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Beit Midrash
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The difficulty we will deal with is that it says in pasuk 8 that Moshe told Hashem of the nation’s acceptance, and in pasuk 9 the nation does not speak again, but Moshe only received further information. Why then does it say again at the end of pasuk 9 that Moshe told Hashem the devarim of the nation?
Rashi says that the people had responded to the content of Hashem’s declaration that He would speak to Moshe, and they told Moshe that they wanted to "see Hashem," i.e., have Hashem speak to them directly. Indeed, we see that Hashem respected this request, although it proved to be more difficult than they imagined.
Ibn Ezra goes in a totally different direction. He says that the p’sukim are out of order and that vayaged preceded the pasuk about Hashem speaking to Moshe through the cloud. What the people had said is that they did not believe that Hashem could speak to a person and he would survive. In fact, because of this belief, there were people in Egypt who did not believe that Hashem had spoken to Moshe. Pasuk 9 comes as a response to this problem. The people would see Hashem speak to Moshe. They would thus believe it was presently happening and also that it happened previously in Egypt.
The Ramban disputes the Ibn Ezra’s thesis strongly. He argues that Bnei Yisrael would not have doubted the concept of prophecy because they had a tradition about its existence from their recent ancestors, several of whom were themselves prophets. The Ramban understands this pasuk as Hashem’s desire that the people should not only have believed in prophecy but should experience being prophets themselves, even if only during ma’amad Har Sinai. He connects this to the repetition of the portrayal of these events in Devarim (4:10) in which it stresses that this would teach the people to fear Hashem "in all generations."
The Ramban is based on the thesis that we have recently discussed that "devarim" refers to prophecy. The hearing of devarim was a once-in-history event in which a whole nation reached the level of prophecy. This enabled the phenomenon of prophecy to continue in the nation for hundreds of years, during which the prophets enriched the whole world with words of inspiration and a desire to reach spiritual peaks. Therefore, it is not surprising that the central root word in this section is "davar."
Let us pray that we will soon witness the return to prophecy, so that our nation and humanity as a whole will rise up to the summits of the revelation at Sinai.
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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.
