Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Shmot "Why Eretz Yisrael?" Volume 25, No. 13 18 Tevet 5771 December 25, 2010 Today's Learning: Tanach: Yeshayah 21-22 Mishnah: Terumot 1:4-5 Halachah: O.C. 589:4-6 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Zevachim 45 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Challah 13 In our parashah, we read of Hashem's first appearance to Moshe. On that occasion, Hashem said to the future leader (3:8), "I shall descend to rescue [the Nation] from the hand of Egypt and to bring it up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Emorite, the Perizzite, the Hivvite, and the Yevusite." R' Moshe ben Nachman z"l (Ramban; Spain and Eretz Yisrael; 1194-1270) writes about this promise: The explanation of the praises in this verse is that Hashem first praises Eretz Yisrael as "a good and spacious land" meaning that the air is good and healthy for humans, that all good things are found there, and that Bnei Yisrael can dwell there spaciously. Alternatively, "spacious" means that there are many wide open spaces--the coastal plain, valleys, and plateaus large and small. Thereafter, Hashem praises the Land as a place with good pasture and sources of fresh water, a place that promotes good milk production. Furthermore, the fruits there are fat and sweet, so much so that they ooze with honey. Ramban adds: The reason the Torah says "to the place of the Canaanite" rather than "to the land of the Canaanite" is to indicate that Bnei Yisrael would take the place of the Canaanite nations in the Land, not that they would live side-by-side with the Canaanites as the Patriarchs had done. Notably, Hashem never used the phrase, "flowing with milk and honey," when He promised the Land to the Patriarchs. Ramban explains (in his commentary to Devarim 26:15) that since Hashem spoke to the Patriarchs in Eretz Yisrael, and they could see that the Land was flowing with milk and honey, it was not necessary for Hashem to say so. Alternatively, suggests R' Avraham Elkanah Kahana-Shapira z"l (1914- 2007; rosh yeshiva of Merkaz Harav and Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel) the Land's characteristic of "flowing with milk and honey" is dependent upon the additional holiness that the Land attains through the collective merit of the Jewish People; for the Patriarchs alone, the Land could not have flowed with milk and honey. If this is true, R' Shapira adds, we can understand why, when (Moshe Rabbeinu's successor) Yehoshua established the second blessing of Birkat Hamazon, he referred to the Land as "good and spacious" but he did not say, "flowing with milk and honey." That blessing begins: "We thank You, Hashem Elokeinu, because You have give *to our forefathers* as a heritage a desirable, good and spacious land . . ." The focus is on what Hashem gave to our Patriarchs. (Imrei Shefer) ******** "Pharaoh commanded his entire people, saying, `Every son that will be born -- into the River shall you throw him!'" (1:22) Rashi z"l writes that this decree was not against Bnei Yisrael alone. Pharaoh's astrologers had told him that the savior of Bnei Yisrael would be born on a certain day, and he might be Jewish or he might be Egyptian. (They were confused because the savior, Moshe, actually would be a Jew who would grow up in Pharaoh's palace.) Therefore, Pharaoh's decree was also against Egyptian boys. R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld z"l (1848-1932; rabbi of the Edah Ha'chareidit in Yerushalayim) observes that this illustrates how Hashem pulls all the strings behind the scenes and uses every person to bring about the result that His Will has ordained. How so? The Gemara (Chagigah 15a) teaches that everything in the world has an opposite. In the physical world, for example, there are mountains and valleys, etc. In the spiritual world, there are tzaddikim and resha'im, Gan Eden and Gehinnom, etc. In the same vein, we are taught that the opposing forces of good and evil must be balanced in the world in order to preserve man's ability to exercise his free will. According to Hashem's own design, if a soul enters the world that has the ability to become a great tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu, another soul must come into the world that has the potential to counter-balance that holiness by spreading unspeakable evil and impurity. Whatever became of the impure soul that was destined to counter- balance the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu? We never hear of such a person! The answer, says R' Sonnenfeld, is that "Pharaoh commanded his entire people, saying, `Every son that will be born -- into the River shall you throw him!'" Unwittingly, Pharaoh killed the one person who might have impeded Moshe Rabbeinu's future mission. (Chochmat Chaim) ******** "His sister stationed herself at a distance to know what would be done with him." (2:4) Rashi z"l (to Bemidbar 12:15) writes that Hashem rewarded Miriam for this action decades later. Bnei Yisrael waited for her to recover from her tzara'at just as she had waited for her baby brother Moshe on the banks of the Nile. What was so special about Miriam's action? asks R' Moshe Zvi Neriah z"l (1913-1995; rosh yeshiva in Kfar Ha'roeh, Israel, and one of the early leaders of the Bnei Akiva youth movement). Wouldn't any big sister instinctively stay near her baby brother out of concern for his well- being? R' Neriah explains: We must pay close attention to the Torah's words. It does not say, "She stood at a distance," but rather, "She stationed herself at a distance." Her wait was not an incidental act born of fear and trepidation. Rather, it was resolute, an