Eretz
By Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
The Sages teach us that what Shabbat, Sabbath, is to time, so Eretz
R.
Yitzchak says: The Torah should have begun with, “This
month shall be for you”,[2] which is the first mitzva
that Israel were commanded. Why, then, did it begin
with, “In the beginning”? Because of, “The strength of His deeds He declared to
His people, to give them the heritage of the nations“.[3] If the nations
of the world should say to
Rashi tells us that HaShem gave His people the
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 33:50-54 And HaShem spake unto Moses
in the plains of Moab by Jordan [near] Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out
all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their
pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their
high places: And ye shall dispossess [the inhabitants of] the land, and dwell therein: for I
have given you the land to possess it. And ye shall divide the land by lot for
an inheritance among your families: [and] to the
more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the
fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s
[inheritance] shall be in the place where his lot
falleth; according to the tribes
of your fathers ye shall inherit.
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 34:2 Command the children of
Since HaShem gave us this land, we
must take possession of it. Even if today is not the right time
to return to the land, we must have it in the forefront of our mind. “Wherever
we are going, we are going to Israel”. The
“Returning” is what we do when we go up to
The parallel between Teshuva (or “return to HaShem“) and entering the Land of Israel is supported by
the fact that Teshuva, from the root word meaning “return”, occurs in the
Tanakh[5]
most frequently in relation to the Jewish peoples’
return to the Land of Israel. This teaches that entering the
Ketuvot 110b Anyone
who lives outside of Eretz
The Sages have thereby told us that there is a connection between
returning to HaShem, through repentance, and
returning to the
The Torah begins with the account of creation
in order to prove that the earth belongs to HaShem
and He can give it to anyone He wishes. When HaShem
makes a covenant with Avraham,
He gives Avraham AND HIS SEED Eretz
Bereshit
(Genesis) 21:12 And G-d said unto
Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because
of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee,
hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed
be called.
HaShem said to Avraham: “To your descendants I will give this Land”.[6] However, it is not clear who the descendants of Avraham are, Yitzchak or Ishmael? So the Torah comes to tell us that Ishmael is excluded from all that Avraham had, he received gifts instead:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 25:5-6 And Avraham gave all (“kol”) that he had to Yitzchak. And to the sons of the concubines he gave
presents.
The Zohar does indicate that Ishmael has some connection to the land:
Soncino
Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 32a Abram prayed to G-d: “O that Ishmael might
live before thee!” Now, although the Holy One, blessed
be He, promised Abraham that he would beget Isaac, yet Abraham was so attached to Ishmael, that the Holy One had to promise him: “As for Ishmael, I have heard thee:
behold, I have blessed him... and I will make him a great nation“.
Through his circumcision
Ishmael entered into the holy
covenant before Isaac was born. Now,
for four hundred years the supramundane representative
of Ishmael stood before the Holy One, blessed be He, and
pleaded thus with him: “He who is circumcised, has he a portion in Thy Name? “ “Yes.” “But what then of Ishmael? Is he not
circumcised? Why then has he no portion in Thy Name,
like Isaac?” The Holy One
answered: “Isaac was circumcised according to rule,
[Tr. Note: i.e. with the peri’ah, or exposure of the flesh.] not so Ishmael;
moreover the Israelites attach themselves to me from the eighth
day of their birth, but the Ishmaelites for a long time are far from me.” Said he: “Yet, as Ishmael has been
circumcised, he ought to have a reward!’, Woe, woe, that Ishmael was born into
the world and
was circumcised! What did the Holy One do? He banished
the children of Ishmael from the heavenly communion and gave them instead a
portion here below in the
Galatians 4:29-31 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was
born] after the Spirit, even so [it is] now.
Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for
the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So
then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Ishmael’s rights in Eretz
So we know that the promise is to Yitzchak and not Ishmael, but how do we choose between Yaaqov or Esav? And while it is possible to exclude Ishmael, since he is the son of the maid, Esav is different, as Malachi states:
Malachi
1:2 “Was not Esav
the brother of Yaaqov, the word of HaShem, yet I loved Yaaqov.”
Why was Esav excluded and the promise fulfilled only with Yaakov? This is because in the brit bein habetarim (covenant of the pieces), it says:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 15:13-18 Your descendants
shall be aliens
in a land not their own, and they will serve them, and they will oppress them, four hundred years ...
The fourth generation
shall return here ... On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avram saying, “To your descendants
I have given this land.”
Thus, it is clear that the same descendants who will be aliens, and will descend to
Regarding Esav it says: “Esav took his wives, his sons, his daughters ... and went to a land because of his brother Yaaqov”.[7] Rashi cites a Midrash:
“Because of his brother Yaaqov”. Because of the debt of the decree, “Your
descendants shall be aliens”, which was placed on the
descendants of Yitzchak. [Esav]
said, “I will leave here, and I will share neither in the gift, that this land
is given to him, nor in the payment of the debt”.
Therefore, it says in the end of Parshat Vayishlach: “These are the chiefs of Edom by their settlements, in the land of their possession, he is Esav, father of Edom“[8], and immediately afterwards it says: “Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning”[9], and the story of the descent to Egypt begins. The account of the exile was fulfilled only through Yaaqov, whereas Esav settled in his possessed land.
