Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- D'varim
- Ki Tetze
At the end of the Sedra, we have the famous commandment to remember the villainous acts which Amalek did to us; this directive is amplified by the added directive: Do not forget!
The lesson here is that while there are certainly things which we must always remember and never forget, there are other things that we would do well TO forget! The ability to forget something we associate with growing old, or the illness of Alzheimer/dementia, chas vshalom - does not always have to be a bad thing. What a wonderful gift it would be if we could manage to forget the petty indiscretions that might have been done to us over the years, the flippant remarks sent our way, or the occasional snub real or perceived that caused us to separate from our fellow Jew or defame him in return.
What if like the farmer in our sedra we could just turn our back on those things & walk away, without a second thought? And if, later, they did come to mind, we could shrug our shoulders & say, What’s done is done; I’ve moved on to a new row, a new & better place.
That, in a sense, is the essence of Teshuva, not so much returning as turning, starting in a different direction. It's a fitting formula for Elul and our prep for the coming Days of Atonement: All the grievances we have, all the anger and discord - FORGET ABOUT IT!
Rabbis in Midrash
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Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
P'ninat Mishpat Fallout from Failure to Install Elevator – part II
based on ruling 85007 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
