Beit Midrash

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  • Ein Ayah
קטגוריה משנית
To dedicate this lesson
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(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 2:37)


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.



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Lessons
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    Beha'alotcha

    The Consolation of Lighting the Menora - Rav Kook at the Third Shabbat Meal

    15 Sivan 5784
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    Beha'alotcha

    Why Was Miriam Punished?

    Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon | 5777
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    Prayer

    ?How we should dress for Prayer

    Chapter five-part two

    Chapter five-part two

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    Prayer

    Who Can Be Counted in a Minyan?

    Chapter Two-part three

    Can every ten men be a Minyan or are there other conditions?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    P'ninat Mishpat

    Historical View of Rav Mordechai Yaakov Breish (Chelkat Yaakov)

    Various Rabbis | 5775
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    Happy Occasions

    Fasting and Feasting on a Yahrzeit

    “My father’s yahrzeit falls during the week of sheva brachos for my grandson. May I attend the sheva brachos?” "My yahrzeit falls on Shabbos this year. Do I fast on Friday or Sunday instead?" "I usually fast on my father’s yahrzeit, but someone is honoring me with sandaka’us on that day. Do I fast, and do I need to be matir neder in the event that it is permitted to eat?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
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    Revivim

    Halakha on Abortion of Fetuses with Severe Abormalities

    A fetus is considered a living entity in regards to certain laws, but there is no penalty of death for taking its life. What do the rabbinical decisors say?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    Jewish Holidays

    The Twentieth of Sivan

    "I noticed that the back of my siddur contains a large section devoted to selichos for the 20th of Sivan, yet I have never davened in a shul that observed this day. What does this date commemorate?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Sivan 17 5780
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    The Giving of the Torah

    The Day of the Rains and the Giving of the Torah

    According to our Sages, The Day of the Rain is as great as, or even greater than the day of the Giving of the Torah. The basis for this comparison is discussed in depth, as well as additional aspects of the connection between the rains and the Torah.

    Rabbi Uzi Kalchaim zt"l | 5770
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    The Torah Perspective

    Secular Zionism in the Eyes of Rav Kook.

    How can we understand the rebellion against religion over the past century? What does the world gain spiritually from this rebellion which was foreseen in the mishna 1,800 years ago as part of the period preceding the mashiach? Only after we understand the rebellion can we glean the benefit and relate to our brothers properly.

    Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769
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    Redemption - Geula

    When Moshiach Comes

    A summary of the different Brachot we will bless when the Moshiach will walk through the door.

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Iyar 5768
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    Marriage and Relationships

    The Role of Parents in Marriage

    Today, parents can fulfill the commandment of marrying off their children by providing them with a good education at prestigious schools, supporting them so that they be able to learn a profession, and clothing them in attractive attire.

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5764
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