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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- The Four Parshiyot
- Zachor
cancelled, but Purim will remain in effect & never be abolished!
And yet, the fact that Purim is a holiday at all is quite puzzling. After all, the Sages ruled that once we left Egypt for our own land, no events outside the Land of Israel - no matter how dramatic - could qualify as a permanent, national holiday on the Jewish calendar. And we know that Mordechai & Esther pleaded for years with the Sanhedrin before Purim was accepted as a full-fledged Chag. And - did you know? - there have been dozens, maybe hundreds of other "Purims" through-out our history – when Jews were saved from disaster – that
did not make the cut and have ben all but forgotten.
So what is it about this Purim that qualifies it eternally?!
The classic answer to this question is that two years after Achashverosh dies, his & Esther’s son Darius II takes the throne &
reinstates Cyrus’ permission for the Bet HaMikdash to be rebuilt (see Artscroll Megila introduction, page xxiv, for the complete chronology). This connects the events in Persia to the Holy Land, thus granting it sufficient justification for the entire Saga to be canonized within the books of Tanach.
But I have another idea. Have you ever considered just how outrageous & frightening a picture this story paints about life in Persia? No matter that the local Jews are "honored" citizens, as indicated by their being invited to the king’s lavish banquet; no matter that Mordechai is a trusted advisor in the palace. When the opportunity presents itself, the Jews are to be massacred! Hunted down & murdered, every last one of them, "from infant to elderly." And – had the Hand of G-d not intervened, via his many messengers – the Jews would have indeed
been massacred, in yet another tragic Holocaust.
Perhaps the Rabbis decided to include Purim & the Megila in our calendar year as an emblematic "cautionary tale" to Jews throughout history. To impress upon us how very precarious, how violently dangerous life in the Exile can be. Even in a place like Shushan, where Jews felt wanted and secure, fortunes can change in an instant.
As I have written before, when the murderous decree is discovered by the Jewish community, the Megila says, "V’Ha-Ir Shushan NEVOCHA;" the Jewish inhabitants of Shushan were but hapless, helpless "nebuchs." But when we are finally able to unite & fight for our lives – certainly a rarity in the Diaspora – "V’Ha-Ir Shushan TZAHALA V’Sameach." A Tzahal (IDF) in our own land, blessed by the Almighty, is the surest way to prevent another Haman from threatening our people.
Army and War "If Haredim Should Serve in the IDF, So Should You"
IDF Service for Young Jewish Men from America
Army and War "If Haredim Should Serve in the IDF, So Should You"
IDF Service for Young Jewish Men from America
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
