I will meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated
by My glory. Exodus 29:43
“I will meet with the Israelites there:” - to inform all those who come
into this world (i.e., all of mankind) the special affection which I
have for Israel. Midrash Lekaḥ Tov
Lekaḥ Tov’s comment
applies to the Land of Israel as well, since she, and only she, is the Land of
the Shechina. [Yalkut Shimoni, 694]
Indeed, our Sages expounded:
The Holy One, blessed be He said to Moses: “the Land is dear to Me, (as
the verse states ‘the eyes of the Lord your God are on it constantly from the
first of the year until the very end of the year,’ [Deuteronomy 11:12]); and
Israel is dear to Me, (as scripture states: ‘because the Lord loved you’
“[Deuteronomy 7:8]) Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He said: “I shall bring
Israel who are dear to Me into the Land which is dear to Me (as it is written:
‘for you are entering the land of Canaan.’ [Numbers 34:2])”
The very fact of Israel’s
presence within its Land, which is God’s Land, constitutes an expression of
God’s affection for His chosen nation.
Beyond this, Israel’s presence
in its Land conveys the God’s Lordship over Israel to all the peoples of the
world. Following our verse, the Torah states:
I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. And they will know
that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so
that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. [45-56]
Lekaḥ Tov elucidates:
“I will dwell among the Israelites” – because My Shechina is
within Israel, the entire world will know that I am their Lord.
The nation of Israel is able to
convey its special connection to God only when it dwells within the Land, as
our Sages taught:
Whoever lives in the Land of Israel may be considered to have a God,
but whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as one who has no God. Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 110b
The above comments allow us to
understand a surprising remark of Rabbeinu Beḥayye on the final verse quoted
above:
“And they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of
the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them.” – the verse informs us
that the purpose of the exodus was “that I might dwell among them” and if not
for that, God would not have taken the Israelites out of Egypt, teaching that having
the Shechina within Israel is God’s need, not merely the need of
Israel.
Israel’s welfare requires its
being in the Land, while that presence, as it were, serves the Divine “need” as
well, combining the nation’s needs and God’s “need.”
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