אנו מתפללים להחלמה מהירה של הפצועים ולשמירתם של ה' על חיילי ואזרחי ישראל.
Presented By: Rav Mordechai Gershon Written by: Yaakov Karmon
In Parashat Eikev, Moshe Rabeinu describes the blessed physical qualities of the Land of Israel.
Question
Why was it so important to describe the blessed physical qualities of the Land of Israel?
Answer
Eating the fruit of the Land not only satiates one, but also elevates a person spiritually and brings the person closer to G-d.
Presented By: Avrum Leeder Written by: Ori Engelman
The midrash mentions that Yosef merited to be buried in the Land of Israel and Moshe Rabeinu did not merit.
Question
Why was Yosef privileged to be buried in the Land of Israel and Moshe Rabeinu was not privileged?
Answer
In every circumstance that Yosef was in, he was known as a "Hebrew" from the Land of Israel. When Yosef was accused by the wife of the Egyptian lord of wrong-doing, she said: “Look, he has brought a Hebrew man to us …”.Yosef later said: “I was kidnapped from the Land of the Hebrews …”
In contrast, Moshe was perceived as an Egyptian by the daughters of Yitro as the Torah states: The daughters of Yitro said to their father: “An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds …”
The connection between every Jew and Eretz Yisrael is so deep and so basic that even one who was not born in the Land is indeed a (spiritual) native of Eretz Yisrael.
The Chassidic Admor of Ostrovtza (Rabbi Yeḥezkel Holstock hy"d) said of himself:
"I am from Eretz Yisrael, though as the result of our sins we were exiled from her and I find myself in Ostrovtza. Whenever a Jew is asked where he is from, he must answer “I am from Eretz Yisrael, though I am temporarily dwelling in the diaspora.”