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Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest leader in all our
history - & we have had some truly great leaders!
He amazingly transformed us from a downtrodden,
depressed group of slaves into an Am Kadosh that
merited receiving the Torah. But what made him so great?
Moshe had many outstanding qualities. He was
genteel, of royal bearing, having been raised in
the kings palace. He was brave, standing up to (&
then killing) the evil taskmaster. He was kind,
tending his sheep with love; & of course, he was super-brilliant.
But the Torah chooses one attribute that stands
above all the others: he was the humblest person
who ever lived. That feature, more than any
other, qualified Moshe to lead us. We see this
admirable mida in action when Moshe begs & pleads
not to be appointed the savior of Am Yisrael.
Rather than egotistically pursuing power & glory,
as so many of our so-called leaders tend to do,
Moshe instead tries desperately to defer the title upon someone else.
But does Moshe try too hard to convince Hashem
that he is not the right man for the job? It
would seem so! Note the pasuk (4:13) when, after
arguing unsuccessfully with G-d, Moshe finally
proclaims, "Shlach na byad tishlach;" please, my
Lord, send whoever you want to!
At first glance, it seems that Moshe was throwing
up his hands & saying, OK, Hashem, You win, do
whatever You want. But hang on; why does Moshe
say please?! That doesn't see to fit here!
So Chazal explain that Moshe was saying something
completely different, apropos to his lack of
conceit. Moshe the greatest of all prophets
foresaw that while he would indeed redeem us from
Egypt, this would be but one step in our
checkered history. Yes, we would conquer Israel &
build the Bet HaMikdash, but then wed lose it
all. Wed then return, but be exiled yet again. So
Moshe petitions Hashem: Please, please, don't
send me, the temporary redeemer; send instead the
true Goel, the final redeemer! Let Bnei Yisrael
go straight to the Geula Shlema & avoid all the
horrible heartache & suffering along the way.
But Hashem turns down Moshe's benevolent request.
For Jewish history is not linear, G-d tells him;
it does not go in one straight, smooth path
direct from slavery to salvation. It rather
undulates throughout history, with innumerable
ups & downs, with the highest highs & the lowest
lows. Moshe will not accomplish everything he
hoped for, but he will provide us with an
invaluable piece of the puzzle. He has his own
unique task to perform, & the rest of history
must then play out as G-d sees it.
This roller-coaster ride were on, 4000 years &
counting, has now taken a deep & drastic dive.
Were certainly at a low point, with daily doses
of trauma & tragedy, worse than anything most of
us have ever faced. But be assured: what goes
down must come up, & we will rise again to days
of happy news, good tidings & miraculous
delivery. B'ezrat Hashem, this is the final
plunge before we see that final Goel that Moshe assured us is coming.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
