Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Bo
Life is about learning, & the Jewish sojourn in Mitzrayim was meant to be the learning experience par excellence; its profound lessons should be studied & scrutinized, & should never be lost on us.
As our Sedra opens, G-d orders Moshe to approach Paro & warn him regarding the 8th Plague, locusts. "I have hardened Paro’s heart," He says, "so as to multiply My wonders, & so you can tell your sons & grandsons what I did to Egypt, so that all may know that I am Hashem."
Moshe then proceeds to meet Paro, & tells him about the impending locust attack. "They will cover the earth, they will consume your crops & completely fill your houses. It will be something never before seen by the likes of your father & grandfather from the time the world was formed."
Notice the subtle phraseology Moshe uses? About Am Yisrael, he talks of future generations’ sons & grandsons. But vis a vis Egypt, he cites previous generations.
There are many Eastern religions that do not believe in a Supreme Being. Instead of worshipping G-d, they pray to their ancestors. But Jews, while revering those who came before us - either in our own families or in the collective history of our People - pray only to the One G-d. (When we visit cemeteries, we ask our loved ones to use their merit & intercede for us with G-d; we don’t pray to them.)
We are answerable not only to our predecessors, but also to those who come after us. We cannot make decisions based only on past precedent; we also have to consider the effect on future generations. They are the ones who will reap the reward or punishment for what we do today.
Ben-Gurion met with his advisors to decide whether or not to declare Statehood. Then he dismissed the group & said he must first consult with 2 other people before he can make his final decision: one of them was his Zayde, long since dead; the other his grandchild, not yet born.
I wish I had a 5-shekel coin for every time someone came up to me & said, "Rabbi, you know, my bubbie was a tzadeyket & an Ayshet Chayil & my zayde was a Talmid Chacham & a distinguished Rav!" I always reply, "That’s indeed very impressive; but I’m even more interested in who your grandson & granddaughter will be! That’s truly accessing the power of the day after tomorrow!
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
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Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
P'ninat Mishpat Fallout from Failure to Install Elevator – part II
based on ruling 85007 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
