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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Beha'alotcha
Today we traveled (in the procession with the new sefer Torah) through the streets of Kiryat Moshe, thereby sanctifying the streets and Hashem’s Name. This helps neutralize the negative events that occur in our streets – the throwing of stones and the weakening of the public sanctity of Shabbat.
On the one hand, there are non-Jews around the world who object to seeing us in Eretz Yisrael, but there are also, tragically, many Jews who want to uproot the use of Hashem’s Name and defile the sanctity of Jerusalem, the Holy City. They want the sounds of public buses [on Shabbat], viewing them as the harbingers of "freedom and enjoyment." But this "freedom" opposes the spirit of Judaism, weakens the feelings of kinship in the country, and tramples the crown of the sanctity of Jerusalem. It also provides fuel for the actions of the stone throwers. When people desecrate sanctity, we do not have a real Jerusalem, value for the Nation of Israel, and the connection between the Land and the nation.
Our walking through the streets with "the ark" sanctifies them and returns the crown of sanctity and purity. We proclaim: "Any vessel made to hurt us will not succeed," not the stone throwers and not those who, Heaven forbid, try to rip the sefer Torah’s parchment.
In recent parshiyot, we read of the four languages of liberation that Hashem promised we would have from Egypt. The next pasuk says: "I will bring you to the Land …" (Shemot 6:8). We are not living up to that gift sufficiently. Some of us are willing to relinquish parts of Eretz Yisrael and believe and dream that this will bring them tranquility and peace within the reduced borders. They do not understand that Eretz Yisrael cannot be divided, just like Am Yisrael cannot. They want to uproot Hashem’s Name from our midst, but they will not succeed. Somewhere down the line, they or their descendants will repent, because, as Jews, they have a nucleus of sanctity in their midst, waiting to show expression.
Before we came to the Land, we first had to receive the Torah. There is no Eretz Yisrael, nor is there an Am Yisrael, without Torah, as these values share a unifying force. Ripping away one is like ripping away the others. For this reason, nowadays, those whose connection to Torah Judaism is weak are the ones who want to give up on parts of Eretz Yisrael. If we strengthen ourselves in Torah and honor it [as we did today], we will "come to the Land."
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
