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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The High Holidays
- The Month of Elul
Elul is not a quick fix month. Rather it demands of us small increments and gradual improvement of behavior and speech. The sudden, wrenching, all-or nothing approach to self-improvement, like crash diets and desperate almost impulsive decisions and policies bring only further disappointment and frustration with one’s self. The Talmud records for us a number of instances of people who performed evil acts and suddenly completely regretted and repented from those acts and thereby gained immortality for their souls. However in each of those instances the penitent died on the spot. A 180 degree turn while driving at high speed is almost inevitability a fatal course, no matter how necessary or commendable that turn may be. Elul seeks a change of commitment and direction in one’s thinking and lifestyle but it seeks it in a gradual, healthy and normal fashion. In fact, Elul is the height of normalcy, of how to behave as a decent human being, at home, at the workplace, on the road and in the automobile and in the synagogue and marketplace. The highest expression of fealty to God and the Torah lie in the small things in life, in the words of Rashi and Midrash "in those things that a person unwittingly crushes under one’s heel." Elul teaches us that only by paying attention to the small things in life can one adequately prepare one’s self for the great challenges of life and the new year that will surely arrive.
The sounding of the shofar in the month of Elul lends a sense of immediacy and drama to Elul. Small things never are a big deal. But Jewish tradition has chosen to make a big deal out of Elul. Because as I have previously stated the small things in life shape our fortunes, attitudes and purposes. Maimonides famously comparers the sounding of the shofar in Elul to a wakeup call. But it is more than that. It is a sound that is both jarring and soothing, reassuring and challenging. The sounds of the shofar reflect accurately these moods of Elul itself - challenge, direction and spiritual growth. They are incremental short sounds that lead to a longer note of serenity and satisfaction. Elul reflects these ideas of ultimate triumph and redemption. The note of serenity at the end of the series of shofar soundings is the harbinger of the ultimate redemption of the Jews both individually and nationally. There are no shortcuts to that final note - to the great tekiah. The difficult short sounds must precede it. And Elul is the necessary precursor to this challenge of greatness that the Lord demands of us. Only by preparation can achievements truly occur. Elul serves as the entrance foyer into the great Jewish palace of purpose, holiness and immortality. In the words of Avot, "prepare yourself in the foyer so that you may then enter the palace in a proper fashion."
Rabbis in Midrash
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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.
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.
