8 Lessons
So What’s the Goal of Life?!!
We all know that if you don't have a goal, you can't score! We all have many goals, but is there one which encompasses and is the common denominator of them all? Such a definition will prevent us from feeling torn between the many goals and roles we have. One theory is that the goal of life is pleasure, which is the common denominator of all people. On the other hand, all those people also have an ideal for which they are willing to forego all of their pleasure, inferring that ideals supersede pleasure! The class suggests that these 2 theories are 1 and the same, for we all want pleasure, but ideals are not 3rd class (short-term) pleasure, nor 2nd class (long-term) pleasure, but rather 1st class, eternal pleasure.
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Elul 24 5780
Why Did the Rabbis Add So Many Mitzvot?
Appreciating the Minutiae and Ideals of Rabbinic Mitzvot
Rav Kook deals with the classic questions asked by any thinking practicing Jew: Why did the rabbis institute so many additional rabbinic laws, which pre-occupy us day and night? Did the Torah not command us enough obligations and restrictions?! In this famous article from Orot called "Chacham Adif miNavi", Rav Kook suggests a totally innovative approach to appreciating the minutiae and ideals of Rabbinic Mitzvot, enlightening and motivating us in their observance.
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Nissan 26 5780
What Happens After We Die?
About Heaven- Hell- Revival of the Dead- Reincarnation
Why aren't heaven and hell more discussed in the Torah? How can we really believe in Olam Haba if we don' have proof that it exists? Why do we want Techiyat Hametim to happen if Olam Haba is so amazing? Who goes to heaven and who doesn't?
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Nissan 5 5780
Nature and Nurture And Our Free Will
Ein Aya Shabat Chapter A Paragraph 82
Genetics, surroundings, experience all contribute to our personality, as well as our spouse's and children's. Nevertheless it all is decided by our destining our fate through decisions.
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Tamuz 26 5772
The Nature of Evolution and Improvement
Introduction to Orot HaTshuva
Introduction to Orot HaTshuva
Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5771
Satan and Existence
Does God create only positive things? Is the night an existence or absence of light and what about the devil?
Rabbi Chaim Eisen
Why Must I be Religious to be a Moral Person? - Part I
Rav Kook, Musar Hakodesh
Rav Kook supports secular morality, in that the conscience and logic stem from the same Creator that wrote the Torah. Nevertheless, he stresses the clear advantages of Mussar HaKodesh, or morality based on religion, for several important reasons.
Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769
