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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Shmot
The Jewish People has many outstanding qualities: Chesed, compassion, stubbornness, modesty, etc. We also are eternal optimists; in whatever generation we live, we believe in a better future. And, at all times, we look
forward to Moshiach and the era of ultimate perfection that will be ushered in.
Yet as we open Sefer Shmot, there is a great deal of pessimism, gloom and doom, in the air. Am Yisrael is enslaved, degraded, cast to the very bottom rung of society. How will we regain our former glory - no hope is in sight!
More than a century of slavery has sapped us of our positive thinking. Amram, the people’s leader, epitomizes this despair by deciding not to wed or bring more children into the world, for why subject yet another soul to suffering?!
Along comes Miriam (women always come to the rescue!) and convinces her father that he has it all wrong. Marriage, birth, new life always brings Hope. And thus Moshe is born; the ultimate leader who will rejuvenate and
redeem us.
And here is where the title Shmot-names comes into play. "Amram" is a combination of the words "Am" and "Rahm" – meaning "the uplifted nation." His wife’s name "Yocheved" contains the letters of "Kavod H’ ", the glory
of G-d. "Miriam" does contain the word, "Mar – bitter," but also can be read "May-rim - to lift up." And the name "Moshe" means "to extricate," or "pull out" (the Jews from Egypt).
Thus each and every one of the names of the central protagonists of the Exodus story connect to the idea of raising up, rising up and re-establishing the greatness of Am Yisrael, which may falter, but can never fail.
The lesson for us is eminently topical. We often face adversity; it seems at times as if the entire world is set against us. Just this week the proverbial 70 nations gathered together with the express purpose of pressuring
Israel and criticizing our policies. Did they meet to deal with Syria, where 400,000 people have been killed? Or Iran, whose evil Ayatollahs continues to foment terror worldwide? Or France itself, which cannot control its own anti-Semitic hatred? No, their target was little Israel, the foreboding "giant."
But no matter; we remain strong, stoic and supremely confident. We will face all the crises, and we will rise higher and higher; for THAT is the name we proudly carry.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.