Only through Yaakov was the decree of brit bein habetarim, the covenant between the parts, fulfilled, and only through him was the promise of the land fulfilled.
Even though HaShem gave Avraham Eretz
In all of HaShem’s promises, we see an element of human effort. HaShem requires that we do our part.
Those who follow events in
Bereshit
(Genesis) 21:9-13 And Sarah saw
the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham,
mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out
this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir
with my son, [even] with Isaac. And the thing was very
grievous in Abraham‘s sight because of his son. And G-d
said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy
sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath
said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac
shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the
bondwoman will I make a nation, because he [is] thy seed.
Why is “First” more important than the “Best”?
Bikkurim [first fruits], Bechor [the first born], the separation of the Priestly gift of challah, the first shearings of the wool, the first of the dough, the firstborn of man and animal, all have something in common. They all represent beginnings; they are all “Firsts”.
The Torah asks us to bring the first fruits to the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple. The Torah does not specify that we should “bring the best”; rather the Torah specifies that we should “bring the first”. Likewise, we are not commanded to pick the best or the brightest son to be dedicated to the Divine Service in the Beit HaMikdash. We are commanded to devote the first son to that Service.
Why does the Torah insist on “firsts” and not “bests”? The reason for the preference for “firsts” is because the “first” sets the tone. “First” is the beginning, the foundation. It might not be so bad if a building has a flaw on the fourth or fifth floor, but a flaw in the foundation is very serious. The foundation sets the tone.[11]
Each of the cities that we are about to examine is notable as a “First”. This suggests that they are foundational to the use of the land. Keep this in mind as we study.
There are three cities at the heart of our conflict with the goyim (nations – Gentiles). I would like to look at these cities that are at the center of this conflict. As we shall see, the fight over these three cities is a fight over existence. Somehow the Goyim, the seed of the bondwoman, realize that possession of these three key cities is intrinsically connected with their existence.
Now I would like to take note that there were three parcels of land, in Eretz
The Torah documents
the purchase of the land for the tombs of the Patriarchs and the land that
contains the tomb of Yosef
HaTzaddik . The only
other parcel whose purchase is documented, in perpetuity, by Scripture itself
is the site of the Beit
HaMikdash, the Temple, in
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXIX:7
AND HE BOUGHT THE PARCEL OF GROUND, etc. (XXXIII, 19). R. Judan b. R. Simon
said: This is one of the three
places regarding which the nations of the world cannot taunt Israel and say, ‘ Ye have stolen
them.’ These are they: The cave of Machpelah, the [site of the] Temple, and the sepulcher
of Yosef HaTzaddik . The cave of Machpelah: And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver (Gen. XXIII, 16).
The Temple: So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of
gold (I Chron. XXI, 25). And Yosef HaTzaddik’s
sepulcher: AND HE BOUGHT THE PARCEL OF GROUND.
R. Aharon Soloveitchik[12]
calls this kind of acquisition “chazakah”, holding. It comes from HaShem’s commandment to Adam “to guard the garden and keep it”. (Bereshit 2:13) This is the gift of
reaching unto things through cultivation, work and dedication.
How tragically ironic it is that it is in regard to these
very areas:
“The entire war is based on who’s in charge of the holy sites. The Arabs sense that their life force comes from the Jews’ holy sites. That’s why their battles have always been focused on the tombs of the righteous, because these places nourish their life force. It’s no wonder that they hold fast to Kever (the tomb of) Yosef, Kever Rachel Imeinu, Machpelah, and most importantly, The Temple mount.”[13]
Now these three cities Shechem,
As Jews, we believe that legally
and morally according to our laws
and history these places are part of our Jewish nation. However, this is not just an historical and
religious claim, it also represents a value of “Shayichut Eretz Israel”; the connection to the
When Avraham first came to the land, the Torah tells us where Avraham went:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 12:6-9 And Abram passed
through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the
Canaanite [was] then in the land. And HaShem appeared
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed
will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto HaShem,
who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, [having] Beth-el on
the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an
altar unto HaShem, and called upon the name of HaShem. And Abram
journeyed, going on still toward the south.
It appears that Avraham went
first to Shechem, then to
The three cities were purchased with money and provide a proof that they belong to the Jewish people. The purchase of land by Jeremiah[17], serves as a proof that the purchase of the land is inviolate and constitutes a firm link to the land for the purchaser and his offspring.
Each of these cities also symbolizes an eternal contact point that must be maintained or else we will have the appropriate problem:
Kever Yosef (Shechem) – The eternal contact point to the land, of the Jewish soul. This area of Shechem was purchased by Yaaqov Avinu, for a hundred kesitah’ (33:19), and Yosef was carried up from Mitzrayim (Egypt) to be buried here.
