YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Balak
prophetic of the current crisis in Israel,
offering us crucial lessons as to how to respond
to the drama unfolding before us.
Moav & Midian are long-time enemies of one
another, yet to destroy Israel, they forget past
differences & forge an unholy alliance. Indeed,
when you take the last 2 Hebrew letters of Bilaam
& join them with the last 2 letters of Balak, you
get.......Amalek, the arch-enemy of the Jewish People!
Now, it would have been infinitely more
productive for Balak & Bilam to bless their own
nations rather than to curse ours. But our
enemies often spend their time blaming others for
their problems, rather than using that same
energy to solve them. Unable to defeat us Jews
physically, they choose a strategy of
delegitimization. They denounce & defame us,
screaming to all from the highest cliffs that we
are dangerously different, a threat to humanity &
undeserving of being part of the community of nations.
Of course, Hashem ultimately presides over the
truth & changes these curses into blessings. Are
we truly "a nation that dwells alone?" Yes,
perhaps we are, but that is not a negative! In
fact, it’s a crucial key to our survival, for by
our not melting into the world at large we’ve
managed over the centuries to maintain our
particularity. Do "we do not compute among the
nations?" Yes, certainly, but that means the
norms of the world don’t apply to us; we skew the
graphs & defy the odds as we march on throughout
history. Our survival is statistically improbable
- if not impossible - but we are here,
nevertheless. Are we "rock-like," that is,
stubborn & unmoving? Yes, but that, too, explains
why we & our traditions stubbornly survive & why
our enemies, despite their incessant efforts, cannot dislodge us.
In the end, Bilam & Balak’s plot to curse us does
not work - just as the current, worldwide slander
campaign against us will IY"H also fail – so
Balak & Bilaam devise a new, even more diabolical
plot: They seduce us into turning away from G-d &
worshipping all manner of false gods, succumbing
to our baser lusts & desires. This creates a
schism in our nation & truly threatens us. For
when we fragment into different camps, we are
vulnerable; when we cast aspersions - or throw
stones - at each other, we open the door to being stoned by our enemies.
At the end of our Sedra, Pinchas steps forward to
take bold action. While controversial, Hashem
validates Pinchas’s courage & bestows upon him a
"Brit Shalom." The message is crystal-clear: Only
when we are closely bound by one, enduring
covenant of brotherhood will we find that lasting
peace that we so desperately seek. In short, WE MUST STAY TOGETHER!!
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.
