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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Ein Ayah
Ein Ayah: There are sometimes thoughts, feelings, and inclinations of the heart that emanate from holiness, from a person’s connection to the true G-d who created us all and is Master of our soul and our body, but they are taken to foreign places. When this happens, these thoughts spread all over the place, exploding in the light of every fleeting inclination, in a manner that is no longer connected to holy purposes. This spreading out to all places makes the original root of the inclinations foreign to their original nature and ultimately destructive. It turns light into darkness and the words of the living G-d into words of emptiness and of a negative spirit, of evil, and even of the roots of murder, with one person taking dominion over another to cause damage.
When the possessors of such ruined ideas feel that they have trouble fitting into the Jewish community and separate themselves, one should not close the door on them. It may be enough for them to have the impurities removed from them. However, as long as they have left and are on the outside and oppose matters of sanctity that are part and parcel of the purity and sanctity of Israel, they should not yet be invited in. They have been deemed defiled by leaving the sanctums of Israel. Were they to come in, they would defile the encampment and desecrate that which is holy.
This is what happens in regard to idol worship, which is always rooted in people seeking sanctity but is greatly lowered when they encounter the evil inclinations of people who join together to spread matters of imagination and coarse materialism. They become so unrefined and dark that the once adorned part becomes an unseemly matter. That which appears fit to be sent away indeed should be sent away. Once it leaves, it becomes even more disqualified and loses its connection to the sacred.
On the other hand, the general power of sanctity has the ability to return he who has been cast away, as he retains a kernel of goodness deep within him. He will be able to return at the time of the ideal future, when the spirit of impurity will disperse like smoke. We say about this time: "I will remove the blood from his mouth and the disgusting matters from between his teeth, and he will remain for our G-d" (Zecharia 9:7). Chazal tell us that the theatres and circuses in the Diaspora will turn into venues for the noblemen of Israel to teach Torah publicly (Megilla 6a).
All of this light and elevation will come about due to the care at the time of unsettledness that no corrupt thought within Israel should make its way inside. This is as the gemara said that we tell him to leave and not to come in. The initial closeness to spirituality will make its mark in the ideal future, but this should not allow us to let him in prematurely. For the process of becoming foreign will make the person like a "distant brother," and his estrangement is profound and is actually compounded by the original spiritual brotherhood. "Indeed Eisav is a brother to Yaakov; I loved Yaakov and I hated Eisav" (Malachi 1:2-3). Since he is like a foreign person, we tell him to leave, and we do not tell him to come in.
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.
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.
