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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
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- D'varim
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R. Yehoshua said that the pasuk, "You [Moshe] will lie with your fathers and will rise up the nation and will sin after the idols of the Land…" (Devarim 31:16) is the source both for the resurrection of the dead and that Hashem knows what will happen in the future (Sanhedrin 90b). Why does R. Yehoshua contort the pasuk so that it can teach both lessons?
Daniel said: "To you, Hashem, is the righteousness, and to us is embarrassment" (Daniel 9:7). Now that we have our own state, we can understand our embarrassment better than before. Where do we find a nation whose members do not all flock to its land from abroad when it is now possible? How can so many of those who are here disrespect religious leaders and deny the glory of our national past? Our generation pales in comparison to the previous one, when the chalutzim dreamed and sacrificed so much to build. Why do these problems exist now?
"When [our nation] is elevated, it reaches the Heavens; when it falls, it falls to the dirt" (Pesikta, Bereishit 15:5). This refers mainly to the nation’s spiritual side. Hashem complains that we can be the most difficult nation to get to be obedient to its G-d (see Beitza 25b). Part of the complaint is that we have at our disposal special tools of elevation, especially the ability to turn the mundane into sanctity. When Moshe was on Sinai for 40 days, he "ate" from the glory of the Divine Presence, similar to the eating of the noblemen in Israel when Hashem revealed Himself (Shemot 24:11 and Shemot Rabba 47:7). While everything is spiritual, most people’s bodies are unable to digest the spiritual in that form.
On Yom Kippur, the day Moshe descended Sinai, we have an element of Moshe’s ability to be sustained from Hashem without physicality. The essence of the fast is to desist from eating, like angels, and be energized without it. We have a great hunger for spirituality, but when we do not find it, we can go very low. Other nations suffice with their idol worship, but that does not satisfy our thirst. The nations have an idol called democracy and do not notice that they need more spirituality than that. A Jew needs more than that and keeps searching.
We return to the pasuk in Devarim. If one can say that Moshe died, i.e., that we cannot be inspired by Moshe’s sanctity, then the nation will go sin with idols. Yom Kippur tells us that first we eat, and then we can move on to elevating the physical. When we appear to die, it is really "lying with the fathers," it is a slumber and not death. We also learn that Hashem sees the future, and He knows that our spiritual failings are not representative of our level, but that He knows we will return to our proper standing.
We need to "return until Hashem" (see Hoshea 14:2, from our haftara). We can reach the throne of divine glory (Yoma 86a), and that is what we need – a full return and not a partial one, a full liberation, and not a partial one. This is what we ask for this Yom Kippur.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
