YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Jewish Laws and Thoughts
- Jewish Thought
- Foundations of Faith
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Hana Bat Haim
Human intellect dictates that the ideal servant is one who worships God through fasts, self-mortification, and abstention from the pleasures of the world. This, people believe, is how a righteous person ought to appear. The Torah, however, does not emphasize these actions. Rather, the perfect service of God is that service which is carried out joyfully.
For example, the obligation to keep the Sabbath, a commandment which is equal to the entire Torah and is a sign and covenant between God and Israel, must be observed joyfully. We are obligated to delight in the Sabbath. The honor of the Sabbath and the delight and joy of the Sabbath are an indication of the value of the this sacred day, a day which serves as remembrance of the creation of the world and the Exodus from Egypt. We can see, then, that one who keeps the Sabbath properly with honor and delight demonstrates that he is thankful that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Such a person also expresses thanks to God for taking us out of Egypt.
Foundations of Faith (51)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
36 - 35. The Commandments Depend on Good Character Traits
37 - 37. Torah Commandments: The Ultimate Joy
38 - 38. “Israel, Through Whom I Will Be glorified”
Load More
Rabbi Chaim Vital, the disciple of the Holy Ari, in his work "Shaarei Kedusha," explains that one who serves God sorrowfully resembles a servant who serves his master with a downcast and sulking face. How can one possibly serve God in such a manner? Even if a person carries out his service to the letter, a downcast facial expression ruins everything. The Divine Presence and prophetic inspiration rest only upon one who is joyful.
It is told of the Vilna Gaon (in the introduction to the work "Peat HaShulchan") that he would praise the discipline of music and would say that most of the Torah's cantillations as well as the secrets of the songs of the Levites and the "Tikkunei Zohar" cannot be grasped without understanding music theory. He would say that, with the help of music, a person can die pleasantly with the departure of the soul, and it is possible to bring the dead back to life by the secrets of music which are hidden in the Torah.
He would say, Moses brought a specific number of songs and measures down from Mount Sinai, and the rest are composites.
Sadness on the other hand, says Rabbi Chaim Vital, hinders the service of God and the performance of commandments. It hinders Torah study and focused attention in prayer, and eliminates good thoughts to serve God. It is the gateway to the stimulation of the evil inclination, for one sees that he has no benefit from his service of God being gripped by sadness and plagued by suffering.
Rather, one must serve God with joy, as it is written, "Serve God joyfully." And the service of commandments and prayer must be carried out with paramount joy, as we find in the case of the Sage Abaye who would become very happy before putting on his Tefillin, and R' Bruna who would smile for the whole day after reciting the prayer of redemption just prior to reciting the Amida prayer.
Therefore, in sum, one of the central foundations in the service of God is to perform the commandments with joy.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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.
