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In this crazy-busy world of ours – forget about so-called "time-saving" devices, we’re busier now than our previous generations ever were! – we struggle to find a "space" (sorry for using that over-used buzz-word!) to just be calm & peaceful. A place to let our minds roam free as we pause & think - just plain think - about the magnificent, multi-dimensional world around us; our place in it, & G-d.
I once asked Rav Shlomo Carlebach – a man who was perpetually on the move & surrounded by fans & friends - where he goes if he wants "private time." Where is his "escape room" where he can be alone with his thoughts? He pondered that for a moment & then said, "My one & only refuge from this all-too invasive & intrusive world is when I am wrapped up completely in my talit!"
The talit is one of 4 Mitzvot that can completely surround us from all sides so that, in a sense, we are "swallowed up" by a Mitzva. There is the Mikva, of course, & then there is the Sukka, which also totally envelops us, & is the closest thing we Jews of today can experience akin to the Ananei Kavod, the Clouds of Glory, the impenetrable, Heavenly wall that kept Bnei Yisrael safe in the desert.
In my Sukka, I am the Prince of my Castle (Hashem, of course, remains the King!). Cozy (I prefer that to "small") & constructed by our own hands (every Jew wants to be a kablan!), we can sit in the great outdoors, under the stars, & contemplate nature, escaping, as it were, the rush-rush of "normal" everyday existence. The decibel level has dropped, the spiritual level has risen, & somehow – despite its temporary structure - I feel safe there. I feel that Hashem is squeezed right in here with me.
Of course, there is yet one more Mitzva in which we can be completely immersed, & that, of course, is Eretz Yisrael. The moment we fulfill this glorious, foundational commandment & come to Israel, its Kedusha encircles us as if G-d is whispering, "You are home; you are safe in your Sukkat Shalom!"
Ironically, the Sukka was once upon a time a symbol of our national homelessness, as we moved through the desert from place to place on our epic journey to the Holy Land. We quickly assembled & then disassembled our makeshift quarters, & headed to the next stop on the map, wandering, & wondering when that long voyage would come to an end. And historically, that voyage would continue for a long, long time thru the Diaspora.
But now we are home, finally & forever. Wrapped in my talit, sitting in my Sukka in the re-Jew-venated State of Israel, I can close my eyes as the Mitzvot wash over me as I rhetorically ask, "Does it get any better than this?!"
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
