The Eternal Bond of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel
by Rabbi Eliezer Waldman,
Rosh Yeshiva
28 MarCheshvan 5770 November 15, 2009
Upon hearing the reading of the Torah describing the purchase of the Cave of Machpela by our forefather Abraham, we were reminded again of the basic significance and substance of the destiny of the Jewish people, namely that our nation and our land are bonded by strong spiritual cords that can never be severed. After completion of the transaction, the Torah uses the word Vayakam (Genesis 23:17) to describe the new status of the field of Machpela and surrounding areas sold by Ephron to Abraham for 400 shekels of silver. Rashi explains that the transfer of the land from the custody of a simple man like Ephron to a majestic personality like our father Abraham led to an elevation in the status of the land which will now serve the spiritual and moral principles of life as commanded by the Almighty.
Let us go back to the first words that G-d commands Abraham, "Lech Lecha…. Go on to the land I will show you ….and I will make you into a great nation…and you will be blessed……and all the families of the world shall be blesed through you." With these words G-d prescribed the destiny of the Jewish People which is to bring a blessing to all nations. The realization of this promise began by Abraham going to the land of Israel and later purchasing the Cave of Machpela. The land and the people are an inseparable entity. As long as the Land of Israel is settled by Jews permeated with the power of faith and adhering to the moral values of the Torah, the land would flourish, thrive and provide sustenance for all its inhabitants.
The special mutual bond of life between the land and the people of Israel finds its unique expression in the Torah, the book of Leviticus, portion Bechukotai 26:32 which lists the curses that are meant to come upon the Jewish people when they stray from the ways of G-d. After describing the Jews being led into exile because of their sins, the Torah speaks of a curse that will come to the land; G-d says " I will make the land desolate and your enemies who dwell there will become desolate as well". Our sages explain that there is a blessing within this curse. Just as the Jewish people in exile will remain loyal to the land of Israel, always praying to return home, so the land of Israel will remain loyal to the Jewish people and will not bear its fruit for strangers.
When the Jewish people were not in their land as a nation for over 2000 years, the land remained desolate. Only when the Jews began coming home at the beginning of the Zionist awakening, did the land begin bearing its fruit thanks to renewed Jewish life. In the last 100 years the land of Israel has turned into a Garden of Eden, as promised by the Prophet Ezekiel:36:35 "And they shall say, this land that was desolate has become a Garden of Eden…desolate cities will be rebuilt and inhabited". These are the roots of Jewish life and existence throughout the generations. The divine promise of a thriving land is dependent upon the bond of people and land and this bond alone brings a blessing to the Jewish people and eventually will bring a blessing to the peoples of the world.
We are a people of faith who believe that we are guided by the G-d of Israel in this process of redemption. Our faith gives us the strength to stand up against all those who want to deny our basic historical rights to our land. All the more so, our moral responsibility to be a source of blessing to the nations of the world obligates us to continue the process of creating Jewish life in all corners of our land.
At the present we are again confronted by the reawakening of hatred towards the Jewish people in Israel. This hatred expresses itself in denial of our right to self defense, reflecting an attitude of illegitimacy of Jewish independent existence. The recent false and distorted accusations of war crimes and condemnation of Israeli acts of self defense are part of this malicious scheme portraying us as a nation that does not fall in line with the twisted principles of justice prevalent in international organizations.
Let me state clearly and forcefully: the Israeli Defense Forces, its commanders and soldiers, adhere to the purest principles of moral behavior, even at the expense of endangering their own lives. This phenomena is not to be found in any other army in the world. Many of those nations and their leaders who are so busy accusing us of injustices are dictatorships with no inkling of democratic practices and are the greatest supporters of terror. It is a disgraceful fact which puts all the other nations to shame for allowing these accusers to appear as the authentic judges of truth and and even go along with their perverted accusations.
We certainly will not yield to these political and misguided investigations, committee findings, and resolutions of the "United Nations". The existence of the independent State of Israel is not contingent upon the so called good will and superficial declarations of concern and responsibility for the defense of Israel . The establishment of Jewish independence, the ingathering of the exiles, the great efforts of turning a desolate land into a blossoming Garden of Eden, the development of the creative and productive talents of the Jewish people, the amazing success of the Jewish state in taking a central position in all fields of human progress, and above all, the amazing strengthening of Torah life; all this being part of a divinely guided process of redemption. I am sure that the strength of Jewish faith has been the driving force over the last 100 years guiding the devoted and pioneering people of Israel along a path leading to creation of this divine phenomenon of existence called the State of Israel. The blessing generated by the bond of a land and its people continues in our generation and we in Hebron have the privilege of being active participants. We are continuing in the path of our father Abraham, overcoming all difficulties, pain and barriers along the way.
The eternal power of life within our people will eventually convince our enemies that their wicked plans to destroy Jewish independence will never succeed. We believe that the divine command to Abraham "Lech Lecha" was meant to be a blessing. We are sure that this blessing is driving us forward despite all the difficulties stemming from international terror which is not really being confronted by the nations of the world.
Just as we are sure that a leadership of faith will arise to lead the Jewish people, we expect an authentic leadership to come forth among the nations of the world that will finally understand that they will merit a blessing only upon accepting the phenomena of this divine bond between the Jewish people and its homeland.
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