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Beit Midrash
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Recipient: The organization "Beit Va’ad Lachachamim," dedicated to the advancement of Torah study in Yerushalayim. They apparently asked Rav Kook for an article on a specific halachic matter, which he did not have time to prepare (he related to the matter briefly). However, he focused the letter on his envisioned goals and encouragement for such a group.
Body: [Last time Rav Kook wrote of the extra power Torah scholarship has in Eretz Yisrael, with the help of special Divine Spirit.]
Igrot Hare’aya (200)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
68 - The Power of the Scholars of Eretz Yisrael
69 - The Power of the Scholars of Eretz Yisrael
70 - The Power of the Scholars of Eretz Yisrael
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It thus behooves us to inform the whole world of the grandeur, sanctity, and honor of Eretz Yisrael. Even if one might consider what we say exaggerations, we would be lucky to express even one out of ten thousand of the desirability of the Desired Land, the splendor of the light of its Torah, and the light of the wisdom and the Divine Spirit that abounds in its midst.
In any matter of spirituality and, likewise, mundane matters, there are different levels. While each person has "what to be jealous about with his counterpart’s wedding" (Bava Batra 75a), when one compares the warmth of the light and the delicateness of the sanctity that a Torah scholar who is seeking Hashem finds in Eretz Yisrael, there is nothing at all comparable in the Diaspora. I am hereby a witness to this matter, even if on my low level.
The foundation of the help Eretz Yisrael gives in enabling scholars to analyze and arrive at new ideas, even in matters of Halacha (apparently, it is more obvious in the realm of spirituality/mysticism) is built on the very depth of the spirituality that the Master of the Universe desires. This special spirituality is concentrated in the Torah and shines light on every mitzva and specific Halacha, up to the smallest detail, to the extent that these matters of Torah are as happy (i.e., full of positive energy) as they were when they were given at Sinai (Vayikra Rabba 16:4).
In the Diaspora, one needs to [feel his way] in the dark by dealing with the externals and comparing one thing to another, whereas the essence of the matter whose source is in the depth of the sanctity of divinity itself, one cannot grasp. Clearly, we are degraded by leaving behind [our potential] and not sufficiently grasping our self-worth, by allowing the "mistress" to be degraded before her maidservant (i.e., a lesser nation), while [our nation] is still cloaked in the mantle of a G-d-fearer, despite how Hashem looks at it. We have unfortunately allowed the honor of the Desired Land and the place where the Divine Presence has rested, to be trampled.
All of these things have caused [divine truths and light] to be dimmed. Torah scholars in Eretz Yisrael are once again humbled and abandon their strength, thinking that they were created only to chew bones of the scholars of the Diaspora and mimic lower forms of scholarship, which emanate from darkness. In these matters, the scholars of Eretz Yisrael are actually weak because they were created for higher callings. If they place themselves on a higher pedestal, they will succeed in everything, because "100 is included within 200." Excellence in the realms of wisdom, fear of Hashem, belief in and service of Hashem, development of study of ethics and social wisdom, along with the depth of the Torah and its greatness in the style of true brilliance, is and must be very different in Eretz Yisrael in comparison to the Diaspora.
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
P'ninat Mishpat Limits of Interest Rate for Loan with Heter Iska – part I
based on ruling 80033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Multiple Agreements and Parties – part IV
based on final ruling of 80082 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat Payment for Not Clearing Warehouse On Time – part II
based on ruling 75076 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Igrot Hare’aya Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part II
Date and Place: 4 Nisan 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Keeping Shemitta Partially – #272
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook; Date and Place: 2 Adar I 5670 (1910), Yafo
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
