Internal and External Peace

I will grant peace in the Land so that you will sleep without fear. I will rid the Land of dangerous animals, and the sword will not pass through your Land.                      Leviticus 26:1

            Ibn Ezra, and following him, Naḥmanides, explain: “I will grant peace – among yourselves.” Similarly, Or haḤayyim writes:

                   Perhaps the verse refers to the nation of Israel                        itself, that their hearts  will not be divided and                          God will grant them peace and brotherhood.

That is, Israel’s internal peace within its Land will bring forth the situation of peace in the sense of lack of war, (not only will there be no war against Israel, but “the sword will not [even pass through” its Land.

            Our Sages taught us that we can infer the negative from the positive, and thus the concept which the verse presents , that peace in the Land of Israel depends upon bein adam l’ḥavero, is related to our Sages’ teaching that the second Temple was destroyed due to “baseless hatred” among the Jews.

            Yet, beyond this, internal peace affects even the animal world, as the verse states “I will rid the Land of dangerous animals.” Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch in commenting on the verse refers us to Isaiah’s vision [11:6-8]:

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den.

            Several commentators explain that Isaiah’s prophecy is of a return to the primal condition of creation, in which there were no beasts of prey, and all animals ate only of the herbs of the fields. However, man’s sins influenced the natural world and lead to the creation of beasts of prey. Thus, Isaiah’s prophecy of the end of days includes the return of the animal world to its original status, and hence there will no longer be beats of prey.

            Based upon ibn Ezra’s elucidation, the verse indeed teaches the great power of human behavior to affect the entire animal world. 

Peace and Land

And I will give peace (shalom) in the Land (ba’aretz), and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the Land, neither shall the sword go through the Land.                                                                               Leviticus 26:6

Ba’al haTurim comments that “shalom” is an anagram for the word “lishmo” (for His name). For peace to survive, it must be done for the sake of heaven and for its own sake (an additional meaning of “lishmo”). “Peace” must not be used merely as a pretext to rest before resuming warfare. Lasting peace can be achieved only when nations are truly interested in peace as a goal, not as a means.

Since the verse states “ba’aretz,” rather than “b’artzechem” (in your Land), as used in the previous verse, it can be understood as being with the lower case, referring to the entire world. Even if understood this way, there is a connection with the Land, as our Sages teach that all countries are blessed through God’s direct providence over the Holy Land, and we can infer that the world will be blessed with peace once the Land is so blessed. Perhaps additionally, there is a hint that Israel is not satisfied merely having peace in its own Land, but prays that there be peace in the entire world.  

Failure to Observe Shmitta and Exile

Then, as long as the land is desolate and you are in your enemies' land, the Land will enjoy its Sabbaths. The Land will rest and enjoy its sabbatical years.                     Leviticus 26:34

    Rabbi Yitzḥak Ya'akov Weiss explains the connection between non-observance of the sabbatical years (shmitta) and Israel's exile from its Land based upon Rashi's first comment on the Torah. Rashi, quoting Yalkut Shimoni, teaches that Israel's answer to the nations' claim "You have stolen the Land of the seven (Canaanite) nations" is "all the earth is God's, He created it and gave the lands to whom He saw fit. Of His will the Land was given to them, and of His will it was taken from them and given to us." Therefore, Israel's failure to observe shmitta demonstrates a lack of belief that the Land indeed is God's (which is the underlying concept of shmitta). That being the case, Israel has no answer to the nations' claim that they have stolen the Land, and the inevitable result is exile from her. 

    If we dwell in the Land without recognizing that our sole claim to her is that the Creator, in His great beneficence, gave us the Land, we ourselves destroy our claim to the Land. 

The Merit of the Fathers and of the Land 2

And I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember, and the Land, I will remember.                                           Leviticus 26:42 

 The structure of the verse is a bit odd as it would seem simpler to state “and I will remember the Land.”

Maharal of Prague suggests that the Torah’s intention is to teach that remembering the Land of Israel, which has its own unique kedusha, and remembering the Patriarchs are intertwined. Thus, the Patriarchs realized their potential because the spiritual influence of the Land enabled them to achieve the level of holiness they realized.

The Merit of the Fathers and of the Land

Ba’al haTanya, the first Lubavitcher Rebbi, wrote that he was released from his false imprisonment “by virtue of the Holy Land and its inhabitants. This is what stood by our side and will always assist in relieving us from the oppressor and delivering us from distress.”

Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal, in his brilliant work Eim haBanim Smeiḥa, writes that he searched for the source of the Ba’al haTanya’s comment, and found it in Parashat Beḥukotai. God promises to remember the merit of the Forefathers:

And I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember and I will remember the Land.                     Leviticus 26:42

Rashi, quoting our Sages, explains why the order of the Patriarchs is reversed:

It is to tell us: Jacob is worthy to bring the redemption and if he is not (sufficiently) worthy, behold Isaac is with him, and if Isaac is not worthy, then Abraham is with him, for he is worthy.

Thus, the verse proceeds in ascending order. The merit of Isaac is greater than that of Jacob and the merit of Abraham even greater. Rabbi Teichtal takes Rashi’s comment one step further. Since the verse concludes “and I will remember the Land”, it is clear that the merit of the Land is even greater than the merit of the Forefathers. This, writes Rabbi Teichtal, provides “a ’pure’ source from the holy Torah itself that the merit of Eretz Yisrael stands above all other merits”.

To Rabbi Teichtal’s insight we can add the comment of the Gaon of Vilna [Ḥumash haGra, Genesis 25:9] that if not for the fact that the Forefathers are buried in the Holy Land, their descendants would be unable to benefit from their merit (z’chut avot).

Walking Upright in the Land

… and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright (komemiyut).              Leviticus 26:13

My father noted that the verse conveys two blessings. “I have broken the bands of your yoke” is a blessing of the end of servitude. However, one who has been enslaved is liable to retain a slave mentality even after emancipation. Therefore, the Torah adds the second blessing “and made you walk upright.” The double blessing is of freedom of body and spirit.

Rashi translates komemiyut as “erect in stature (in contrast to the bent attitude of a person who is under a yoke).” [Silbermann translation of Rashi] Onkelos, the first century translator of the Torah into Aramaic, translates “I will lead you to freedom.” Some Israelis refer to the War of Independence (Milḥemet haShiḥrur) as Milḥemet haKomemiyut. Indeed, the establishment of the State, on the ashes of the Holocaust, led the Jews to erect stature following one of the greatest tragedies of our history.

Dwelling Securely Within the Land

… You will eat your bread to the full, and you will dwell safely in your Land.                         Leviticus 26:5

In your Land you will dwell securely, but you will not dwell securely outside of her.   Midrash Torat Kohanim

Or haḤayyim adds an explanatory comment: the verse stresses “in your Land” to indicate that the entire world will recognize that it is your (Israel’s) Land, and strangers (i.e. gentiles) have no proprietary part of it, thus you will have nothing to fear, and will dwell safely.

It is perfectly obvious that the sine qua non for the nations to recognize that the Land belongs exclusively to Israel is Israel’s own recognition of that fact.

Torah Temima (Rabbi Baruch Epstein 1860–1942) elucidates the Midrash thus: when you are outside the Land, even when you fulfill the Divine will you will not dwell securely. Since the Land is appropriate for sanctity and Divine inspiration, the blessing can take effect only when Israel is within its Land, just as a flower can survive in fertile land, but not if it is uprooted from its proper place. The Midrash infers its comment from the apparently superfluous word “b’Artzechem” (in your Land), for the entire Torah depends upon Israel entering the Land and its being therein.

Remembering Fathers and the Land

The parasha includes the “admonition,” a warning of what may happen if the People of Israel do not observe God’s commandments, which concludes with the verse:

Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember and I will remember the Land.                                                                                  Leviticus 26:42

In an unusual arrangement, the Torah here presents the forefathers in reverse order, from Jacob back to Abraham.

My father explained that Jacob is the symbol of being oppressed and suffering; Isaac, who willingly was bound on the altar at Mount Moriah, is the symbol of self sacrifice; and Abraham was the first recipient of God’s promise of the Land of Israel to the Children of Israel.

Perhaps the Torah wants us to understand that God first “remembers” the suffering if His people. As well, God appreciates the self sacrifice of His people and credits them for this. Finally, God, of course fulfills His promises. Perhaps the merit of the Jews’ suffering and self sacrifice “count” more than God’s promise and make greater contributions to the Jews’ ultimate salvation.

The Spheres of Sanctity and the Land

This Dvar Torah is taken from my father's writings.
The sanctity of Israel originated when we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai to accept Torah and, thereby, became a holy nation. Parashat Behar begins with the sanctity of place and ends with the sanctity of time. There is an interrelation between each of these spheres of sanctity and the sanctity of man. It is the sanctity Israel achieved at Mount Sinai which leads to the sanctity of time and of place.

The sanctity resulting from Israel’s acceptance of Torah at Mount Sinai endows the nation with mastery over time (Sanhedrin’s ability/obligation to determine and declare the new month, as well as the power to decide on leap years).

