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Beit Midrash
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The Mishkan was built by very young architects. Midrash teaches us that Bezalel himself was barely bar-mitzva when he undertook this enormously task. Perhaps the Torah wants us to realize that only the young, those still pure and uncontaminated, are worthy of such a task. They still have ideals that have not been allowed to deteriorate in the face of life’s practicalities and difficulties. Thus their approach to building a Mishkan will of necessity be less tainted and conflicted than that of the older, wiser but more battered adults. One of the most refreshing things that I have experienced in my decades of teaching young men Talmud is their freshness and lack of cynicism and conflicts of interest. Teaching adults, no matter how fine and pious they are, nevertheless always involves an entirely different approach. It is a measure of self analysis that determines how one views the building of a Mishkan - a personal Mishkan and a national one. Those who are able to recognize their personal faults and intend to improve them, who can recognize their true motives and conflicts will undoubtedly be able to such a Mishkan that God Himself, so to speak, will dwell amongst them. But without such a self analytic effort any Mishkan that will be built will be temporary and faulty. The effort and materials that have to be taken to build a Mishkan have to be as honest and pure as possible - they have to be taken for "Me" - for God Himself.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
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.
