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Beit Midrash
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- Rosh Hashana
- The Essence of Rosh Hashana
The sound of the shevarim is the sound of sadness, lost opportunity, regret and even tragedy if you will. The rabbis of the Talmud stated that a deep gut-wrenching sigh breaks a person in half, physically and mentally. It is a sigh of mourning and events that have troubled us and made us feel depressed. The past year has been replete with such troubling moments, again both personally for all of us and nationally for the people and state of Israel. Somehow we had hoped for better. Beset by economic and security woes, feeling uneasy and uncertain about our future, buffeted by events over which we feel that we had no control, we stand before God humbled and without real confidence. The deep sigh that emanates from within our souls is matched by the sound of the shevarim, the deep sigh that comes forth from the hollow of the shofar. We appeal to God to help us because we fear that we are broken in spirit and will and ability. We are only able to break our bodies and visions with a deep sigh, the sound of shevarim. God wants our hearts and they are only available once we have forfeited our unwarranted hubris and arrogance. Better a deep inner sigh than a public boast. How many seemingly great and powerful people were brought low this year and publicly humiliated! We cannot come to an encounter with the Lord, so to speak, unless first we are broken and humble.
The staccato sound of the teruah conveys a different message. It is also a wail of mourning but in another context it is also a call to arms, a rallying sound for a charge to be mounted against the foe. Judaism is a religion of balance and equity. We must sigh but not to sigh always and only. Even in the depths of troubles and uncertainty we are bidden to continue to struggle and not to abandon the field. The Torah tells us that the ancient army of Israel went into battle to the sound of the teruah that urged them forward. Victories are not won with broken hearts alone. Yehoshua is commanded many times to be strong and powerful and not to give in to moments of defeat and frustration. There are no easy victories in life, in a family or a community or a nation. Life is a constant daily struggle and the teruah comes to rally us to strength, loyalty, determination and ultimate triumph. Therefore this staccato sound of the teruah must be included in the shofar service for otherwise we will be tempted to give up and half broken already allow ourselves to become completely defeated. I think therefore the rabbis of the Talmud included both sounds of the teruah - the shevarim and the teruah - in the shofar service to indicate this need for correct balance in approaching our service to God and humans. Humility and strength, a broken heart and a stiffened resolve to improve is the message of the teruah to us.
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.
