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"Had Israel kept two Shabbatot properly, they would have immediately had a complete geula" (Shabbat 118b). It seems that this refers to two types of Shabbat. One is the weekly remembrance of Creation. The other one is Yom Tov ("the day after Shabbat" – Vayikra 23:15, which the Tzedukim were not willing to accept as the meaning of the pasuk), because it is a Shabbat which is created by the intervention of man, by setting the calendar.
What is the crucial significance of our setting the calendar? While the rule is that "everything is in the hands of Heaven," the task of sanctifying that which is mundane is man’s. Man is a being of opposites, as he is made from earth combined with a soul from the divine. Whereas an individual has a struggle in dealing with the physical world, that is easier than for a nation, as an individual can put up partitions between him and the rest of the world. An entire nation cannot do so. It must collectively embrace the physical world. Someone needs to plant and harvest and grind … These time-consuming activities can swallow a person up.
This was the task that was created for Israel when they left Egypt. As an independent nation, they would need to be involved in all elements of their national existence. Bnei Yisrael were to be a nation like all nations … and unlike all nations. They would sing not just about its struggles but also about its harvest and its first fruit. But the approach to these agricultural elements has to be done according to the input of the Torah, which thereby sanctifies it.
This holiday is the second Shabbat, the one which only Israel, with its combination of flesh and soul, will create; it is not decided in the Heaven, and that is the nature of the day. How does one reach the spiritual content of the day? The special mitzva of the first day of Pesach is the eating of the Korban Pesach. This is different from other korbanot, for which the main part of the mitzva is the sprinkling of the blood. There are many fundamental halachot concerning the eating, and spiritually it represents the taking of material meat and turning it into something holy. This is how we prepare to celebrate the geula from Egypt, not by means of only a physical celebration or of a fully spiritual one, but of a mix that represents national sanctity.
Until the day after this Pesach celebration, it was not possible to take the first harvest of the field properly. It must be done without haughtiness, and only then can one begin to prepare for the giving of the Torah (sefirat ha’omer begins, ending with Shavuot). In that way, we do not suffice with a transformation from slavery to freedom but also from shibud ("we would still be meshubadim to Paroh in Egypt") to a fuller geula. We could have had an independent state in Egyptian form, which is what the people were used to. Only after eating the Korban Pesach were we spiritually prepared for a new national life, fundamentally disjointed from Egypt.
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