Shechem
is a city of central Israel; called Sichem in Bereshit 12:6, Shalem,
according to some commentators, ib. 33:18; Sychem in II Luqas
7:16; and Sychar in Yochanan 4:5. Its situation is indicated as in
1 Kings 12:25-29 Then Jeroboam built Sh’chem in
And
the king took counsel, and made two
calves of gold, and said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to
But
from Shoftim (Judges) 9:7 it seems to have been immediately below Mount
Gerizim, and it is therefore placed by Yosef HaTzaddik
us[18] between Gerizim and Ebal.
Shechem is elsewhere stated to have been in the neighborhood of Dothan[19], north of Shiloh[20]. [21]
Shechem means “shoulder”
or “ridge”.
The word Shechem means “Shoulder“. A “shoulder” represents the power to connect the back state of knowledge (secular science) and wisdom to the front state of knowledge and wisdom (Torah). Shechem is the bridge.
Anatomically, Shechem represents the head[22] and specifically the brain, which is composed of three main parts (left hemisphere, right hemisphere, and midbrain), as we can see in the following illustration:
Mount Eval and Mount Gerazim are the left and right hemispheres. Shechem is the midbrain, the center of the head, the place of connection. It is centered left to right, top to bottom, and front to back in the very center of the head. This the place of connection between the body and the head. It is the point of origin for the creation of a talmid, a soul destined for the next world.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis C:9
R. Simlai said: [He assured them]: Ye are the body
and I am the head, as it says, Let the blessing come
upon the head, [viz.] Joseph:[23]
if the body is removed, of what use is the head?
The Zohar
on Kohelet
Kohelet
(Ecclesiastes)
Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, was saying that when astronomy and mathematics are used to explain the laws of the new moon, this scientific knowledge ceases to be secular. It becomes part of Torah. The darkness is transformed into light, a greater light than that derived directly from the Torah. This is the “advantage” that Shlomo HaMelech is talking about. The light resulting from transformed darkness has an advantage over the light derived directly from the Torah.
The greatness of Shlomo HaMelech’s[24]
wisdom was due in part to his having transformed the sciences. This
transformation of “non-sense” into wisdom is a major part of the refinement of
the physical
world that prepares it for and actually brings about
the highest revelations in the Torah to be revealed by Mashiach. It is a
process which actually began with Yosef, who was the master over ancient
Rashi says that the Hebrew word shechem, means “portion,” or “division”[26]; inherent in the name Shechem is the idea of divisiveness.[27]
The gematria of Shechem is 360, or, 36 x 10.
Shechem is a place designed for trouble[28]: Here Dina was profaned, here Yosef was sold, here Avimelech killed his brothers and here the kingship was split. But Shechem was also given as a present to Yosef: “And I have given thee one shoulder (=Shechem) over thy brothers)”. It therefore signifies the complete connection of the tribes to Yosef and his unique way of elevating everything secular to holiness.[29]
Shechem is written: shin, chof, mem שכם. If the shin and the mem are joined together, they spell the word shem which means “name”, a common pseudo name for HaShem Himself. Unfortunately, in the word shechem, the “Name” is divided: the shin and the mem are separated by the letter chof.
This might not have seemed significant, had the letter chof not represented the number twenty, and had the number twenty not been so closely related to vision, or rather, the lack of it. And as we will soon see, the problem with Shechem, and all that occurred there had everything to do with a lack of vision.
The three letters of “Shechem” (shin-chof-mem) are also within the word “Mishkan (the sanctuary in the wilderness)” (mem-shin-chof-nun), with the addition of the letter “nun”, which always symbolizes the “Nun Sha’arei Binah”, the “Fifty Gates of Understanding.” The extra “nun” makes the total numerical value of the word “Mishkan” equal 410, precisely the number of years the First Temple stood (2928 - 3338) before being destroyed by Nubuchadnetzar’s army.
Kever Yosef
Avraham Avinu
The first mention of
Shechem occurs in connection with Avraham, who, on his first sojourn to the land of
Canaan, built an altar under the oak of Moreh on the site where later Shechem
was built (Bereshit 12:6). In this pasuk, HaShem
promises to give this land to Avraham and his seed. The Sages teach
us that the first appearance of a word defines the word and it’s intrinsic
meaning. This tells us
that the land of Israel, and its possession by Avraham
and his seed, is bound up in the word Shechem.
Shechem was situated on the north-south ancient highway
through
Bereshit
(Genesis) 12:6-7 And Abram passed
through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the
Canaanite [was] then in the land. And HaShem appeared
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this
land: and there builded he an altar unto HaShem, who
appeared unto him.
Shechem is Avraham‘s first step
in forming a connection
with the land. Rashi notes that Avraham builds this
first altar in recognition and gratitude for receiving the news that he would
have offspring and that they would be given the
This juxtaposition of the promise of the land with the giving of seed,[30] forms the basis for Avraham‘s faith:
Bereans (Hebrews) 11:8-12 By faith Abraham,
when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a
strange country, dwelling
in tabernacles with Isaac and Yaaqov, the heirs with him of the same
promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
maker [is] G-d. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past
age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there
even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in
multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
The Arizal taught that the brit bein habetarim, the covenant between the
parts, took place at Shechem, between
Bereshit
(Genesis) 15:1-21 After these
things the word of HaShem
came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and]
thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord HaShem,
what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is]
this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of
HaShem [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be
thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine
heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be
able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall
thy seed be. And he believed in HaShem;
and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I [am] HaShem that brought thee out of
This “Covenant of Fire“, the brit bein habetarim, which HaShem made with Avraham was the same place where Yehoshua led the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. It is the same place where the Children of Israel uttered the blessings and the curses in the days of Yehoshua.
