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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Beha'alotcha
"Vay'hi bin'so'a ha'aron: When the Ark traveled, Moshe said: "Arise, G-d, & scatter Your enemies. And when the Ark rested, he would say: "Return, G-d, the tens of thousands of Israel."
Why would these sentences be framed by 2 extraneous letters? And why are those letters davka the letter Nun?
The Gemara in Shabbat says the floating letters indicate that this small section is out of order, not in its proper place. OK, but then why is it out of place? In another opinion, Rebbi (Rav Yehuda HaNasi) postulates that this section is framed because it constitutes a completely separate book of the Torah! What does that mean?
Let's try to make some sense of it all. The S'forno (as elucidated by Rav Soloveichek) explains that, at this juncture in our history, we were primed to enter Eretz Yisrael. We had achieved physical freedom, received the Torah & built the Mishkan; the Shvatim had been assembled & given their "marching orders." Moshe was about to lead us triumphantly into the Promised Land.
But then, sadly, it all broke down. We degenerated into constant complaints & squabbles; Moshe lost his temper & castigated us severely. The episode of the Spies would seal our fate; we would wander 40 years in the desert before crossing into Israel, & then it would be without Moshe to lead us.
The "additional" book which Rebbi refers to is one that we could & should have written, but never did. The book describing our Aliya to Israel was left undone. It is therefore encased in a kind of parentheses formed by the 2 nuns.
But I suggest that the nun has another connotation: In the Ashrei prayer, it is the only letter missing. Chazal say it's omitted because it stands for "nafal" or fallen, a negative word. But every letter can represent some negative word! But maybe the link is to these nuns in our Sedra: Here, too, we failed, or fell, from our task (nafal=fell, fail).
Yet the glorious promise of this missing "Special Sefer," this final chapter in our glorious history, has only been delayed, not deleted. The day will come - is coming! - when Hashem will indeed scatter all of our enemies, & return all the tens of thousands of the House of Israel back to our rightful home in Israel.
And as for those nomadic nuns - they will then right themselves & proclaim a new & positive connotation: Nun for Nitzachon - total, eternal victory.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
