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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Behar
Rashi asks why it is this Mitzva of leaving the
land untouched every 7th year said to have been
given on Har Sinai. He offers a cryptic answer:
Just as this Mitzva was said on Har Sinai, so all
the Mitzvot also emanate from there (as opposed
to being man-made). Huh? I still don’t see why
Shmita represents all the other Mitzvot. Why not
kashrut, Shabbat, love the convert? Why is Shmita special?
The usual answer: Shmita requires a lot of Emuna,
faith. After all, doing without one’s field in an
agricultural society & counting on Hashem to
provide for up to three years requires a whole
lot of faith. And so, by extension, performing
any Mitzva is, essentially, an act of faith.
A variation on this theme goes to the core of
Shmita’s significance. Shmita is illogical; it
is anti-social & goes against the norms of
economic activity. How can people just walk away
from their livelihood for a whole year? How can
they stop producing foodstuffs that the nation
needs? Can you imagine if the Torah asked us to
cease all hi-tech activity for 12 months? Or
ordered the police, hospitals or sanitation
workers to walk off the job for a year? When you
factor in many agronomists’ opinion that letting
the land go fallow every 7 years does nothing to
enrich its nutrients, it seems even more absurd!
So I suggest there are 2 objectives at work here:
First, treat the land (of Israel) as a living
thing! Respect it, nurture it, appreciate it.
Just as we have our Shabbat, it has & deserves
its own as well. The lesson, by extension, is
that all the Torah is Torat Chayim, a living Torah.
Moreover, accept the fact that if humans had
created the Torah, they never would have invented
Shmita! Only Hashem could command such an extreme
& seemingly absurd directive. But that is
precisely the point: Do not follow the Torah
because it makes perfect sense to you (like, for
example, the 7 Noachide mitzvot); follow it
purely because it is G-d’s will. Though it may
rub against our intellectual sensibilities &
require us to do things that confound us, that is
how every one of the Mitzvot must be approached &
why Shmita is the Mitzva par excellence.
The sublimation of our mortal wisdom to that of
G-d, our steadfast belief even in the face of
disbelief, is perhaps what causes Hashem, in
turn, to also do things that are beyond belief -
such as keeping the Jewish People alive forever &
allowing us to return & to reclaim our ancient
homeland. It's illogical, absurd, against every
norm of history, & it certainly confounds our enemies.
But guess what? It works! We are here - & we are staying here!
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.
