Jerusalem: The Academic, the Philosopher, the Politician and the Talmudist

 

           

Though it saddens me greatly, I am convinced that Jerusalem Day is the least celebrated festival in the Jewish calendar. Reality is that, the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem is celebrated primarily by religious Zionists. Outside Jerusalem herself, very few secular Jews commemorate Jerusalem Day, and throughout Israel and the Diaspora, very few Ḥaredi Jews celebrate the day.

I would like to present a few comments on the importance and significance of the Eternal City to the Nation of Israel, which are the thoughts of Jews who do not identify as national – religious, and interweave them with comments from more traditional sources.

Professor Gedalya Alon (1901 – 50, Israel Prize for Jewish studies laureate) wrote:

Far more than simply the capital, Jerusalem had been since the return from Babylonian captivity the head and heart of the country. This situation persisted throughout the period of the Second Commonwealth, regardless of the many changes in the political status of the country and of Jerusalem herself. It was as though the entire country had been compressed into the environs of Jerusalem; as though the whole socio-political existence of Judea derived from and was based on the fact that it contained the Holy City. In the eyes of the world at large, and indeed for the Jews themselves, including the Jews of the diaspora, the city symbolized both the Jewish state and the life-source of the Jewish people. The city became the very source and foundation of the religious, national and political existence of the state.    

           The Jews in Their Land in the Talmudic Age, p.423

"Jerusalem had been … the head and heart (emphasis mine throughout) of the country" – Indeed, Midrash Shoḥer Tov [Psalm 147:3] refers to Jerusalem as the heart of Israel. While this midrash presents Jerusalem as the heart of the Jewish Nation, what is true of the nation is true of the Land of the Jews as well, so the midrash can be understood as intending that Jerusalem is also the heart of the Jewish state, as Professor Alon wrote. In contemporary times, numerous national – religious rabbis, including Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, president of Yeshivat Kerem b'Yavne, and Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, rabbi of Bet El and Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Kohanim, have written about Jerusalem as the heart of Israel.

            Zohar [Parashat Shelaḥ, 161] expounds that just as God created humans with their heart in the center of their body, and the heart is the power of the entire body, so too with the world, Jerusalem (and more exactly, the Holy of Holies of the Temple) is "the heart of the entire Land and the entire world." Jerusalem is not only the heart of the Land of Israel, but of the entire world. Based upon this, my grandson defines cardiology as "the study of Jerusalem, the heart of the world."

"As though the whole socio-political existence of Judea derived from and was based on the fact that it contained the Holy City" – this comment of Professor Alon parallels the consistent approach of Maharal of Prague that the sanctity of the Land of Israel derives from the presence within her of the Holy City. The learned academic relates to the "socio-political existence" of the Judean state, while the learned rabbi relates to the element of sanctity. Ultimately, the ideal of the Jewish state is to be founded upon sanctity.

"The city symbolized both the Jewish state and the life-source of the Jewish people" – Avot d'Rebbi Natan [Version 2, chapter 43] teaches that the Nation of Israel and Jerusalem are both referred to by the Bible as "living" (ḥayyim). There is a reciprocal relationship: on one hand, Jerusalem endows the Nation of Israel with life, while on the other, on some level, the nation endows the Holy City with vitality, as Midrash Tanḥuma [Parashat Pekudei, section 1] elucidates:

Israel is truly dear to the Holy One, blessed be He, and how do we know this? Scripture states: "I will not vent the full fury of My anger'" [Hosea 11:9] and further says: "And now what have I here" - says the Lord - "that My people are taken away for nothing?" [Isaiah 52:5] What do I seek in Jerusalem after My nation was taken from her for nothing; to enter her? I shall not.

            The historian Natan Shur commented:

There is no other people throughout history who have been so bonded with their capital city that they returned after being exiled from it. The Jewish people returned to Jerusalem not only after its first exile, but also after the second period of exile, which lasted almost two thousand years. This bond was established during the First Temple period. From that time on, Jews have felt that they have no national existence without Jerusalem.

            We should note that Shur sees the development of the unique connection between the nation and its capital as taking place within the First Temple Period.

            The connection between the nation and its capital city, its holy city, and the nation's yearnings for its re-establishment and rebuilding is expressed in the daily prayers of the Jew. A traditionally observant Jew prays thrice daily that the Shechina return and rest within Jerusalem and the Eternal City be rebuilt. This prayer has a political component, as it includes the prayer for the restitution of the Davidic dynasty, the sole legitimate monarchy of Jerusalem. Whenever a Jew recites the Grace after Meals, he asks God to have mercy on Jerusalem, His city, and on the House of David, His messiah, and prays "Rebuild Jerusalem the Holy City, speedily in our days." Again, the connection to Jerusalem incorporates a connection to the monarchy of the House of David.

David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime-minister, equated Jerusalem with the Jewish state, commenting:

Jerusalem is an organic and inseparable element of Israelite history, of Israelite faith and of the soul of our nation. Jerusalem is the heart of hearts of the State of Israel.  

            Though Ben Gurion was not a Torah observant Jew, his spirit was infused with Jewish tradition and he understood that the Holy City is indeed the heart and soul of the nation and the Land of Israel.

