The Very Good Land

Everyone knows that one of the keys to Torah learning is reviewing what one has studied. So we won’t worry about sounding repetitive by explaining something from this week’s Torah portion which we have discussed in the past.

More than anything else, Moshe wanted to be in Eretz Yisrael. He prayed to Hashem again and again, hundreds of times, to be allowed to enter the Land, as it says, “I pray thee, let me go over and see the good Land that is beyond the Yarden, that good mountain region and the Lebanon” (Devarim, 3:25).

Rabbi Shalom Gold, who came on aliyah from New York, points out the Moshe employs the word “good” two times in this verse. Moshe is asking Hashem not only to enter the good Land, but also to continue to see it in a good light once he was there.

This is because there is an evil inclination to see the Land of Israel in a negative light. The Spies succumbed to this “yetzer” when they brought back an evil report of the things they saw in the Land. Their description of great walled cities, giants, and non-stop funerals, discouraged the nation and turned their hearts away from making aliyah – perhaps the greatest sin of Jewish history, the sin which ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the expulsion of the nation from Eretz Yisrael to the sewers of galut. Only Joshua and Calev spoke out in praise of the Land, and only they, out of all of the men, merited to enter it.  

This “yetzer” of seeing the Land of Israel in a negative light is very much with us today. Some complain about the arrogant Israelis. Others complain about the irreligious. Others about the obligation to serve in the army. Still others about the dangers of terrorism. Yet others claim you can’t make a living.

All of these negative claims stem from this evil inclination of saying bad things about Israel. The people who say these things are unaware that they have fallen prey to this terrible, invisible yetzer. They believe they are right. They believe they are justified. They don’t see or understand how they have fallen to engage in the sin of the Spies. They don’t realize that they are adding to the embers of destruction, preventing the Temple’s rebuilding, and prolonging the curse of galut.

From the tragedy of the Spies, we learn that a Jew should be extremely careful not to speak badly about the Land of Israel. Rather, he or she should always strive to see the good aspects of the Land. And they are many indeed. For instance, there are more Jews in Israel than anywhere else. There is more Torah learning in Israel than anywhere else. There are more Torah giants in Israel than anywhere else. There are more organizations dedicated to Hesed (charitable organizations) than anywhere else. There is less assimilation than anywhere else. Not to mention the staggering achievements in science, technology, agriculture, medicine, computer wizardry, and a dozen other fields.

Of course, there is always room for constructive criticism and suggestions on how to improve things, but to find fault and reject living in Israel because of it, this is way of the Spies.

As we learn from Joshua and Calev, the commandment to live in Israel applies even if there are giants and idol worshippers all over the country. It applies even if there are non-religious Jews, and lefties, economic fluctuations and wars. In fact, the halachah states that a Jew should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a city where the majority of the residents are pagans, rather than live in the Diaspora, even in a city where the majority of the residents are Jews.

We live in the Holy Land because it is the Holy Land. The mitzvah to live here doesn’t depend on the politics of the government, nor on whether a person is afraid to serve in the army, or whether he likes falafel or not. There is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael, period, which is not dependent on any others factors. Certainly not on the personal opinions and preferences of this Jew or that.

We have said this all before, but the review is important, again and again if need be, until the learning sinks in.

In the meantime, may all of the Jews in Diaspora come home to Israel today, so that the fast of Tisha B’Av will be canceled and transformed into a feast of joy.   

By the Rivers of Brooklyn

Unlike our blogger from Shilo, I will be at the demonstration today, protesting US pressure to expel the idealistic Jews of Judea and Samaria from their homes. Bloggers from Shilo, and the rest of the brave Jews of Yesha, are exempt from this protest, since they are already doing more than their part of the battle by holding down the fort, day and night, so that the Jewish People can hold on to our Biblical homeland. My presence at the protest is the least I can do as a resident of Jerusalem. I also think that all of the steppinfetchits who voted for Obama should be there too, for giving him the mandate to throw Jews out of their homes. Shame on you.

