by Rav Tzvi Fishman, bringthemhome.org.il
Isn’t it interesting that the very first words that G-d says to Avraham, the father of the Jewish People, is to go to the Land of Israel?
What are we supposed to learn from this? Can there be any question at all? One plus one is two, and two plus two is four. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out a simple equation like that. In Hashem’s Great Plan of Existence, the Jews and the Land of Israel were created for one another.
by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org
How the leader of a universal spiritual movement learned to reorient himself to the understanding that his goals for humanity could only be achieved through the vehicle of a nation in a specific land.
Scattered Limbs Without a Soul
by Rav Tzvi Fishman, bringthemhome.org.il
In our previous article, we began to explain the need for a deeper comprehension of Emunah (Faith) and Torah, in order to understand the rebirth of the Nation of Israel in our time. This deeper learning has the power to lift ourselves up to a higher level of existence – the transition from Galut to Geula, from a grave-like existence of dry scattered bones in gentile lands, to our full revitalized life of being a united body and sovereign Nation in our own Land.
The Exile is the Valley of Dry Bones
by Rav Tzvi Fishman, bringthemhome.org.il
In order to understand the centrality of the Land of Israel to a full Jewish life, it is necessary to recognize the very real differences between life in Israel and life in the Diaspora. This subject was not explored in depth during our nearly two-thousand years of exile, during which Jewish learning focused primarily on the commandments and laws which could be practiced in the Diaspora. Therefore, we will try in this eight-part series, “Galut and Geula,” to shed light on the very real differences between Exile and Redemption (Galut and Geula), as illuminated in the writings of the Prophets of Israel and Sages versed in the inner secrets of Torah. In doing so, we will rely heavily on the explanations found in the book, “Binyan Emunah,” by Rabbi Moshe Bleicher, a longtime student at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and the founder and spiritual leader of the Shavei Hevron Yeshiva in the City of the Patriarchs.
by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org
Why does the Torah use the Name that connotes Divine mercy rather than Divine judgement when telling of the Creator's decision to destroy humankind? Could there be more to the story?
Listen to the audio here (16.5 min)
by Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rosh Yeshivat Bet El, translated and edited by Hillel Fendel
This is the power of the Nation of Israel: Via its rabbinical judges, it can determine the actual date, and therefore when Passover and Yom Kippur, for example, are to be commemorated.
[Revised Corona-version taken from the book of short stories, “Days of Mashiach” by Tzvi Fishman.]
by Rav Tzvi Fishman, bringthemhome.org.il
Even before the jumbo jet came to a stop on the runway, Dr. Elliot Miller unfastened his seat belt and jumped up from his seat.
“Where are you going?” his wife, Sandra, asked.
“I want to be the first one off the plane,” he replied, pulling his carry-on down from the overhead rack.
“Please remain seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop,” the voice over the loudspeaker commanded.
Though the doctor normally respected regulations and rules, his excitement overcame him completely. He pushed forward down the aisle like a sprinter determined to win the race. To please his wife, they had remained in America as long as they could, miraculously surviving the Corona plague and pogroms against the Jews. But now the ingathering of the exiles was ending, and they were among the last Jews to come home.
“The Land of Israel!” he thought to himself. “Thank God, I finally made it!”
Using his elbows and shoulders, he fought his way to the front of the cabin.
“I’m a doctor,” he said, when other passengers protested.
In truth, there were over one-hundred doctors on the planeload of affluent Jews, but the other new immigrants bought the excuse, figuring there must be some kind of emergency.
by Rav Berel Wein, www.rabbiwein.com
The completion of any significant portion of Torah learning is always an occasion for Jewish celebration. Any siyum (a completion of a tractate of Talmud or Mishna) is usually accompanied by a feast to help commemorate the happy event. There is a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment at having seen a difficult intellectual and time consuming task to its successful conclusion.
So it is naturally understandable that the occasion of our completing the annual cycle of Torah readings with the reading of V’zot Habracha on the final day of the Succot holiday makes it the most joyful day of the entire magnificent holiday season of the month of Tishrei. Simchat Torah affirms our faith in Jewish continuity and our unshakable belief in the divinity of Torah that Moshe brought to Israel from Mount Sinai.
It is the holiday basically created by the Jewish people itself, replete with customs and nuances developed over the ages that have hardened into accepted practice and ritual. Here in Israel when Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret occur simultaneously on the same day, Simchat Torah, the folk holiday, has almost pushed Shmini Atzeret, the biblical and halachic holiday aside in thought and practice.
by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org
The Torah is not merely some disjointed ritual precepts but rather the Divine Ideal from before existence placed into this reality for the sake of elevating our world beyond its current limitations.
by Rav Tzvi Fishman, bringthemhome.org.il
The Torah states again and again and again that G-d wants the Jews to live in Israel. So how can it be that some confused Jews think the very opposite, believing they are following the Torah by living in gentile lands, and that Medinat Yisrael is the worst exile ever?
by Rav Eliezer Melamed, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel
"One must be joyous and of good heart on the Festivals," rules the Shulchan Arukh (O.C. 529,2), "he, and his wife, and all in his household. How so? He should give the children candies and nuts, and should buy clothing and jewelry for the women, to the best of his financial ability." The men themselves should "feast on meat and wine," as was the custom.
The above recommendations are just examples, but actually anything that brings joy comprises the mitzvah of joy on the holiday. Each person should know how to gladden those around him.
Not only his family, but also – especially – those who are poor or otherwise suffering should be in his sights, and he must do what we can to gladden them, particularly on the Festivals. This is stated outright in the Torah: "You shall rejoice on your Festival – you, and your son, and your servants, and the Levites, sojourners, orphans and widows in your midst" (D'varim 16,14).
The Rambam sums up: "… But he who locks the gates of his yard and eats and drinks with his family and does not share with the poor and downtrodden – this is not Torah-mandated joy, but rather happiness only of his own stomach… This type of happiness is a disgrace, as is written in the Book of the Prophet Malachi …"
by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org
Unlike most of the festivals on the Hebrew calendar, Sukkot commemorates an event that takes place in the future but has ramifications for the present.
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