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Beit Midrash
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"It is not because of your righteousness & uprightness of heart that you possess this Land; rather it is due to the utter wickedness of the nations surrounding you!"
All too often, events occur both in Israel & around the world which bring home just how despicable others can often be. A beautiful family gathers around its Shabbat table to celebrate the birth of a new baby, & they are savagely
attacked by a Palestinian terrorist. Congregants arrive at their shul in Miami, or Berlin, on a Shabbat morning, only to find the door painted over with swastikas. Mourners arrive at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis only to find most of the tombstones toppled over or defaced. Pre-Shabbat shoppers come to a kosher supermarket in Paris to buy provisions, & are suddenly taken hostage & assaulted by Islamic hoodlums. And the list goes on & on….
We shake & shudder at these horrible events, & wonder why we seem to always be the favorite target of the criminals. No doubt, we have to examine our actions & engage in constant, continual Tikun & Teshuva. But there is a hidden blessing here, too: When all else fails, & our merits are less than exemplary, we still shine out in comparison to others around us. Yes, we have our failings; but we do not engage in the kind of atrocities that abound in the world at large. And that invokes Hashem’s mercy; He sees that, comparatively speaking, we are still a holy People.
The story is told - & I have personally experienced this! – about the rather unsavory character who passed away. The officiating rabbi upon called to give the eulogy was not familiar with the man, but his relatives were quick to "update" him. "He was thoroughly degenerate," they told the rabbi, "without a single redeeming quality! Now, don’t try to fabricate or embellish his life-story; just tell it like it is, or we’ll all be upset!"
The rabbi was at quite a loss as to what to do. Of course, he didn’t want to paint a false picture of the deceased – especially after that stern warning. But he also didn’t want to denigrate the man at such a fateful moment.
So what did he do? He walked up to the podium, looked out at the crowd, took a long look at the casket, and simply said, "His brother – was worse!"
Even in pointing out our faults, Moshe – our great defender till the end – is able to find an "escape clause," a merit in our favor that will somehow serve to keep us in G-d’s good graces – until we really deserve it.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
