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Beit Midrash
- Jewish Laws and Thoughts
- Jewish Thought
Yannai, the great 6th century Poet of the Land of Israel versifies this passage as follows: " You are the righteous One which makes righteous. In order to make righteous the righteous nation, you havetaught them to slaughter in righteousness (sedheq) an animal which you permitted for righteous(sedheq) offerings."
Yannai’s rendition is better understood on the backdrop of Rabbinic Traditions that were current in the Land of Israel in his days. Once such tradition which appears to be his source is preserved in Wayikra Rabbah:"The Children of Israel brought sacrifices violating the prohibition of bamoth and [as a result] retribution would come upon them. The Holy One Blessed He said: At all times you shall [only] bring sacrifices before Me in the Tent of Meeting. This way they shall be saved. (Wayikra Rabba 22:8)."
Once the Mishkan was erected, sacrificing on bamoth became prohibited (Zevahim 14:4), but the Jewish People continued and brought punishment upon themselves. God restricts the Jewish People from even slaughtering the sacrificial meat outside of the Tent of Meeting. He makes it less opportune for the Jewish People to stray to illegitimate sacrifice and thereby hopes to eradicate this practice from their midst.
The Rabbinic Tradition and Yannai’s apparent reworking of it differ in a number of nuances. For the Sages in this Tradition, God is the stereotypical maternal figure. He is concerned with the physical well-being of the Jewish People. The reason that God wants to eliminate sacrificing on bamoth is ultimately to put an end to the suffering of the Jewish People.
For Yannai, God is the paternal figure. He is consumed with the moral welfare and collective image of the Jewish People. God’s ultimate concern is to put an end to the sinning of the Jewish People, to cleanse them of the blotch that sin leaves behind and to make them righteous. This is evidenced by Yannai’s multiplied usage of "righteousness" and furthermore by his reinterpretation of the Scripture’s "command" as "taught" stressing the aspect of guidance.
God is not only judge, but as much our caretaker!
How deep are God’s interests in the welfare of His people?
The Talmud of the Land of Israel teaches us that God made certain that cases of irreconcilable differences between the House of Hillel and Shammai did not occur (Kiddushin 1:1 4a). This ensured a peaceful co-existence between the two houses and allowed them to marry into each other’s families.Here God appears to go as far as actually orchestrating history to ensure a peaceful existence for His people.
The well-being of the Jewish People, physical or moral is a deeply personal matter to God who is immersed in the affairs of His people and will go to any lengths to save them from self-affliction and self-destruction. God may be our Judge, but He is even more so our guide and caretaker!
Peninei Halakha 11. Shaving One’s Beard During the Three Weeks
Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks
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.
