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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
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- Rosh Hashana
The Magen Avraham, one of the renowned Halakhic authorities of the latter centuries, rules that one may take any food with a name - even in English! - that can be "manipulated" to express one of our wishes for the new year. Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin writes that the name of an item tells us of its essence and source, through which we can grasp onto the point of sanctity within it.
The Sfat Emet explains the depth of these simanim by citing the Zohar: "They all cry out in prayer on Yom Kippur like dogs saying, 'Hav, hav, [give, give] us food, forgiveness, atonement, and life; inscribe us for life.' But they are brazen, just like those who worship stars and cry out to them, and they have no shame." The Zohar is telling us that the Days of Awe are not for asking for our personal needs, but rather are special days in which we engage exclusively in installing HaShem as King over us and developing both our love and fear of Him.
The Sfat Emet poses this question: "The Sages themselves enacted our prayer liturgy, which are replete with our personal requests! What is wrong with asking HaShem to fulfill our needs?" He answers that the Zohar's gripe is against those who yell out like dogs, "Hav – fork it over!" and whose primary prayer is to receive more and more. In truth, the essence of our prayer should be the opposite: that all our needs be those that cleave to the source of life, from which we will receive great abundance.
This is an important lesson for us. On Rosh Hashana, HaShem distributes life to all His creations, and on this day, too, we are to ask for this life that He is offering. We must seek to use it only for its most sublime and basic – and therefore, its most natural – purpose: that of serving HaShem. We want food, and we want life, and we want forgiveness, but it is all not for their sake alone, but so that we can better serve HaShem! This is what our soul cries out for!
We are essentially asking that HaShem connect our lives, our food, and our children to the source of Divine holiness –through which, we will inevitably be showered with abundance. But this is not the main thing; the main thing is actually the very connection and cleaving of everything to its source – again, that which our soul seeks always to do.
With this, the Sfat Emet explains the custom of the simanim. These symbolic foods hint to us that everything in the world is so that we can extract from it its particular essence that can be used for the service of HaShem. They tell us that behind every cooked dish and behind every vegetable lies a hidden but powerful force, a force of life that sustains and give it existence. The needs of This World are only like "outer garments" for the inner life and vitality hidden within them. This is why the Zohar rails against those who concentrate on the "outer garments" on this special, powerful day of Rosh Hashana, instead of focusing on the spirit of life. Rosh Hashana is the day on which our vitality was created, and which influences and directs it every year thereafter. Instead of concentrating on our clothing, we must be directed towards the life itself that is within the clothing. And according to each person's desire and his concentration in his service of Hashem, so he will receive.
May it be HaShem's will that we merit on this coming Rosh Hashana to receive abundance of life from the Source of Life for the entire year. And especially may the beginning of the year 5781 harbinger the end of this plague around the world, with a true, speedy, and full recovery to all those who are ill, physically and spiritually.
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
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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.
