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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Bamidbar
We continue this week by delving into the connection to Parashat Bamidbar and Yom Yerushalayim. In Avraham’s "second aliya" at age 75, he became "shomer mitzvot" and went to the "place that Hashem will choose." Yerushalayim turned into the future capital of Israel, where Am Yisrael would come three times a year to the Beit Hamikdash.
The Land that Avraham was drawn to originally was the place that Hashem had chosen. Let us now return to our parasha and see how this piece completes the picture. The counting at the beginning of Bamidbar is repeated nearly 40 years later with almost exactly the same numbers, yet they had two very different goals.
The second counting was in preparation for the conquest which would turn the Land of Canaan into Eretz Yisrael. The first counting, in our parasha, was done regarding "the army of Hashem." Rashi explains that when Hashem brought down His Divine Presence, he counted the nation, one month after the opening of the Mishkan. The army of Israel has to include these two elements – conquest and sanctity – as the pasuk says: "Your camp shall be holy" (Devarim 23:15).
The Exodus had two end goals: 1) Acceptance of the Torah at Sinai as a holy nation; 2) Entering Eretz Yisrael and obtaining the land as a sovereign nation.
On Yom Haatzmaut we celebrate the latter, and on Yom Yerushalayim we celebrate the former. The Divine Providence surrounding the events is fascinating from a spiritual perspective. We first received independence and only nineteen years later were able to free Jerusalem. In the War of Independence, the Jewish quarter fell to the Jordanian Legion, to return only in the Six-Day War to the eastern part of the city and the Western Wall. Many people blamed David Ben Gurion for not allocating enough resources to defend Jerusalem in 1948. By establishing the state, Ben Gurion took upon himself a massive responsibility, knowing that all the Arab armies would attack the fledgling state and try to obliterate it. The strongest and most professional army was the Jordanian Legion, trained by British officers and possessing the most advanced weaponry. If the Legion would have focused on attacking other fronts, there is a good chance they would have prevented the State from surviving. Yet by Divine Providence they focused on Jerusalem, and thus the State survived. Ben Gurion decided to focus the troops on expanding the borders to sustain the State, but the cost was the Jewish Quarter.
Nineteen years later, the Legion once again attacked Jerusalem, bombarding the west from the east. This, through the grace of G-d, allowed us to unite the city. Yom Yerushalayim now joined Yom Haatzmaut. The two countings that we saw in the Torah once again took place. The motif of Pesach and Kriat Yam Suf was joined by Yom Haatzmaut, while Shavuot/ Matan Torah, was joined by Yom Yerushalayim.
This is the day that Hashem made; let us rejoice and be happy!
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.