            Would that the entire spectrum of the Nation of Israel understood what the academic the politician and the great rabbis understood: Jerusalem is truly the heart of the nation, the Land and the world.

 

 

 

Hanukka and the Land 4

 

As Al haNissim states, the Greeks "rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah." It is Eretz Yisrael which stands against this plot, since she is the prime venue of Torah: In terms of miztvot, approximately forty percent of the 613 mitzvot can be fulfilled only within the Land; in terms of Torah study, our Sages teach "there is no Torah comparable to the Torah of Eretz Yisrael," [Breishit Rabba 16:4], and "the atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael conveys wisdom." [Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 158b]

 

Hanukka and the Land 3

 

There is a conceptual congruence between Hanukka and Eretz Yisrael. The struggle of the Hasmoneans, the loyalists of Torah, against the Greeks involved a clash of world outlooks. The Greeks deified nature, while Jewish tradition asserts that nature exists only through the will of God, Who daily renews the universe, as we say in the daily morning prayers: "Who in His goodness daily renews the work of creation."  

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe writes that the distinction between the Land of Israel and all other lands is that:

Within Eretz Yisrael it is necessary to introduce sanctity into nature. The challenge of life within the Land is to imbue natural life with the supernatural, to see that "nature" is an ongoing miracle, and not the result of "my strength and the might of my arms." [Deuteronomy 8:17]

Similarly, Rabbi Kook commented: "In Eretz Yisrael one sees the miracle within nature."

Thus, Ḥanukka and the Land of Israel express the same concept.

 

Scattered and Dispersed

 

In Haman's attempt to convince his all-powerful monarch, without whom he cannot proceed to execute his plans for the "Final Solution," the "enemy of the Jews" [Esther 3:10] argued:

"There is a certain nation scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples throughout all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws differ from (those of) every people, and they do not keep the king's laws; it is (therefore) of no use for the king to let them be." [3:8]

            Amos Ḥacham [Esther, Da'at Mikra] comments that Haman's claim that despite their dispersion among the nations, the Jews remain a single nation; "is the claim of the enemies of the Jews throughout the generations."  

            However, there is a deep irony: if the Jews were indeed united as a single nation, despite their dispersion among the nations of the world, they would not be susceptible to their enemies' plots against them. One of the most consistent lessons relentlessly taught by Jewish history is that when the nation is (internally) disunited, we are subject to our enemies' schemes, while national unity protects us from such machinations.  

Shushan Purim and Eretz Yisrael

 

Purim is unique among the holidays and festivals which Jews celebrate in the fact that it alone is celebrated on two different days, depending upon geography. Most of the world celebrates Purim on the 14^th of Adar, while Jews in walled cities celebrate Shushan Purim on the 15^th of the month. It would seem that dividing the Purim celebration into two separate days hinders the unity of Israel. This is particularly surprising in light of the fact that Israel's unity lies at the center of the Purim story. Haman's decree of his "final solution" was based upon the disunity of nation which is scattered and disunited (Alshikh's understanding of the word "m'forad")…" [Esther 3:8] The turning point comes with Esther's request/instruction "Gather all the Jews …" [ibid, v.16] Thus, it is Israel's internal disunity which leads to its suffering and the nation's unity brings God's salvation.

The logical criterion for determining the obligation to celebrate Shushan Purim is a city which was enclosed by walls at the time of Mordechai and Esther, yet the Halacha chose the criterion of walled cities at the time of Joshua, a criterion which apparently has no logic to it. The Jerusalem Talmud [Megilla 1:1] explains that this Halachic determination expresses respect for the Holy Land. During the time of the events of Purim, the Land of Israel was desolate, without a single walled city. Thus, had the logical criterion been followed, it would embarrass the Land. Thus, the Halacha adopted the criterion of cities enclosed by walls from the time of Joshua.

We may suggest that accepting the criterion of a walled city from the times of Joshua not only expresses respect for the Land, but also implies the distinction between the Land of Israel and all other lands. Zohar [Parashat Emor 83b] elucidates the verse "Who is like your nation Israel, a single nation within the Land" [II Samuel 7:23] to mean that Israel can be considered a truly untied nation only within the Land. Perhaps the division of the Purim celebration into two separate days hints that Purim, which commemorates a miracle which took place outside the Land cannot achieve complete unification of the Nation of Israel, since that level requires Israel to be present within its Land.

Not Every Day is Purim?

 

Modern Hebrew has the phrase "Not every day is Purim," meaning that not every day does a miracle occur.

However, in a real sense, every day indeed is Purim. The Purim story, as presented in Megilat Esther, has no overt mention of God. The plot seems a series of random events which combine to bring about the salvation of Israel from Haman's proposed "Final Solution" of exterminating all the Jews within the 127 provinces of Ahasuerus' kingdom. However, the insightful reader understands that the Purim saga is the story of the Divine intervention which the Nation of Israel merited during the days of Mordechai and Esther. The Purim salvation is a miracle which God performed within nature. One who is perceptive understands that reality in general, all the more so Israel's existence, is a series of daily miracles performed by Divine Providence on behalf of God's chosen people. This is true even though it is done covertly. Thus, in fact, every day is Purim.

