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Beit Midrash
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Jacob wished to have such a life, decades earlier. In the words of Rashi, he wanted to dwell with a sense of security and well-being – before the situation with Joseph and his brothers erupted and subjected him and them the trauma that is recorded for us in the previous Torah chapters. Yet, it is obvious from the tone and wordings of his final blessings to his children, that Jacob is looking far ahead, well past Egyptian exile and even towards the end of days.
Rashi points out that the Holy Spirit had departed from Jacob during his years of grief over the disappearance of his beloved son Joseph. When one is tragically affected by grief and sadness, it is almost impossible to have a vision or a sense of the future and better times.
The rabbis, in their sensitive wisdom, cautioned against providing comfort when a wound is open and the pain fresh and severe. There is little room for the Holy Spirit to enter a person whose heart is been broken and is in an emotional state of grief and depression. But now when his family is restored and his spirits have been raised, he is once again blessed with farsighted vision and words of prophecy and eternity.
Judaism and the Jewish people always look toward the future even when their current circumstances are bitter and sad. Jacob himself appraised it when he said he would receive his reward tomorrow. Our reward is always tomorrow, for we realize that temporary situations, both good and better, are transitory and in the long run of human existence, the experience of one generation or even a few generations may not be as vital and important as we think them to be.
Looking back at the 18th and 19th centuries, I am struck by the fact that, with the exception of study, all of the other ideas and social streams of those times have practically disappeared from Jewish life. There are no more enlightened Jews – only Jews with different degrees of observance present in their lives. The idols that once were worshipped have either been smashed by events of history or have collapsed of their own ineptitude and distortion.
It is often difficult to judge present circumstances because we ourselves are only temporary residents here. We tend to give greater weight to events which again, in the long run of history, may not count for much.
Our father Jacob looks forward to the future and sees the sojourn of the Jewish people in Egypt, important and necessary as it may have been, to be only a blip on the radar screen of the eternity of Israel and the Jewish faith.
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.