Sanctity of place, as well, originated from Mount Sinai. The Land of Israel can fully realize its sanctity only when the People of Israel are within her. The Land’s attribute of “flowing milk and honey” derives from its sanctity, which in turn derives from the nation’s sanctity, which was endowed on the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai. Further, Israel can sanctify its Land only through fulfillment of mitzvot within her.

Only when the People of Israel dwell in sanctity in the Land of Israel can there be true sanctity in the world. This is the meaning of our Sages comment [Ketubot 110b], quoted by Rashi in his commentary to verse 38:

(Only) one who dwells in Israel is considered as having a God, while he who leaves her is considered as an idolater.

Thus, it is only in Israel that all realms of sanctity can be fully established.

The Land and the People: Who Holds Who?

The final verse presenting the laws of shemitta (the sabbatical year) in our parasha is:

And in all the Land of your possession (Eretz Aḥuzatchem) you shall grant a redemption for the Land.     Leviticus 25:24

This verse is one of five times the Torah refers to the Land of Israel as Eretz Aḥuzah .

            Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch [commentary on Genesis 23:4] notes the following irony: the root aḥoz means to grasp, yet aḥuza “occurs exclusively referring to landed property which is just what cannot be grasped”. … “the object is not gripped by the owner, but the owner is gripped and held fast by the object, and that in fact is the case with the possession of land. Land holds its owner, he is chained to it … So that the underlying idea of aḥuza is being settled, the act of permanent settling. ”

            Thus, Eretz Aḥuza implies a mutual “hold”: of the Land by the Children of Israel and of the Children of Israel by the Land.

            Similarly, the late Lubavitcher Rebbi commented: “our Sages teach that every Jew possesses a portion of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. The converse is also true. The Land possesses a portion of every Jew”.

Respecting God, Man and Land

And the Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the Land I am giving you, the Land will observe a Sabbath to the Lord.”  Leviticus 25:1-2

            Tzror haMor (Rabbi Avraham Saba [among the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492]) explains that the juxtaposition of the law of the sabbatical year with the preceding parashot conveys the lesson that we are obligated to respect the Holy Land, as we are obligated to respect God and His creatures:

The law of the sabbatical year is presented after the previous matters to instruct us that as we are obligated to respect God and to respect His creatures, so too we are obligated to respect the Holy Land, the Land of Israel, which is constantly under God’s scrutiny and His eyes are on it at all times, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, [Deuteronomy 11:12] for she is referred to as “the desired Land” [Malachi 3:12] and “the Land of the living.” [Psalms 116:9;142:6]  Therefore, we must consider these three categories of respect: respect for God, respect for the people of Israel and respect for the Land of Israel. And these are included within respect for God.

            In Parashat Emor, the Torah dealt, inter alia, with respect for God, and commanded Israel to sanctify His name and to avoid desecrating it, [22:31] as well as the severity of cursing God. [23:15-16] In Parashat Kedoshim the Torah presents a series of mitzvot between man and fellow man, including “Love your neighbor as yourself” [19:18] and love of proselytes [ibid. 34] which express love of God’s creatures.

            Thus, after presenting the mandate to respect God and to respect the creature that was created in His image, the Torah mandates respecting the Holy Land. As Tzror haMor notes, the mandate to respect man and the mandate to respect the Land flow from and are part of the mandate to respect God. Since man was created in God’s image, we are obligated to respect him as we are required to respect his Creator. Concerning the Land, since the Creator endowed it with His sanctity and chose it from among all the lands of the earth, we must respect her as well.

            There are practical Halachic implications of Tzror haMor’s comments. For example, Piskei Teshuvot [Oraḥ Ḥayyim 156:23:10] writes, as a practical Halacha:

It is forbidden denigrate the Land of Israel, even concerning its trees and stones, and it is forbidden to say of any other land that it is better than the Land of Israel.

            In his book Naḥalat haShem, Rabbi Binyamin haLevi Li’on has comments similar to that of Piskei Teshuvot:

It is a great sin to deprecate the Land of Israel, God’s estate, for example, to say that dwelling within her is bad, for whatever reason (since Moses’ spies were punished for speaking ill of the Land [Numbers 14:37], all the more so, to say that dwelling within the Land is bad on the spiritual level. Some say that one who speaks ill of the Land will not be privileged to greet Messiah.  (Based upon the Talmudic comment that Moses’ spies have no portion in the World to Come. [Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 109b]

             It is appropriate to add the impassioned words of Rabbi Yeruḥam of Mir concerning those who praise the Land for its physical aspects and not its spiritual ones:

Our view of and attitude towards the Land of Israel must be that she is Holy of Holies … the Land is the ultimate purpose (of existence) … virtually the entire Torah is deals with the Land and is full of her praise, and the Review of Torah (Deuteronomy) speaks only of the Land of Israel … the Land is the essence of wisdom, repentance and good deeds ... true completion can be achieved only within the Land … Our Sages taught “He who despises God’s word” [Numbers 15:31] refers to one who despised that which is holy and such person has no portion in the World to Come. [Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a] This includes one who praises the Land as flowing milk and honey, yet considers the Land to be as other lands, and acts in accordance. Such people are included, God forbid, among those who have no portion in the World to Come because they have despised that which is holy. [Da’at Torah, 211]

            It is not possible to truly respect the Land without understanding her spiritual dimension.

