My family has an old steamer trunk full of clothes. The trunk is from the mid-1800s, and the clothes in the trunk represent every generation of my family. Some of the oldest things in the trunk - fancy baby dresses, a wedding dress from the late 1800s, hand-tatted lace handkerchiefs - have been joined forever by dresses from the 1920s, cowboy clothes from the 1950s, disco dresses from the 1970s, children's jumpers from the 1980s, and even a tee-shirt or two from the 1990s. It is a time capsule of fashion, representations of the clothing worn by my relatives for more than a century - and they are all in perfect condition in that trunk.



Every once in a while, I take the things out and show them to my children and explain things like bloomers and lace-up corsets, razor straps and petticoats. I talk about the people who wore the clothes and when they were worn.



One day, my son asked me an important question, "Does this stuff belong to you?"



"No," I answered without thinking.



"Then who does it belong to?" he asked.



"All of us. Everyone in the family," I said. "It is a responsibility for anyone who has the trunk to keep it safe for the next generation. It doesn't belong to me, it belongs to everyone who will come after me. I just guard it temporarily for them."



I am sure there are people everywhere who can relate to this feeling - temporary guardianship over some item, collection or parcel that they hold for the good of those who will come after them. Whether it is the family china or some beautiful piece of jewelry that is passed down from generation to generation, I think there very few among us who can't say that they don't know what I am talking about. We become stewards for the future over whatever heirloom we have, but we never feel we really have ownership. We couldn't, for example, sell those items or give them away. We couldn't, because those items aren't really ours, and they never will be. In fact, I have never met a person who doesn't know exactly what I mean when I say, "I don't own that trunk."



So, why is it that we have an entire government made up of people who don't seem to understand the concept of the responsibility of stewardship over Jewish land? How can members of the Israeli government consider, even for a moment, the surrender of land that is not theirs to give?



Gaza does not belong to Israel. It belongs to Jews. Not just Israeli Jews, but all Jews. And it isn't just Gaza that belongs to all Jews. All of Israel - Biblical, historic Israel ? belongs to all Jews. Those lands are our birthright, a gift from G-d Almighty, and the deed can be found in the most widely published book in the entire world: the Torah.



How can the Israeli government contemplate something that belongs to Israeli Jews, Diaspora Jews, lost Jews, not-yet-born Jews, gerim (converts), future gerim, anusim (those forced to convert to another religion), those whose families have forgotten, all Jews of yesterday, today and tomorrow - and consider, even for a moment, bringing the issue of giving away Gaza to a vote?



It is too late to hide from the responsibility of stewardship over the land, it is too late to try to pretend Israel is nothing bigger than a country on a map.



We are "God's chosen people," but we have not been chosen for privilege or for an extra measure of holiness - that is clear from our sad history. We are, instead, a people chosen to accept a responsibility that is bigger than ourselves, which provides the bedrock for the laws of G-d for the entire world. Accepting that responsibility is not a choice, it is an obligation. Part of that obligation is that we will protect the lands, defend the lands and protect the Jewish people.



Sure, it might be easier to give it away for some imagined "peace" or for the approval of a world that doesn't truly understand the responsibility we have to maintain Israel, but we are not allowed to do so. Why? Because the land does not belong to you or me or any particular Jew or Jewish government. It is the birthright of all Jews, an heirloom for all generations.



So, I am appealing to anyone who might think that the Israeli government has the "right" to give away Gaza to consider, for a moment, whether they would have the "right" to give away those things that have been passed down to you to pass down to your children. Do you not have a feeling of obligation toward future generations of your family? Such an act, for most of us, would be unthinkable.



The Israeli government is only a steward, a temporary protector, for the lands of Israel. We should not allow the greatest, most important heirloom every given to our family, by G-d, to be given away to strangers.