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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Simha bat Hana
The Sages liken the Holy Temple to the heart: just as the heart is the center of all of the bodily organs whereto the soul is attached, the center of life from which all of the life-forces flow to the rest of the body, so the Holy Temple is the spiritual heart of the entire nation. The national body of the Jewish people cannot live without this heart. The people cannot exist without a central place towards which all turn, around which all unite and which serves to bond all of existence.
Divine worship is not the obligation of individual persons. The truest form of worship is communal. Most of the Torah's commandments are directed at the consummation of the nation: being in the Land of Israel with the Holy Temple. Just as the head and heart serve as a "sanctuaries" for man's spiritual faculties - wisdom and will, the inner life forces – so the Holy Temple is a sanctuary for the nation's spiritual faculties, the place where the national spirit receives expression, the place where the Divine Presence reveals itself, as according to the verse, "They shall make a sanctuary for Me and I will dwell amongst them."
Foundations of Faith (51)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
30 - 30. The Preeminence of the Holy Land (Continued)
31 - 31. Regarding the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
32 - 32. Israel's Plight in the Exile
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This being the case, without the Hoy Temple we are today like a body without a mind and heart. Even worse, for if the entire nation was in the Land of Israel with no Temple we might compare our plight to that of a body without a heart, but when the Jewish people are dispersed amongst the nations and most have not made their home in Israel, even the body is lacking.
This is how Ezekiel saw the Jewish people in his vision – dry scattered bones. These bones, however, possess an inkling of life. These bones are capable of uniting into a full body and returning to life. In the meantime, however, they are scattered bones. Ezekiel's vision was at the outset of the exile. As the generations passed, though, the situation worsened. The bones disintegrated.
This is how the Vilna Gaon described the plight of the Jewish people in exile: "From the moment that the Holy Temple was destroyed, our spirit departed, our crowning glory. We were left with nothing but ourselves, a body with no spirit. Being among the nations is like being in a grave...we have not the ability to save ourselves. Idolaters consume our flesh. All the same, large study halls continued to exist and function until the flesh rotted and the bones were again and again scattered. All the same, some bones manages to subsist – Torah scholars. Finally, even they rotted away and nothing was left but our own decayed remains...and we now hope for the Resurrection."
We cannot help but note the fact that today, thank God, the bones are beginning to gather together, but we still lack the essence, the mind and the heart, Divine life – the Holy Temple.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