            Naḥalat haShema adds the positive implication of Tzror haMor’s words:

It is appropriate to speak in praise of the Land. (Based upon Yalkut Shimoni, II Kings, 238, which states, similarly to the Talmud, that Sennacherib was rewarded for not speaking ill of the Land, and adds: If this is true of one who merely refrained from speaking ill of the Land, all the more so of one who praises her.)

Shabbat of the Land and the People of the Land

God spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, telling him to speak to the Israelites and say to them: "When you come to the Land that I am giving you, the Land must be given a rest period, a Shabbat to God."                                                              Leviticus 25:1-2

            Rabbi Aharon Levin suggests an interesting parallel between “Shabbat of the Land” and the weekly Shabbat, and writes that the fate of the Land is similar to the fate of the nation of Israel. Just as the Children of Israel are spiritually elevated “from the depths of mundane life to additional sanctity” when Shabbat commences, so too the Land is elevated “to the (spiritual) aspect of Shabbat” with her sons’ entry to her. This is the meaning of the words “when you come to the Land that I am giving you:” when Israel entered its Land, replacing the nations which had defiled her, we allowed the Land to realize the unique sanctity of our Land – God’s Land.      

            Similarly, on a homiletic level, Rabbi Levin explains the verse “And in all the Land of your possession you shall grant a redemption for the Land:” [25:24] when the Land became, in practice, the Land of Israel’s possession, she was redeemed by Israel elevating her from the mundane, week-day, level to the spiritual level.

            Indeed, Sefat Emet comments: “when Israel entered the Land, she was sanctified through revealing its potential sanctity, and the aspect of the heavenly Land of Israel was infused within the corporeal Land. With Israel’s entry into her, the Land was renewed through the sanctity which descended upon her.”

Exodus, Sinai and the Land

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.                                                    Leviticus 25:38

In his commentary on our verse, Rashi quotes our Sages’ statement [Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 110b]: “One who dwells in the Land of Israel is considered as having a God, while one who dwells outside the Land is as if he has no God.”

We might expect that the order of events in the verse would be: brought you out of Egypt, to be your God, to give you the land, which follows the actual chronology of events: exodus, the revelation at Mount Sinai and entrance into the Land. The order which the verse presents reflects the concept that Israel’s entry into its Land is a necessary step in order for God to be Israel’s God. Indeed, the Sages’ comment is based upon our verse and is derived from the order of the verse.

The Land and Liberty

… and proclaim liberty (dror) throughout the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof …   Leviticus 25:10

Our sages understood the simple meaning of our verse to be that Yovel is in force only when all Israel lives in its Land:

Once the Tribe of Reuven and the Tribe of Gad and half the Tribe of Menashe were exiled, the practice of Yovel was canceled, as the verse says, “and proclaim liberty throughout the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof” only when all the inhabitants are within her.              

                          Babylonian Talmud, Arachin 32b

My father commented that the lesson is that Israel cannot experience full liberty when some of its tribes are in exile. When part of the People is in exile and suffering, even those who remain in the Land are not fully free. They too suffer with their brethren in exile. Complete freedom and liberty can be achieved by the Nation of Israel only when all of its people dwell in unity within its Land.

The Sabbath of the Land: Collective and Individual

But the sabbath of the Land shall be allowed to you for food, for you and your servant and for your maid and for your hired servant and for your sojourner who tarries with you.                                               Leviticus 25:6

Verses 3–5 are in the singular, while our verse begins with the plural and switches to the singular.

My father explained that the verse reflects both halachic and philosophical points. The produce of the Sabbatical Year is hefker (ownerless). It is permitted to the field’s owner only if the owner allows everyone to partake of the produce. Thus, our verse states “ the sabbath of the land shall be allowed to you (plural) for food for you (singular), etc. …” It is through freeing the field’s produce to anyone in need that it may become yours (singular).

The philosophical point conveyed by the Halacha is that an Israelite must first demonstrate concern for the klal, the totality of Israel, and only then for him/herself.

