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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Shmot
If the name of a Sedra is the key to understanding that particular Sedra, then there must be something even more significant about the name of an entire book of the Torah! What is the deeper idea behind the name "Shmot?"
Paro has a problem. Like so many of our adversaries throughout the Exile, he wants to single out the Jews for punishment. But how can he turn his nation against us when Yosef was such a genuine Egyptian national hero? Yosef’s brilliant direction of the Egyptian economy vaulted Egypt into the position of the pre-eminent country in the known world. Though many years have passed, the people still read about Yosef, & venerate his name.
But Paro is clever & has a very well-thought out plan:
Step 1: He acts as if "he did not know Yosef." Denial (or is it "De-Nile?!") the big lie. Chazal say he even went so far as to obliterate Yosef’s name from all the Egyptian record-books (or scrolls).
Step 2: Defamation. He tells his people that the Hebrews have become great & mighty "mimenu – from us!" That is, "These foreigners have taken our wealth, Egyptian wealth; these parasites have sucked it right out of the ground. We Egyptians are farmers, we make the ground produce things. But these Israelites – who are cursed shepherds & cattlemen – they quickly eat up all the things we grow!"
Step 4: Incrimination. Paro is the first to describe us as an "Am," a nation. Or rather, a nation within a nation. He charges us with being a "Fifth Column," a subversive entity that will "join our enemies, fight against us, & then leave."
Step. 5: Humiliation. Paro saps our self-respect by giving us degrading, menial jobs completely not befitting our intelligence & capability. Chazal say he gave the men women’s work, & the women men’s work. The cities we had to built were called "Arey Miskanot," pitiful edifices that crumbled as soon as we finished making them.
Step 6: Enslavement, soon to be followed by genocide.
What is the antidote to this devious plan to destroy us?
The cure is our names. A name has two primary qualities. First, it gives us a unique identity, our own persona & presence. A name is much like a title that conveys status. Second, it recalls our past generations, all the way back to our illustrious ancestors. If you have a name, you have dignity, yichus (a pedigree), you have value. In short, if you have a "shem," you will never have shame.
And so this sefer is called "Names." It begins by telling us we have a name, & takes us to the very end of the Torah, which concludes with our most glorious name, Yisrael.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.