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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Three Weeks
- The Ninth of Av
When we talk about a third of American Jews, we are talking about two million Jews, and when we talk about a quarter of American Jews we are talking about more than 1.5 million Jews whose fathers and forefathers were burned at the stake for not giving up their Jewish identity, and today they are leading anti-Semitism against the State of Israel with the boycott movement.
The bad news that emerges from these two in-depth surveys is that these extremist fringes are expanding and increasing from year to year. And the relevant question to ask is how we managed in the space of one generation to lose the best of our sons and have them join the greatest of the world's anti-Semites.
In order to answer this, one must learn from the history of the Jewish people. From the sin of the spies who were good people and did not believe in the future of the People of Israel. Good people who were erased from the people of Israel and have no connection to the future. They have no part in the Afterlife.
This is what really happened to the parents of the American Jews, about 100 years ago they chose not to immigrate to the Land of Israel in the belief that nothing would come of Herzl's dreams and Rothschild's delusions. They thought that there was no chance for a people who hadn't fought for their lives for thousands of years to regain control and independence. They thought there was no chance that the wilderness of the Land of Israel would return to being the Land of Milk and Honey. They thought we had no chance of renewing ourselves as a people.
That was exactly the sin of the spies on the Ninth of Av. They saw the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt but did not believe in the ability of the People of Israel to renew and return to itself. They knew the stories about the Fathers, but they didn't believe in our ability to return to the great faith of our Fathers, to their righteous virtues. To the great mission of being a light unto the nations.
Our Sages taught us that grappling with the belief in the future of the People repeats itself in every generation. Whenever we choose to believe in the good future of the People of Israel, to believe that G-d will not break His promise to the People of Israel - we triumph. Every time we choose to view ourselves as locusts, we pay the price once more, especially on the Ninth of Av.
Today, too, this choice stands before our eyes. If we think that Zionism has played out and is finished - we have faith in the past but not in the future. Do we think that Aliyah and settlement belong to 1948, or do we believe that the People of Israel have much more to develop, much more to grow, they have a mission to bring blessings to the world, and among other things, to inspire our brothers abroad with the belief that they can return and board the ship to the Promised Land. That they can be part of the success of the State of Israel.
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.
