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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Lech Lecha
"Lech Lecha meartzecha... Go forth from your land, your birthplace, your father’s house to the land that I will show you." Thus, spoke Hashem to Avrohom. Pursue my instructions and "I will bless you and you shall be a blessing...and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."
Avrom Avinu left his native, idol-worshipping land crossing into Eretz Canaan. It wasn’t a short, easy voyage, not then - and not today. Changes at any stage in life are traumatic. Nevertheless, "deeds of the fathers are emblematic to sons." The parasha opens with Hashem’s directive to journey to the land, and ends with the mitzvah, brit mila the covenant, pre-requisite for entrance to Eretz Yisrael.
"Shaal avicha v’yagedcha" ask your father, he will tell you. At the Seder, Succa or Shabbat table, stories of Jews forced to flee, abandoning homes in exile are recounted tearfully, some miraculously... in appreciation. Ask courageous new olim about their complex passage and listen to awesome tales.
Observant Jews seek to strengthen daily mitzvah performance and yet many do not, or cannot, exercise the will to partake in the mitzvah to settle the land. As stated in Lech Lecha, "Arise, walk about the land through it’s length and breadth", a living legacy for the resolute.
May brit milah, first practiced by our exalted ancestor, precede massive Jewish response to the Almighty’s promise to the Patriarch.
Faigie Heiman born and raised in Brooklyn, an accomplished short story and essay writer, lives in Jerusalem with her husband and family. Her articles are featured in newspapers and magazines in Israel and abroad.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.