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Ein Ayah: One of the foundations of the Torah is to improve and embellish the natural emotion for good and justice that flows from the divine light in a person’s soul. Because man has limited intellectual vision, he cannot span the many actions that are necessary to be done or avoided in order to actualize true good in the world. Therefore, he needs divine guidance, as Hashem is intimately aware of everything that exists in the world, from its beginning to its end, and is aware of what needs to be done to achieve full depth and breadth.
It is entrenched in the heart of the wise that the goal of the Torah should be justice and straightness. These are concepts that a person recognizes generally with his intellect and natural emotions. People, therefore, sometimes mistakenly think that just as one intuits the significance of the general principles, he should also be able to sense their connection to the specific laws of the Torah. Actually, the general principles are "planted" in the very nature of the soul, whereas the details are connected to the depth of Torah, which requires a great deal of study. Even after great efforts, the latter cannot be fully grasped because of its linkage to the full, great light of Hashem’s mind.
Intellect and emotion are man’s two legs in the spiritual realm, enabling him to pass through the land of life and perceive good and truth. The non-Jew who came before Shammai to convert was attracted to goodness and profundity by the influence of Greek thought. He wanted to appreciate the entire Torah with all its details just on the basis of emotion, which is what he meant by learning everything while standing on one leg.
Shammai’s choice of pushing him away with an amat habinyan has symbolic significance. In comparing emotion to many detailed good actions, we can use, as a simile, a measuring stick and a blueprint. Even though the measuring stick is of use when one builds a building, it is not one of the instruments that one uses to actually build it. One just uses it to determine how big the plot is and determine the dimensions of the building when it will be complete. This is different from specific actions and instruments that actually build the building.
Similarly, while emotion helps determine the general picture of what and where our spiritual building will be, there is a tremendous amount of crucial detailed action that has to be taken to bring it to fruition. The emotions can only determine the bottom level of the edifice of the Torah one is to internalize.
Only after the fulfillment and in-depth study of Torah will one’s emotions reach the level that he can start to appreciate the connection between the specific mitzvot and the overarching principles of the Torah. Even so, the amat habinyan is designed only to measure that which is going to be done in the future or that which was already done. It is not an instrument that carries out the building. In Torah, we must internalize that only belief in Hashem and love of Torah and mitzvot, which are the path that Hashem set out for us, are the instruments of the fulfillment of Torah. Emotion can only capture the general element of the matter, but a greater level exists.
When Shammai saw that this conversion candidate came with a weak, emotional interest, which was not fit for a life of building a Torah lifestyle, he pushed him with the amat habinyan. This showed that the person was trying to build a great building with nothing more than a measuring stick.
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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.
