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Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Pkudei
We will focus on the meaning of counting, which is found in our parasha and many other places in Tanach. We will see that the counting is also frequently connected to participation in the army, a setting in which even the mundane is holy, as people fight the battles of Hashem.
We start by noting that not all Jews were counted, but only men from the age of 20 (see Shemot 30:12-14). In Bamidbar, the Torah explains the significance of the age of 20 – "… all those who go out to the army in Israel shall you count" (Bamidbar 1:1-3). The counting comes up again later in the book, and there the "pekudim" are those who went to fight the Midianites (ibid. 31:48-49). The pekudim in Nach are also consistently related to going out to battle. Yehoshua counted them as he prepared to go to battle with the city of Ay (Yehoshua 8:10-11). The same is true of the men of the Tribe of Binyamin, as they prepared for battle (Shoftim 20:15). We find the same root arising when Shaul prepared to fight to save the people of Yavesh Gilad (Shmuel I, 11:8). It appears again as Shaul was preparing his army to fight Amalek (ibid. 15:4). There are multiple examples in this vein in Divrei Hayamim.
One of the most impactful counts uses the root pakod and focuses on soldiers. David pressured his head general, Yoav, to do a count of the men of war who brandished swords, in a way that violated Halacha (Shmuel II, 24:2-4). In the aftermath of the punishment that befell the people, the place where the Beit Hamikdash was to be built was revealed. It turned out that those counted soldiers would later take part in the building of the Beit Hamikdash.
Enlistment in the IDF is intimately related to the goals of the Exodus from Egypt – the acceptance of the Torah and the establishment of a Jewish state whose capital is Yerushalayim and whose center is the House of Hashem (see Yeshayahu 2). This state is to serve as a light unto the nations, in which the values and ideals of the Torah will be realized. It is impossible to separate these goals. It is specifically those who learn Torah who should be the backbone of the IDF (they need not be afraid of their sins (see Devarim 20:8)). Torah and Eretz Yisrael go together. The gemara (Chagiga 5b) refers to learning Torah outside Eretz Yisrael as relatively ineffective. Those yeshiva students who found the way to combine the two values are the "men of valor" – the giants of Torah of our generation, as they unite around them all of the factions of Klal Yisrael.
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.
