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Over all of my years of writing, I have found that I am most able to write satisfactorily (at least in my opinion) the closer I am time wise to Shabat. The distractions and problems of the week have not yet arrived, though they are always not long in yet coming, and I approach my writing obligations refreshed and much calmer than I would if I wrote on Wednesday or Thursday for example. Shabat is a shower for my brain, a cleansing of my inner being, an opportunity for spiritual growth (physical as well, as the Shabat meals in our home can attest to) and at least some minimal contemplation on important personal issues. Writing regularly is a cruel taskmaster. Without the aid of my Shabat experience and its influence it would undoubtedly be an even more formidable task. I realize that Shabat does not improve my prose or perfect my grammar, but it does help me think about what to write and what my true opinions on matters that concern me and perhaps others as well truly are. I think that this is another possible interpretation for what the rabbis called the neshama yeteira - the additional soul - that inhabits our being on Shabat. The additional soul is really our true internal self yearning to be expressed in our thoughts and behavior which oftentimes is stifled within us by the demands of the weekday everyday living rote and schedule.
We are not all necessarily writers, though a great writer once wrote that there is a great book residing within each of us awaiting exposure and redemption. But we can each attempt to carry the benevolent and holy influence of the Shabat with us during the days of the work week. There were Jews who named their children Shabat or Shabtai in order to remind them of the Shabat all of the days of their lives. One of the greatest compliments that could be paid to a Jew in previous generations was to be called by others a "Shabat Jew." It not only meant that the person was a Shabat observer, something which the overwhelming majority of Jews then were, but that the person carried the Shabat over with him or her always, even in the midst of the pressures of the workday week. Being a "Shabat Jew" had less to do with personal scholarship and public leadership roles and much more to do with inner serenity, satisfaction with one’s lot in life, a spirit of optimism and faith that transcended all of the pettiness, anger and frustrations of everyday living. Driving an automobile "under the influence" is dangerous and criminal. Living one’s life under the influence of the holy Shabat truly gives one a taste of eternity and immortality.
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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.
