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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.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