This pasuk shows HaShem, represented by the fire, passing between the parts of animals in the cutting of a covenant. The most powerful image, in Torah, is the image of HaShem as fire:
Devarim
(Deuteronomy)
The Ramban states that: “Whatever happened to the Patriarchs
is a portent for their [future] children.” He
believed that all events mentioned in the Torah would affect future generations. We can’t
always understand the relationships, but the relations exist. For instance,
since Avraham first came to the city of
Yaaqov
Avinu[31]
(renamed “Israel”) also encamped at Shechem 184 years later. He purchased the
land in Shechem and built an altar and named it “El-elohe-israel,” meaning “G-d,
the G-d of Israel”. Here also Yaaqov dug a well for
his many herds. This well is still there today.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 33:18-20 And Yaaqov came to Shalem, a city of
Upon Yaaqov‘s return to the
Shechem is also the Biblical site at which Dina the daughter of Yaaqov was raped. Dina bore a daughter from the rape who was named Asenath. The righteous spark that was within Shechem ben Chamor, was transferred to Asenath. Asenath subsequently became the wife of Yosef HaTzaddik.
After Dina was raped, the sons of Yaaqov schemed to have all the men of Shechem circumcised.[33]
Years later, Yaaqov sent his seventeen
year-old son, Yosef, from Hebron to check on his
brothers as they kept the flocks in Shechem[34].
After Yosef HaTzaddik arrived he discovered his
brothers had moved on to the lush area of Dothan; so
he went to find them[35].
His brothers, filled with hatred, sold Yosef HaTzaddik to some Ishmaelite traders who, coming through the
Bereshit
(Genesis) 37:12-17 And his
brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And
Yosef also had the men of
Yosef is associated with the Sefirah of Yesod, the place of the Brit Mila. Thus Yosef and circumcision are intimately connected with Shechem.
As Yosef
conquered sexual temptation in
Why did Shimon and Levi totally destroy Shechem? They felt that one of their own flesh and blood, their sister Dinah, was debased in a terrible manner. This violation could not go unpunished. They forgot one issue, however. While they were expressing their concern for their sister, they completely disregarded the fact that, in that same place, the individual they were persecuting, the one they were selling to a life of slavery and pain, was none other than their brother Yosef! If they had been so concerned for heir own flesh and blood, why did they ignore Yosef‘s pleas? Where was their compassion and sense of justice when they were persecuting their own brother?
In Bereshit 35, Yaaqov has his family get rid of all their idols. The presence of these idols accounts for the ability of Shechem ben Chamor to attack the family of Yaaqov which was weakened by these idols.
After Yaaqov got rid of the idols, his protection returned:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 35:1-5 And G-d said
unto Yaaqov, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make
there an altar unto G-d, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau
thy brother. Then Yaaqov said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away
the strange G-ds that [are] among you, and be clean,
and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make
there an altar unto G-d, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was
with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Yaaqov
all the strange G-ds which [were] in their hand,
and [all their] earrings which [were] in their ears;
and Yaaqov hid them under the oak which [was] by
Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of G-d
was upon the cities that [were] round about them, and they did not pursue after
the sons of Yaaqov.
Thus the idols were a source of disaster to the family of Yaaqov at Shechem.
Rashi writes that “idols” refers to the spoils from the city
of
When Yaaqov Avinu died he handed Shechem down to his son Yosef:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 48:21-22 And Israel said unto Yosef
HaTzaddik, Behold, I die: but G-d shall be with you, and bring you again unto
the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to
thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of
the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my
bow.
Yosef requested that his body not be buried in
Yehoshua
(Joshua) 24:32 And the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik, which the children
of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they
in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Yaaqov
bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of
silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Yosef
HaTzaddik.
Yosef HaTzaddik
Had Yosef‘s brothers seen the miracle that had happened for Yosef in the pit, then perhaps they would have reconsidered their judgment. After all, miracles do not happen for evil people, and it was an important sign that Heaven did not share their view of their younger brother.
However, they had not noticed the miracle, and the Talmud does not say why. Nevertheless, perhaps, the Talmud alludes to the answer since the above citation follows this halachah:
Shabbat
22a Rav Kahana said: Rav Nachman bar Munyumi elucidated in the name of Rebi Tanchum: A Chanukah light placed higher than twenty amot is unfit, just like [the roof of a] succah and [an eiruv in] an alleyway.
The eye does not see well higher than twenty amot and therefore there is no proclamation of the miracle.[37]
The point of the thirty-six candles that we light throughout the eight days of Chanukah, explains Rashi, is to proclaim the
miracle that happened for the Chashmoniam when they conquered the Greek army
(in the thirty-sixth century from creation)
against all odds. As well, it reminds us of how the miracle extended to the Temple
The question is, why not just use a larger flame? Or, what happens for a person whose vision is not good past ten amot?
