Great show tonight; thanks to everyone who joined us.
I wrote the following in response to a friend of mine who wanted to know where exactly in the Torah is the commandment of maintaining the land, to not give it away and to be connected with it, both physically and spiritually.
Eretz Yisroel, the land of Israel, is more than just the promised land of the Jews. Yes, Hashem made a covenant with them for which they would receive Hashem’s favor and the land of their forefathers, if they should only obey the commandments dictated in the Torah. One of these commandments, however, is that if we indeed find ourselves with the land in our possession, we are not, under any circumstances, to give even a square inch of it away, not to our enemies, and not to our friends. There is nothing wrong with the goyim (nations of the world) living amongst us in our own land, as long as they have no intention of harming us or our aspirations. But history has proven that there is indeed a divine connection to the land that we must acknowledge.
As the 5th book of Moshe Rabbeinu, Devarim (Deuteronomy) comes to a close, Moshe dies and Yehoshua picks up where he left off to lead the people in to the Promised Land. G-d instructs the Jews as to how they are to conduct themselves when they enter and possess the land:
- 8. [Therefore] keep all the commandments that I command you this day, in order that you may be strong and come and possess the land to which you are crossing, to possess it,
- 9. and in order that you may prolong your days on the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give to them and to their seed a land flowing with milk and honey.
In Bereshis Raba 49, Hashem says: Israel and the people of Israel are beloved by me-- I'll bring My beloved Israel to My beloved land.
This might be an appropriate time to add the following. It is said that each verse in the Torah corresponds to a year in the Jewish calendar. In other words, clear parallels should be seen between what it says in the Five Books of Moshe and major events in our history. Probably the most famous of these allusions is the example given for the 5708th verse in the Torah, which corresponds to the year 5708 (1948 in the secular calendar). Devarim 30:2 states:
- and you will return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you this day you and your children
As everyone very well knows, 1948 was the year in which the people of Israel miraculously returned to their G-d given land after an inconceivable Hell on Earth consumed roughly a third of the Jewish population. The wars subsequently won in 1967, in which Israel reclaimed Yerushalayim, and 1973, when practically the entire Arab world attempted to annihilate us on the holiest day of the year (Yom Kippur), were equally, if not more miraculous. These days, when remembering that period, we nostalgically recall the political figures who were at the forefront of a revolution. Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon. However, most of the veterans who lived it will admit that as a whole, the wars of modern Israel were nothing short of miraculous- or “luck” if they are that spiritually blind. Those who understood knew that G-d was pulling the strings for the Jewish people.
There is yet another miracle associated with the land. Prior to the Jews’ return shortly before 1948, the land of Israel was barren as it was destined to be when the Jews were exiled from it nearly 2000 years prior. After having visited the land in 1867, Mark Twain said this about it in his book, The Innocents Abroad:
- “... A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds... a silent mournful expanse.... a desolation.... we never saw a human being on the whole route.... hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”
When the Jews slowly started coming back, they worked the land as others tried to do but could not. It began to blossom and bloom, the fields again became a lush green, and Israel would henceforth be known for its rich and diverse landscape.
Needless to say, the greatest Torah scholars and sages of our history were all vehemently against giving away an iota of Jewish land:
The Lubavitcher Rebbe of Chabad:
- “…here we are not discussing diplomacy, but the surrender of parts of Eretz Yisroel. The very fact that a negotiation on this is taking place is a desecration of G-D's Name and in opposition to G-D and His Torah.”
Prior to the acquisition of the state of Israel, it is said that the Rebbe was not necessarily for taking back the land forcefully, as this was a famous dilemma in Jewish law. Once the land was given to us by the nations of the world, however, the Rebbe would at every opportunity stand against dividing the land or giving any of it away to any other person, place or thing.
Rav Avraham Shapira, just before he recently passed away at the age of 94, gave the following final statement:
- “The Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of Israel and was granted to us as an inheritance by the Creator of the world. Neither the Prime Minister nor anybody else has the right to give away areas, or even a grain, of the holy Land of Israel. The entire Land of Israel, according to the borders outlined in the Torah – belonged in the past, and belong in the present and future, only to the Nation of Israel, and it is forbidden by severe Torah prohibition to give up any of the territory of our holy land.”
Rashi, arguably the premier commentator on the Torah who conjured endless words of wisdom for Jews to study to this very day, presents the following as his first ever commentary:
- R. Yitzchok said: The Torah should have begun with [the verse] "This month shall be [your first month]," it being the first precept that the Israelites were commanded. Then why does it [the Torah] begin with "In the beginning"? This is because [of the concept contained in the verse,] "He declared the power of His works to His people in order to give to them the inheritance of nations." Thus, should the nations of the world say to Israel, "You are robbers, for you have taken by force the lands of the Seven Nations," they [Israel] will say to them: "All the earth belongs to G-d. He created it and gave it to whomever He saw fit. It was His will to give it to them and it was His will to take it from them and give it to us."
Far from perfect, I need only a very small quantity of intellect to choose G-d, the sages of old and the true leaders of today, who are not necessarily recognized to the extent that they ought to be and will be, G-d willing, when the Redemption arrives. I stand against anyone and everyone who considers, even for a moment, the idea that it is permissible to let go of a square inch of G-d’s land. For who are we to be so arrogant in the Face of our Creator?
© 2007 Yehoshua Avraham ben Ephraim Shmuel.