Indeed, every time we recite the Amida, we thank God for the daily miracles He performs for His nation. On a daily basis, God grants us miracles, miracles which He performs within the natural order.

Esther, Mordechai and Joseph

 

Our Sages drew attention to the parallels between the plot of Megillat Esther and the story of Joseph, with Midrash Breishit Rabba [87:6] commenting that "The travails of the descendants of Rachel (Joseph and Mordechai/Esther) are equal and their greatness is equal." The Midrash then points out six linguistic parallels between the description of the saga of Joseph in Genesis and the Megilla's description of the events of Purim. In point of fact, there are no fewer than twenty-seven parallels between the two Biblical stories! 

 It is axiomatic that the Bible chooses its words carefully and meaningfully, and it is clear that the abundance of similarities between the accounts of the adventures of the descendants of Rachel are intentional. The Men of the Great Assembly, who in Our Sages' tradition authored Megillat Esther (at least in its final version), chose wording similar to that of the Joseph saga in order to compare the two stories. The linguistic parallels express the parallel content.

The first general similarity is that in each of the stories, a lone Israelite (Joseph cannot be called a Jew), who hides his/her true identity rises to a position of great power and thereby is able to save the Children of Israel.

Beyond this general point, we may note additional similarities:

Y As Breishit Rabba mentioned, both heroes (for our purposes, Esther and Mordechai will be considered a single unit; some of the similarities between Joseph and the Purim story relate to Esther, others to Mordechai) are descendants of Rachel; Joseph her first-born son, Mordechai and Esther descendants of her younger son, Benjamin.

Y In each of the sagas, Israel faces annihilation: in the Joseph story, the threat is famine, and the Jews in the 127 provinces of Ahasuerus are threatened by Haman's decree to " destroy, kill, and cause to perish all the Jews." [Esther 3:13]

Y Each of the stories takes place primarily outside the Land of Israel.

Y In each of the sagas, Divine providence operates, as it were, in a natural manner, without overt intervention. This is especially notable in Megillat Esther, which is the only book of the Bible which does not mention God explicitly. In each case, when we reach the "happy ending," it becomes clear that the events were indeed guided by the hand of God.

It is clear to me that the Men of the Great Assembly, in writing, or at least editing, Megillat Esther in parallel to the Joseph story, intended to convey the basic message of the general rule of the history of the Nation of Israel. Professor Eliezer Berkovits writes that the history of Israel is on a totally different plane than that of the nations of the world. The history of the world is that of power history, while the history of Israel can be understood only as faith history. In a nutshell, the fate of Israel rests upon its faith.

Each of the stories conveys the centrality of Israel's unity. Joseph created a situation in which his brothers united in defense of Benjamin, and when they demonstrated that they would not abandon their youngest brother, the viceroy of Egypt revealed himself to his brothers. Haman's threat to Israel began with the nation's lack of unity, as the Aggagite himself announced "there is a single nation dispersed and disunited," [Esther 3:8] while the turning point comes with Israel's unity, as Esther instructed Mordechai "gather all the Jews…" [ibid.4:16] In each instance, it is Israel's unity which brings Divine salvation. Indeed, one of the most consistent lessons of Israel's history is that when the nation is disunited, it is at risk, while unity provides protection against the plots of our enemies.

Jethro's Joy

 

 

 

Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel that He rescued them from the Egyptians.                                      Exodus 18:9

Our Sages offered different opinions on the reason for Jethro's joy:

"Over all the good things": Rabbi Yehoshua says: "The goodness of the manna; (Moses) said to Jethro: 'In the manna which God gave us, we taste bread, meat, fish, grasshoppers, and all the flavors of the world.'"

Rabbi Elazar haModa'i says: "The goodness of the well[i]. (Moses) said to Jethro: 'From the well which God provided for us we can taste honey, milk, new wine and aged wine and all the flavors of the world.'"

Rabbi Eliezer says: "The goodness of the Land of Israel. (Moses) said to Jethro: 'God will give us the Land of Israel and the World to Come and a new world, the kingdom of David, the priesthood and Levites.'"

                                   Mechilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai

Each of the Mishnaic Sages who expresses his opinion on the reason for Jethro's joy sees the wording of the verse as hinting that there are, in fact, multiple layers within the reason for his joy.

Rabbi Eliezer sees the reason for Jethro's joy as being the fact that the Nation of Israel will enter the Promised Land and following this, merit the World to Come, a new world, the kingdom of David and the service of the kohanim and levi'im in the Temple.

We may note two aspects of the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer:

1] His colleagues saw the reason for Jethro's joy as stemming from the past, from what God had already done on behalf of His chosen nation, while Rabbi Eliezer sees the reason as being forward looking.

2] According to Rabbi Eliezer's opinion, Jethro perceived the purpose of the exodus from Egypt and understood that it was not merely to take Israel out of Egyptian servitude, but to bring the Chosen People into its Land, where the Nation of Israel will be able to establish a "new world" which will be founded on Torah which they will receive at Mount Sinai.