expression of her bitachon that everything was for a purpose and would turn out well. Similarly, she was not waiting "to see what would happen," but rather, "to know what would be done with him." She knew that Hashem had a plan for her baby brother; she was only waiting to see what would be done to make that plan progress. Our Sages say that Miriam had already foretold a great future for her baby brother. Consistent with this, the house had filled with light upon his birth. But, when Moshe had to be abandoned in the Nile, Miriam's father, Amram, had scolded her, "What will become of your prophecy now?" Miriam, however, never lost faith, and it was for that resoluteness that she was rewarded many years later. (Ner La'maor) ******** "Va'yoel Moshe / Moshe desired to dwell with the man [Yitro]; and he gave his daughter Tzipporah to Moshe." (Shmot 2:21) The midrash Mechilta translates the word "Va'yoel" differently than we have translated it above, as being related to "alah" / "oath." The verse would then mean that Moshe took an oath to Yitro. What was the oath? The midrash says that Moshe swore that the first child that would be born from his marriage to Tzipporah would be dedicated to avodah zarah / idolatry. How are we to understand Yitro's request? R' Stephen Baars shlita (Director of Aish Ha'Torah in Washington, D.C.) explained: In the material world, the child of a billionaire is at a disadvantage; born with "everything," he very often has difficulty finding something to aspire to. Not so in the spiritual world; no matter how great one's parents, a person can surpass them. Yitro, however, did not understand this distinction, and, seeing that his son-in-law Moshe was a spiritual "billionaire," he was concerned about ensuring that his grandchildren would find opportunities for spiritual growth. Accordingly, he requested that Moshe's son would start on the very bottom rung-as an idolator-and have to work his way up on his own. (Heard from R' Baars, 30 Kislev 5771) ******** "Hashem saw that he turned aside to see, and Elokim called out to him from amidst the bush and said, `Moshe, Moshe,' and he replied, `Here I am!'" (3:4) Why does the verse mention that Hashem saw that Moshe Rabbeinu turned aside to look at the burning bush? R' Shalom Arush shlita (rosh yeshiva of the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions in Yerushalayim) explains: Moshe did not approach the burning bush out of mere curiousity. We read (3:3), "Moshe thought, `I will turn aside now and look at this great sight'." However, Moshe's thought did not end there. The verse continues, "Why will the bush not be burned?" Moshe looked for the meaning and the message behind what he saw, and that is why Hashem chose to speak to him. What, in fact, was the message of the burning bush? One message, writes R' Arush, was the fact that Hashem appeared in a thornbush. This was meant to teach the future leader of Bnei Yisrael that Hashem is amidst His people even when they are in a lowly, argumentative ("prickly") condition. (Shlom Malchut p.36) ******** Why Eretz Yisrael? "I shall descend to rescue [the Nation] from the hand of Egypt and to bring it up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. . ." (3:8) R' Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook z"l (1865-1935; Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael) writes: Eretz Yisrael is not something incidental, an incidental acquisition of the Nation, a place for general unification or for strengthening the material, or even spiritual, state of the Nation. Rather, Eretz Yisrael is part of the essence of the Nation, bound by the bond of life to the Nation. [R' Shlomo Aviner shlita (rosh yeshiva of the Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim and rabbi of Bet El, Israel) explains with an analogy: In a successful marriage, the couple's bond is based on being soul mates, not on an incidental characteristic such as the fact that one spouse makes delicious chicken soup. So, too, the Jewish People's connection with the Land of Israel is based on a deep metaphysical connection, not on the fact that the Land is a haven from enemies or just a good land. Of course, those are bonuses, just as a soul mate who happens to make good chicken soup is a bonus.] Therefore, R' Kook continues, there is no rational way to understand or explain the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, nor is there a rational way to implement the great love that we have for the Land. Only through ruach ha'kodesh can this love find its true expression. R' Kook writes further: Any thought which makes Eretz Yisrael something incidental, a safe-haven for building a unified people--even if the intention is to save Jewish People from the dangers of the diaspora, to guard its character, to strengthen emunah / faith, yirah / fear of G-d, and the practice of mitzvot--such an endeavor is not destined to succeed, for it fails to recognize the inherent holiness of Eretz Yisrael. (Orot ch.1) Why, then, does the Torah frequently emphasize the Land's desirable physical characteristics (as in our verse)? R' Kook explains: The physical characteristics of Eretz Yisrael mirror the major events in the history of the Jewish People. For example, the fact that the Exodus occurred when it was springtime in Eretz Yisrael is because the glorious event of the redemption brought about a renewal and rejuvenation of the world. So, too, the bounty of the Land, the fact that it is flowing with milk and honey, is a reflection of special atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael, not the cause of the Land's special character. (Olat Re'iyah Vol. I p.37-38)