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The most praiseworthy intention a person can have when serving God is to bring honor to His name. This is the sort of intention sought by the pious, a truly unique class of people. It is achieved after the heart becomes filled with love for God, when a person sincerely desires that God's honor be magnified, when a person is pained by any belittlement of God's honor.
One who reaches this level will also want other people to magnify God's honor. He will greatly desire that all other people magnify the honor of Heaven, and he will suffer when others diminish God's honor. He will be all the more pained when he himself diminishes the honor of heaven, intentionally or inadvertently, or because of a weakness of character which prevents him from eschewing all sin, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 7:20), "A man is not righteous in the land, who will do good and not sin."
Pathways in Personality Development (52)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
38 - 38. Love and Devotion to God
39 - 39. For the Sake of God's Honor
40 - 40. The Lofty Service of the Pious
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It has thus been set forth in Tanna d'bei Eiliyahu (Chapter 4): "Every sage in Israel who possesses the words of Torah according to their true significance and grieves for the honor of the Holy One Blessed be He and for the honor of Israel all his days, and lusts and feels pain for the honor of Jerusalem and of the Temple and for the swift flowering of salvation and the ingathering of the exiles, attains to the infusion of the Divine spirit in his words... "
And so, such a pious person, in addition to performing God's commandments with the praiseworthy intention of honoring Him, is constantly anguished because of the Temple's ruined state and the exile of the Jewish people. He is tormented because these matters diminish God's honor, and he longs for the redemption of Israel because this will bring honor to God's blessed name.
A person should not say, "Who am I that I should pray for the ingathering of exiles and the restoration of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple? My prayer certainly is not capable of causing such an ingathering or prompting Israel's salvation." It is important to realize that such prayer itself brings pleasure to God; He is happy that His children make such requests.
The sages, in order to prevent people from saying such things, tell us that this is why God created all of humanity from an individual person - to teach us the value of every single individual, for each of us is capable of producing an entire world.
And when Israel does not awaken to pray for the redemption and for the magnification of God's honor, the prophet storms (Isaiah 59:16), "And he saw that there was no man and he was amazed that there was no contender" and (Ibid. 63:5), "And I looked and there was no helper, and I was amazed and there was no supporter" and (Jeremiah 30:17), "It is Zion; no one inquires after it."
And the sages say that from here we learn that one must inquire after Zion, for God's glory will not be magnified if Israel is not redeemed. These two matters are interdependent, as Tanna d'bei Eliyahu says, "And he grieves over the honor of the Holy One Blessed be He and over the honor of Israel." Regarding a person who performs commandments without such intention, the verse states (Isaaih 40:6), "All flesh is grass and all of his kindness is as the blossoming of the field" and the sages interpret this to mean that "all of their kindnesses are performed for their own sake, for their own good and pleasure."
In sum, perfect intention contains two ingredients: 1) a person must, while performing any religious act, have the intention to bring pleasure, and thus honor, to God. 2) a person must request that God's honor be wholly reestablished, and this is achieved when Israel attains honor and tranquility, for this brings pleasure to God and vests him with the most supreme honor.
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Some of the material in the above article was taken from Feldheim's translation of Mesillat Yesharim, "The Path of the Just."
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Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 2
The King of the Kazars, in his search for truth, starts by inviting the philosopher. This is a "crash-course" on Aristotelian philosophy and the reasons why the king is not convinced. Through this dialogue, R. Yehuda HaLevi already foreshadows some of his central ideas that will appear later.
Shavuot "Love of Torah = Love of Israel"- for Shavuot
People often identify Judaism as just a religion, but upon examination, we see, even halachically and explicitly in the siddur, that the Torah is dependent upon Am Yisrael, Jewish nationalism.
Ein Aya The Middle-Child & Anti-Tzni'ut Syndrome- Negative Attention
Although tzni'ut is for men just like women, Rav Kook deals here with the sources in Yishayahu and the Talmud which deals with the special problem of lack of tzni'ut in women's dress and actions, where it's not just a problem of midot and character traits, but also can include practical, social and national ramifications, as well, which caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and exile from Israel. The class continues the previous one (Ayn Aya Shabbat vi, 29), and is a must for all educators and parents of high-school aged and young adults.
P'ninat Mishpat P'NINAT MISHPAT: A Mess of Loans, Repayments and Grievances – part II
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts