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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Achrei Mot
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Kdoshim
But there is yet another spin we can give to this phrase by slightly moving the comma: Acharei Mot Kedoshim, Emor: After the death of the righteous, speak!
There is a natural tendency on the part of any mourner to embrace silence; he experiences an almost involuntary inability to express the enormity of his loss, for that loss is too big for words. For how can we find just the right vocabulary to encapsulate a life; how can we hope to convey the kaleidoscope of emotions that we are experiencing? And if speaking cannot do justice to our emotions, then we are much better served by silence.
Now, if this is true on a personal level, it is equally valid on a national level. What words can grasp the enormity of the Shoa? What poem, song or lecture can take in the heroism, grief & sacrifice of Israel’s too-many wars?
And yet, these combined Sedrot tell us we must make an attempt, we must try to speak out at some point. We have to get that emotion out. That’s why our Rabbis require us to gather at a Minyan after experiencing a loss, in order to recite the Kaddish. Though the mourner may wish to withdraw, both physically & verbally, he knows that at least 3 times a day he must appear in public & speak.
For many years, Holocaust survivors were reluctant to share their experiences. Even if they found the words, they worried, would the public be receptive? Indeed, my late mother in law, who survived Auschwitz, told me she tried, shortly after coming to America, to explain to a group of ladies what had befallen her. "You think you had it rough?" they told her, "we had to endure the Great Depression & the bread lines!" At that point, she decided it would be better just to be quiet.
But later, she began to speak out, as did many others; Spielberg’s video project opened up thousands of survivors. And the Israeli media does all it can to tell the story of the soldiers who gave their lives to defend our country, suspending all regular TV coverage on Yom HaZikaron in order to paint portraits of their lives..
As challenging as it may be, we owe it to our martyred heroes to speak. Memory - as transmitted through the stories we tell - is the key to Redemption.
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.
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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.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
