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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Pkudei
With this Sedra, we come to the end of the dramatic book of Shmot. It began with our descent into Egypt, followed us through the horrific period of slavery, celebrated our freedom from bondage & our triumphant stand at HarSinai, where we bonded together & received the Torah. And then, for 16 chapters, we "build" the Mishkan & fill it with objects of holiness. Why the massive emphasis on the building of the Mishkan that - while it did last for more than 400 years - was destined to be dismantled, never to be seen again?
I suggest that Hashem is sending a powerful, pointed message to the Jews of eternity. He is telling us that as we wander along the path of history, passing through locales without end, from Cuba to Kaifeng to Canada, from Scotland to Spain to Santa Barbara, we would continually set up & then take down our holy places. We would build our Yeshivot & Batei Midrash & Mikvaot, & they would service & support us for some time. But then, we’d pack up & move on to another stop in our ongoing sojourn; the "holy places" of our past would turn into libraries or hospitals or office buildings, & be but a distant memory.
Yet that’s only Part I of the message. The second, all-important point, is that one day the Mishkan would finally cease its travels. It would morph into the more permanent edifice of the Bet HaMikdash, where stones would now replace collapsible wood & the ground upon which the Temple stood would attain a Kedusha L’Netzach, a permanent holiness that could never, ever be expunged despite the ravages of time.
Wherever Jews have lived, we have built. We built societies, our own as well as that of our hosts, & we built magnificent edifices. But for 2000 years these buildings were of the temporary variety. Only now, with our blessed return toIsrael, do we build permanent structures that stay right where they are. Now, the builders and the buildings are fixed firmly in their place, never to be uprooted again.
On a trip to Norway some years ago, I visited Trondheim, Norway's third-largest city. Its once-viable Jewish community had dwindled to no more than a handful of elderly people. The head of the shul – which now met just once a month – was proud to tell me that they had a mikva. I rushed excitedly to the room, but sadly, I had to push away the heavy cobwebs to see the pool.
The lands of the Exile can be fantastic, but they are fleeting & finite. Israel, & Israel alone, is forever.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
