YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Jewish Holidays
- Tu Bishvat
The excellence of the fruits of the land of Israel does not stem from their flavor, size, and beauty alone. Beyond these virtues they enjoy a spiritual distinction: they possess sanctity. Therefore, there are special commandments that relate to them, "mitzvot ha-tluyot ba'arezt," ("commandments dependent on the land"): terumot, ma'aserot, bikkurim, etc. (tithes, first-fruit offerings, etc.).
The sages teach us that the food we consume influences not only our physical selves but also our spiritual selves (BaMidbar Rabba 20:22): There are springs [whose waters] rear courageous people, and others [whose waters] rear feeble people; springs that rear handsome people, others that rear ugly people; there are springs rear chaste people, and others that rear people steeped in lewdness.
This implies that spring water influences a person's character. And the same can be said of food. There are foods that contain sanctity, and one who eats them becomes spiritually elevated; there are other foods that contain impurity, and one who eats them deteriorates spiritually. This is how Jewish mystics explain the phenomenon of good, decent, righteous, honest people suddenly changing their ways, to the point of abandoning the Torah completely, and even betraying their Jewishness. This, for example is what happened to Yochanan the High Priest who became a Sadducee.
And just as impure food has negative effects on a person, so does sanctified food have a positive effect on a person. This is the special quality of the fruits of the land of Israel. They are blessed with the sanctity of the land of Israel.
This is what Rabbi A.I. Kook writes in his Orot HaKodesh (volume 3): "Food grown in the land of Israel is essentially sacred, and is only outwardly physical." On the other hand, one must distance himself from foods grow outside the land of Israel. Yet even food grown outside the land of Israel improves according to the degree a person longs for the land of Israel.
What steps should a person take so that the food he eats enrich him spiritually? It was this that the sages had in mind when they introduced the "birkot ha-neh'nim" (blessings said before partaking of certain earthly pleasures). By blessing before eating, by praising God Who created the food, a person ties the food to its source, thus improving and purifying it. If a food contains some negative element, the blessing rectifies it so that it benefits the person who consumes it. And if the food is sacred to begin with (for example, fruits grown in the land of Israel), the blessing raises the food to an even higher level of sanctity.
In sum, what distinguishes food grown in the land of Israel is that its mere physical consumption has a sanctifying effect: "Bring us up into it and gladden us in its rebuilding and let us eat from its fruit and be satisfied with its goodness and bless You upon it in holiness and purity" (from the Three-Faceted Blessing).
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
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.
