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Shabbat Parashat Tazria| 5771Ein Ayah: Closeness to the Land(condensed from Ein Ayah, Berachot 6:40)Gemara: Rav Chisda and Rav Hamnuna were served dates and pomegranates during a meal. Rav Hamuna took a date to make a beracha on it first. Rav Chisda asked: “Do you not agree with Rav Yosef that whatever [fruit] is earlier in the pasuk [praising Eretz Yisrael’s fruit: “A Land of wheat and barley, grapes, figs, and pomegranates; a Land of olive oil and [date] honey” (Devarim 8:8)] receives the earlier beracha? He answered: “[Date] is second after ‘a Land,’ and [pomegranate] is fifth after ‘a Land.’” He said to him: “Who will give us legs of iron so we will be able to hear you [wherever you go].” Ein Ayah: Berachot cause straight thought to the heart, which in turn brings on straight actions and good characteristics. Also, berachot’s halachic details are based on ideas that lead directly to good attributes and the Torah’s foundations. Love of the The nature of people’s love of the Land differs according to their level. Some love it because of its innate spiritual qualities. They thirst for a connection to its stones and earth in order to fulfill land-dependent mitzvot and due to the impact it has on aiding all to reach their spiritual potential. Others love the That is why the pasuk is broken into two, hinting at two groups of closeness to the Land. The five species, listed after the first “Land,” correspond to the higher level of desire of the Land, as the number five relates to Chumash, which is the foundation of the shleimut of the nation and the world. Proximity to “the Land” indicates a higher level. The second set of two fruit hint at the nation’s natural shleimut, originally in the physical realm but thereby extending to the spiritual realm. Indeed, yearning to live in the The gemara’s final statement about iron legs hints at the following. He requested physical strength to enable him to learn and obtain spiritual strength. The nation’s iron vessels, whether they be chariots, bolts, or bodies that are strong as iron, give the nation the power to follow a path that leads to Torah, love, and peace. The power is not for us to come to Top of page
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