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In our generation, Pesach is the first among a chain of commemorations during the spring season in which we celebrate national events. At the center, of course, are those that are from the Torah – Pesach and Shavuot. But there are also a wide variety of special days that run the gamut of Jewish experience, from the Mimuna, celebrating aliya and unity, to Yom Hashoah, commemorating the horrible Sho’ah, and connecting it to the foundation of the State of Israel. We have Yom Hazikaron, recognizing the sacrifices of the many who gave their lives making the State possible and helping to keep it going safely. Yom Ha’atzmaut, of course, declares the liberation of the nation from a political and spiritual perspective. Lag Ba’omer reminds us that the dream of reestablishing independence, with the efforts of Bar Kochva and his soldiers, prominently including students of Rabbi Akiva, was not an empty dream. (The great kabbalists, who are students of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, preserved secrets about the future liberation.) Yom Yerushlayim, celebrating the liberation of Jerusalem, our nation’s eternal capital, from a national and spiritual basis, is finally followed by Shavuot, the holiday of the giving of the Torah, as the seven weeks of the sefira conclude.
Some in the nation commemorate these days only from a national perspective; others commemorate only some of these days and only from a religious perspective. There are those of us who try to connect the two important focuses. In the next few weeks, we will try to clarify an episode in Sefer Shmuel that is closely related to these matters.
In the last perek of Shmuel, we read about the terrible plague that ravaged Israel after David carried out a national census in an improper way. The plague ended when David erected an altar in the silo of Aravna the Yevusi, which turned into the site of the Beit Hamikdash on Har Habayit (Shmuel II, 24:1-16; ibid. 17-25). These events teach us two things:
1. Har Habayit is the "place that Hashem chose" for the Beit Hamikdash (see Divrei Hayamim I, 22:1).
2. There are hints in this perek that this place was also the place of akeidat Yitzchak (Divrei Hayamim II, 3:1 says explicitly that Arvana’s silo was on Mt. Moriah).
Many great people have tried to figure out how David came to the mistake about the census, ostensibly ignoring the p’sukim in the beginning of Parashat Ki Tisa. The question is also asked why David’s sin could cause 70,000 people to be killed. It is also not obvious why the altar was able to end the plague. These will be among the topics discussed in the coming weeks. May we see Jerusalem in its full glory, rebuilt as the full spiritual and national center of Israel and as the capital of world peace.
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.