YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Three Weeks
- The Ninth of Av
This key word "Eicha" – said by Navi Yirmiyahu in his lament which we read on Tisha B’Av – was first used by Moshe in our Sedra this week. In fact, the pasuk with this word is read in the unique Eicha tune. What is the connection between the two?
Moshe begins his elaborate, final sermon to his people, in the last year of his life, in Parshat Devarim. He starts by reviewing the various places where the nation stopped on its ill-fated, tragically-truncated journey to Israel. Yet wasn’t this already covered in last week’s Sedra of Masei – Journeys? Why does Moshe now repeat the stops?
Chazal suggest that Moshe is subtly rebuking the people. Though this is a new generation that did not commit the sin of the Spies, Moshe wants to be sure that they’ve learned their lesson and will not repeat their elders’ mistakes. By retracing the steps Am Yisrael took in the desert, Moshe is sending the message that sin, and failure, is evolutionary, not revolutionary. It comes incrementally, step by step, little by little. It is a process that begins somewhat innocuously, creeping ever forward, until it ultimately overwhelms us. And if we do not stop the
process somehow, somewhere along the way, it will become so pervasive that we will be powerless to prevent it.
That is precisely "Eicha-how" calamity operates.
This is also Yirmiyahu’s message to us. "Al eyleh ani bochi’a," he laments, "about these I cry." "These" refer to ALL the tragedies we have endured in our nation's history. It begins with the very first critical sin we committed, on the "first" Tisha B’Av. We cried because we were afraid to follow G-d’s directive to inhabit Eretz Yisrael. That unappreciation of just how vital Israel is to our existence would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Bet HaMikdash and all the manifold problems we faced - and still face - including pogroms, Inquisitions, Shoa and the vicious terror campaign being waged against us.
The antidote seems clear: Reverse the "original sin." Come home to Israel, cherish all it stands for, move closer to Hashem and work to rebuild our homeland. In doing so, we will turn the tears of pain into tears of joy. Eicha; that is how it is done.
Peninei Halakha 3. The Prohibition of Eating and the Status of Sick People and Postpartum Women
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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.
