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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Purim & The Month of Adar
- The Essence of Purim
It is hard not to notice the similarities between our heroine, Esther, and our matriarch Sarah. These women, recognized by the Torah as exceptional beauties and by Chazal as prophetesses (Megilla 14a), were both taken against their will to the king’s palace, with the plan of their being the queens of non-Jewish world-power kings. Their husbands stood powerlessly by the side as Divine Providence called the shots.
But the similarities stop here. Sarah was miraculously saved from the dubious honor of being queen and the outright disgrace of being the wife of a non-Jewish man. Esther, on the other hand, merited no such miracle and perhaps even was the ‘victim of a miracle’ in that she was chosen as queen, certainly according to the opinion that she was not beautiful and considering her stubborn reluctance to so much as say where she came from. What went wrong?
The Alshich (Esther 2:7) is sensitive to this problem and discusses frankly whether we can believe that Esther was as righteous a woman as we would like to think. He concludes that Esther was indeed a pure tzadeket and enlists the midrash (Rabba 58:3) to demonstrate the positive element of the comparison to Sarah. Rabbi Akiva said that Esther was fit to rule over 127 nations because she came from Sarah who lived for 127 years. Indeed, it was the strength of character of the matriarch that gave Esther power.
The Alshich explains that Sarah’s and Esther’s experiences saved Bnei Yisrael. Sarah stood as the harbinger of the power of the Jewish woman to stay pure despite the pressures of a corrupt Egyptian society during the period of slavery (Shir Hashirim Rabba 4:11). Esther took part in saving Bnei Yisrael by staying with the not-so-righteous king, being at the right place at the right time, and acting in the right way to be the vehicle to save the nation, as Mordechai so poignantly urged her (Esther 4:14). However, it came at a price. Esther was stuck with Achashveirosh. Mordechai lost his wife and perhaps some of his religious luster (Megilla 16b). But saving Bnei Yisrael was well worth the price, and being immortalized in the book that bears her name and the holiday they established was part of their reward.
Every Jew has to be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for his nation and for his religion. Some people in perilous situations were miraculously saved (Avraham, Daniel, and others). Many actually did pay with their lives. The fact that they were not fully saved does not mean that they were not righteous but that at their time and in their circumstances, the divine plan included some other road to eternal greatness.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
