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Beit Midrash
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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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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.
