This Dvar
Torah is an applied example of the use of the greatest guide book ever written
for Israel.
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And the western border you shall have the
Great Sea for a border, and this shall be your west border. Numbers
34:6
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The Torah presents the obvious geographical
fact that the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, constitutes the western boundary of
the Holy Land.
Our classical commentaries explain that the
greatness of the Mediterranean lies not in the fact that it is the largest body
of water connected to the Land, but in the fact that it constitutes the Land’s
boundary.
The question arises: halachically, how far do
Israel’s territorial waters extend? The
Talmud [Gittin 8a] presents a difference of opinion on this matter: The
Rabbis say that we draw a line connecting the northwestern (the Mountains of
Amnon) and southwestern (the Brook of Egypt) land borders of Israel, whatever
is east of that line is part of the Holy Land, west of the line is outside
Israel. Rabbi Yehuda (who consistently takes a stronger pro- Land of Israel
approach than the Rabbis) says we draw two parallel lines west from the land
borders to the ocean , whatever is between those lines is part of the Land.
Interestingly, if we apply Rabbi Yehuda’s
approach to the maximalist opinion as to the location of the northwestern
border of the Land, the conclusion will be that the island of Cyprus is part of
the Land of Israel. Thus, when the British brought ma’apilim (“illegal”
immigrants) to detention camps in Cyprus, they brought them to Israel!
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