---

[i] "The well of Miriam," which accompanied Israel throughout the wilderness until the death of Miriam [Babylonian Talmud, Ta'anit 9a]

The Time to Appreciate Beauty

 

When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I now know what a beautiful woman you are.                                "Genesis 12:11

            The translation, which is literal, implies that it is only now, upon descending to Egypt that Abram is aware of the beauty of his wife. Rashi, after quoting the Midrashic explanation that, due to the great modesty of Abram and Sarai, Abram indeed had not previously noticed his wife's beauty, presents the simple meaning (p'shat) of the verse: Abram indeed was aware of his wife's beauty, but now, as they descended to Egypt, "the time had arrived to be concerned about Sarai's beauty." The reason that it was specifically upon the descent to Egypt, and not within the land of Canaan, that Sarai's beauty became a practical issue was that she and Abram were coming to a place where "they are not accustomed to a beautiful woman." We may add that Abram's concern arose as well from the fact that the Egyptians "are steeped in lust." [Rashi's comment on verse 19]

            Panim Yafot offers an additional explanation of the connection between Abram's concern and his departure from the land of Canaan. The Torah tells the descendants of Abraham that "no one will covet your Land when you ascend to appear before the Lord God three times per year." [Exodus 34:24] That is, Abraham's descendants will not have to be concerned about their property and assets when they ascend to the Temple. Abraham's journeys within the land of Canaan were towards Jerusalem [Rashi, verse 4]. In these journeys, Abraham "continually ascended spiritually; as he journeyed physically, so too he ascended spiritually." Therefore, in his journeys within the Land, Abraham "trusted that no one will covet that which is his," including his wife. However, as Abraham was forced to leave the Land and distance himself from Jerusalem, his concern was aroused that others may covet his beautiful wife. Essentially, Abraham's concern and fear arose from his departure from the Promised Land and the protection it afforded him, his family and his possessions.  

 

The Tenth of Tevet in Heaven

Ḥatam Sofer explains that our Sages instituted a fast day to commemorate the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, which began on the Tenth of Tevet is that "On that day, when the Babylonian king approached the earthly Jerusalem, the Heavenly Court sat, and decided the fate of Jerusalem to be destroyed." That is, parallel to the earthly events, there was a heavenly event in which Jerusalem's fate was sealed. On the Tenth of Tevet, as the Babylonian army commenced the siege of Jerusalem, the Heavenly Court commenced its deliberations on the future of the Holy City and decreed that she and her Temple were to be destroyed.

Ḥatam Sofer adds "Our Sages teach that any generation in which the Temple is not rebuilt is to be considered as the generation in which it was destroyed, thus, every year the destruction (as it were) is renewed. Thus, annually on the Tenth of Tevet, the day on which the Heavenly Court began to deliberate the fate of Jerusalem, it reconvenes to determine the fate of the Holy City and the Temple for the coming year." As was the case, more than 2600 years ago, every year until the Temple is rebuilt, the Heavenly Court judges the Holy City and decrees an additional year of destruction.

Ḥatam Sofer cites the comment of Abudraham (14^th century CE), that should the Tenth of Tevet fall on Shabbat (an impossibility, based upon our fixed calendar), the fast would not be postponed. Ḥatam Sofer notes that, other than Yom Kippur, the only fast that is not postponed from Shabbat is the Fast of a Dream (though one who fasts because of a bad dream must fast on a weekday to compensate for having fasted on Shabbat). [Shulḥan Aruch, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 294:4]

Tur explains that fasting is inconsistent with the pleasure of Shabbat (oneg Shabbat), however, the Fast of a Dream carries an element of pleasure, in the fact that one who fasts hopes thereby to annul the bad dream. (Tur adds that nonetheless, one must have the compensatory fast for having disrupted the main pleasure of Shabbat.)

We may assert that fasting on Yom Kippur as well conveys an element of pleasure, in that the one who fasts engages also in repentance, through which he hopes to be sealed in the Book of Life for the coming year.

Based upon the above, Ḥatam Sofer suggests that since the prime purpose of fasting is "to arouse the heart to open the paths of repentance" [Maimonides, Laws of Fast Days, 5:1] the fast of the Tenth of Tevet also carries an element of pleasure, in that the one who fasts hopes to influence the decision of the Heavenly Court in favor of rebuilding Jerusalem.

In my opinion, the central point of Ḥatam Sofer's enlightening comments is that the essence of the Tenth of Tevet is the opportunity to improve ourselves and thereby bring about the building of the Third Temple. Indeed, as was the case on the Tenth of Tevet when the Babylonian siege began, God issued a warning that the destruction was near and provided our ancestors with the opportunity to repent and thereby avoid the destruction of Jerusalem, so too in our days, the Tenth of Tevet presents the opportunity to repent and rebuild the Holy City and her Temple.

It is our hands!   

Recognizing Grandsons

 

Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and he said, "Who are these?"                                                               Genesis 48:8

            At first glance, Jacob's question is strange, since he had already blessed Joseph's sons, proclaiming "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon." [Verse 5]

            This problem brought various Midrashim [Midrash Aggada, Sechel Tov and Lekaḥ Tov] to offer the homiletic interpretation that Jacob prophetically saw that the evil kings Jeroboam and Ahab will issue from Ephraim and Yehu and his sons from Manasseh, thus asking "Who are these," meaning "Where did they come from, these who are not worthy of blessing?" [Rashi's wording]

            While the reason for the homiletical interpretation is clear, the question which begs asking is how does Joseph's response, "They are my sons, whom God gave me here" address his father's reluctance to bless his sons?

            Rebbe Natan, the spiritual successor of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, explains that the content of Joseph's answer is that by virtue of being his descendants (and, of course, descendants of Jacob himself), the evil kings still have within them a spark of sanctity and are therefore worthy of Jacob's blessing. In Rebbe Natan's words:

Joseph responded: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here," showing his father that he sought and found a meritorious point even within these evil people who will descend from him. Immediately, Jacob agreed and instructed "Bring them to me that I may bless them."

            Despite the fact that Jeroboam, Ahab, Yehu and his sons were evil, they carried within themselves a spark of sanctity, since they are descendants of the Forefathers of the Nation of Israel, and due to those sparks, they are indeed worthy of Jacob's blessing.

Change of Biblical Venue

 

Chapter 46 of Genesis, which describes the descent to Egypt of Jacob and his family, presents a quantum change in the Torah. The venue for the Biblical events moves from the Holy Land to other lands. From this point until the end of the Torah, only four verses describe events which take place within the Land (the description of the mission of Moses' spies, Numbers 13:21-24).

It is significant that after the arrival in Egypt of Jacob's family, his sons mention the land of Canaan three times in conversation with Pharaoh.

Joseph told his brothers that he will inform his king that "My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me." [46:31] In the initial verse of Chapter 47, Joseph indeed conveys this information to his sovereign. The information that Joseph's family has come from Canaan is superfluous, as Pharaoh was aware of that fact [45:17]. Joseph's mention of Canaan hints at the fact that he and his family feel totally connected to their land and that he himself longs for his homeland.  

The brothers whom Joseph chose to present before Pharaoh, tell the ruler of Egypt "We have come to live in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants' sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe." [47:4] Joseph's brothers tell Pharaoh that they have left their own land only out of duress and that they intend to return as soon as practical.

Even as the stage for the events of the Torah shifts away from the Holy Land, the verses stress the primacy of the Land for Jacob and his family, conveying a significant message for their descendants throughout the ages.

The Sukkot Guests and the Land

 

Rebbe Natan, the spiritual heir of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, presents a detailed exposition of his thesis that the special days of the month of Tishrei: Rosh haShana, the Ten Days of Penitence, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, are all focused on "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."

The sukka, which commemorates the Clouds of Glory, symbolizes the journey to the Land of Israel, since the Clouds of Glory led the Nation of Israel into its Land.

Concerning the ushpizin, "the seven shepherds who enter the sukka," Rebbe Natan writes that it is through those seven righteous people; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our forefathers, Moses and Aaron, Joseph and King David that Israel merited Eretz Yisrael.

Abraham was the first to reveal the sanctity of the Land of Israel. When God instructed Abraham to leave his land, his birthplace and his father's home [Genesis 12:1], He revealed to him "that there is a Land which is holier than all other lands," and that one who aspires to know the Holy One, blessed be He, and to cling to Him must reach that holy Land.

Isaac and Jacob are the links of continuity in the chain created by Abraham, and each was promised that the Land would be given to him and to his descendants.

Though neither was privileged to enter the Land of Israel, Moses and Aaron led the Nation out of Egyptian slavery to be brought to the Land, in fulfillment of the purpose of the exodus.

Joseph held the Land of Israel dear and insisted that the Children of Israel bring his remains to burial within the Land, which Zohar teaches (Rebbe Natan does not cite the specific source) was instrumental in Israel's redemption.

King David "fought God's wars and liberated the Land of Israel in her entirety." It was only during the reigns of David and Solomon that the Land of Israel reached herideal borders, "From the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates." [Genesis 15:18]

Thus, each of the seven ushpizin had a share in revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael and "these seven shepherds therefore enter the sukka, since it is through them that we merit entering the Land."

Beyond this, the ushpizin at the end of Sukkot, if you will, the pinnacle of the holiday, Hoshana Rabba, is King David, "since it was through him that we merited the complete conquest of the Land of Israel, and for this reason the sukka is named for King David, as Scripture states 'On that day I will restore David’s fallen sukka,' [Amos 9:11] and indeed the essence of the sukka is comparable to the conquest of the Land of Israel, which was accomplished by King David."            

 

 

Repentance Upon Repentance

 

Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov teaches that a person must always strive to repent before God. Even one who has repented should do so again because his earlier perceptions of God were limited to his understanding of God at the time of his initial repentance. A second repentance represents an admission that God is greater than one had originally thought. Hence, when one attains a higher degree of spirituality, his acknowledgment of God becomes stronger as well. Additional repentance is necessary since one's perception of God has been advanced. This process of increased spiritual awareness accompanied by additional repentance is called "repentance upon repentance."

