Exile From Torah

God will then take up the cause  of His people, and comfort  His servants. He will have seen that their power is gone  (ki azlat yad), with nothing left to keep or abandon.                  Deuteronomy 32:36

Ba’al haTurim notes that the gematriya of the words “azlat yad” equals “zu galut” (this is exile), while that of the full phrase “ki azlat yad” equals the gematriya of “ein bam Torah” (they do not have Torah within them). My father commented that on some level, Israel’s exile inherently involves a diminution of Torah, as our Sages taught “there is no Torah comparable to that of the Land of Israel,” [Breishit Rabba 16:7] hence, "there is no greater dereliction of Torah than exile." [Babylonian Talmud, Ḥagiga 5b]
 As well, the lesson is that it is possible for Israel to be in exile in its own Land, should they forsake Torah.

The greatest exile is Israel being “exiled” from Torah, for without the merit of fulfilling Torah, Israel cannot be saved. Ultimately, the lesson is that Israel’s sole source of power is its commitment to Torah.

It is Torah which unites Israel as a nation. As important as the Land of Israel is, it is secondary to Torah. Israel’s national existence does not depend upon the Land, as evidenced by the fact that we survived close to two millennia without the Land. However, our national existence is intimately related to Torah.