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Beit Midrash
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- Moreshet Shaul
The power of Torah is great only to the extent that we feel that it was given to us and that we can be not only continuers but also initiators. Avraham did not have to undergo a trial such as being bound before he went to learn. But Yitzchak was different, in that he came to yeshiva because his father sent him, as a result of always being in an atmosphere permeated with the Torah of Avraham. He could not have taken the critical value out of his study as long as he did not personally undergo the great trial of the akeida.
The first students who studied in the yeshiva have already moved on, so what connection is there between those who are here and those who used to be? Why would one mention the years one studied in the yeshiva? We can deduce that the earlier students left us something of value. What they created still exists – a tradition and a mold. It is a tradition of consistency, a mold of reliability and close friendship. You new students came to something that had been prepared, and you are charged with the task of continuing it. The continuation can live up to this distinction only if it contains some of the "fragrance" of the beginning. In other words, if the yeshiva did not already exist, you would have been capable of founding it.
The main thing that pushed the founding class was the recognition that something important was being created – whether it was them as people or the institution. That is why people were careful about the details and there was concern that there should not be anything improper or "unhealthy." That is why there is a connection with those who followed, even after they left, and why they have concern about the "face of the yeshiva" even today. These are "the righteous within the city" (see Bereishit 18:24), whose activities are not limited to themselves but also their environs. It is not a chance get-together of friends, but an organic growth of a living thing, so that each part does its part. This is what we need in the future, as well, and you will be able to prove yourselves in this.
2. "The Torah taught us the proper practice – a person should not switch his innkeeper" (Rashi, Bereishit 13:3). One should show good manners toward an innkeeper even though he was only an innkeeper and even though the nature of the relationship is transient, until he moves on. It is even though the passerby does not leave an impact and others take his place. Sometimes, the visitor does not care what happens at the inn. It is still good manners to remember even one’s temporary abode, as he still received benefit from the inn and the innkeeper.
Perhaps the Torah was teaching that there is no experience in the world that is totally lost. Even if it was just in passing, you were there, and you probably left some "fragrance" of yourself there. Within those walls, something was received from the life that passed through. You left some part of your soul, and perhaps it is still "wandering there waiting to be fixed." Maybe it is still "clinging to the walls," making "fruit and fruit of fruit."
It is possible that you recognize that you had a feeling, a flutter of the spirit before it took a firm form. Perhaps you dreamed a dream and you thought it was just a dream, but the dream came true. It is worthwhile to return and remember, to see and compare.
Moreshet Shaul (46)
Various Rabbis
23 - Moreshet Shaul: Introduction to Midrash Rabba – part II
24 - Moreshet Shaul: Addresses to Students at Kfar Haroeh (1942, 1944)
25 - Moreshet Shaul: Discipline in Informal Education – part I
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Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: Introduction to Midrash Rabba – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 121-124
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: Discipline in Informal Education – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 168-170
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: Returning Torah to its Central Standing – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 312
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
