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Beit Midrash
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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
R. Avraham Ben David
The above is true concerning a case where a Jew is threatened in private, yet if one is forced to transgress publicly, it is forbidden to breach any mitzvah whatsoever - even a seemingly insignificant one, or an accepted Jewish custom; rather, one is obligated to give his life before transgressing. If, though, the intention of the one threatening is to simply derive self benefit - i.e. it is not the Jews' transgression of a mitzvah which interests him - Jewish law permits transgression rather than the giving of one's life.
One who believes that the Arab-Israeli conflict over Eretz Yisrael is not one of principles, and that what motivates the Arabs is mere self-benefit - for they've got nothing personal against the Jewish People or our aspirations in the Land of Israel - might well conclude that the obligation to protect one's life outweighs the mitzvah to settle the Land of Israel. Yet, it's clear that today's conflict runs much deeper than this. The Arabs' real intention is to prevent us from fulfilling the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel, with all of it's spiritual implications, and the rule, therefore, is that one must give his life before transgressing the mitzvah.
Some thirty-two years ago, our teacher, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah HaCohen Kook, z"tl , wrote: "There is absolutely no way, and will never be a way, to permit the indisputable and absolute prohibition against relinquishing any portion of the Land to the authority of another people, heaven forbid. Therefore, every Jew and every great Torah scholar, every Kenneset member and every military personage, is obligated to prevent and hinder [such an act] with all of his courage and might, and the heavens will assist him in his efforts." Eight years later, he wrote again: "Every Jew faithful to [the Land of] Israel, must stand with complete and undivided self-sacrifice against the absurd injustice of this senseless abhorrent and confused... betrayal. [What I'm referring to is]...the abandonment - if even of the smallest amount - of the Land of our life, [for the purpose of] ...placing it in the hands of a people [whose only desire is] to persecute us, heaven forbid! As in all cases of physical coercion, whether by non-Jews or by Jews, which, according to Torah law, obligate one [to give his life before transgressing] ... how much more so with [regards to the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel which our sages have said] is equal to all of the mitzvoth in the Torah together."
Concerning the claim that it's merely their own personal benefit which motivates the Arabs, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah said: "Let me enlighten and inform you that this claim is completely null and void, and that such talk does not change in the slightest our obvious obligation [to risk our lives for the sake of settling the Land]. Their "benefit" is that they themselves rule here in this land, and not us, and concerning this we have been commanded, for all generations, by the Lord our God, King of the universe - in accordance with the Ramban (Nahmanides) - that not they be ruling here in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the Golan, and Jericho, but rather that we be ruling here in our Land, a Land which belongs to the many thousands of assemblies of our people, the House of Israel." The Rabbi added: "The... claim of "self benefit" is meaningless in our eyes. Self benefit implies their ruling here, and this, the Ramban has taught us, is equivalent to the nullification of a Torah mitzvah, namely, that the land should be under our rule and not the rule others.
The words of the Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah HaCohen Kook are clear: there is an obligation, based on the mitzvah of settling the Land, not to evacuate Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel. We hope, God willing that this issue never becomes an actual topic of debate, "For God will not abandon his people, and will not leave His inheritance."(Psalms 94:14)
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
