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Beit Midrash
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- Chemdat Yamim
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Shmot
1. Yaakov stresses that he is transferring the berachot that he received from his parents and that the berachot were being elevated (gavru).
2. Two words are used to describe Yosef’s head (representing stature): rosh and kodkod.
3. The image of the crown of his brothers (n’zir echav) is invoked.
On the other hand, as we begin Sefer Shemot, the family/national leadership seems to be transferred to the Tribe of Levi (through Moshe), whose patriarch is actually castigated by Yaakov. To follow the process of leadership shifts, let us look at what happened after Yosef died and then after Moshe died.
We do not have a lot of information on the period between Yosef’s death (which seals Sefer Bereishit) and the rise of the new king in Egypt who "did not know Yosef" (Shemot 1:8). There is pertinent information elsewhere in Tanach and in corresponding passages of Chazal. Tehillim (78:9) refers to the sons of Ephrayim (Yosef’s son) as warriors, within a psalm that deals with the period of the exile in Egypt. Chazal send us to Divrei Hayamim (I, 7:20-22), which tells us of the death of sons of Ephrayim who were killed by the people of Gat when they went there with their cattle. P’sikta D’Rabbi Kahana (Beshalach 11) tell us that groups within Ephrayim made a mistake in calculating the end of the exile in Egypt, which caused a very large number of them to be killed.
The picture that we get is that as Ephrayim had been chosen by Yaakov to be leader of Yosef’s family and thus of the emerging nation, he used his influence among Israel and Egypt to embark on an armed excursion to Eretz Yisrael in order to pave the way for an Israelite return. This premature effort to bring liberation, ending in great failure, caused Ephrayim’s leadership to lapse, and the actual liberation to move to Moshe the Levite.
However, Yosef/Ephrayim’s special status was not over. As Moshe was about to die, he passed on his leadership to Yehoshua bin Nun from the Tribe of Ephrayim. In his beracha for the Tribe of Yosef, Moshe again invoked the words "rosh, kodkod, and n’zir echav" (Devarim 33:16).
How long did Yosef’s prominence last? In the same perek of Tehillim, the Mishkan in Shilo is referred to as "the tent of Yosef," and the pasuk concludes that Hashem "did not chose the Tribe of Ephrayim" (see Tehillim 78:60-67). While the p’sukim talk of the fall of Shilo, this took place only at the end of the period of the Judges. During this period, the majority of the judges were from the family of Yosef and/or the tribes connected to the matriarch Rachel. (In my upcoming Tzofnat Shmuel, you will be able to learn in depth about the reasons behind the assumption of the mantle of leadership by Yehuda, the son of Leah.)
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.
