YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayetze
There were those, who even though they lived a religious lifestyle, did not find their way to Eretz Yisrael. There were those who saw as the goal of Judaism just the idea of spreading the idea of belief in Hashem throughout the world. They did not see a relevance of there being a specific territory to which they needed to be connected. Exile seemed to them to be a natural situation, to the extent that they loved the lands of their exile as their homeland and even saw it as an obligation to give their life for the preservation of these homelands. This duality, which is having a backlash effect, especially in the religious community, in our days as well, weakens our resolve.
This is not the approach of our Rabbis. The essential Judaism and its mitzvot are specifically made for Eretz Yisrael. The vision of a divine nation is incomplete and blemished when we are outside the Land. We lack a real base – a land that is ours – when we are without our own unique homeland and are dependents "at the table of the nations." "The wisdom of the underprivileged is disgraced" (see Kohelet 9:16). Our feeble attempts to lecture the world on matters of ethics are valueless as long as our words are those of a spineless peddler. Eretz Yisrael exists so that we can reveal the idea of godliness in its fullest sense. Through it we can coronate Hashem with everything that we do. We can create a Jewish street, a Jewish village, and a Jewish city.
However, once we get to Eretz Yisrael, that is when we have the obligation to make good on our obligation, or should we call it, our oath. If we do not actualize the type of life of sanctification of Hashem to which we have alluded, then we have simply left the Torah as letters that are floating in air or as a document whose debt is not paid.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