For this reason and others, the number twenty represents more than just a physical limitation. In fact, it refers to a spiritual limitation, perhaps the same kind that prevented Yosef’s brothers from recognizing the Divine hand in Yosef‘s redemption. For, the miracles did not stop once Yosef was drawn from the pit:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 37:25 They (the
brothers) sat down to eat
bread when they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming
from
Why did the pasuk make known what they (the Arabs) were transporting? To show you the reward of the righteous; for, normally the Arabs transported tar and naptha whose smells are bad; for this one (Yosef), spices were arranged, to save him from the bad smell.[38]
Another miracle, albeit a subtle one, but a miracle nevertheless, and another indication that Heaven was on Yosef‘s side. Nevertheless, the brothers did not see it that way, and even imposed an oath on HaShem, so to speak, to prevent Him from revealing to Yaaqov what they had done to his favorite son.[39]
Fascinatingly enough, the verse says:
Bereshit
37:28 Midianite traders passed
by; they pulled Yosef out from the pit. They sold Yosef to the Ishmaelites for twenty
[pieces of] silver.
Seemingly, this provided yet another allusion to the intellectual and spiritual blindness that prevented Yosef‘s brothers from seeing his true greatness, and the depth of the mistake they were making in selling him. And, rather than reveal the hand of HaShem in history, the brothers hid it.
Sotah 13b
‘This one [Yosef HaTzaddik ]
fulfilled all that was written in the other’. But if Moses had not occupied
himself with him, would not the Israelites have
occupied themselves with him? Behold, it is written: And the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt
buried they in Shechem! Furthermore, if the Israelites had not occupied
themselves with him, would not his own sons have done so? And, behold, it is
written: And they became the inheritance
of the children of Yosef HaTzaddik ! — They said [to one another], ‘Leave him; his honour will be greater [when
the burial is performed] by many rather than by few’; and they also said: ‘Leave
him; his honour will be greater [when the burial is performed] by the great
rather than by the small’.
Buried they in Shechem. Why just in
Shechem? — R. Hama son of R. Hanina said: From Shechem they stole him, and to
Shechem we will restore what is lost. The following verses are contradictory:
it is written: And Moses took the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik with him, and it is written:
And the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik which the children
of Israel brought up etc.! — R. Hama son of R. Hanina said: Whoever performs a
task without finishing it and another comes and completes it, Scripture
ascribes it to the one who completed it as though he had
performed it.
An Astonishing Midrash
By Shlomo Katz
The students asked the Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi,[40] “Why was Yosef buried in Shechem”?
Rebbi responded, “Since he was kidnapped from Shechem, they returned him to Shechem”.
The students refused to accept this answer until Rebbi showed them the verse in which Yosef said, “You must bring my bones up with you”.
R’ Yehonatan Eyebschutz z”l explains: The halachah is that a thief must return the object which he stole. If the object no longer exists or no longer exists in its original form, the thief cannot return it and he cannot achieve full atonement. This was the objection raised by Rebbi’s students: Since Yosef was taken from Shechem as a living person and was returned as a corpse, how can that be considered to be a true return?
The answer is as follows: The halachah also provides that even if the stolen object is changed, so long as it has the same name in its original and present forms, the thief can return it for full atonement. Thus Rebbi answered, “Even in Yosef‘s lifetime he referred to himself (in the quoted verse) as ‘bones’. Therefore, when his body was returned to Shechem, it is as if the stolen object was returned”.[41]
Yahoshua
After forty years of encampments in a barren wilderness, Yehoshua led the Children of Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey. A land where a single cluster of grapes required eight men to carry it.
The people were making a transition from idolatry to holiness that was as dramatic as their transition from the wilderness to the land flowing with milk and honey. The Children of Israel were retracing the steps of their father Avraham. As Avraham had grown up in a household steeped in idolatry, so the children of Israel had grown up in Egypt, a place of intense idolatry. As Avraham wandered, not knowing his ultimate destination, so the Children of Israel wandered without knowing their ultimate destination.
The innate holiness of the land was reflected in its extraordinary productivity. Because of this holiness, HaShem sent the people first to Shechem to appreciate the dramatic border that they had just crossed.
The people knew of the ancient “Covenant of Fire” that HaShem had made with their father Avraham in this very spot. They knew that this was the place where their exile had begun and where Avraham‘s exile had ended. They also knew that their father Yaaqov had ended his exile at this very place. This poignancy was not lost on the Children of Israel.
Now that their exile had ended, at the place where it began, HaShem wanted to make them aware of the tremendous journey that they had been through. HaShem wanted them to appreciate the fact that their lives in this land were dependent on their holiness. Thus HaShem took them to this powerful place and reminded them that their very lives depended on holiness.
