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Each holiday has a specific date. The korban Pesach is sacrificed on the 14th of Nissan (the first month) and Pesach is celebrated with a day of Yom Tov on the 15th and another such day on the 21st of Nissan. Fifty days after the omer is brought we celebrate the holiday that we call Shavu'ot. Sukkot is celebrated with a day of Yom Tov on the 15th of Tishrei (the seventh month) and again on the 22nd day of the month.
One thing that sets the Jewsih community living in Israel apart from their brothers and sisters living in the Diaspora is the celebration of these very holidays. While the Torah specifically mentions the date of each celebration, Diaspora Jewish communities keep an extra day for each one. (I trust that many of those reading these lines grew up thinking that having a seder two nights running or following Shemini Atzeret with Simhat Torah is the "normal" practice.) The well known reason for this division is the statement that appears in the Gemara (Beitza 4b) that Diaspora communities still follow the traditions developed by their forefathers at a time when messages about the declaration of the new moon did not reach their communities in time to be certain about the correct date on which to celebrate the various festivals.
It is interesting to note that there is an entirely different approach to these different traditions. Rav Sa'adiah Ga'on is quoted as saying that there is a Torah obligation for Diaspora communities to keep two days of Yom Tov rather than the single day mentioned in the Torah. This idea is further developed by the Shulhan Arukh Ha-Rav which teaches that keeping two days of Yom Tov in the Diaspora stems from the need to work twice as hard in the Diaspora to reach the level of Yom Tov sanctity that is reached in one day in Israel.
Thus, the Torah requires Jews living in exile to celebrate an extra day in an attempt to reach the state of holiness that comes naturally to a Jew who is living in his homeland.
Shalom Berger is on faculty at the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education at Bar-Ilan University. He lives in Alon Shvut with his wife and seven children. Prior to his Aliya in 1991, Shalom lived in New York and taught in Frisch and in HAFTR.
Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: A Crown and its Scepter – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 294-5
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
