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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Shmini
Chazal call Sefer Vayikra, "Torat Kohanim" (the Laws of the Priests), but it is not a book that deals only with that tribe, but one that deals with the laws of the Nation of Priests. That is the reason there is an intermingling of topics between those that deal with more direct service of Hashem and those that regulate the religious and proper social life of the individual. Just as there are rules for what can and cannot be brought as a korban, so too there are rules of what one can and cannot eat. The idea is that a person’s table is like an altar (see Yechezkel 41:22). The food is, so to speak, elevated before it can be integrated into this body. The animal and vegetable become part of the human. The "dirt from the ground" becomes "a living soul" (see Bereishit 2:7) and the "image of G-d." Therefore, it is critically important what a person eats, as the food must be incorporated into the image of G-d. It must not have anything that is difficult to "digest spiritually" and cause a pollution of the spirit (see Yoma 39a).
One thus needs to have a spiritual diet. He must also be careful not to eat like a glutton. A person must not be "enslaved to his intestines." The halachot of kashrut must preserve him as a human, and prevent him from become animalistic. It is the animal that must be raised closer to the level of man, not vice versa.
One "impure source" said: "It is not important what one puts into his mouth. Rather, what is important is that which comes out of his mouth." This is a bad statement because the one who coined it did not realize that what one puts into his mouth affects that which comes out of it. Our nation’s special diet raises us to a level of sanctification (see Vayikra 11:44), which is what made us chosen and special among the nations.
Part of the deterioration in our days stems from the fact that many are not careful with what they eat. We therefore should have been surprised if there were no deterioration. This is one step in our spiritual development. Another is the way we act – whether it is in line with that which is written: "You shall be holy."
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
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.
