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.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
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.
