A Book I Want To Read
Reflections from Yerushalayim by Rabbi Nachman Kahana“Reflections from Yerushalayim” is a compilation of original philosophic and hashkafic perspectives, ideas and opinions that came to my mind over the years, or were culled from experiences with my family, rabbis, teachers and friends. Writing this book has helped me fulfill the verse in Tehillim:
מִכָּל-מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי: כִּי עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ, שִׂיחָה לִי.
I have gained insight from all my teachers. Your testimonies are my speech. (Tehillim 119:99)
I respect and admire all who sincerely live an authentic Jewish life, engaging in Torah learning and fulfilling of its mitzvot, even when their opinions and outlooks conflict with mine. Throughout my life, I have attempted to blend and integrate the various approaches within the Torah world, without identifying exclusively with any particular group or camp. I have tried to follow the path of Torah and derech eretz in my service of HaShem, using the Tanach, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch as lamps for my footsteps. However, the decisive factor in fashioning my world view is what I have experienced and understood from events in the Holy Land that attest to the imminent Final Redemption of the Jewish nation.
I was born one year before the outbreak of the Holocaust. When I was six, our nation had already lost a third of its sons and daughters. When I was ten, the State of Israel was established by fewer people than the number who entered the Land of Israel with Yehoshua bin Nun. Yet, at the time of this writing, we are approaching an unprecedented population of seven million Jews, who have arrived here from a hundred different lands.
Having been a witness to this astonishing and ongoing miracle, I’ve made the central theme of this book the change that our generation is experiencing, as we observe the curtain of history falling on the exile and witness the “fallen daughter of Israel” (Amox 5:2) transforming once more into greatness.
After pondering the lofty events that have transpired so far in the State of Israel – all of them beyond my understanding – I find that the words of Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of men, override all interpretations and theories:
סוֹף דָּבָר, הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים יְרָא וְאֶת-מִצְוֺתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי-זֶה כָּל-הָאָדָם.
כִּי, אֶת-כָּל-מַעֲשֶׂה, הָאֱלֹהִים יָבִא בְמִשְׁפָּט, עַל כָּל-נֶעְלָם: אִם-טוֹב, וְאִם-רָע.
Conclusion: After all is said and done, revere God and observe His commandments, for that is man’s whole purpose. God will call every creature to account, be it good or bad.” (Kohelet 12:13-14)
A Book I Want To Read
Reflections from Yerushalayim by Rabbi Nachman Kahana“Reflections from Yerushalayim” is a compilation of original philosophic and hashkafic perspectives, ideas and opinions that came to my mind over the years, or were culled from experiences with my family, rabbis, teachers and friends. Writing this book has helped me fulfill the verse in Tehillim:
מִכָּל-מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי: כִּי עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ, שִׂיחָה לִי.
I have gained insight from all my teachers. Your testimonies are my speech. (Tehillim 119:99)
I respect and admire all who sincerely live an authentic Jewish life, engaging in Torah learning and fulfilling of its mitzvot, even when their opinions and outlooks conflict with mine. Throughout my life, I have attempted to blend and integrate the various approaches within the Torah world, without identifying exclusively with any particular group or camp. I have tried to follow the path of Torah and derech eretz in my service of HaShem, using the Tanach, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch as lamps for my footsteps. However, the decisive factor in fashioning my world view is what I have experienced and understood from events in the Holy Land that attest to the imminent Final Redemption of the Jewish nation.
I was born one year before the outbreak of the Holocaust. When I was six, our nation had already lost a third of its sons and daughters. When I was ten, the State of Israel was established by fewer people than the number who entered the Land of Israel with Yehoshua bin Nun. Yet, at the time of this writing, we are approaching an unprecedented population of seven million Jews, who have arrived here from a hundred different lands.
Having been a witness to this astonishing and ongoing miracle, I’ve made the central theme of this book the change that our generation is experiencing, as we observe the curtain of history falling on the exile and witness the “fallen daughter of Israel” (Amox 5:2) transforming once more into greatness.
After pondering the lofty events that have transpired so far in the State of Israel – all of them beyond my understanding – I find that the words of Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of men, override all interpretations and theories:
סוֹף דָּבָר, הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים יְרָא וְאֶת-מִצְוֺתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי-זֶה כָּל-הָאָדָם.
כִּי, אֶת-כָּל-מַעֲשֶׂה, הָאֱלֹהִים יָבִא בְמִשְׁפָּט, עַל כָּל-נֶעְלָם: אִם-טוֹב, וְאִם-רָע.
Conclusion: After all is said and done, revere God and observe His commandments, for that is man’s whole purpose. God will call every creature to account, be it good or bad.” (Kohelet 12:13-14)