The Sabbatical Year and the Other Six

The opening verses of the Parasha are:

And the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai saying: Speak unto the Children of Israel and say to them: when you come into the land which I give you, the earth shall rest Sabbath to the Lord. Six years shall you plant your field, etc. [Leviticus 25:1-3]

The order seems a bit unusual. Seemingly, it would be more appropriate to first state “six years shall you plant” and then “the earth shall rest,” which refers to the Sabbatical year.

My father explained that the Torah teaches that it is the Sabbatical year which brings blessing to the six years of working the fields. If the Israelites observe the Sabbatical year properly, then the work of the remaining years will be blessed.

Just as Shabbat, rather than deriving its strength from the days of the week, gives vitality to the entire week, so it is with the Sabbatical year. This is perhaps one reason that the shmitta year is called Shabbat haAretz, the Sabbath of the Land. In both cases, the “Shabbat,” when properly observed, brings sanctity to those who observe.

Torah and Economic Life

This Dvar Torah is taken from my father's writings.

Parashat Behar, which essentially deals with economic matters, most of which are related to the economy of the Land (the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, redemption of land and houses sold in Israel), opens with the verse: “And the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying …” [Leviticus 25:1]

Our Sages ask why the Torah emphasized that these laws were given at Sinai, since after all, all the laws originated at Sinai. Others might ask the same question, but in a different form: what has economics to do with God’s revelation at Sinai?

Precisely for this reason the Torah emphasizes that these laws were given at Sinai. Torah is not a “church religion,” it is not limited to the synagogue. Torah should and must govern our entire lives. It directs our relationship between man and man as well as our relationship with God. Thus, economic life, as well as spiritual life, is directed by Torah. We do not separate the material from the spiritual; rather we bring Godliness into material life as well.

The Torah wishes to stress that all aspects of human behavior must be managed in accordance with the laws given at Mount Sinai. Ultimately, economic life cannot be separated from spiritual life. Every aspect of life must be guided by Torah. When our economic activities are conducted in accordance with Torah, the physical and material are elevated to a spiritual level. All facets of life are to be sanctified, and the sanctity originates from Mount Sinai

The Fine Line in Education

And the Lord said to Moses: speak (emor) to the priests,

the sons of Aaron, and say (v’amarta) to them ...

                                                         Leviticus 21:1

The English translation fails to convey the use of the same root word for “speak” and “say”. Our Sages noted the apparent redundancy and comment that the intention is to admonish the adults about their children. In essence, the Torah stresses the obligation of the parents to educate their children.

The question arises why the Torah emphasizes this point specifically here. After all, Torah education is one of the ultimate values.

       The continuation of our verse presents the prohibition of a kohen becoming tamei (ritually impure). The following verse presents the exceptions, where it is a mitzva for a kohen to become tamei.

My father explained that the Torah teaches us that the same act can at times be forbidden and at other times mandatory. The act itself is not the determining factor, rather the thought, the mind set and the manner in which an act is performed help determine whether it is a positive or negative act. The difference between the holy and the profane is very small.  Therefore, study of Torah is vital, in order to teach us when a particular behavior is good and acceptable and when that behavior is to be avoided.

Realizing Individual Rights

And when you (plural) reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely finish the corner of your (singular) field when you reap, and you shall not gather up the gleaning of your harvest, you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am God, your Lord.                        Leviticus 23:22

The verse’s transition from plural to singular is consistent with the idea which the Torah teaches, that before a person has the right to see himself as an individual, he must first see himself as part of the collective. It is specifically by realizing that the Land truly belongs to the nation of Israel that the individual farmer acquires his own field. By taking responsibility for the poor among his fellow Israelites, the farmer is able to realize his rights to a portion of the Land. By leaving pe’ah (the unharvested corner of the field), the Hebrew farmer attests to his awareness that the Land ultimately belongs to God. Thus the order of attaining a plot of land in Israel is from the Creator through the klal (the collective) to the individual.

Two Loaves, a Measure of Barley and the Land

From the Land upon which you live, you shall bring two loaves of bread as a wave offering. They shall be made of two-tenths (of an ephah) of wheat meal, and shall be baked as leavened bread. They are the first-harvest offering to God.                                                         Leviticus 23:17

The two loaves may be brought only from the Land of Israel.                                                          Mishna Menaḥot 8:1

Rabbi Moshe Zuriel quotes Zohar [Parashat Terumah 239b] which sees the two loaves offered on Shavuot as representing the Torah and symbolizing the two components of Torah: written and oral. Since our Sages taught [Breishit Rabba 16b] “there is no Torah comparable to the Torah of the Land of Israel,” it is understandable that the two loaves, symbolizing Torah, may be brought only from the produce of the Land.

