YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Hemdat HaRambam
Judaism isn’t a missionizing religion, and it doesn’t call for the whole world to convert. Rather it calls for everyone to accept the Seven Noahide Commandments, seven simple universal truths. The first and foremost among them is to recognize Hashem as the creator of the world. Rambam gives an astounding description at the beginning of the Laws of Idolatry in the Book of Knowledge of the Mishne Torah how our father Abraham fought idolatry, not by sword or spear, but by spreading knowledge and proper understanding of the natural world, trying to wipe out the ignorance and suffering idolatry entails.
After this mighty man [Abraham] was weaned, he began to explore and think. Though he was a child, he began to think incessantly throughout the day and night… his mind explored and sought to understand until he achieved the true path and understood the just way by use of correct reasoning and arrived at the knowledge that there exists one God… once he recognized and comprehended this he began to debate with the people of Ur Casdim, and he told them that they weren’t following the true path and broke their idols … he then started to travel and call on people and gather them from city to city and kingdom to kingdom until he arrived in the land of Canaan. There he made his proclamation, as it is written, "And there he called in the name of El Olam". And since the people were gathered around him and asked him the meaning of his proclamation, he would teach them one by one each according to his inclination until he returned him to the true path, "And our Father Jacob taught all his children"… to teach them the way of Hashem and to fulfill the commandments of Abraham. (Laws of Idolatry 1:3)
According to the simple sense of Scripture, the meaning of "El Olam" is the Eternal God, since in the entire Hebrew Bible, the term "olam" refers to eternal. Rambam recasts the meaning of "olam" to refer to a place, our world; Hashem is the Creator of the world. This new emphasis had a deliberate intention, the name of Hashem is not just a philosophical term, but rather it marks the connection between humanity and Hashem the Creator and ruler of the world. It is this proclamation, "In the name of Hashem El Olam" that Rambam, like that of our Father Abraham, chose to place at the beginning of all his books: at the beginning of his magnum opus the Mishne Torah, at the beginning of each book of the Mishne Torah (as can be found in the manuscripts, something which in hundreds of years of printed editions the publishers saw as superfluous and expunged), at the beginning of each order in his commentary on the Mishnah, at the beginning of each part of his profound Guide of the Perplexed and at the beginning of his important correspondence. Rambam saw this verse not just as an expression of the truth, but as a summons to all humanity to recognize this truth and unite around it.
To teach the path of Hashem
What is this path? Rambam already explained this in the Laws of Human Dispositions (end of chap. 1).
And along this path the prophets referred to God with all those attributes: long suffering, full of loving-kindness, saintly, steadfast, upright, heroic, mighty and similar expressions – to proclaim that these paths are straight and good, and that a person must conduct himself according to them and to follow Hashem’s example according to his strength ... and because these names refer to the Creator they are the "middle path" we are obligated to follow – the path known as "the way of Hashem". This is path that our Father Abraham taught to his children, as it is written: "For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Hashem to do righteousness and justice" (Gen. 18:19). And the one who walks in this path brings goodness and blessing to himself, as it is written, "that Hashem may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of to him" (same verse).
The existence of the God of Truth and the way of life of truth that brings goodness is the yardstick that guides humanity toward the truth and gives us a focal point for righteous judgment. The Middle East, in the days of Abraham and in the days of Rambam was full of murderous violence. With continuous threats (such as ISIS) the situation hasn’t changed all that much. Our father Abraham’s faithful, passionate appeal in the name of Hashem to the entire word, that there is true and false in the world, there is a path of life and a path of death, and that "the path you are travelling is not the path of truth" – is an appeal that still resonates today. Presidents of the United States throughout history in their inaugural addresses have called on God as the foundation and inspiration for their efforts toward truth and justice. Can our leaders draw from those wellsprings today?
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
