HaRav Dov Begon is Head of Yeshivat Machon Meir.
“Three things Moses requested from the Holy One, blessed be He, and they were granted to him. He requested that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel, and it was granted to him, as it is said: ‘Is it not by Your going with us…’ (Exodus 33:16). He requested that the Divine Presence not rest upon the idol worshippers, and it was granted to him, as it is said: ‘So that I and Your people will be distinguished from every people on the face of the earth’ (ibid.). He requested to know the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He, and it was granted to him, as it is said: ‘Make known to me now Your ways’ " (Berachot 7, Rashi).
At first glance, Moses’ request that the Divine Presence not rest upon the nations of the world appears narrow-minded, but in truth the good of the human race stood before Moses’ eyes in this request as Rabbi Kook explains: “for the guidance of Israel according to the Torah and its commandments is a wondrous guide to living. General mankind requires many periods of development before it will be worthy of it" (Ein Ayah, Berachot 7A). First, Israel had to understand the ways of Hashem before we could enlighten the world.
Israel was chosen and formed to influence all of humanity, as the prophet said: “This People I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise" (Isaiah 43:21). Israel is the center and perfection of the world. Rabbi Kook states: “Through the Divine Presence resting upon Israel the world with benefit twice. Firstly, the entire world will be centered around one center, leading to peace and unity of the human race graced by Divine love. Secondly, all peoples will merit the highest level of success which is contained in the treasury of life of Israel" (Ein Ayah, Berachot 7a).
At present, the revelation of the Divine Presence unfolds in stages. When Israel is in the darkness of exile, the Divine Presence is also, as it were, in exile, and the Name of God is profaned, as the prophet says: “When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy Name, when it was said of them: ‘These are the people of the Lord, yet they went out of His land’" (Ezekiel 36:20). But when Israel returns and gathers in the Land of Israel and defeats its enemies, the Name of Heaven is sanctified in the world, as it is written: “I will magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 38:23).
More and more it will become evident to all that Israel is the center of the Divine Presence and the light of God in the world. The promise to our father Abraham will be fulfilled: “And I will make you into a great Nation… and you shall be a blessing… and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
Happy are we, how good is our portion and the lot of our generation that we merited to return to the Land of Israel and to Jerusalem. True, there are still the difficulties and complications that characterize the end of the road, but already we can see the light at the end of the tunnel of time.
The day not far off when we will see clearly that Moses’ request thousands of years ago, that the Divine Presence not rest upon the nations of the world, was for the benefit of humanity, and the prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled: “Many peoples shall go and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths.’ For from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2).