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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Emor
The kohanim are commanded to have an even higher level of kedusha: "They shall be holy to their G-d and shall not defile the name of their G-d, for they offer the sacrifices of Hashem …" (ibid. 21:6). The kohanim’s extra level also obligates the regular Jew to preserve the kohanim’s status by treating them preferentially (ibid. 8). The second section of Parashat Emor deals with a different kind of kedusha, that of the day of Shabbat and the holidays, which are called mikraei kodesh.
Let us understand the term kedusha a little better. When we use it in regard to Hashem, it clearly means that He is elevated and separated from us. He is not part of our material world. Even though "the whole world is full of His glory" and "there is no place which is devoid of Him," Hashem is the "place of the world, and the world is not His place." We can also understand that Shabbat is kadosh, as Hashem sanctified it. However, what does it mean that a person is holy, considering that we originate from the earth and are part and parcel of the material world? Our name adam is even based on the word adama (earth). How can we be holy and sanctify the times (in creating the calendar for holidays)?
The answer is apparently connected to the parshiyot discussing arayot. The novel idea about Am Yisrael is that we show that it is possible to sanctify the material world. We can give spiritual significance to life on the face of the earth, even when one was "created from earth and will return to earth." The basic condition for this is to be "separated from arayot and sin."
In the context of the section dealing with arayot, the Torah warns us to avoid the actions of the people of Egypt and Canaan (ibid. 18:2-6). There the default situation was of violating the laws of arayot. It is not that the "path to the tree of life" runs through a life of abstaining from worldly pleasures. Rather, what is required is an abstinence from the abominations of the people of Egypt and Canaan and a desire for putting spiritual content into our physical body.
This is the way people can become holy! This is the way the Jewish nation can become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation! This is the way we became able to sanctify the days of the calendar! May we succeed in sanctifying the material world and making it subservient to the life of the spirit in a manner that truly liberates us.
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.
