Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Family and Society
- The Land of Israel
- Rain in Israel
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Rabbi Uzi Kalcheim, zt”l
Because we live in a developing region with a growing population, our need for water is ever growing. Our agriculture is not stagnant; it does not remain on a primitive level that demands little water. It is dynamic and active. It thrives and innovates in many areas. Therefore, we must learn how to make the most efficient use possible of our water sources.
But we must understand that this is not our problem alone, a problem of the State of Israel; rather, it is a problem that affects our whole region. And in truth, when we speak about peace, and before we speak about peace, we must speak about living together, knowing how to live together.
The Midrash relates a story about a non-Jew who asks R' Yehoshua ben Korcha a question: "You have your holidays, and we have our holidays. When you rejoice we do not rejoice; when we rejoice you do not rejoice. When do we ever rejoice together?"
If we try, we can find all sorts of parallel holidays: We have Pesach (Passover) and they have "Pascha" (Easter); we have Chanukah and they have other holidays. We are unable to rejoice on their holidays, for we cannot relate to them at all. Is there, then, no occasion on which we rejoice together?
"He answered, '[We rejoice together] when the rain falls.' Why is this? 'The meadows are clothed with flocks; the valleys are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, yea, they sing' " (Psalms 65:14).
Rain in Israel (17)
Rabbi Uzi Kalchaim zt"l
5 - A Shared Blessing
6 - The Blessing of Rain for All
7 - The Condensed Blessing
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The Midrash continues:
"What is written after this? 'Shout unto God, all the earth.' It is not written ['Shout unto God] Priests, Levites, and Israelites,' but 'Shout . . . all the earth!' "
In other words, when we see heavenly blessing bestowed upon the earth, we see a shared joy, a joy that embraces everybody - man, animal, and, of course, the different nations. Therefore, true joy comes when the rain falls, for rain benefits us all, and allows all creatures to live and thrive.
The Almighty does not take pleasure in destroying the world. Therefore, before we talk about peace, we must speak about a just distribution of water. And if our enemies are unwilling to speak to us about water, about a fair division of water in our region, if they do not wish to pursue life, the preservation of life, but opt for the abolition of life, we must seek out an occasion for shared joy, as the non-Jew asks R' Yehoshua, "Is there no occasion on which we both rejoice?"
This is a heavenly blessing, for God nourishes and sustains all, "from the horns of the antelope to the eggs of the lice." He bestows life upon the entire creation. We, for our part, have to learn how to live together. If we so choose, we can live a rich and blessed life; we can share the bounty that God bequeaths upon us all, 'Shout unto God, all the earth.' All of humankind must rejoice in God's goodness and in the bounty that descends upon the earth.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
