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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Masei
The parasha also includes a warning: "Do not contaminate the Land … that I dwell in, for I am Hashem Who dwells in the midst of Bnei Yisrael" (ibid. 35:34). Rashi learns: "Even when they are impure, the Divine Presence is among them." The Ktav Sofer explains that the heart of a Jew is always complete. The impurity is just the doing of the evil inclination, and therefore one should avoid defiling the Mishkan in which Hashem’s presence will always be dwelling. Every link in the chain of Jewish history is full of sacrifice, with every Jewish child being inculcated with sanctity and purity, and this passes throughout the national journey.
Let us look back at the journeys of the generations that preceded us, at the prominent rabbis who led the communities of our family origins. The spiritual power of these great men was not about their abilities but in the fact that what they did was "based on the word of Hashem." There were shadows and not only light, but it was based on Hashem’s word. When we came to Israel, it was with the strength we received from these leaders and from the holy communities. Whether we want it to be so or not, this heritage is part of us. We must not give up our honor and replace it with something that is of no value.
We finished the parasha and sefer with "Chazak chazak." We need double strengthening. We certainly need physical strength, to return the valor of Israel. But this is conditional on spiritual strength. If one has just physical strength, it can cause pitfalls. Bar Kochva felt that he did not need Hashem’s help because of his strength (Yerushalmi Ta’anit 4:5), and he was vanquished. The power of Moshe and Aharon was rooted in Hashem’s word; they were not proud of their natural strength, including in the intellectual/leadership realm. They relied totally on the strength of Hashem.
Nowadays we have the impression that what we gain on the battlefields, we lose as a result of an internal struggle. We find Chovot Halevavot (5:5) relating to a pious man telling a military unit returning from a successful battle: "You have come from a small war, and you did not yet go out to the big war (against the evil inclination)."
Let us indeed be strong. But we will all be strengthened when we see the young generation knowing how to sometimes not follow the waves of the time because it does not keep us on our traditional path. We want to see our children sanctifying Hashem’s Name and glorifying the honor of His kingdom.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
