The Deed to the Land of Israel

Finally, finally, Israel has followed Torah's exhortation to proclaim before the gentile nations who accuse Israel of having robbed their land exactly as Ambassador Danny Dannon did in the U.N.'s security council on April 30, 2019.

The very first verse in Torah, and there, in the very first Rashi, Rashi dictates exactly the words that need be said to counter this false accusation. And indeed, Mr. Danon raised the Chumash in the air and said words to the same effect, if not exactly the right words.

God gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish people when he made a covenant with Abraham, said Danon, quoting from Genesis.

He could have elaborated just as Rashi elaborates, that God, creator of the world, had first given the land to the Canaanites and then took back the land from them -- to give it to the Jews.

Only this argument, which carries Torah's sanction, is the one that will be respected by the Goyim. Indeed, until now, no matter what else Israel had been arguing, it all fell on deaf ears. Now things are going to change.

Now, very close to the Era of Ultimate Redemption, it's due time that the right argument be put forth. Only this argument will be the one that the Gentiles nations will understand and respect, and eventually accept (whether they like it or not).

This big step is yet another clear sign we're heading down the path of Geulah.

(It pays to realize, too, that Rashi, who lived in France some 1,000 years ago, in the time of the Crusades, when Jews were deep in exile, scattered the world over, under persecution almost wherever they lived, in an era when the Land of Israel was merely a figment of imagination or a dream at best, wrote this Torah commentary derived from prophecy. For who then would have believed that there would ever again be a Land of Israel that will belong to the Jewish people, a people then dispersed across all the continents, without a common language, without an army, with no political clout, with no security and without any power whatsoever?)

____________ Rashi on Genesis 1:1 ____________

אמר רבי יצחק: לא היה צריך להתחיל את התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש הזה לכם, שהיא מצווה ראשונה שנצטוו בה ישראל, ומה טעם פתח בבראשית, משום (תהילים קיא ו) כוח מעשיו הגיד לעמו לתת להם נחלת גויים, שאם יאמרו אומות העולם לישראל לסטים אתם, שכבשתם ארצות שבעה גויים, הם אומרים להם כל הארץ של הקב"ה היא, הוא בראה ונתנה לאשר ישר בעיניו, ברצונו נתנה להם וברצונו נטלה מהם ונתנה לנו

Rabbi Yitzchak said: "Torah ought to have began its narrative from (Shemot 12: 2) where God delivers His 1st commandment to the entire Jewish People, from the verse "This month (of Nissan) shall be for you the 1st month of the year ... ."  Why then did Torah open with the story of creation, etc. ? King David explains it (Psalms 111:6). It was "in order the people should know of God's omnipotence, which He projected for the sake of the Jewish People." That is, they should know that He, the Creator, gave them the inheritance to this land. For when the gentile nations will accuse the Jews of robbing them of it, and that Israel conquered a land that belonged to 7 other nations, Jews should respond, saying, that all of earth belongs to God, He created it and gave The Land to whom He saw fit for it; He first wanted the Canaanites to have it, but then wanted it back, because now He wanted to give it to us."

G-d's Imprint on Man

Inert matter cannot move on its own. Plant life can move by growing, but remains attached to the earth below. Animals were given freedom to wonder. Humans have, in addition, intellect to reason with.

Given that intellect, let's ask: What gives the human being that unique feeling of "independence" he feels as he goes about his daily life and daily business?

After all, in truth, he too is tethered to Nature's requirements to sustain his life. Nevertheless he seems to FEEL, after he replenishes his temporary needs for sustenance with gifts of Nature, as if he truly is an independent psychological nomad. During most of his waking hours, man usually feels he's the sole governor of his "free-wheeling" life.

Why should man be imbued with this feeling, when in fact empirically it isn't true? He is relatively more free from his immediate environment than is the stone, flower or cat, but wherefrom did that rather false notion of "freedom" he bears come from; Where COULD that come from?

To answer the question, we look for an analogy. A human can calculate. He then can create a computer to do calculations for him.

Similarly, G-d is independent. G-d is All There Is, and nothing BUT He exists. This is why and how He could imbue all us creatures with that "feeling" of independence. It is not true we are independent, but that illusory independence is at least "felt" to be true.

Just as a computer calculates based on code it received by human programmers, the human being can "feel independent" because that's how G-d wired him up - to resemble "the divine image by which he was created"

ויברא אלהים את האדם בצלמו, בצלם אלהים ברא אתו

(Gen. 1:27)

The name "Adam" can derive from the root word Adamah (earth); But it also derives from the root verb Adame (to resemble), "אדמה לעליון", in that man resembles the Creator in certain ways ‫-‬ as in feeling independent, having intellect or reasoning power, even given the power to procreate.

Ruminations on the Geulah

The Rebbe often told us we need only "open our eyes" to see the Geulah in process.

He meant the same "opening of the eyes" as did Adam and Eve when they ate from the forbidden fruit. "The eyes of both were opened and they realized they were naked." (Gen. 3:7) It did not say, "... they SAW they were naked", but rather " they REALIZED" they were naked. Through their minds' eye they knew they were stripped naked of their virtues. They had one simple commandment to heed and failed the test.

