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Simha Bat Hana
"The Jewish people cannot achieve Divinity anywhere else. All of the prophets prophesied either in the Land of Israel or for its sake. Hence, Abraham's prophecy outside of the land, in Ur Casdim, was on behalf of the land – he was told to journey to the land of Israel. Ezekiel and Daniel, when they prophesied in Babylon, did so for the sake of the land of Israel, and their prophecy began in the land of Israel. The prophecy of Jeremiah in Egypt was similarly for the sake of the Land of Israel.
"The same is true of the prophecies of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam - for Sinai and Paran are both within the boarders of the land of Israel. They are both contained within the boundary of the Red Sea, of which Scripture writes, 'And I will place your boundaries from the Red Sea until the Philistine Sea, and from the desert until the river' (Exodus 23:31). The 'desert' in this verse refers to the Paran Desert, which Scripture also calls 'the great and awesome desert.' This is the southern boarder of Israel. The river in the verse refers to the Euphrates River, which is the northern boarder of Israel.
Foundations of Faith (51)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
27 - 27. The Preeminence of the Land of Israel
28 - 28. Expression of the Land's Preeminence
29 - 29. “You have shamed me, King of Khazar”
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"Subsequently, Abel was killed at the hand of his brother, making the position of Adam's successor vacant. Scripture then records that 'Cain left God's presence,' meaning that he was chased out of Israel, as Scripture testifies, 'Cain went out from before God's presence' (Genesis 4:16). After this, Adam's son Sheth was born and inherited the unique spiritual propensity of his father, and merited the land of Israel, which is one level below the Garden of Eden.
"The altars of the forefathers – from which God appeared to the forefathers with a fire from heaven and with prophecy – were in Israel. The Binding of Isaac was on the desolate mountain, Mount Moriah. But it was revealed only later, in David's time, that this was the special place upon which the Divine Presence would rest. The Book of Chronicles explicitly states that the Holy Temple was built upon Mount Moriah.
"Isaac and Ishmael strove over the land of Israel, until Ishmael was finally pushed aside as the peel. Even though God stated about Ishmael, 'I have blessed him and made him great in number,' this only referred to worldly bounty. Whereas by Isaac, God stated afterwards, 'I will establish My covenant with Isaac,' meaning that Isaac would attach himself to Divinity and the special rewards of the World to Come.
"Neither Ishmael nor Esau inherited this covenant, despite the fact that their nations became successful in this world. Rivalry between Jacob and Esau arose over this land in the form of both the firstborn right and the special blessing given by Isaac. Esau was eventually pushed aside from the land of Israel, despite Esau's physical strength and Jacob's weakness.
"Israel also contains those places that unquestionably are worthy of being called 'the Gates of Heaven.' Take Jacob for example. He did not attribute his prophetic visions to his own fear of God. Rather, he attributed his prophecy to his place, as it says, 'And he was in awe, and said "How awesome is this place"' (Genesis 28:17). Jacob saw the prophetic vision in his dream by virtue of the qualities of the place where he lie."
These are a few of the things which the Rabbi said to the Khazar king regarding the land of Israel.
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Postscript: In the above article, some of what appears to be the dialog of Rabbi Judah Halevi's The Kuzari has in fact been added by Rabbi Melamed for purposes of clarity and explication.
Much of the translation of the Kuzari in the above article is taken from N. Daniel Korobkin's translation of The Kuzari (Jason Aaronson Inc.).
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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.
