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Having Faith in Hashem
articles on Having Faith in Hashem
Lessons on Having Faith in Hashem
Israel's Faith, Step By Step
Israel's Exodus from Egypt served as a preparatory course for the nation's great future, foretold at the very beginning of its creation to its Patriarch Avraham: "I will make you into a great nation… and the other nations will be blessed through you" (B'reshit 12,2-3). The meaning of the phrase "great nation" in this context is that we will be "close to G-d." As written in Va'et'chanan, "Who is a great nation like Israel, to which G-d is so close." However, to reach closeness to G-d, several steps are required.
Emuna is Life
"Who is the man who desires life, loves days in which to see [and do] good" (Psalms 34,13). How fortunate we are to be healthy seekers of life, "believers sons of believers," and the descendants of Avraham Avinu, about whom the Torah writes, "He had emuna in G-d" (Genesis 15,6). All of Creation aspires to live life that is meaningful, grounded in a cleaving to the source of life. This is how the living G-d created mankind, imbuing it with this aspiration. As Moshe Rabbeinu made it very clear in his parting speech to the People of Israel: "And you who cleave to Hashem your G-d, you all live today" (Deut. 4,4)
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.
Rabbis on Having Faith in Hashem