            This concept is implied by two halachot, codified by Maimonides:

Teshuva (repentance) is great for it draws a man close to the Shechinah as the verses state: "Return, O Israel, to God, your Lord;" [Hosea 14:2] "`You have not returned to Me,' declares God;" [Amos 4:6] "`If, you will return, O Israel,' declares God, `You will return to Me.'" Jeremiah 4:1]. That is, if you will return in Teshuva, you will cling to God.

                                                                           Laws of Teshuva 7:6

Repentance, which brings one to cling to God, is a dynamic and ongoing process; the more one clings to God, the greater his perception of God's awesomeness and the more one strives to cling to Him.

Sins which were confessed on one Yom Kippur should be confessed on another Yom Kippur even though one remains steadfast in his repentance, as [Psalms 51:5] states: "I acknowledge my transgressions and my sins are always before me."                                                                          ibid., 2:8

Since teshuva is a dynamic and ongoing process, the level of one's confession on a previous Yom Kippur is lower than that on subsequent Yemei Kippur, hence the subsequent confession should be based upon a deeper understanding of how one's sins distanced him from God and Godliness.   

            Essentially, the process of teshuva is an ascending spiral.

 

 

 

The State of Israel and the Redemption of the Shechina

 

Earlier we presented a summary of Professor Eliezer Berkovits' eloquent elucidation of the connection between Jewish messianism and the Nation of Israel's return to its Land (based upon the final chapter of his book Faith After the Holocaust).

We now present parallel comments of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (taken from the article Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina, Tradition Magazine, 53:1).

Given that Torah expresses a unitary truth, it is not surprising that the philosopher and the Talmudist present the same thoughts.

Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that Torah can reach its complete fulfillment only within the Jewish homeland:

Piety in countries where one is a minority means being pious only in his private personal life – Shabbat, family purity, kashrut, etc. – surrounded by the curtains of one's home-sanctuary. It is completely impossible to represent such a life as an embodiment of a full and complete Torah. My social-economic existence is linked to the general political-economic structure, which is based upon other principles. As such, it does not embody my social, political, or legal relationships with society. … The entire complex of my external interactions with society is divorced from Judaism. 

Thus, it is clear that Torah Judaism can be fully realized exclusively within the Land of Israel and in accordance with the mitzvot.

            Further, Torah requires the Land because it "is not a literary trove of documents and books. Torah means learning and realizing an organic Torah society – concrete Torah actualization. Only when the vision is total – not only of laws of kosher meat and prayer-book, but also of the Hilchot Melakhim (Laws of Kings), Sanhedrin (Supreme Religious Court), financial law concerning corporations and the employment of workers, the individual and public Torah, at home, the street, and the factory – does the whole Torah reveal itself."

The challenge of the State of Israel is to be not merely a state of Jews but a Jewish state in the full sense:

The social-political economic life of Israel needs to be expressed via the seal of Judaism, of Jewish law and morality. The various phases of state life must be permeated with the Jewish spirit, understood and interpreted by Torah and spiritual giants. Our treasure of halakha regarding laws between man and his fellow man, from the laws of damages to the laws of kings, must be built and transformed into action and facts. ... I am convinced that when the Israeli social-political institutions embody the Torah's ideal civil code, we will be the most advanced state in regard to social justice and truth.

            The sweet singer of Israel composed a song of ascents in which Israel sings "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were as dreamers." [Psalms 126:1] The dream of the return to Zion must be "a dream about Torah life, about 'And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?' [Deuteronomy 4:8]."

            Realization of Torah within the Land can be achieved only as the result of Israel's actions within her:

The Torah will find its realization in Israel … only through participating in building the Land, by hewing stones and draining swamps, defending cities and colonies, by working devotedly.

            For the state to fulfill herself, the collective Israel must differentiate between means and goal:

As vital and historically important as the state may be … (it) is important not as a goal, but as a means. The goal transcends statehood, time, and history. The objective is to create a Torah nation.

            Rabbi Soloveitchik's article is taken from an address he delivered at the Mizrachi of America convention, the month after the State of Israel came into existence. Rabbi Soloveitchik masterfully articulated the challenge which still stands before the State of Israel, seventy-four years later.

           

Am I Under God's Supervision?

 

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in God's place (hataḥat [literally "under"] Elohim), Who has withheld children from you?"                                                 Genesis 30:2

            The translation conveys the simple meaning of the verse, and follows the exposition of Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra (c. 1090 - 1165).

            Shel"a (Rabbi Yeshaya haLevi Horowitz, 1558 - 1630) offers a more literal translation of Jacob's words: "Am I under God's supervision?" In Shel"a's words "'Am I under God?' We are not within the portion of God, which is the Land of Israel."

            Our Sages taught that God entrusted the supervision of all lands to His ministering angels, while maintaining for Himself direct supervision over the Holy Land. [Zohar, Breishit 108b] Based upon this, Shel"a explains the exchange between Jacob and his beloved wife. Rachel requested that Jacob pray that she be blessed with children, knowing that God desires the prayers of the righteous, and for this reason the Matriarchs were barren. [Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 64a] Jacob's response was "Am I under God's place?," - I am outside the Land, under the influence of the ministering angel of Aram, not under direct Divine supervision, and under such conditions God does not desire the prayers of the righteous. (It should be noted that the Sages' comment in Yevamot refers specifically to Isaac praying for Rebecca within the Land of Israel.)

