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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Yom Kippur
- The Essence of Yom Kippur
In the Torah reading on first day of Rosh Hashana, we read about Hagar & Yishmael, who had been cast off into the desert. The Torah says that Hagar placed the boy under a tree, & walked some distance away – some "bow-shots away" – then lifted her voice & wept. Suddenly, Hashem "heard the voice of the child" & sent an angel to save them both, via a well of water, & to bless Yishmael’s future.
What a puzzling episode! Hagar is the one who prays, & yet G-d hears "the voice of the child?!" Where in the text does it say that the child prayed?! And what is this business about "bow-shots?!" What can that possibly mean?!
I had the z’chut to have once had a long chat with Rav Shlomo Carlebach. He told me two great things that I shall always remember (one I share with you now; the other I will tell you IY"H in next week’s parsha sheet).
I asked him about his unique style of singing & story-telling at the very same time; how did he come to choose that approach & why was it so successful & penetrating. He told me, "Do you know the difference between adults & children? When you start to tell an adult a story that he or she has heard before, they immediately yell out, ‘Oh, I already know that story - you don’t need to tell it to me again!" But if you tell a familiar story to a child, he or she excitedly yells out, "Yes, I know that story! Please, please, tell it to me again, I love that story!"
"You see, the child is innocent, pure & unblemished; the adult, sadly, is cynical, pre-occupied & very full of himself. The story penetrates to the heart of a tender, soft child, but never gets past the hardened exterior of the adult. My music, and my stories, bring out the beautiful child in my listeners."
The prayer that Hashem heard was indeed the prayer of Hagar, but He heard the "child" in that prayer; the pure, simple, un-sophisticated child-like purity that Hagar’s soul expressed when she begged for her life. That struck home in G-d like a piercing arrow; that was the "bow-shot" that she aimed straight at Hashem’s loving heart.
The word, "Chatati" means, "I have sinned;" but it also can mean, "I have missed the mark." If we truly want our Tefilot to find their mark, to hit the right spot, we have to return to that innocent, pure, child-like neshama within us, & launch our prayers from there towards the Almighty. They then will invariably travel far, & fast, & almost certainly will reach their intended target straight-on.
May we - all the boys and girls of every age - send our Tefilot flying skyward; & may they return with the promise of Briyut, Brachot & Shalom.
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
