MORESHET SHAUL: I WILL BRING YOU BACK UP – PART II

[We discussed the Ramban’s contributions to the return to Eretz Yisrael and ended with a pasuk about Hashem promising Yaakov that He would return him from Egypt.]

Every place in the exile with ten Jews brought stones and earth from Eretz Yisrael to build their houses of prayer (batei knesset) and Torah study (batei medrash), giving the people a feeling of the Land of the Patriarchs, of the Holy Land. These edifices were independent public domains, extraterritorial areas, impenetrable to the atmosphere of the exile.

This recalls the Maharsha’s teaching on the story in Berachot 8a: They told R. Yochanan that there are old people in Bavel. He stated his surprise: The pasuk says “… so that your days and the days of your children will be many on the Land” (Devarim 11:21), implying not in the Diaspora. Once they told him the old men had gone early to batei knesset and returned late, he said: “That is what worked for them.” The Maharsha explains that the batei knesset and batei medrash in Bavel will eventually be established in Eretz Yisrael, so that it is as if they were “on the Land.”  

Thus, the financial backbone of the communities, the lay leadership of the batei knesset and batei medrash in the Diaspora over the generations, have all served as ambassadors of Eretz Yisrael. By establishing these institutions, they guarded the holy fire, preventing it from going out. In those houses, the independence of Israel was preserved; they drew from there the power of the spirit and the selfless dedication to stand strong against ruthless enemies. Hashem promised Yaakov He would protect him in Egypt: “Yosef will place his hand over your eyes” (Bereishit 46:4). Yosef represented the financier and lay leadership of Diaspora communities. He took steps to prevent assimilation with Egypt in that first exile. This was the guarantee that the Divine Presence would dwell among Jewish communities even in the lands of their dispersion. The “eyes of the nation” in subsequent exiles learned from the precedent of Yosef in Egypt.

Now, the continuation of the pasuk is also becoming a reality: “I will indeed bring you up.” The wonders of wonders (The 6 Day War) that are happening before our eyes show vividly all who have eyes to see and ears to hear that the day of complete liberation is approaching. Realize that together with Israel’s liberation comes the Divine Presence’s liberation. In fact, Israel’s liberation is conditional on the Divine Presence’s liberation, as Chazal’s aforementioned statement says: “In the future, batei knesset and batei medrash in Bavel will be established in Eretz Yisrael.” This is because there is no liberation of the body without liberation of the soul. The prophecy of liberation is not just the vision of bones getting closer to each other and flesh and skin growing on them (see Yechezkel 37), but also the insertion of Hashem’s spirit into the nation that dwells in Zion.

We must once again remember the pasuk about Yaakov’s dependence on Yosef and his promised return to Eretz Yisrael. You, Jewish leaders, the eyes of the communities, look at the “hand of Yosef” pointing to Zion and Jerusalem. Hear his last will and testament, “Hashem will certainly redeem you” (Bereishit 50:25). Yosef reached the greatest heights of power in the first exile. He did not undergo the terror of Egyptian subjugation, thousands of years of persecution, or the disappointments at the hands of cultures who broke their promises. Yosef commanded – his one desire is to be taken posthumously to Eretz Yisrael. For honor and riches one gets in foreign lands will not bring real blessing; the niceties come and go. Even the staying power of the prayer and study halls abroad are based on their connection to Eretz Yisrael, where they must be brought in the future.

The Israeli stones and earth in your edifices scream to you: “Return us to our origin.” May the shine of gold and conveniences of foreign lands not blind you. Do not believe the imaginary stability. Do not believe you can preserve proper Judaism anywhere. The Land is calling you, as is the Western Wall. The walls of the Holy Temple which we are uncovering are calling, as is the Divine Presence – return to our origin to “raise up the House of Hashem and rebuild the ruins” (Ezra 9:9).

P'ninat Mishpat:  Regulation of Land Rights in a Settlement Extension – part V

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