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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Chayei Sara
death, are referred to as alive" is certainly apt, but might be used for any Biblical hero. Why choose Sara alone?
Avraham approaches the Hitites to purchase a burial site for Sara. The negotiations don’t go very well for Avraham, & he is told that it will take no less than 400 silver coins to buy the lot. And these are not your run-of-the-mill coins;
the rabbis say that they were "Over La’Socher" – a special mint of international currency worth millions of shekels. Why did Avraham submit to this exorbitant price? After all, he felt that he had a legitimate claim on the land, straight from the Almighty, & this is why he says to Ephron, "Ger V’Toshav Anochi Imachem – I am a stranger and a resident among you." Meaning, Rashi explains, "while I am not exactly ‘one of your kind,’ I have legal rights to this place."
And let’s not forget that Avraham was not someone to be physically trifled with. He recently had almost single-handedly defeated the 4 kings in battle (in parshat Lech-Lecha) & certainly had earned a wide-spread reputation for himself
as a mighty warrior. So why does Avraham - who so deftly demonstrated the art of negotiation when he debated S'dom's fate with Hashem - meekly submit to Ephron’s pricey demand & dish out the money so readily, without any negotiation at all?
I suggest that Avraham is making a grand statement: The value of something is directly proportional to the price paid for it. If it comes cheap, it is cheap. Like an expensive, exclusive piece of art or bottle of prize, aged wine, the very cost of the thing conveys its intrinsic worth. So it was with this initial purchase in Eretz Yisrael. It was important to establish, right from the start, that this land is infinitely valuable; it demands a high price to win it, & to maintain it. That price tag reads Struggle, Sacrifice & Stamina.
Sara’s life – more than any other woman in the Torah – is one of continual hardship & heroism. She, no less than her husband, must set out for a new land. But she must also deal with the added frustration of infertility, her belittling at the hands of her servant Hagar, & her being abducted by a foreign power – not once, but twice! And then finally, while Avraham & Yitzchak survive the ordeal of the Akeida, Sara does not; she dies from the trauma.
All of these profound trials & tribulations combine to make Sara a model – THE quintessential model - for all future generations to admire & emulate. Sara teaches us that, when all is said & done, the value of a life is directly equal
to the price we pay for living it.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
