YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Tazria
So why are they put together in the same Sedra?!
The Lubavitcher Rebbe offers great insight to this strange combination of emotions, perfect for chodesh Nisan which begins this week!
To understand, he says, we have to say a few words about the concept of reward & punishment. Both words are misleading; a much better term to use would be "consequences." Hashem does not seek to harm us, or even to "pay" us for adhering to His will. But he does want us to come to the realization that A) Everything he commands us to do in our lives is for our own good, not His; and B) There will be consequences that perforce will flow from whatever choices we make and, whether "good" or "bad", these consequences will help to steer our neshama to its rightful place.
When a person does not act in a G-dly fashion, & slanders others around him, he is really harming himself. People will start to avoid him, so that they do not also become the victim of his diatribes. He will lose friends, become a loner, & he will fall into depression & bitterness.
But there is a cure for this. When the Torah declares such a slanderer tamei, ritually impure, he is put into quarantine, apart from the community. There, in isolation, he can begin his rehabilitation process. Because he is now alone, with no one to speak to, he will physically not be able to slander anyone! He will think long & hard about why he has been set apart from others. He will hopefully grasp the truth about the error of his ways, & this will start him on the road to being a more perfect person. This, in turn, will result in more blessings flowing to him.
As his faults shrink, his good midot will undoubtedly expand & it will be a "win-win-win" situation - for him, for his fellow Jews & for Hashem!
This is the connection to the opening part of our parsha, the link to the subject of conception & birth. The consequences of our actions allow us to achieve a spiritual "rebirth," to regain some of that pristine innocence which we had when we first came into this world as a neshem Hashem, a breath of G-d. Our souls will be cleansed & we will emerge, literally, a new person!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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.
