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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Masei
On the positive side, we manage to overcome all the myriad challenges that desert travel can entail: Thirst, famine, the cruel elements, war. Hashem protects us with loving care. We live miraculous lives, eating the amazing Mahn, drinking from a moveable spring; learning from Moshe himself as we move, accompanied by a pillar of cloud by day and one of fire by night. We defeat any and all foes, from Moav to Midian to Sichon and Og the Giant.
Yet all is not peaches and cream (even with the Mahn!). We will quarrel mightily along the way, angering both Moshe and Hashem. Aharon and Miriam will die, and an internal rebellion against Moshe’s leadership will have to be brutally quashed. Most tragic of all, the dream of entering
Eretz Yisrael will have to be denied or deferred for the nation, most of who will end up perishing in the desert.
The journeys of Masei are as exhausting as they are exhilarating. But they have a special message for us. I believe that every Parsha in the Torah – not just Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus – is meant to be experienced as well as examined, and so I suggest the following exercise:
Find a quiet, comfortable place to relax. Close your eyes and mentally begin the journey of your life. Start as far back as your mind will take you, to your very earliest childhood. Visit your home, your school, your friends and relatives. Then move on, slowly, to the seminal
experiences of your life: Your happiest moments and your greatest achievements, the places you loved to visit, all the things that stand out as blessed mileposts along your personal journey.
But don’t leave out the rocky roads, either. The moments that made you sad, the loved ones lost along the way; the times you came up short rather than prevailed, the opportunities missed and the tests you failed. Yes, these can be painful memories, but they may actually be the most emotive and character-shaping of all your journeys.
Through it all, try to remember: You were never completely alone. You had lots of help from fellow travelers and those who loved you.
The last word in Bamidbar is "Yericho," Jericho. But the letters of this word can be re-arranged to spell "Ruach Hashem," the spirit of G-d. Perhaps it is G-d's code reminding us that He was - and always will - be our travel partner.
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.
