YeshivaThe torah world Gateway Beit Midrash
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Beshalach
Oh, I may have just answered my own question! Hashem is clearly our primary source of strength! But that is no secret; it’s an obvious no-brainer! We say each day in Tehilim (Psalms) 20: "They by horses & chariots, we by evoking the name of Hashem."
Our sedra begins by saying that Hashem led us in a roundabout way, so as to avoid our having to engage the Plishtim. But then it injects the cryptic statement, "and Bnei Yisrael went up from Egypt Chamushim." Rashi first quotes the Mechilta as saying this unusual word means "armed" (as in tachmoshet, ammunition). But Rashi is troubled by this, for what was the point in our having weapons if we did not use them, neither against the Plishtim, nor against the Egyptians chasing after us?
And so, Rashi brings another idea, that Chamushim relates to "Chamesh" or 5, suggesting that only one-fifth of the Jews of Egypt ever made it out of there (their either being killed during the Plague of Darkness, or remaining behind by choice when we departed in the Exodus).
But I have another thought. Immediately after saying Bnei Yisrael was armed, the Torah relates: "And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef," who had sworn his brothers to a sacred oath that he would not remain in Egypt.
This, I suggest, constitutes the real arms, the secret weapon of Am Yisrael: the knowledge that we would not, could not live forever in Mitzrayim, that our destiny was to live in our own homeland, Israel, the natural habitat of the Jewish People, where our fullest destiny would be played out. This knowledge - that there was no choice but to leave for home - energized & armed the nation, for we knew there was only 1 direction in which to move forward.
This same conviction of Ayn Brera - we have no choice, is precisely what fuels our fierce determination to fight until victory today. An IDF holy soldier knows that he must win the battle, that he cannot be defeated, for there is nowhere to run, no place to which he can escape. We are not going back to the pogroms of Russia, the torture chambers of Spain’s Seville or Granada or the ovens of Auschwitz. And when your back is against the wall, you battle with an unrestrained passion & courage - &, by force of conviction, you emerge victorious.
Those bones, those bones; THEY were our arms.
Lessons
fast navigation

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.


