            Based upon this approach, Shel"a explains the continuity of Jacob's words to Rachel, "Who has withheld children from you" to mean since God does not desire the prayers of the righteous outside the Holy Land, the reason for your fertility problem cannot be His desire for my prayers, but (for some other reason, which has to do with you) He has withheld children from you.

Mankind's Existence: God's "Need"

 

And God (Elohim) said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying. … "And I will establish My covenant with you, and never again will all flesh be cut off by the flood waters, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."                   Genesis 9:8,11

            It should be noted that the verse uses the name "Elohim," which denotes the Divine attribute of strict justice (midat hadin), indicating that God's promise to never destroy the entire world flows from the attribute of justice, not from the attribute of mercy.

            We may suggest that the existence of mankind serves God's "needs." God's angels are His yes men, having no choice but to fulfill the Divine dictates. When God decided to create the world, He chose to create man, the pinnacle of creation, as a creature who will be able to do His will out of free choice rather than of necessity. The risk God took in creating man was that he could choose to ignore the Divine will. As such, the attribute of justice indeed requires the continued existence of the world.

            Perhaps the above is the intention of Rabbi Shmuel bar Mata's comment:

From the first day on which God created the world, He wished to dwell among His creatures in the lower world.                                        Pesikta Rabbati 7  

Yom Kippur Realizing the Ultimate Levels of Sanctity

 

As noted in the Dvar Torah for Rosh haShana, Rebbe Natan, the spiritual heir of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, presents a detailed exposition of his thesis that the special days of the month of Tishrei: Rosh haShana, the Ten Days of Penitence, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, are all focused on "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."

The primary service of Rosh haShana is God's coronation over His nation and over the entire universe, and throughout the Ten Days of Penitence, God's monarchy is developed and solidified, with the essential expression of His monarchy being within His Land, the Land of Israel.

Rebbe Natan perceives a parallel between the Ten Days of Penitence and the ten levels of sanctity within the Land of Israel, as the Mishna [Keilim 1:6-9] teaches:

There are ten sanctities; Israel is holier than all other lands; 1) (within Israel) walled cities are holier than unwalled cities; 2) within the walls of Jerusalem is holier than other walled cities; 3) the Temple Mount is holier than the rest of Jerusalem; 4) the Ḥeil within the Temple Mount is holier; 5) The Courtyard of Women is holier than the Ḥeil;  6) The Courtyard of Israel is holier; 7) The Courtyard of Kohanim is holier;  8) between the ulam and altar is holier; 9) the Heichal is holier; 10) the Holy of Holies is holier.

The pinnacle of sanctity within our world is the Holy of Holies of the Temple, entry to which is permitted only to the High Priest as part of the Yom Kippur service; in parallel, the peak of sanctity of time is Yom Kippur.

            Rebbe Natan writes:

On Rosh haShana we begin building and revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, and during the Ten Days of Penitence we merit the ten levels of the Land's sanctity, until on the tenth day, Yom Kippur, we merit the epitome of sanctity, which is the aspect of the Holy of Holies. Therefore, it is specifically on this day that the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies, since on this day we achieve this sublime sanctity.

            The Ten Days of Penitence are devoted not only to repentance, but also to completing the coronation of God over His nation and the entire world, a matter which is inextricably connected to revealing the sanctity of the Land of Israel. This process reaches its apex on Yom Kippur, when there is complete congruence between the ten levels of the Land's sanctity and the Ten Days of Penitence. Thus, it is specifically on Yom Kippur that the convergence of sanctity of place and of time facilitates the High Priest's entry into the Holy of Holies; and in realizing the highest levels of sanctity, it conveys an aspect of the completion of God's coronation.

 

Shemini Atzeret the Peak of Joy

 

As we noted in the Divrei Torah for Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur, Rebbe Natan, the spiritual heir of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, systematically presents his thesis that the special days of the month of Tishrei are all focused on "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."

Shemini Atzeret (and Simḥat Torah), which completes the special days of Tishrei, also is the pinnacle of "the time of our joy." The connection to revealing the sanctity of the Land lies in the fact that "we must ascend to Eretz Yisrael in joy, as we pray 'Bring us up to our Land in joy' [musaf prayer], and as Scripture [Isaiah 35:10] states 'and they shall come to Zion with song, with eternal joy upon their heads'."

Rebbe Natan writes that Shemini Atzeret/Simḥat Torah "constitutes the essential completion of acceptance of God's monarchy, which hints at the Land of Israel, may we be privileged to enter her speedily in our days. Shemini Atzeret) is truly great, since the essence of joy is in capturing the Land of Israel, as the verses [Deuteronomy 12:1,11] state 'When you come into the Land … You will rejoice with all the goodness …'"

That is, Shemini Atzeret is the peak of joy of the festivals of Tishrei, and the essential joy for Jews is coming to the Land of Israel. Thus, on Shemini Atzeret we complete the process of revealing the sanctity of the Land, which is the underlying theme of the festivals of Tishrei.

