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Beit Midrash
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Gemara: The following is told about that which Shlomo said: "I praise the dead who already died" (Kohelet 4:2). When Israel sinned in the desert, Moshe got up before Hashem and presented several prayers and supplications before Him and was not answered. When he said, "Remember for Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael" (Shemot 32:13), he was immediately answered. Was it not correct what Shlomo said that "I praise the dead who already died"?
Ein Ayah: The foundation of the continuity of Israel rests on the goal of sanctity which emanates through them. A covenant was forged whereby the promotion of that goal would never be totally lost to Israel. Therefore, even the greatest spiritual falls are not enough to destroy the foundation of eternal national life of the people as a whole.
The best way to avoid the collapse of a building is to build it on a strength that is based in the past in a way that is so strong that it cannot be ruined. This makes the building eternal. In terms of our nation, that strength is the merit of the forefathers.
If the special element of Israel was based on their innate characteristics of sanctity, Torah, and fear of heaven, in the present, then, Heaven forbid, that could weaken in times when their deterioration is great. Since Hashem wanted to make us an eternal nation, he built our foundations on the strength of the covenant of the forefathers, as it says "From the tops of cliffs I will see them, and from hills I will view them" (Bamidbar 23:9). This refers to the patriarchs and matriarchs (Midrash Rabba ad loc.). The nation was not built not on a multitude of people, like other nations, because that would by necessity mean that it is based on good people and bad people. Rather our nation was built on foundations of goodness and sanctity of the highest degree (the forefathers), so that that which they left as an inheritance to their offspring can never fully collapse. Even if it falls, it has a basis from which to be rejuvenated. This is a promise that no storm in the world can undo.
The aforementioned stability is possible only when the pillar of strength is from the past. Therefore, the gemara applies the pasuk "I praise the dead who already died." Hashem does not call His name on the righteous within their lifetime, for throughout the life of any person, including the righteous, he has free choice to go in a positive or a negative direction. Therefore, the most secure promise can only be based on the merit of someone who is dead, whose final level was sealed when he died. This great past serves to protect and raise the nation from the falls in their level that they may experience.
At the great spiritual fall of the Golden Calf, when the nation reached its lowest level, from the perspective of the present, they lost almost all of their spiritual acquisitions. They were unable to stand and, were Heaven forbid, fit to be destroyed. However, their past merit, from the sanctity of their forefathers that was incorporated within them and could not be lost, saved them. That is why Moshe was only answered positively when he mentioned that merit, as anything having to do with status of those who were still alive would have had insufficient value. That is why one can praise the dead when they die, at which point their spiritual legacy is guaranteed. That goes beyond even the spiritually accomplished live person, who is still in the process of working on his moral level. Certainty comes only from the past, and this is what brings strength to the present and the future.
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.
