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I suggest that the central flaw in our spiritual system was machloket – divisions between the various segments of our nation that drove us apart from one another. We argued in the desert on the very first "Tisha B’Av" as to whether we should go forward & inhabit Israel; we fought each other in the days of both Temples.
This point is brought home in the famous story of Kamtza & Bar Kamtza in Gemara Gitin (fittingly, the very tractate that deals with the estrangement between partners!) describing an intractable feud between citizens of Jerusalem. It seems clear to me that both "Kamtza" & "Bar Kamtza" are not real names; they are pseudonyms built around the word "kametz" or "fist." The image of two Jews, raising their fists against one another, symbolizes the enmity & divisiveness that plagued us. Indeed, the root word of "machloket" is "chalek" or "chaluka," division.
What is the antidote to all this? Interestingly enough, it (like most antidotes) can be found within the disease itself. For Machloket’s root "chelek" has another meaning as well; it can mean "portion." When every person recognizes that each of us is but a "portion" of the whole, that we each have our own unique contribution to make to the collective, then we stop fighting one another. For we understand that, in reality, we are only hurting ourselves! And just as a person would not get angry at one part or another of his body & injure it, so we, too, will avoid injuring any member of our own body politic.
War is Hell, & creates in its terrible wake immense grief, suffering & depression. But our current war against Hamas has also brought our nation & our people infinitely closer to one another. The "divisions" seem to melt away as we all do our "portion" to support the soldiers, comfort the bereaved, heal the wounded. Differences between us are now seen for the pettiness they really are, & we become united through our joint struggle to overcome this latest challenge in our long march to Redemption.
Tisha B’Av is unique in that it has the dual quality of a somber fast day as well as a future mo’ed, a festive day. That day will come when we all embrace one another, which will inspire Divine acceptance of the pasuk: "Ki Chelek Hashem – Amo; the ‘portion’ of Hashem is His People."
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.
