YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Naso
Our Sedra is called Parshat Hamiton’nim, the chapter of the complainers. The nation has reached a true high; we were freed from Egypt, received the Torah, built & then dedicated the magnificent Mishkan, but it all seems to break down. We go into depression, we find fault with our leaders - & by extension with G-d - & we start to practice that time-honored Jewish tradition: Kvetching.
We complain about the conditions of the desert; the lack of water; the shortage of meat; the taste of the miraculous Mahn. Even Miriam & Ahron get into the act when they complain to Moshe about his neglecting his wife Tzipora. We find fault with everyone & everything.
In fact, we don’t even need a specific reason to complain: The chapter (11!) begins by simply saying, "The people complained; it was evil in the ears of Hashem; He became angry & He burned the people." Notice this is before any specific grievances were lodged! There was just a general mood of discontent that gripped the nation.
Where does this dissatisfaction come from? The answer, I suggest, can be found in 2 tiny little words. When grousing about the mahn, the people say: Our souls are parched, spoiled; ayn kol! These last two words ayn kol can mean, "we have nothing." But it can also mean, "we don’t have everything! And there is the key to it all.
If you believe that everything is coming to you, then the moment you don’t have something - be it a steak done exactly the way you like it, ice in your drink or the perfect temperature of 72(F) - 22(C) degrees (all pretty hard things to get in a desert!) then you forget about all the amazing blessings you do have, & you focus only on what is missing. And, invariably, you will come up with a million & one faults in your own personal universe.
If this was a problem 2500 years ago, it is perhaps even more of a problem today. Our souls are often spoiled, too. We want everything to be perfect, & when it doesn’t quite go the way we want it, we go ballistic, or we fall into moaning, groaning or depression. We suddenly forget all the beautiful gifts which G-d sends our way every day, every second; the amazing miracles that surround us.
One of a Jew’s greatest tests is whether he will see himself deprived, or Divinely blessed. One attitude leads to a life of bitterness, the other to a life of bracha.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.