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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- The Four Parshiyot
- Hachodesh
commemorate Nisan as our first month. Included in
this reading are the instructions that were given
to Bnei Yisrael to prepare for Pesach. They were
told to select a lamb & safeguard it ("V’haya
lachem l’mishmeret") for 4 days, until it would
be slaughtered on 14 Nisan, with some of its
blood placed on the doorposts, & then eaten
together with Matza & Maror in an elaborate feast.
Rashi asks why it was necessary for the lamb to
be held for 4 full days! One approach: This was
an "in-your-face" act of faith, as we boldly took
the Egyptian god & openly slaughtered it, without
fear of the Egyptians. It took a bit of time to
gather up our courage to actually do this.
Rashi also quotes the navi Yechezkel: "I (G-d)
passed over you. I saw that this was a time of
loving; yet you were bare & naked." Hashem wanted
to liberate us, but we lacked the Mitzvot that
would give us sufficient merit. And so He gave us
two "bloody" commandments: the blood of Brit Mila
& the blood of the Korban Pesach. With these
"bloods" to our credit, we merited redemption.
Over the last half-year (if not the last many
years!) Israel & the Jewish People have been
confronted with fearsome challenges that test our
Emuna. Hardly a day goes by that we do not read
about, personally witness or experience a
tragedy. Indeed, as I write this, I have just
returned from the funeral of Sgt. Sivan Weil HY"D
of Ra’anana, who fell in battle this week in Gaza.
Through all these months, we have shown amazing
bravery & steadfastness. Though there is much
blood - our blood – upon many of our door-posts,
we do not capitulate or collapse; we go forward.
Though our meals may at times be accompanied by
"poor bread" or bitter herbs, yet we do not, we cannot despair.
I suggest that we, at this moment, are within
those very "four days of safeguarding." We are
stockpiling Mitzvot in huge amounts, performing
untold acts of Chesed, giving generously to good
causes, volunteering & praying for our holy
soldiers. We are maintaining our morality, our
dignity & our perseverance in the face of an
immoral, perverse world that turns everything upside-down.
But the moment of deliverance awaits us; the
banquet is coming, its aroma already fills the
air like that lamb-roast of old. Soon will be
fulfilled the pasuk from Zecharya: "By virtue of
the blood of your covenant I freed you from the
pit." Our destiny will not be denied; we have
paid dearly for it. And so, as we declare at
every Brit: "B’damayich chayi’i;" in our bloods we shall live. Eternally.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
