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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Passover - Pesach
- The Seder Night
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Yaakov Ben Behora
Legend has it that the Seer of Lublin viewed this as the right time to expedite the final redemption. It was springtime, before Passover, and, as our sages teach, "In Nisan (the Hebrew month which corresponds to the beginning of spring) Israel was redeemed and in Nisan Israel will again be redeemed in the future." The Seer of Lublin received the assistance of three sages - R' Isaac'l of Kalov, "the Holy Jew," and R' Mordecai of Chernobyl - who would also devote themselves in the necessary manner and help him bring the Messiah.
On the first night of Passover, during the course of the Seder, as the the Seer and his students sat in unification and mitigating rectification, the Rebbe suddenly said, "Everything is ruined. The wife of the Holy Jew, Sheindel, is ill-treating her husband, violating the joy of the holiday and preventing him from occupying himself with the hastening of the redemption. R' Isaac'l from Kalov is relating the Hagadah in Hungarian, and in Chernobyl the Afikoman is lost and they are busy looking for it.
World Wars generally strengthened the desire of the Jews to experience the coming of the Messiah. The World War between Napoleon and Russia became a strong focal point in the lives of Jews, for it was played out within the view of many Jewish settlements. It is well known that there was disagreement between the leading rebbes of this period on the matter of who to side with, the Russians or the French.
And so, just as Jewish soldiers of the warring armies found themselves pit against one another on the battlefield, so did Israel's spiritual leaders find themselves at war amongst themselves in the spiritual arena - some lending spiritual support to the Czar, others giving spiritual support to Napoleon. Napoleon's defeat spelled disappointment to those who believed that the great battle of Gog and Magog was playing itself out before their very eyes. During these moments of crisis, the Seer of Lublin tried, on a practical level, to hasten the final redemption.
The time chosen by him to do this was Seder Night. The adage of the Sages, "In Nisan they were redeemed, and in Nisan they will again be redeemed in the future," teaches us of a certain periodicy in the yearly cycle, periodicy of a time which is capable of bringing the redemption. During these days, the power of redemption is awakened, most clearly on Seder Night, the night on which we recall with our own mouths the complete story of the Exodus. The Seer of Lublin does not carry this out alone; he is aided by three other pious rabbis. The joint efforts of these righteous men can bring the complete redemption.
Everything failed as a result of three different events which took place separately in the homes of these three righteous men. Each of these events has symbolic significance. From Chassidic stories, it is well known that the wife of "the Holy Jew" was a hard woman. Violation of peace in the home on Seder Night has symbolic significance in view of the fact that the redemption is often portrayed as a meeting between husband and wife. This disturbance of peace in the home, then, teaches us that, apparently, we must remain in the Exile.
The reading of the Hagadah by R' Isaac'l of Kalov in Hungarian recalls the words of the Sages regarding the Children of Israel who were redeemed from Egypt by merit of the fact that they did not change their names, their dress, or their language. A change of language symbolizes the fact that, apparently, the Exile still has control over the Jewish People, and an end to the tribulations has not yet arrived.
The Afikoman also has symbolic importance in relation to the redemption. The Afikoman symbolizes the end of the Seder, and, conceptually, the final stage of the redemption. The fact that the Afikoman was lost teaches us that, apparently, we have not yet arrived at the final redemption. Apparently, we must continue to wait for the end of the process.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
