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Beit Midrash
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Three times, says Rashi, Moshe lets his temper get the better of him, & each time, the result is that he has a "mental lapse" & errs in judgment:
- At Mei Meriva, Moshe becomes angry at the people for complaining; he then mistakenly hits the rock instead of speaking to it;
- After the battle against Midyan, Moshe angrily berates the generals for their mistake; he then forgets the laws regarding utensils taken from Midyan;
- Finally, in our Sedra, Moshe angrily criticizes the kohanim for failing to eat the meat of a korban & burning it on the altar instead. Aharon explains to Moshe the halachic reasons for his act, & Moshe agrees that Aharon is correct.
Moshe’s anger may have resulted from his (over) zealousness for Am Yisrael to be faithful to Hashem & adhere to the Mitzvot, which is quite understandable for a Jewish leader. But regardless of the merit of his emotion, anger can of itself negatively affect a person – even of Moshe’s stature - & result in a loss of mental acuity.
Many of the great Musar teachers talk about anger, & associate it with 2 basic sources: The first source is an enlarged Ego. When our ego (which is essentially a good thing) becomes over-inflated, we believe everything is coming to us, & we get easily insulted when something does not go exactly our way. We take it personally, as an affront to our honor, & we get mad. ("What, he came 5 minutes late to our meeting, & made ME wait?! What nerve!"). As if we ourselves never come late!
The second source of anger stems from a flaw in our faith system. Not everything in this world functions exactly as we would like it to. Sometimes we do suffer, we do face aggravating situations & disappointments that rile us up. But if we accept that Hashem is running the universe, & He has a plan for the world & for us, then we can hold our anger back & remind ourselves that even if we can’t fathom why certain things are happening, we can have faith that there is a cosmic reason for it. True & abiding anger, say Chazal, is a form of Avoda Zara, for it presumes that there is no G-d ultimately in charge.
Anger has its place, to be sure; when it is in the form of righteous indignation in the face of injustice or inequality, it helps to right society & it motivates us to heal the world. But anger for anger’s sake doesn’t solve anything – it just makes us bitter & brings high blood pressure. So, rather than lose control and go ballistic – be still & chill!
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.
