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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Passover - Pesach
- The Seder Night
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Passover - Pesach
- The Haggadah
these 3 things at Pesach (seder) has not
fulfilled the obligation: Pesach (the lamb offering); Matza; & Maror.
Of course, we know that these three rituals
formed the basis of Chag HaPesach. Today, because
we have not yet rebuilt the Bet HaMikdash, only
the eating of Matza remains a Torah Mitzva among
the three; the Maror is a Rabbinic commandment, &
we have no lamb offering at all (Magid,
re-telling the story of the Exodus, is the only
other Torah Mitzva still in force).
Yet it seems strange that the Ba’alei Hagada
placed Maror at the end of the sequence! I would
have thought that Maror would have preceded the
other items. After all, historically &
chronologically speaking, we first endured the
bitterness of Egyptian servitude for more than a
century (117 years, to be exact) & only then did
we go & prepare the Matza & partake of the lamb
offering! The message should have been: struggle
through the hard times & you will merit to live a life of prosperity & peace.
Furthermore, at the Seder itself, the order of
eating was Matza-Maror-Pesach (lamb). So what is
the idea of placing Maror at the end of the process?!
Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch comments that it is
davka the suffering & the self-sacrifices we
make, in order to fulfill Hashem’s decrees, that
"validates" our adherence to Mitzvot. Quoting
Rashbi in Gemara Brachot, he says that the 3 most
important things we are given – Torah, Eretz
Yisrael & Olam Haba – are only attained &
acquired via yisurin, hardship. Mesirat Nefesh is the litmus test.
And so, when judging as to whether or not we
deserve these gifts & their rewards, G-d looks at
how we related to them: Did we learn Torah only
when it was convenient, accessible or
comfortable? Or did we go to shiurim in all kinds
of weather, sweat over a tough Tosfot, take out
valuable time from our hectic schedule to study?
Did we come to Israel - & stay in Israel! – when
the going was tough, when our salaries were
lowered, when our family begged us to stay back;
& did we live a life directed to a higher cause;
often giving up some of our "creature comforts;"
trading temporal life for eternal life?
The final verdict hinges on how we reacted to the
bitter experiences that life threw, or throws at
us; that will be the truest barometer of just how
devoted we are, & were, to the ideals Hashem
requests or demands of us. Maror, then, is the
"bottom line." It is our determination to "do the
right thing" in the very bitterest of moments
that is telling; & that is what will turn that every Maror into sweet reward.
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?
Additional Lessons Stealing the Afikoman
How to Keep Our Kids at the Seder and On The Derech of Torah
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.