We too must not fail to heed the Rebbe's message - that we have entered the Era of Redemption. Why, you ask, what difference would it make; It'll come when it comes?

That's like asking, "What difference does it make WHO is Moshiach? If it's the Rebbe, fine, but maybe it's someone else; What difference does it make?"

This questioner may as well ask, why does the Rambam bother to give signs and qualifications by which to identify Moshiach? After all, what difference does it make?

The answer is because if we do know who Moshiach is, and if we also know we've crossed the threshold into the Era of Redemption, we are changed human beings. We then feel the urge to anticipate the inevitable greatness about to transpire. We then take to heart all that we do, discuss or think, accordingly, living with Moshiach in the present. It's not just a fact we store away like we'd store away the fact that we ate pizza the other day. No, it would definitely drive us in ways we'd not behave otherwise.

Chassidus came to the world to wake Jews up from their slumber. A new awakening needed to spur them forward. And now we are well on the way. The Torah tells us Moshiach is the ultimate purpose for which the world was created. See Ba'al Haturim (Gen. 1:2) on the words "... God's spirit moved on the water's surface". The beginning of creation had its ultimate purpose in its cross hairs.

We're now 10 generations away from the Ba'al Shem Tov, on the eve of the Earth's new Sabbath millennium. Look around; Feel the momentum. The Jewish people are reawakening. The enemies of Israel are gestating for a downfall.

By knowing who and when, we shift into a new, current perspective.

For example, the scholars among us would jump at the chance of learning Moshiach's Torah. Others would become more positive, enthused to do as Moshiach would want us to do, as Hashem would want us to do - now. Some would bring this awareness to those still in deep slumber.

That, in fact, is the whole idea of Moshiach; The main thing left for Jews to do is - accept Moshiach, because Moshiach, as King, will not impose his reign upon us. He wants us to accept him, under our own volition. This king will not reign unless he has a willing populace. Only then will he lead us collectively and thereby connect us to Hashem by a new order of magnitude, by which the whole world will then be uplifted to a Garden of Eden spirituality and physicality.

One day, when we see a piece of cake on the table, we'll see the real truth of that item - we'll see the actual divine life-force that gives that item its existence.

Medicine's First Appearance in Torah

The Torah begins by saying the earth, prior to its formation, was in a state of "Tohu", תהו (verse 2). That is, it was in a state of mixture, or some state of amorphousness. It was, one can say, in a state of being "sick", in the sense that it needed a cure.

This condition had to be addressed and rectified. So G-d said, "Let there be light..." יהי אור (verse 3). This light became the cure for the "sickness".

Verse 3 contains 23 letters. But only 7 of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet make up these 23 letters of the verse. These 7 letters make up the two words, "אור" (= light) and "מילה" (= word), that is, the light of the mouth. The entire verse, in fact, speaks of the emission of light from the mouth; The light of healing.

The word in Hebrew for medicine is "רפואה". This word itself is comprised of letters that constitute the two words "אור פה", which means, "the light of the mouth". That is, the emission of the mouth. Just as G-d's light was the light of healing, there ought to be spiritual light coming out of the mouth of a good doctor.

(Heard during a talk given by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh of inner.org)

Hashem's Strange Messenger

For decades we hear the same monotonous chorus coming from "enlightened" Israelis when asked why they so ingratiate themselves for American support, and therefore sacrifice so much land, resources and risk to life for the sake of "peace" and "peace talks". Most religious thinkers, except those supporting the Shas party, believe Israel can do without America's backing because, when push comes to shove, Israel can extricate herself from whatever dilemma she faces using her own resources - with the help of Hashem.

As usual, nursing on American milk continued unabated. Finally, to break this reliance on America, which is akin to idol worship because it precludes faith in Hashem's providence, Hashem's patience broke. "If you want to continue suckling, and you won't change your mind," says God - "then I'll change it for you!" and He installed Hussein Barak Obama to run America, thereby grinding to a halt Israel's servile, idolatrous attitude.

Everything in the world happens for a reason, and important political events happen for the sake of Israel. The Gentile leader or spokesperson has very little free choice in what he decides. Through him God finds a way of "talking" to Jews; We only have to "open our eyes" to see with our mind's eye that which we are being "told".

Every war we won was our queue to lay claim to our Holy Land based on the Torah. But we have yet to take that firm stand, and say it just that way.

Take the recent event of a PA activist who spoke up to say the Bible is irrelevant when it comes to deciding the borders of Israel (link). This again is our queue! It is Hashem's way to tell us to go out and argue the opposite. He wants us to say, "Yes it is relevant, we hold by it, and stand by it - and it constitutes our claim to the land." How can we be sure we must say this? Simply by reading about it in the first Rashi on the first verse in the Torah, nay, on the very first word in Torah! There Rashi clearly spells out what we must tell the Gentiles. And if we tell them just that, namely, "that Israel is a land given to us by God" (to paraphrase briefly), then the nations of the world will accept it! Most nations believe in the Bible, giving it significant sanction, so that using this argument, namely, that "it says so in the Bible", will finally take the political load off Israel's back.

