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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Masei
The Torah study is dedicatedin honor of
Shimon Ben Mazal
Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt,
according to their organized groups, under
the guidance of Moses and Aaron.
Numbers 33:1
Malbim notes that typically journeys are marked by their destination, rather than point of origin. Therefore, it seemingly would have been appropriate for the Torah to state "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel, who went to the Land of Israel ...".
Our Sages comment that the Israelites in Egypt had sunk to the penultimate level of tum’a (impurity). Based on this, Malbim comments that the journeys were indeed from Egypt. In order to be ready to enter the Holy Land, the People of Israel had to first leave behind Egypt and its deep levels of tum’a.
The journeys were indeed from Egypt from an additional perspective, explains Malbim. Had the Children of Israel not sinned in the matter of the spies, it would have been a short journey into the Holy Land. Though the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they had not truly left Egypt behind. Thus, the journey to the Land of Israel was turned into a forty year trip.
Perhaps the contemporary question is whether our journeys are from Egypt or to the Promised Land.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Israel and the Nations A Few Minutes & Many Innovative Ideas on Antisemitism & What to do About It
As we approach the High Holidays, this short lecture (18 minutes) deals with the unfortunate situation of how Israel and the Jewish People stand against antisemitism, analyzing its cause according to Rav Kook, and how to deal with the issue pragmatically & via our prayers.
Ha'azinu PURSUIT is PERFECTION
p. Ha'azinu, Shabbat Shuva
Rav Kook deals with the question of the seemingly hopeless nature of Tshuva. For G-d Himself knows that He created us with free will, which inevitably means we will sometimes make mistakes and choose wrong. This can easily be frustrating, freezing us into inaction and ye'ush (loss of hope). If one sins even once, does he chalila have no choice but suicide?! Moreover, our Godly conscience demands justice, righteousness and perfection, but we all know this is impossible, so what's the solution? Rav Kook's innovative thinking, strongly based on chazal (our sages), offers an inciteful and important aspect to this topic, especially this time of year!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
