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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.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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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.
