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Beit Midrash
- Jewish Laws and Thoughts
- Serving Hashem, Mitzvot and Repentance
The Jewish people, individually and collectively, have traveled over the entire world for millennia. Some of the trips were voluntary journeys of immigration to lands of better conditions and opportunities. Many of them were coerced journeys forced upon us by expulsions from countries where we had resided for centuries. In the luggage of our historic suitcases the Torah, our traditions and values were always packed and accompanied us. But in the nature of human beings, our luggage also contained items that were not really necessary for our well being and survival. Customs, mores, and habits that came to us from the outside - from the countries and societies that served as our "hosts" for centuries on end. Many of these, since they were packed in our suitcases came to be regarded as being as vital to our survival as was the actual Torah itself. The wisdom of the rabbis was and is that the Jewish people must safeguard the baby - the Torah - even when it means that we are also carrying around a great deal of bathwater with it as well. Thus folkways that may originally never have been of Jewish origin have become hallowed in Jewish life and experience so that they are today part of the very fabric of Jewish life and practice. The problem therefore never was the accumulation of bathwater, heavy and burdensome as that might be, but rather the single mindedness to preserve the baby - the Torah - to remember to bring along the jacket! And this therefore has led to the Jewish people having a lot of luggage with them wherever they went. Witness the scenes daily at Ben Gurion airport!
The unfortunate story of much of Jewish life in the eighteenth century till the present day has been the attempt to lighten our luggage, to ease our load, so to speak. In attempting to get rid of the bathwater, the baby itself was thrown out. Intermarriage, assimilation, abysmal ignorance of Judaism and core Jewish values and practices, all have lightened our luggage to the extent that we run the risk of arriving at our destination without any luggage at all. For many Jews, their bags were simply lost enroute. Because of this spiritual and social disaster, the traditional Jewish world has hunkered down and is loath to discard anything at all from our collective luggage, even items that we realize that we may never need and probably originally never belonged to us and somehow found their way into our suitcases. There have been and there are continuing efforts to discard the bathwater while preserving the baby. In order to distance ourselves from customs which are today non-Jewish the Gaon of Vilna advised disregarding even those customs that were originally Jewish but not how have become part of the non-Jewish world’s religious practices. In spite of the towering stature of the Gaon of Vilna in Jewish life, this opinion of his has in the main not been followed. Once an item is packed into our suitcase it is never easily removed and it accompanies us on all of our journeys. But the main purpose has been accomplished. The Torah and tradition, values and worldview has been preserved and is safely ensconced in our luggage. We should all be grateful for that.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
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.