The “Blessings and Curses” on
Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:25
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day,
and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Shortly after stepping foot on the
soil of the Holy Land, the Children of Israel miraculously found
themselves standing before
Sotah 32a
HOW WERE THE BLESSINGS AND CURSES [PRONOUNCED]? WHEN ISRAEL CROSSED THE JORDAN
AND CAME TO MOUNT GERIZIM AND MOUNT EBAL WHICH ARE BY SAMARIA, (THIS IS IN THE
VICINITY OF SHECHEM WHICH IS IN THE VICINITY OF THE TEREBINTHS OF MOREH, AND IT
IS SAID, ARE THEY NOT BEYOND JORDAN ETC. AND ELSEWHERE IT STATES, AND ABRAM
PASSED THROUGH THE LAND UNTO THE PLACE OF SHECHEM UNTO THE TEREBINTH OF MOREH;
AS THE TEREBINTH OF MOREH MENTIONED IN THIS LATTER VERSE IS SHECHEM, SO THE
TEREBINTH OF MOREH MENTIONED IN THE FORMER VERSE IS SHECHEM.)
When The Children of Israel went up to
The blessings and curses uttered upon our entrance into Eretz Israel at mount Eval and mount Gerizim, emphasize the fact that our first encounter with Eretz Israel must set the foundation for our future settlement of the land. This required an intense awareness of our duties and responsibilities.
The Gemara[43] tells us that the covenant on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval was made in a miraculous fashion on the day of entering the Land: “Come and see how many miracles were done on that day, they crossed the Jordan and came to Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval, more than sixty miles, and no-one could stand on their way. Anyone who tried to interrupt them was seized with panic, and then they brought the stones and built the altar, and wrote the Torah in seventy tongues on them... and praised and cursed and took the stones and came to sleep in the Gilgal”.
Shechem clearly and decisively signifies the fact that the Torah is an absolute covenant, not only between HaShem and His people but an eternal covenant between the nation and its land with the Torah carved in it and spread over the whole span of life.
Here, on top of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval, we accepted the fact that the blessing of the land is realized just as much as we are worthy of living on it and use it according to its unique spiritual nature: The land of Life and the place of Devine Presence.
Joshua designate Shechem as a city of refuge:
Yehoshua (Joshua) 20:7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in
mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which [is] Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
Later Events
During the time of the judges, Avimelech, a son of Gideon, conspired with his maternal family to kill all other sons of Gideon and have himself proclaimed king of Shechem:
Shoftim
(Judges) 9:6 And all the men of
Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made
Avimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that [was] in Shechem.
But Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, escaped by hiding.
And at Avimelech coronation, Jotham climbed
After the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, “went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king”:
I
Melachim (Kings) 12:1 And
Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all
But because Rehoboam followed the foolish and harsh advice of the youths with whom he grew up, the nation divided at Shechem. Jeroboam, the leader of those who wanted Rehoboam to show mercy, decided to separate from Rehoboam and form a separate nation. King Jeroboam selected Shechem for his capital:
2 Divrei Hayamim (Chronicles)
10:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.
In the end, this was the beginning of a terrible split
between
Sotah 11a
Shechem is a place set aside for punishment; the Tribes
were “damaged” there; Dinah was violated there, and there the Kingdom of David
divided.
Now lets look
at Mashiach
ben Yosef as
He went to the Galil and to Shechem:
Zohar,
VaYakhel 220a Rebi Shimon said ... The
land of Galil is where Melech Mashiach will be
revealed, because it is in the territory of Yosef. It
was destroyed first, and it is the place where he will first be revealed from
all the places, before spreading to the nations ...
as it says:
Yehoshua
24:32 “And the bones of Yosef which they brought up from
Egypt for burial in Shechem.”
The Zohar indicates that
the meaning of the pasuk in Yehoshua pertains to Mashiach.
So when we see the sod level
(the same as the Zohar) gospel
showing His Majesty in the Galil, it is what we would expect:
Yochanan
(John) 4:5-7 Then cometh he to a
city of
Because, when you think about it, all that Mashiach boils down to, in the end, is helping Yaaqov leave behind all connections
to Esav once and
for all, so that he can finally take his right place in history as
Then, when this finally happens, there will be no curses,
only blessings to be enjoyed forever. Then, Shechem will no longer be a place
set aside for punishment, but as a place for reward. However, not for Yaaqov the twin brother of Esav,
but for
The Sages have indicated that there is a connection between the Sefirot, the days of creation (and its associated millennium), and our Patriarchs. The following chart illustrates these connections and shows that we live in Yosef’s millennium (October 2007 A.D. is Tishri 5768 A.M.):
|
English |
Year |
Ish |
|
|
Chesed |
“kindness” |
0 to 1000 |
|
|
Gevurah |
“power/ strength” |
1001 to 2000 |
|
|
Tiferet |
“beauty/ harmony” |
2001 to 3000 |
|
|
Netzach |
“dominance/ victory” |
3001 to 4000 |
Moses |
|
Hod |
“glory” |
4001 to 5000 |
Aaron |
|
Yesod |
“foundation” |
5001 to 6000 |
We are now in the year 5768 (from creation); therefore we are also in the sixth millennium, the one that is spiritually “powered” by the Sefirah called Yesod, the one that corresponds to Yosef HaTzaddik .
