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Beit Midrash
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The cataclysmic Battle of the Brothers, so feared by a trembling Yakov - who had dreaded this confrontation for 22 long years, since the day he wrested the birthright from his twin Esav – never materialized. It was a dud; a boring, uneventful non-event. It lasted even shorter than the celebrated 1965 Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight, when the champ knocked out his opponent with the infamous "Phantom Punch," just 1:44 into the first round. In our sedra, instead of KO’s, there were kisses.
Was Esav truly sincere in his embrace of Yakov? The mysterious dots above the word, "Vayishakayhu – and he kissed him" – are interpreted by some as quote marks, implying this was not your typical love-smooch. They read the word instead "Vayinash’chu, & he (Esav) bit him," adding that Yakov’s neck miraculously turned as hard as alabaster so that he avoided any deadly injury.
But others maintain that this kiss was genuine, that Esav really wanted to make amends & reconcile with Yakov. Rashi quotes Rav Shimon bar Yochai saying that while it is indeed a given maxim that Esav (read: all Gentiles) hate Jews, in this case the emotion of love was real. And Rav S. R. Hirsch points to Esav’s crying as conclusive evidence that the embrace was genuine; tears, he says, cannot be faked. Esav grasped his lineage & affirmed that he was, after all, a grandson of Avraham Avinu.
Flash forward to the present. How often do witness the constant enmity of others for the Jewish People & Israel; the defamation, lies & curses that are cast upon us, & throw up our hands in desperation. "They hate us!" we declare, convinced that there will be eternal conflict with the world at large, with only the rarest of exceptions.
But then along comes a remarkable event, such as the establishment of ties between Israel & the Arab Emirates, & their amazing outpouring of friendship towards the thousands of Israeli visitors to Dubai, that stops us in our tracks & makes us wonder if maybe, just maybe, there can be a comraderie & cooperation between our peoples.
Think about it: the vast majority of our troubles involve our own relatives: Yishmael, Esav, Amalek, Lavan, Moav & Ammon are all the fruit of our generational family tree. So, even though intra-family fights can be the most caustic, maybe we will someday come to the realization that we share the same DNA, the same genes, the same blood. Maybe hope will someday replace hopelessness.
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.