The Sin of the Spies:       

How said it is today to see our beloved Jewish brethren fall into the sin of the Spies. In the Torah portion we read on Shabbat, Moshe recounts what is probably the most ignominious and tragic debacle in Jewish history, the Sin of the Spies.

After reconnoitering the Land of Israel, the Spies came back with their disenchanting report, saying: “One thing I can say is that I can't wait to go back to Australia. I can't stand the Israeli mentality and I think people here are too EXTREME! There is no way I can make aliyah with all the BS going on in this country!”

Their negative report discouraged their fellow Jews from journeying on into the Promised Land. Moshe calls them rebels for not obeying Hashem’s commandment to make aliyah, and Hashem terms them an “evil generation.”

If you don’t want to come on aliyah, that’s your loss. But why discourage others?

“By the Rivers of Brooklyn”

The prayers of mourning in Tikun Hatzot over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile in the Diaspora begin with the Psalm, “By the Rivers of Brooklyn.”

By the Rivers of Brooklyn

The Psalm goes like this:

“By the rivers of Brooklyn, and Toronto, and Los Angeles, and Paris, and Melbourne, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.

“Upon the willows there we hung up our harps, when our captors demanded of us songs, our tormentors asked of us mirth, saying, ‘Sing us some songs of Zion.’

“How shall we sing the L-rd’s song in a foreign land?

"How shall we sing the L-rd's song in a foreign land?"

“If I ever forget you, O Jerusalem, withered be my right hand!

One-armed Bandit

“May my tongue cleave to my palate, if ever I not think of you, if I ever not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!”

In order that the centrality of Eretz Yisrael and Jerusalem always fill a Jews heart and thoughts, our Sages enacted that we recite this Psalm during the week after meals. To teach us that wherever we may stuff our faces with the finest of gourmet foods, or with the hot dogs, pizza, chop suey, and chicken pot pies of the goyim (kosher of course), we will always remember that we belong in the Land of Israel, and not in foreign countries, and that our crippled and shattered lives are empty of true Jewish joy.

Confucious says: "Jewboy go home!"

No Excuses

This Shabbat, we begin reading the Book of Devarim. With all the nation gathered before him, the Rabbi of all Rabbis, Moshe Rabainu, begins to explain the true meaning of the Torah, as it says:

“Moshe began to explain this Torah….” (Devarim, 1:6).

And what does he tell them?

“You have dwelt long enough in this mountain – turn and take up your journey….” (Ibid).

The Jewish Nation is not supposed to leave in the Diaspora. G-d wants the Jews to live in Israel, as Moshe relates to them the word of God, saying:

“Behold I have set the Land before you; go in and possess the Land which the L-rd swore to your fathers, to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, to give to them and to their offspring after them (Devarim, 1:8).

This is spoken to them in the language of a command. Living in the Land of Israel is a commandment of the Torah, in all generations, as the Ramban makes clear (Ramban on the Torah, BaMidbar, 33:53; and Ramban, Supplement to the Sefer HaMitzvot of the Rambam, Positive Commandment #4 ). All of the authorities of halachah, the Rishonim (early authorities) and Achronim (later authorities) agree with him (See “Pitchei Tshuva,” Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, Section 75, sub-section 6).

In the verse, “Moshe began to explain this Torah….” The Hebrew word for “explain” is áàø. Rashi clarifies the meaning of the word by saying that Moshe explained the Torah in 70 languages (See Rashi, loc. cited).

Whatever the language, a Jew is meant to live in Israel.

Moshe explained the Torah in 70 languages because he knew that in the future, the Jews would be scattered to the four corners of the world amongst the 70 nations, where they would speak English, and French, and Spanish, and German, and Russian, and Arabic, and Portuguese, Yiddish, Brooklynese, and all of the rest. He wanted each and everyone to know, in the languages that they spoke, that “You have dwelt long enough in the Diaspora – take up your journey - go in and possess the Land which the L-rd swore to your fathers, to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, to give to them and to their offspring after them.”

That way they wouldn’t have any excuses, claiming I didn’t know, I didn’t understand.

Pick any language you like. The Torah says the same thing in all of them. A Jew is supposed to live in the Land of Israel. Comprendo?