YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Bereshit
From the very beginning, Hashem is informing us that words have power – to create, yet also to destroy. G-d’s greatest creation – Man – is distinguished primarily by his unique ability to speak, to use words, & to thereby connect to other human beings via the power of speech. Though we are continually cautioned to guard our words & use them wisely, it is often the inability or unwillingness to speak which leads us into very dark places. Two vivid examples of this cry out to us from the story of Gan Eden.
When Chava eats from the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, she starts a chain-reaction of Shame & Blame culminating in the first family’s expulsion from Paradise. But G-d’s castigation of Adam – "Because you listened to the voice of your
wife & ate of the tree…." is quite strange: Where, exactly, do we see Chava speaking to Adam? Nowhere does the text record discussion between them!
True, but Chava did speak to the snake, when they discussed whether it was proper to eat from the Etz HaDa’at. It was then that Adam heard her voice, listened to the conversation, & yet did nothing! THAT was his sin! He should have spoken up & warned Chava, he should have protected her from sinning; for that, he deserved to be punished.
Fast-forward now a bit to the epochal story of Kayin & Hevel – the ultimate account of sibling rivalry. When Kayin’s offering is spurned by Hashem - yet Hevel’s accepted - Kayin reacts violently & murders his brother. But note the text’s account of the brother’s confrontation:
"And Kayin said to his brother Hevel; & it was when they were in the field, Kayin rose up against Hevel his brother & killed him."
You see what’s missing here? Whatever Kayin may have said to Hevel, we don’t know; but Hevel never answered him! Not once, but twice, Kayin calls Hevel "his brother." Clearly, a distraught & dejected Kayin sought some support, some words of comfort from his sibling, but he got nothing! This may well have been what pushed him "over the edge" to commit the greatest murder in human history – a full 25% of the population!
While Hevel’s silence certainly does not justify Kayin’s crime, we see from here how devastating silence can be, & how therapeutic the right words at the right time can be. There are times, to be sure, when talk is cheap, & silence is golden; but there are also times when it is just the opposite. May G-d help us distinguish between the two.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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.
