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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Igrot Hare’aya
Recipient: The honorable members of the "Pri Etz Hadar" association
Igrot Hare’aya (200)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
10 - Preparing for Aliya
11 - Supporting Non-grafted Etrogim
12 - The Need to Be Connected to our Past
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When you are able to complete the necessary steps to clarify that [an orchard of] etrogim is kosher and clear of any concern of grafting, I will testify about them before the nation of Hashem in the dispersion of exile that they are indeed kosher and clean from this blemish. I am sure that "our brethren, the Sons of Israel" will know to give precedence based on this fundamental advantage of the kashrut of etrogim, by being assured that they are not grafted but clearly kosher. This exceeds the advantages of external beauty, which is easier to achieve when the fruit are grafted onto lemon rootstocks.
These are the details that you honored men must fulfill so that I can give a certificate of kashrut in a positive spirit, with Hashem’s help:
1. You must clarify for me with complete certainty that the source of the seeds from which your etrog trees come are from etrog trees that grow uncultivated, [which is an indication] that there is no concern of grafting.
2. Allow me to appoint G-d-fearing supervisors with expertise in the matter to check the orchards by means of their roots in a reliable check to ascertain that they have not been grafted with another species.
3. There must be a reliable supervisor who will be present at the time of picking and packaging to attest that grafted or questionable etrogim were not mixed in among the etrogim that are free of questions. He must also make sure that terumot and ma’asrot were taken according to Torah law and that there is no problem of orla (fruit from the tree’s first three years).
When you will fulfill these three requirements, I will, with Hashem’s help, strongly attest to your etrogim’s kashrut [while noting that they are] raised by our brethren who work the fields of the Holy Land. I hope that all of the greatest rabbis in the Diaspora, and all who fear Hashem and perform mitzvot in the best way, will stand by your side. All those who love the Holy Land in all the places that the Jewish People are dispersed will strengthen your hands, which are involved in sacred work, so that you will be able over time to plant more orchards that produce kosher "choice fruit of the tree" (the Torah’s term for etrogim). This will enable the holy mitzva to be fulfilled according to its halachot in a certifiable way by all of the nation of Hashem. This will also give greater strength and vigor to the Jewish settlement efforts in Eretz Yisrael and give employment to farmers in our Holy Land who work the land with the sweat of their brow, planting kosher etrog orchards according to Torah law in a manner that brings honor and magnificence.
Sign Off: The blessed Hashem should bless you and bring success to the work of your hands. He should enable us to see the happiness of Zion and its building through the ingathering of its children into it in joy. "Those who come shall be rooted in Yaakov and will bud and flower in Israel, and they shall fill the face of the world with produce" (Yeshayahu 27:6).
Historical Note: Some two years later, Rav Kook published a book called Etz Hadar, which clarifies the problem of grafted etrogim and calls on Jews to buy from those farmers in Eretz Yisrael who grow kosher etrogim.
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
P'ninat Mishpat Repercussions of a Sale that Turned Out Not Happening – part III
(based on ruling 83045 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
P'ninat Mishpat Repercussions of a Sale That Turned Out Not Happening – part II
(based on ruling 83045 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Igrot Hare’aya Trying to Arrange Purchase of Land in Eretz Yisrael
#222 Date and Place: 2 Elul 5669 (1909), Rechovot
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Multiple Agreements and Parties – part IV
based on final ruling of 80082 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Igrot Hare’aya Excerpts of Letter on Shemitta – #289 – part I
Date and Place: 6 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part II
Date and Place: 4 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya A Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part I
Date and Place: 4 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
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.