We may add to Rebbe Natan's insightful comments that as Simḥat Torah, Shemini Atzeret has an additional connection to the sanctity of the Land. Thus writes Rabbi Meir Simḥa of Dvinsk:

From the day our holy Torah Was given, prophecy has unceasingly mandated settling the Land, and there is no Torah portion in which the Land is not mentioned, (emphasis mine) and even concerning mitzvot which are personal obligations (and not dependent upon the Land), the verses declare "When He brings you to the Land" – "When you come to the Land" – fulfill this mitzva that you will enter the Land [Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 37b].  Even concerning mitzvot which the intellect mandates and which apply in all places and at all times, such as respecting one's parents, the Torah states " … in order that your days be lengthened on the Land that the Lord, your God, is giving you."

Approximately a century and a half prior to the days of Rabbi Meir Simḥa, Rabbi Ya'akov Emdin wrote "Eretz Yisrael is the peg upon which all of Torah hangs."  [Introduction to Siddur Bet Ya'akov, p. 22]

            It is as clear as the sun that Torah and the Land of Israel are interconnected and complete each other, and therefore Simḥat Torah is certainly also the time of the joy of Eretz Yisrael.

 

Rosh haShana and the Sanctity of the Land

 

Rebbe Natan, the spiritual heir of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, presents a detailed exposition of his thesis that the special days of the month of Tishrei: Rosh haShana, the Ten Days of Penitence, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, are all focused on "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."

The sanctity of Eretz Yisrael is manifest specifically at Rosh haShana "since the essence of the Land's sanctity springs from the beginning of the year, as Scripture states 'It is a Land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year' [Deuteronomy 11:12], meaning that (starting) from Rosh haShana throughout the year, the eyes of God's providence are upon the Land, and the essence of her sanctity derives from the eyes of God."

Beyond this, Rosh haShana is the time of coronating God over His nation and over the entire universe, and "(God's) monarchy is connected to the Land of Israel, which is the prime venue for its revelation." As our Sages taught: "One who resides in the Land of Israel is considered as having a God." [Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 110b]

Following the conclusion of the amida of the night of Rosh haShana, the cantor and congregation recite chapter twenty-four of Psalms: "The land is God's and the fullness thereof" verse by verse. Rashi comments "The land is God's – the Land of Israel." Based on this, Rebbe Natan writes that the reason the Rosh haShana prayers commence with this Psalm is that "the essential revelation of God's monarchy is within the Land of Israel, therefore, on Rosh haShana, when we are engaged in revealing His monarchy, the central point is to reveal the sanctity of the Land, which is the prime venue for revealing His monarchy." Revealing God's monarchy and revealing the sanctity of the Land of Israel are interrelated.

Rebbe Natan's conclusion is that "On Rosh haShana our prayers must be focused on being privileged to speedily ascend to the Land of Israel, which is the essential venue for revealing God's monarchy.

The three sets of shofar blasts of Rosh haShana, monarchy (malchuyot), memories (zichronot) and shofarot, are also related to revealing the sanctity of Israel.

Concerning malchuyot, as noted, the basic service of Rosh haShana is proclaiming God's monarchy over Israel and the entire world, and Rebbe Natan's above exposition clarifies the connection between God's monarchy and revealing the sanctity of Israel.

The connection between zichronot and the Land of Israel is derived not merely from the Divine declaration "And I shall remember the Land" [Leviticus 26:42], but rests upon a much deeper and fundamental basis. Rebbe Natan avers that memory is intimately related to names. God Himself expressed this parallel when He said to Moses: "This is My name forever, and this is how I should be remembered in every generation." [Exodus 3:15] A name conveys the essence of the object or person which carries that name. For example, if one speaks of an ox, his interlocutor does not require an explanation that the reference is to a bovine which chews its cud, etc. The same is true in speaking of God, "as it were, His name constitutes His memory." Since humans are limited by our inability to perceive the essential qualities of God, we can relate to God only through His name. Thus, the basic remembrance of God's name is in the Land of Israel, whose sanctity emanates from the Temple, which is the primary place where His name is mentioned, since the Tetragrammaton (the explicit name) may be pronounced only within the Temple. For this reason, we find that Abraham called God's name only after entering the Land. [Genesis 12:8] "It is within the Land that we can best connect to God's name."

The set of shofarot blown on Rosh haShana also relates to the Land of Israel, "since the shofar is connected to the ingathering of the exiles, as the verse states 'On that day a great shofar will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they will worship the Lord at Jerusalem on the holy mountain…'"  [Isaiah 27:13], and it is obvious that the exiles will be gathered into the Land. Indeed, the blessing which concludes the blasts of shofarot includes the request: "Our God and the God of our fathers; sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles. Bring our scattered ones near from among the nations and gather our dispersions from the ends of the earth." Thus, shofarot are primarily about gathering the exiles into the Land, and the sanctity of the Land is most evident when the exiles are gathered into her.

Rebbe Natan concludes that "malchuyot, zichronot and shofarot each convey an aspect of Eretz Yisrael and therefore relate to the Rosh haShana service of "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."