jewry – assimilating into the Gentile world and marrying out of the
faith – are virtually non-existent here. As the Gemara succinctly says, "The Land of Israel itself atones for us."
Darkness, the Gerer Rebbe once said, is not only a physical phenomenon. Even the "brightest" people may walk in darkness, if they stubbornly refuse to see the light.
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.
