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Beit Midrash
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They shall make for Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (25:8). Sefer HaChinuch writes that this is the source for the positive commandment "to build a house for the sake of HaShem... where we can offer our sacrifices to Him..." After a lengthy discussion, he concludes, "This mitzvah applies when the majority of Jews [dwell] in their Land, and it is one of those mitzvot that are not incumbent upon the individual, rather the community."
R. Yehoshua of Kutno (Yeshu’ot Malko) asks: It is well known that relatively few Jews returned to Zion at the end of the seventy-year Babylonian exile; most chose to remain in exile. How, then, did Ezra and Nechemyah build the Second Temple? According to Sefer HaChinuch, a majority of world Jewry must live in the Land in order to do so!
R. Yehoshua answers his question based on a Gemara in Chagigah (15a):
[God] created righteous and wicked people, and He created Gan Eden and Gehenom. Everyone has two portions: one in Gan Eden and one in Gehenom. If a righteous person merits it, he receives his and his friend’s portion in Gan Eden. If a wicked person so deserves, he receives his and his friend’s portion in Gehenom.
The same applies here. At the time of Ezra, all Jews had the ability and opportunity to make aliyah. The majority, however, willingly chose not to, mainly because they became too complacent in exile. Therefore, the few Jews who withstood the temptations of the Diaspora and ascended to Eretz Yisrael received not only their own "portion" in the Holy Land, but also their friends’ portions. Although quantitatively only a minority of Jews lived in the Land, qualitatively it was as if the majority dwelt there. Thus, they were able to rebuild the Holy Temple.
There are many similarities between the return to Zion at the time of Ezra and today’s return to Zion. Both were initiated by the Gentiles (Cyrus and the Balfour Declaration); both were carried out - to a large extent - by irreligious Jews; and in both cases many religious Jews refused to take part. What we learn from Chazal and R. Yehoshua Kutner is that when God gives us the opportunity to return to our Homeland, we must seize it. For if we don’t, we run the risk of ruining the redemption for all of Klal Yisrael or forfeiting our personal share in God’s special Land.
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