* * *
On
Providentially, Shechem was turned over to Palestinian rule December 12, 1995, Parashat Vayaishev, the Parasha in which Yosef was sold in Shechem. In fact, the Sunday of that week, Israeli soldiers fought with students attending the Yeshivah located at Yosef‘s burial tomb, the same Yeshivah that was destroyed by Palestinians in their most recent uprising when they also destroyed the tomb of Yosef as well.
Shechem is such a bad place for Jews that it has been called a “place ready for punishment”.[45]
Finally, since Shechem was the first city for Avraham, so it will be the first city in the days of Mashiach:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth,
Section 2, Page 220a Said R. Simeon: ‘At the time
when the dead will be awakened and be in readiness for the resurrection in the
Holy Land, legions upon legions will arise on the soil of Galilee, as it is
there that the Messiah
is destined to reveal himself. For that is the portion of Yosef HaTzaddik, and it
was the first part of the Holy Land to be destroyed, and it was thence that the
exile of Israel
and their dispersion among the nations began, as
Scripture says, “but they are not grieved for the hurt of Yosef
HaTzaddik “ (Amos VI, 6). Thus there they will rise up first, for the reason
that it is the portion of him who was put in an ark, as it says, “and he was
put in an ark in Egypt”(Gen. L, 26), and subsequently was buried in the Holy
Land, as it says “And the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik,
which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt,
buried they in Shechem” (Jos. XXIV, 32); and he it was who kept the purity of the holy covenant symbol in a special degree. As
soon as they will rise from the dead all those
hosts will march, each man to the portion of his ancestors, as Scripture says, “and
ye shall return every man unto his possession” (Lev. xxv, 10).
CONCLUSION:
Shechem = A promise by HaShem
to give Avraham and his seed the
This infers that our possession of Shechem is an indication
of our possession of the entire
Ma’arat
HaMachpelah
Machpelah (Hevron) – The eternal contact point of our people to our fathers, our people, of the Jewish soul. Machpelah means “The Doubled One“ and was understood to be a double cave. Some say it was a cave within a cave, while others say it was a cave above a cave.
Anatomically, Machpela is situated at the place of yesod, foundation, vis-à-vis the land of Israel. The following illustration should help us understand this strange cave:
This portion of the female anatomy illustrates the idea of cave within a cave and also a cave above a cave. When a woman is laying down, it is a cave within a cave. When she is standing up, then it is a cave within a cave. Curiously, a womb and a grave are both called a ‘kever’, because they are both a portal to another world.
In the area between the bottom of the torso and the belt,
the womb is precisely in the center. The womb is the point of origin for all new
life. It is the point of connection
between this world and the next world.
Kiryat Arba = Hevron (from hibur = connection, because there the spirit connects with the body, the upper world with the lower.). Some say that the name Hevron means friendship. Hebron is the first location in Eretz Israel to be
purchased.
Hevron is located approximately twenty miles southwest of Yerushalayim and lies about 3,000 feet above sea level.
The Gemara[46]
writes that Hevron is the rockiest place in Eretz
Sotah 34b
Now Hebron was built seven
years — what means ‘was built’? If I say that it means actually built, is it
possible that a man constructs a house for his younger son before his elder
son; as it is written: And the sons of Ham: Cush and Mitzrayim? But [the
intention is], it was seven times more productive than
Zoan. There is no worse stony ground in all the land of Israel than Hebron, and
that is why they bury the dead there; and there is none among all the countries
superior to the land of Egypt, as it is said: Like the garden
of the Lord, like the land of Egypt; and there is no place superior to Zoan
In all the land Egypt, as it is written: For his princes are at Zoan.
Nevertheless Hebron was seven times more productive
than Zoan. But was Hebron stony ground; behold it is written: And it came to
pass at the end of forty
years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee,
let me go [and pay my vow . . . in Hebron]; and R. Iwya — another version is,
Rabbah b. Bar Hanan-said: He went to fetch lambs from Hebron; and there is also
a teaching: [The best] rams are from Moab and lambs from Hebron! — From that
very fact [it is proved that the land was stony]; because the soil is thin it
produces pastures and the cattle grow fat there.
The name Hevron speaks of a connection. Burial in Hevron represents a connection to the living even in death. The essence of an ancestor is the fact that he has children. Everything a child is finds its basis in his parent. The link continues from generation to generation, such that every descendent owes his entire being to all those who came before. The Jewish people as they are today, and will be tomorrow, stand on the foundation laid by Avraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivka, Yaaqov and Leah.
Hevron is also a place of life according to the Zohar it is the entrance to the Garden of Eden:
Soncino Zohar,
Bereshit, Section 1, Page 127a R. Judah said: ‘Abraham
recognized the cave of Machpelah by a certain mark, and he had long set his
mind and heart on it. For he had once entered that
cave and seen Adam
and Eve buried there. He knew that they were Adam and Eve because he saw the form of a man, and whilst
he was gazing a door opened into the Garden of Eden,
and he perceived the same form standing near it. Now,
whoever looks at the form of Adam cannot escape death.
