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I have concluded that anyone who really wishes to contact me with something important that I need to know will call me or at least send me an email. So, every morning after prayer services in our synagogue and breakfast, I park myself in front of my trusted computer and examine the email that has arrived overnight. This email is mainly from the United States and arrives late at night simply because of the time difference between Israel and America.
I must admit that I am flattered by the amount of email that I regularly receive. Most of it is really junk mail that has nothing to do with me personally and is just part of the enormous amount of advertising, solicitations and nonsensical messaging that dominates the email field. However, there always is a nugget of gold to be found amongst all the pebbles that are being sent. And since I never know which message is important and real, and which is not, I pretty much open all of them to discover their importance. I find this to be an intriguing pastime, for I always value some sense of mystery and surprise in life.
Naturally, emails have a definite downside to them. Oftentimes, they are little more than a nuisance and just take up memory and clutter up one's computer. There is also a distinct coldness to email correspondence. Whatever the computer is, and it is many things to different people, it is never an instrument of warmth and serenity. Rather, it always appears as an intruder into the pattern of the day.
We are so addicted to it, that almost everyone looks at every email they receive, even those that one knows in advance deserve the trash bin immediately. I once received a very complementary email from someone with a very famous name. I was instantly flattered that this noted scholar and brilliant wordsmith should deem little me worthy of such a kind letter. So, I responded by email thanking the person, and I mentioned in my letter that I was a fan of his writings and opinions. I was chagrined to receive an email in response in which my correspondent indicated to me that he was not the person that I thought he was, even though he did have the same name as that more famous individual. I then realized that anonymity is another one of the attributes of email, and that because of that, many mistakes can easily be made that can have unwanted consequences.
Because of emails and texting, spelling has become a lost art in current society. The English language has always presented difficulties when it came to spelling words properly. Because English is so heavily influenced by German, French, Gaelic and Celtic derivatives, its spelling does not lend itself to phonetics, and it is difficult to arrive at clear-cut rules. The English language clearly harbors within it so many exceptions to any of the spelling rules that have been established.
Well, emails have no spelling rules of their own, and even though spell check and other such computer programs are readily available, most of us receive emails with words that are misspelled, but that we can somehow figure out on our own what is being communicated to us, mistakes and all.
I am not a stickler for spelling, and this element of the email revolution really does not trouble me greatly. Every so often, I do receive an email that I am unable to decipher because the spelling is so different from usable English. I also notice that in the past when one person sent a written letter to another person, the sender usually receives some sort of acknowledgment of his letter. That certainly is not true regarding email, where the recipient in most cases does not feel any obligation to respond to the sender if there is no pressing need to do so. This, again, is an example of the coldness of email that I mentioned earlier. But my friends, these words are being sent to you via email as we must adjust to the times.
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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.
