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Beit Midrash
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Recipient: R. Binyamin Moshe Levine, a young protégé of Rav Kook. We have seen warm letters to him in the past.
Body: I haven’t had enough time to write a complete letter to you. Thank G-d, I can almost fulfill my obligation with the letter that my son (Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, 18 years old at the time) wrote, as he is basically the one person who is used to my way of thinking and is able to listen to the speech of my soul. He, thank G-d, has a pure and gentle spirit, and he carries the fragrance of many good and enlightening ideas, which will be a blessing for him and for the world.
You know the conceptual goal behind the yeshiva [I am planning], which is to save exceptional individuals who are being wasted due to the horrible neglect of the inner side of the Torah, which is the light of life, hidden in the Torah and in the root of the nation’s soul. We will do this by setting organized study, from the bottom up, for all the intellectual currents in the heart of Judaism in the broadest manner. Obviously, the spirit of Hashem must be revealed in this manner, by tapping on the strings of the heart.
Igrot Hare’aya (200)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
41 - False Accusation of Non-Kosher Soap – #333
42 - Asking Restraint from Insulted New Yishuv – #334
43 - Worse on the Outside, Better on the Inside – #332
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The yeshiva’s second goal is to give a new spirit of the "dew of Torah" to the New Yishuv, and thereby to remove the darkness and the strangulating spiritual dryness from its root and replace it with the moistness of life, from which to draw for generations to come. Therefore, the yeshiva must produce students whose souls are full of the Torah’s sanctity and splendor and for whom the love of the nation’s development in its Holy Land is a light that leads their lives.
People think it is well-known that only those whose Jewish heartbeat has ceased to give life to their heart (i.e., they are not religious) are the ones who exert themselves in reviving the Land, and that those who act like proper Jews view building the Land as something that is forced upon us that we cannot necessarily overcome. Oh, what an embarrassment such an outlook is!
All the other side reasons for the yeshiva emanate from the above two. The yeshiva must be founded in a correct and beautiful manner, both internally and externally, whether in regard to the edifice, the students, the teachers, and the conduct of everything related to it. It must be fitting for an orderly nation living securely in its own Land, and not one that is wandering in exile.
So too, the central rabbinate of the New Yishuv must prepare [for its role] with elegance and breadth. It must be ready to influence the Yishuv by regularly traveling to all parts of the country, whether to Judea or the Galilee. It must regularly put out pamphlets and letters to galvanize and reinvigorate a united front. This will raise the stature of Judaism in a multitude of ways and enable the nation to find in the Holy Land two life-saving elements: its practical side and its spiritual side.
This can forge a real connection between the nation and Eretz Yisrael, with the spirit of Hashem which eternally dwells in it. These seem like small things, but one should not disregard such things, and great things can come from them. I have no interest in honor for me or my family, but am motivated by the honor of Israel and its salvation, which is what Hashem truly desires.
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
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
Igrot Hare’aya Connecting Disciplines in Torah Study
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook #103 – part II
P'ninat Mishpat Limits of Interest Rate for Loan with Heter Iska – part II
based on ruling 80033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Igrot Hare’aya The State of Religion in Eretz Yisrael – #277 – part I
Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook Date and Place: 9 Adar I 5670 (1910), Yafo
Igrot Hare’aya Informing a Friend he Is Not Insulted – #320
Date and Place: 5 Menachem Av 5670 (1910), Rechovot (probably)
Igrot Hare’aya Worse on the Outside, Better on the Inside – #332
Date and Place: 26 Elul 5670 (1910), Yafo
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.
