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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.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
