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Even the name of our nation, Yisrael, stems from Ya'akov's successful wrestling match against the angel, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled ("sarita") with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed." (Breishit 32, 29). Rav Kook points out that this is not a coincidence, but clearly an oft-missed point which needs to be stressed: "Upon examination of the olden days, of which we are told about in the Tanach, those generations that were very occupied with war, [we find that] these are The Heroes to whom we relate to with fondness and holy-greatness…" (Orot, 13-14) .
How do most people not notice that just about all of the super-heroes of the Tanach, in addition to their spirituality and morality, were also physically strong! Avaraham Avinu lived for 175 years, but we are told relatively a tiny proportion about his life and actions. Not only aren't we told what he ate for breakfast, but we know very little about his family life or day-to-day activities, which were surely great. Accordingly, if the Torah goes out of her way to detail that those four kings of the north were so much stronger than the five kings of the south, just to highlight Avraham's victory over them, apparently it must be very significant for us to know.
How much more so that it must be super-significant if we find that same physical and military strength reinforced regarding just about every single one of our spiritual fathers!
First impressions are always important. The very first act imbedded in our memory of Moshe Rabbenu, the greatest person of all time (Rosh HaShana 21b), is when he smites the Egyptian who was beating the Jew (Shmot 2, 12). Fast-forward to Moshe's last major action is leading the army to conquer the giant Og, and Sichon the kings of the Emori, and the super-steep and difficult terrain of the Golan Heights (without cable-cars & under fire!), at the age of 119 (Bamidbar 21, 34-35), where "his vision had not dimmed, nor did he lose his natural freshness"(Devarim 34, 7)! The entire book of Yehoshua is about conquering and dividing Eretz Yisrael, and just about all we know about the Judges, e.g. Yiftach, Gideon, Samson, et al, is that they were great war heroes. Kings Saul and David were also outstanding warriors, and so it goes throughout the Tanach, and even afterwards among the Maccabees which we will celebrate shortly on Chanukah, and the students of Rabbi Akiva who were the backbone of the Bar Kochva rebellion.
To sharpen the phenomenon, not only is it puzzling why physical/military strength is consistently stressed by the Tanach as one of the traits of its heroes, but to the CONTRARY, we usually picture the righteous as old and feeble. When drawing a picture of a tzaddik, and afterwards, a picture of a powerful person, they definitely wouldn't be the same picture! The stereotype of the boxer who is "all brawn and no brains", as opposed to the absent-minded professor who is a "98 pound weakling" with terrible vision, is imbedded in western subconscious.
The explanation, as Rav Kook points out, is that the IDEAL JEW is a "Healthy soul in a healthy body" (Orot HaTeshuva 5, 11). True, 2,000 years of exile warped the picture of the ideal Jew, to match the common stereotype of Christianity & their hero, that the holy don't deal with the physical world. We can understand those who fail to master and harmonize both the spiritual and physical, because in exile, there's no holiness in the land, and surely not in the army. But now that we are returning to Eretz Yisrael (the HOLY+LAND), the time has come to revive the ideal Jew, as seen throughout the Tanach (Orot, 13-14), and as seen ONCE AGAIN today in the Hesder Yeshivot and Mechinot. They are forming the new but authentic Israeli leadership in the IDF, and we pray that those suitable, will ASAP bring a new breath of Torah idealism into Israeli politics, and bridge the gap in Israeli society between the religious and the Zionists. Adding the learning of Tanach, mussar and Jewish thought to ALL the yeshiva syllabuses is what will make the difference! Shabbat Shalom! Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)
Rabbi Ari Shvat
Lectures at various yeshivot, michlalot and midrashot. Has published many books & Torani articles and is in charge of Rav Kook’s archives.
Additional Lessons Answering Accusations of Israeli-Occupation
& Why the Moral Mitzvot are Geared Only to Jews- Not Gentiles?
Ein Aya Understanding the Beauty of Shabbat - Tasting the World to Come
Ein Aya Shabat Chapter A Paragraph 15
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.