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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- D'varim
- Ha'azinu
We Are Told That The Words Of The Torah Fall Like Rain, Giving Life To Us Even As Rain Makes The Flowers & Plants Bloom. We Are Urged To Seek Wisdom From Our Elders, & Learn From The Generations Gone By. Hashem Is Described As An Eagle, Which Majestically Guards Its Young, Even As Hashem Watches Over Us Eternally.
The Song Also Takes A Darker Tone, As It Warns Us Of The Consequences & Danger Of Forsaking Hashem. Yet Even When We Stray, G-d Will Prevent The Nations From Carrying Out Their Evil Plans Against Us. He Is Our Rock Forever.
What A Perfect Intro To Yom Kippur. For On This Day, We Admit Our Faults & Our Failings Even As We Pledge To Do Better. By Word & Action, Tefila & Fast, We Tell Hashem That We Want To Return To A More Pristine & Perfect Spiritual Life. We Sing, Because Music Emanates From Our Soul & Rises All The Way To Heaven.
But There Is Another Message We Send As Well.
Rav Soloveichik Once Attended A Symphony. He Watched Closely As One Member Of The Orchestra Sat Doing Nothing Until The Very End, When He Dramatically Stood Up & Banged His Cymbals. The Rav Later Approached Him & Asked Him If He Is A Specialist Who Just Comes To Do This One Small Thing For A Brief Moment.
"oh, No," Said The Man. "i Am Every Bit The Musician As Everyone Else; I Get The Same Pay & Recognition. Because Unless I Sound My Cymbals, The Work Is Unfinished, Incomplete, & It Is Considered A Disappointing Failure."
The Rav Wrote About This Experience & Said: "you May Consider Yourself A "bit Player" In The Universe. You May Think That You Make No Difference At All, That The World Can Go On Without Any Need Or Notice Of You. But You Are Wrong; Hashem Is The Master Conductor, & He Needs Each & Every Person To Do His Or Her Part. If Anyone Or Anything Is Absent, Then The World – Even History Itself – Is Diminished & Deficient, & In Need Of A Tikun."
On Yom Kippur, We Remind Hashem That We Truly Desire To Be Part Of The Heavenly Orchestra; The Instrument We Play Is "instrumental" In The Divine Plan For Humanity. And So We Plead, "let Us Return For Another Performance."
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Israel and the Nations A Few Minutes & Many Innovative Ideas on Antisemitism & What to do About It
As we approach the High Holidays, this short lecture (18 minutes) deals with the unfortunate situation of how Israel and the Jewish People stand against antisemitism, analyzing its cause according to Rav Kook, and how to deal with the issue pragmatically & via our prayers.
Ha'azinu PURSUIT is PERFECTION
p. Ha'azinu, Shabbat Shuva
Rav Kook deals with the question of the seemingly hopeless nature of Tshuva. For G-d Himself knows that He created us with free will, which inevitably means we will sometimes make mistakes and choose wrong. This can easily be frustrating, freezing us into inaction and ye'ush (loss of hope). If one sins even once, does he chalila have no choice but suicide?! Moreover, our Godly conscience demands justice, righteousness and perfection, but we all know this is impossible, so what's the solution? Rav Kook's innovative thinking, strongly based on chazal (our sages), offers an inciteful and important aspect to this topic, especially this time of year!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