Israel never yet has come out staking claim to the rights of the land based on Torah, when this is exactly what they should be premising their claims on; And nothing else! It implies that God rules the world and manipulates the victories of the Jewish people. We Jews, in turn, have only to share our faith and show our gratitude.

First Words of G-d to Mankind in Torah

Painting by Maoz Toledo

The very first time G-d actually speaks to Man, as quoted in Torah, takes the form of a simple question - "Where are you?"

Because Torah is our Book of Life, an eternal source of instruction, that question, rather than being a mere historic anectode, is a question always being asked of Man. Over time, man finds himself, hopefully, advancing in life with a meaningful purpose, and every time he should consider the question G-d asks him - to see if in fact his answer indicates he's made real progress.

Perhaps many of us don't lose much sleep over our spiritual shortcomings, as much as we do over our materialistic shortcomings. Thus, the question of G-d, as it reverberates continually when we think of it, should shake us out of our spritual complacency - because that's where that question points to: Where does our soul stand today compared to where it stood yesterday?

G-d expects of us to move forward, to toil to achieve more - not more money, not a better job, not a better physique, not more respect, power or honor. He wants us to become better Jews as Torah beseeches us. After all, we were born with relatively empty vessels, and the world was created purposely with imperfections. Our souls were given this mission down here on earth, to enable the future world for divine revelation. By elevating ourselves spritually, we force a physical change in the world that improves it and raises it a notch; A real cause an effect reaction.

Adam was told, "Don't eat from that one tree!" There were hundreds of trees, and thousands of fruits to eat from in the Garden of Eden. What would it harm the world if one fig, or date, or grape, whatever tree it was, were eaten? What damage could consuming one little fruit wreak on the world?

Well now we know. That tiny act changed the world drastically. Death came to Mankind. Truth and falsehood no longer were clearly delineated. Sin could now become desirous. Man was given to struggle to achieve greatness.

Even a small deed of the person can take a big toll, or render monumental change for the better. Only man has the power to connect G-d with physicality. Only he is the gateway through which the universe becomes transformed. Little man has G-dly powers. One little smile, nice word or deed - can make or break. His behavior, and only his behavior, mediates between supernal G-d and our nether universe. We are G-d's fulcrum.

With so much power at our behest, we'd only be foolish to squander it. Let's resolve, therefore, to jump quantum leaps. Let's dare ourselves with lofty goals. Every day is an auspicious day. So, my friend, to quote G-d, "Where are you?"

Why the Storytelling in Genesis? A Lesson for the Jews.

Right from the very outset of Torah an alert reader could ask, "Why would a manual of instruction to the Jewish people preoccupy itself with storytelling, first about the creation of the world and later about the patriarchs?" All of Genesis, in fact, is heavily narrated with stories. "Torah" in Hebrew comes from the word "to teach", so what does all this storytelling teach us?

It turns out, the sole purpose of the entire book of Genesis, with all its stories, is to provide the basis for the Jewish people upon which to stake their claim to the Land of Israel! It's the ammunition they should fire back with when accusers charge them with "occupying someone else's land".

In his very first commentary on Torah, Rashi asks, "Why not start the Torah from the first commandment to the Jewish people (concerning Passover; Exodus 12, 2)?" Why get sidetracked with storytelling in a book of laws?

Says Rashi. "Know that the Jewish people will be accused of conquering and displacing other peoples." (Note that Rashi lived some 1,000 years ago, when no one heard of a country called "Israel", nor could even dream of these scattered Jewish outcasts as an "aggressor nation"! Which testifies to Rashi's prophecy.)

He says to the Jew, "The reason G-d started the story from creation and tells the stories is - so you should know how to respond to your Gentile accusers! Here's what you tell them: G-d created the world; He gave the land to whomever He saw fit and wanted to give it to; He then took it away from them and gave it to us!" Period.

Says Rashi, "This is what King David meant in Psalms (111, 6): 'The might of His deeds He narrated to His people, to give them land inherited from Gentiles.'".

So why the Torah's long preamble? Why the seeming distraction with the entire Book of Genesis and 285 verses into the Book of Exodus, before it gets to the first commandment?

The answer is - to teach Jews they must invoke this demonstrable power and will of The Creator of the universe Who granted them this land - to lay claim to it! All that scripture serves as a living document with which to justify the claim. G-d "wastes" 1,819 verses so Jews should know how to respond to nations who accuse them of being usurpers of this land!

The reason Israel faces so much opposition most probably stems from saying everything but these words! Most religions acknowledge the Torah; Therefore most Gentiles would accept the message. But once we cite economic, military, humanistic or other reasons, to justify our claim to the land, instead of invoking the divine gift - that's when things get muddled up.

We must say clearly what Torah wants us to say, what it teaches right at its outset; And not stray one iota from that Torah instruction.