We can add to Rabbi Zuriel’s insight the fact that the essence of Torah is the 613 mitzvot, of which 264 can be fulfilled only within the Land. This includes not only the agricultural mitzvot which are dependent upon the Land, but all mitzvot connected to monarchy, Sanhedrin (supreme religious court), the Temple and many others. Thus, it is clear that a Jew who is sincerely interested in fulfilling mitzvot must live in the Holy Land. This point is reflected in the requirement that the two loaves be brought specifically and exclusively from the wheat of the Land.

Taking the point a step further, Naḥmanides (1194-1270), based upon a Midrash, is of the opinion that observance of mitzvot is unique to the Land, and the purpose of observing mitzvot outside Israel is to be familiar with them when one comes to the Land.

The Gaon of Vilna [Aderet Eliyahu Deuteronomy 4:5] comments that all Torah, even those mitzvot which are not dependent upon the Land, was given only for the sake of the Land.

            The Mishna quoted above states that the Omer (an offering of barley, brought on the second day of Pesaḥ) too may be brought only from the produce of the Land. Perhaps this symbolizes the connection between Pesaḥ and the Land, in accordance with the verse: “And He brought out of there, to bring us to the land He promised our fathers, and give it to us.” [Deuteronomy 6:23] Thus, it is possible that the offerings which mark the beginning and end of the period between Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its receiving Torah at Mount Sinai are both directly connected to the Land of Israel, demonstrating that the purpose of the exodus was to bring Israel to Sinai to receive its national constitution, the Torah, and with that constitution to enter its Land. 

Reciprocal and Derivative Sanctity

“... but I will be hallowed in the midst of the Children of Israel; I am the Lord who hallows you.”                        Leviticus                                                              22:32

Early in the parasha we read of the sanctity of the Kohanim, which in a sense is sandwiched between references to the sanctity of the community of Israel, since our parasha follows Kedoshim, which was addressed to the entire congregation of Israel. My father noted that this teaches that the sanctity of the Kohanim derives from the sanctity with which God endowed the entire People of Israel. Our verse teaches that there is a reciprocal relationship: the Kohanim, by fulfilling their mandate to be the educators of the nation, have the power to further sanctify the nation.

Our verse follows the admonition: “Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am God,” teaching that it observance of mitzvot which endows the nation and the individual with sanctity.

Connecting to God, Connecting to Fellow Jews

Meshech Ḥochma comments that in the “Divine religion” there are two classes of mitzvot: those intended to connect Jews to their Heavenly Father and those intended to connect Jews to each other. Examples of the first class are tzitzit, tefillin and mezuza. The second category includes acts of kindness between fellow Jews, truma and ma’aser.

Using this duality, Meshech Ḥochma distinguishes between Shabbat and the holidays. Concerning Shabbat, the Torah says: “let no man go out of his place on the seventh day” (Exodus 16:29). In addition, one may not transport objects across a public domain, nor may one cook food (all of which are permitted on the holidays). Shabbat, explains Meshech Ḥochma, is intended as a day which the individual devotes to Torah and to connecting with God as the spiritual source. Ideally, on Shabbat Jews individually reconnect with God as the spiritual center. Ultimately, this individual effort connects the Jews collectively. However, this connection among Jews is, in essence, arrived at in an indirect way, unlike the connection resulting from the mitzvot between man and fellow man.

The holidays, on the other hand, belong to the class of mitzvot intended to connect Jews with each other. For this reason, we may cook food which is necessary for the holiday on the holiday itself. In addition, the Torah requires Jews to ascend to the Temple for the holidays. This also stresses the connection among Jews. On the holidays, transporting objects is permitted because it makes the social connection easier.

Yet, the connection between a Jew and God and his connection to fellow Jews are interrelated. As noted, ideally the individual’s connecting to God connects him to the collective Israel as well, and the connection between Jews is rooted in the connection with God.

The Land: Spiritual and Physical

And when you shall come into the Land and plant  all  manner  of  trees  for  food  ...                                         Leviticus 19:23

Our Sages understood the verse to refer not only to physical trees, but to spiritual ones as well, quoting the verse (Proverbs 3:18) “She (Torah) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her”.

Sefat Emet connects this Midrash to another comment of our Sages (Avot 2:2): “An excellent thing is the study of Torah combined with worldly occupation (derech eretz), for labor in the two of them makes sin forgotten”. Sefat Emet then explains that the intention of both Rabbinic comments is to express the greatness of connecting the physical and the spiritual, of endowing physical acts with sanctity.  It is the spiritual aspect which constitutes the internal vitality of everything. Everything was endowed by the Creator with an element of vitality of the Torah, as our Sages teach: “it was through Torah that God created the world”. It is the task of the People of Israel to reveal the element of vitality.

