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Beit Midrash
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- Passover - Pesach
But did the all-seeing G-d really need a "sign" in order to know who had or had not kept his command to offer up the lamb?
Fast-forward now to near the end of the Hagada. There, in a dramatic gesture, we fill Eliyahu’s cup, open the door for the prophet of Moshiach, & rise to recite a short but controversial prayer ("Sh’foch Chamotcha"), in which we
bid Hashem to destroy the nations that have rejected G-d & brutalized the Jewish People. Fittingly, the Psalm in the Hagada which immediately follows this prayer (115) ridicules the idolaters, who "should become deaf, dumb & blind, just like their idols."
Is this not somewhat of a harsh way to conclude the Pesach Seder, which, in it’s closing section, speaks of our longing for the glorious Messianic Age & Israel’s revival, as in "L’Shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim?"
I suggest that the message being sent to us is that, while we surely need Hashem’s help & guiding hand, we also need to step up & play our own part in the Redemption. And a crucial component of that participation is having the guts, the courage to stand up to the immoral & oppressive forces that abuse us & all that we stand for.
By taking the blood of the Egyptian deity – no small act of courage - our ancestors showed Hashem that we had more faith in Him than we had fear of Pharoah. The blood, Rashi says – contrary to popular opinion - was placed on the INSIDE of the doors & not the outside. Thus, while it sent a clear message to G-d that we were willing to risk our lives to show our allegiance to Him, it also reminded us that we had returned to our former status as a proud, defiant People. Our slavery of the spirit was over.
So, too, our willingness to stand up – with the door wide open - & demand justice on the nations that "consumed us" is a similar sign that we are no longer helpless, hapless victims, forbidden from expressing our opinion & forced to take whatever the Diaspora dishes out to us.
The ultimate expression of our freedom? It is confidently standing up to the world & unabashedly claiming our rightful place in the State of Israel. That door, too, is wide open, waiting for all of Jewry to get up & walk right in.
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.
