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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- D'varim
- Nitzavim
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- D'varim
- Vayelech
Note that there is a seeming paradox at work here: Nitzavim means "to stand" in place, while "Vayelech" means "to go." Now, how can you stop and go at the very same time?
My Rebbe explained with a clever metaphor, a wonderful example of how we can learn from all things in life. He said that when we drive, there are green lights that mean Go, and there are red lights which signify Stop. But at certain intersections, there are lights which are red - to prevent us from traveling forward - accompanied by green arrows, allowing - or even directing us - to turn in another direction.
This is the essential idea of Nitzavim-Vayelech & the road to Teshuva. We can never stop moving, for if we cease to move, we die. But there are times when we must stop in the way that we are going and turn to a different path. There is a moment in our lives when we come to realize that the Divine Arrow is pointing us in another direction and nudging us to pursue a different way. This is the unique, priceless moment of Teshuva, a grand opportunity for change and self-improvement that should not be lost on us.
In life, inertia often takes the wheel and we get stuck on the same route, day after day, year after year. It's a great challenge to be able to break our routine & to take that road less traveled - even when we know Hashem is at the end of the journey. The Shofar, I suggest, is a kind of spiritual horn that beeps (like the impatient drivers behind us!) signaling that we must put the pedal to the metal and get ourselves going.
Here's hoping that all of us buckle our seat belts and steer our neshamot to a year of Health, Blessing and Peace. If we are focused on coming closer to G-d, we will never lose our WAZE.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