Entering the Land of Israel, in a sense, was a more difficult situation for the People of Israel than wandering through the desert. Israel’s life in the desert was spiritual, with God miraculously providing all of their needs. It was a life of Torah, net. Entering the Land required Torah and worldly occupation. While the life facing Israel in its Land was more difficult, it is this type of life, combining the physical and the spiritual, and thereby brining the inner vitality to fruition, which is the essential role of the People of Israel.

The essence of Eretz Yisrael is connecting everything to its spiritual roots through the strength of Torah.

The Land and the People: A Shared Name

While it appears relatively rarely in the Bible, the name Eretz Yisrael is obviously of great significance.

Maharal of Prague comments that the Land is named “Israel” because it draws its vitality from the People of Israel. Only when its people are within her can the Land reach its full level of sanctity. Eretz Yisrael can achieve its potential only when the People of Israel live in the Land.

Similarly, Rabbi Moshe Alshikh (c. 1508 - 1600) wrote that the quality of the Land after the arrival of the Israelites is vastly different than its quality before their arrival, for it is the Israelites who sanctify the Land.

Expanding on Alshikh’s comment, Be’er Mayyim Hayyim (Ḥassidic Master Rabbi Ḥayyim of Chernowitz [1760 – 1818]) comments that the Land cannot receive its sanctity nor its spiritual vitality without the People of Israel living within it.

Maharal also notes the “flip side”: not only does the Land draw its vitality from the People’s presence in her, but the People of Israel too draw strength from the Land.

Following up on the Maharal’s comment, Be’er Mayyim Ḥayyim stresses the reciprocal nature of the relationship between Israel and its land, and states: “Israel and the Land require each other for each to be able to reach fulfillment.”

It is the Land which unites the People and the Land is the point of contact between the People of Israel and God.

Upright to and Within Our Land

As part of the introductory prayer to the daily morning recital of Kriat Shema, the essential declaration of belief in God, our Sages chose the words: “and bring us upright (komemiyut) to our Land.”

The only appearance of the word komemiyut in the entire Bible is in Parashat Beḥukotai, where the verse says:

I am the Lord your God, who  brought you out of the land of Egypt, from servitude to them, and I Have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you Go upright (komemiyut). [Leviticus 26:13]

The English translation “upright” is taken from the Midrash, which states: “with upright stature, and fearing no creature.”

Through their choice of words, our Sages teach us that it is insufficient for a Jew to merely enter the Holy Land. We must enter “upright and fearing no creature.”

Rabbi Menaḥem Kasher offers an expansion of the meaning of the Midrashic definition: the Israelites will appreciate their status as the sons of the Living God, and will not be lowly in their own eyes. Rabbi Kasher’s comment points out the element of belief which is part of “komemiyut”: the People of Israel must enter the Land not only upright, but appreciating the fact that we are God’s chosen people and that He chose to give the Holy Land to us. To fail to be upright in the Land, in essence, is to fail to appreciate God’s choices.

Rabbi Kook quotes the Talmud [Bava Batra 75a], which, in a play on words, understands “komemiyut” to mean “two statures,” and to refer to the “two statures of Adam the First.”  Rabbi Kook explains the Sages’ comment as a reference to the spiritual and physical aspects of man. The Land of Israel is the only land on our planet which combines physical and spiritual attributes. Thus, the words of the prayer imply that not only must we enter our Land upright, but we must also appreciate the Land in its spiritual, as well as physical, aspect, as well as realizing that it is the only land which combines these two dimensions.

The Land: Body and Soul

The Ḥafetz Ḥayyim comments that the relation between Torah and the Land of Israel is that of soul and body, which require each other in order to survive. A soul, a spiritual entity, must reside within a body. A body without a soul is inert, nothing more than a clump of dirt, dust of the earth.

Torah is the soul of Israel, the Land its body. Since a soul cannot exist without a body, there are many mitzvot which are dependent upon the Land. (In the opinion of Naḥmanides and others, all mitzvot are obligatory only within the Land of Israel, and are fulfilled in the Diaspora only to be prepared for performing them when Israel returns to its land.) Equally, however, the Land of Israel without Torah lacks the power of independent existence. Without Torah, the Land is merely a piece of real estate, a body without a soul. Only when body and soul are joined together does each have the ability to survive. It is only the blending of Torah and the Land which allows each to achieve its realization. 

Our challenge is to help the state realize its potential in combining the Land and Torah.

