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Rachel Bat Asher
Rashi (28:10) tells us how Ya’akov’s departure from Be'er Sheva effected the community around him. But he does not tell us how Ya’akov himself felt.
Ya’akov was certainly frightened by the prospect of leaving the safe environs of his father’s house and the holiness of Eretz Israel. But as Abarbanel points out, God assured Ya'akov that he would be able to maintain his high level of holiness even in Charan, and that he would indeed return to Eretz Israel.
In his famous dream, Ya’akov saw angels ascending and descending. One would think that that if the angels come from Heaven they should first descend and then ascend. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that the Torah is speaking of two different groups of angels: those of Eretz Israel ascended because Ya'akov was leaving the Holy Land and those of Chutz la-Aretz descended to accompany him outside the Land. Abarbanel points out that the angels from Eretz Israel were superior to the angels in Chutz la-Aretz and that this was God’s way of reminding Ya’akov that he must return to Eretz Yisrael, which is on a higher spiritual level.
We know that one can achieve levels of spirituality and Torah learning in Chutz la-Aretz. But God taught Ya’akov Avinu that the levels one can achieve in Eretz Israel are higher. As R. Yehudah Halevi says in the Kuzari (II, 12), just as a vineyard can only flourish in a place having the proper conditions and climate, so can a nation only flourish spiritually in its own land.
Ya’akov understood God's message and took an oath that should God sustain him during his stay in Charan, he would return to his father's house in Eretz Israel. Ya’akov, as we know, did return. We pray that we all be privileged to return to the home of our forefathers in Eretz Israel.
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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.
