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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- 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
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.