Land, Creation and Mitzvot

Rashi chose to begin his commentary on Torah by explaining that the purpose of the entire Book of Genesis and the Book of Exodus until the presentation of the first mitzva given to the nation of Israel [12:1 ff.] is to stress that the Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the People of Israel as a gift of the Creator. Thus Rashi writes [based upon Yalkut Shimoni Exodus 187]:

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Torah should have commenced with the verse “This month shall be for you the first of months” [Exodus 12:2], which is the first mitzva commanded to Israel. Why then did the Torah begin with Breishit? Because of (the concept expressed in the verse) “He declared to His people the strength of His works in order that He may give them the estate of nations.” [Psalms 111:2] Should the nations of the world say to Israel: “You are thieves, having forcefully taken the land of the seven nations [of Canaan],” Israel will reply: “The entire earth belongs to the Holy One blessed be He, He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. When He willed He gave it to them and when He willed He took it from them and gave it to us.”

Rabbi Aharon Miasnik, in his book Minḥat Aharon, explains that the sanctity of the Land of Israel (which is the necessary condition for mitzvot applying within her) depends upon Israel’s ownership of the Land. Hence, if Israel stole the Land, it is not sanctified. Thus, the claim of the nations of the world is that since Israel stole the Land from the Canaanites, they do not have ownership, and the mitzvot are not in force. (According to Naḥmanides’ approach, this would be true of all mitzvot, not only of those dependent upon the Land.)

The depth of Rabbi Yitzḥak’s answer is that Breishit, the description of God’s creation of the world, is a necessary and integral part of mitzvot, since it confirms Israel’s ownership of its Land, and it is only through this ownership that the Land achieved sanctity from which flows the obligation to perform mitzvot.

This approach allows us to understand why the Torah is concerned with the claim of the nations of the world to the point of commencing by refuting of this claim, since this refutation is the underpinning of all of Torah and mitzvot.

The Land's Centrality in Torah

            Those who believe the Torah to be God’s words must feel the obligated to reflect on the centrality of the Land of Israel within the Torah’s verses.

            Rabbi Yeruḥam Yehuda Leib Perlman (known as the “The Great [Torah scholar] of Minsk” [1835 – 1914]) wrote: “The Land is mentioned in almost every portion of the Torah and its mitzvot (emphasis mine). The Torah always glorifies and endears the Land while exalting its status, in every possible expression of endearment.”

            Rabbi Meir Simḥa of Dvinsk (1843 – 1926) phrased the point more categorically: “There is no portion of the Torah in which the Land is not mentioned.”

            Rabbi Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land, noted that the Land is central not only in the written Torah, but in the oral Torah as well, “throughout the entire Torah, written and oral, we see how great is love of the Land, its settlement and building it up.”

            Rabbi Perlman adds that it is likely that our Sages’ intention in commenting that “dwelling in the Land is considered the equivalent of the mitzvot of the Torah” [Midrash Sifrei, Deuteronomy 80:29] is to stress that the Land is indeed one of the central themes of the Torah. Therefore, whether dwelling in the Land is an explicit mitzva of the Torah, as is the opinion of Naḥmanides, or a general mitzva, or even “merely” a rabbinic mitzva, “it is clear that it is a great and potent mitzva which is entwined in our beliefs throughout the generations. In practical terms, it is sufficient to note how our Forefathers, our holy men and prophets loved and respected the Land, and how the Sages of the Mishna and Talmud extolled her virtue and respected and glorified her in word and deed, exalting her importance through great hyperbole.”

God's Three Great Gifts

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai says: three great presents were given by God to Israel, and each was given only through suffering, and these are the three: Torah, the Land of Israel and the World to Come.                                                        Babylonian Talmud,  Berachot 5

On the simplest level, Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai teaches that those things which are truly worth having are worth suffering for to achieve.

Rabbi Kook, in his brilliant commentary, reveals a much deeper understanding of bar Yoḥai’s comment.

Rabbi Kook explains that those things which are natural can be achieved without suffering.  However, whatever is above nature cannot be achieved without suffering, because the human body is limited by its natural aspects. Thus, Maimonides describes a prophet’s body as almost being torn apart during prophecy, because prophecy is a super-natural event.

            Man is composed of intellect, body and soul. The three presents correspond to these three spheres of man’s existence.

            To truly achieve Torah is to link with the divine intellect. Since this is super-natural, Torah can be fully achieved only through suffering.

            The Land of Israel is a physical land, but also has a super-natural aspect. As our Sages teach, (western) Eretz Yisrael is the only land worthy of the Shechina. Thus, the Land of Israel can be achieved only through suffering.

            The World to Come is the ultimate super-natural reward for the soul, and it too can be achieved only through suffering.