For when a man is about to pass out of the world he
catches sight of Adam and at that moment he dies. Abraham, however, did look at him, and saw his form and
yet survived. He saw, moreover, a shining light that illumined the cave, and a
lamp burning. Abraham then coveted that cave for his
burial place, and his mind and heart were set upon
it. Observe now with what tact Abraham made his
request for a burial place for Sarah. He did not ask at first for the cave,
neither did he indicate any desire to separate himself
from the people of the land, but simply said: GIVE ME A POSSESSION OF A BURYING
PLACE WITH YOU, THAT I MAY BURY MY DEAD OUT OF SIGHT. Although he addressed
himself to the sons of Heth, we cannot suppose that Ephron was not present
then, since it says: Now EPHRON WAS SITTING IN THE
MIDST OF THE CHILDREN OF HETH. Abraham, however, did
not at first say anything to him, but spoke only to
them, as it says: AND HE SPOKE TO THE CHILDREN OF
HETH, ETC. Now it cannot be imagined that Abraham
wished to be buried among them, among the impure, or
that he desired to mix with them. But Abraham acted
tactfully, giving a lesson to the world. Though his
whole desire was centered on that cave, he did not ask
for it forthwith, but asked for something else of which he had no need, and he
addressed his request to the others, not to Ephron himself. It was only after
they said to him in the presence of Ephron: “Hear us, my lord; thou art a
mighty prince among us, etc.” that he said, “hear me, and entreat for me to
Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the
cave of Machpelah, which he hath, etc.” Abraham as
much as said: Do not think that I wish to separate from you as being superior
to you. No, in the midst of you I desire to be buried,
for as I am fond of you I do not wish to keep aloof from you.’
R. Eleazar said: ‘Abraham came to enter the cave in this way. He was
running after that calf of which we read, “and Abraham
ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf” (Gen. XVIII, 7), and the calf ran until
it entered a cave, and then Abraham entered after it
and saw what we have described. Further, Abraham
used to offer up his prayer
daily, and in so doing used to proceed as far as that field, which emitted heavenly
odors. Whilst there he saw a light issuing from the cave, so that he prayed on
that spot, and on that spot the Holy One communed with
him. On that account Abraham now asked for it,
having always longed for it since then. Why did not he ask for it before that time? Because the people
would not have listened to him, as he had no obvious need for it. Now that he
needed it, he thought it was time to demand it. Observe
that had Ephron seen inside the cave what Abraham
saw, he would never have sold it to him. But he never saw there anything, since
such things are never revealed except to their rightful owner. It was thus revealed
to Abraham and not to Ephron: to Abraham, who was its rightful owner, but not to Ephron,
his wife, to wit, after Abraham had taken upon
himself this obligation. Adam
then returned to his place, but not Eve, until Abraham
came and placed her beside Adam, who received her for
his sake. Hence the text says, AND AFTER THIS, ABRAHAM
BURIED (eth) SARAH HIS WIFE: the augmenting particle eth indicates that the
burial included, as it were, Eve. Thus they were all settled in their proper
places. Hence the Scripture says, “These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created (b’hibar’am)”
(Gen. II, 4), which according to tradition, means “on account of Abraham“ (b’Abraham). Now “the
generations of the heaven
and the earth” can only be Adam and Eve, they having
been the direct issue of the heaven and earth and not
of human parents, and it was they who became established through Abraham: before Abraham, Adam and Eve were not established in their places in the
other world.’
R. Eleazar asked his father, R.
Simeon, for an explanation of the term Machpelah (lit. “twofold”, or “folded”).
‘How is it,’ he said, ‘that first it is written “the cave of Machpelah”, and
subsequently “the cave of the field of Machpelah”, implying that the field and
not the cave was “Machpelah” (doubled)?’ R. Simeon replied: ‘The term Machpelah
belongs properly neither to the cave nor to the field, but to something else
with which both were connected. The cave belongs to the field, and the field to
something else. For the whole of the Land of Israel and of Jerusalem is folded
up beneath it, since it exists both above and below,
in the same way as there is a Jerusalem both above and below, both of the same
pattern. The Jerusalem above has a twofold attachment, above and below;
similarly the Jerusalem below is linked to two sides, higher and lower. Hence it is folded
in two; and that field partakes
of the same character, seeing that it is therein situated. The same reference
is contained in the passage, “as the smell of a field which the Lord hath
blessed” (Gen. XXVII, 27), to wit, both above and below. Hence its name, “field of folding”, but not “folded field”. Further,
the esoteric implication of the term Machpelah relates it to the Divine Name, in which the letter
He is doubled, though both are as one. It is, indeed,
true that the cave was a twofold one, a cave within a
cave, yet the name “cave of the field of Machpelah” has
a different connotation, as already explained. Abraham,
on his part, who knew its true character, in speaking to the children of Heth called it simply “cave
of Machpelah”, as if to imply merely “double cave”, which it also was in fact.
Scripture, however, describes it as “the cave of the field of Machpelah”, this
being its true description. For the Holy One has
disposed all things in such a way that everything in this world
should be a replica of something in the world above,
and that the two
should be united so that His glory should be spread above and below. Happy the
portion of the righteous in whom the Holy One finds pleasure both in this world and in the world to come!’
Thus Hevron replaced Gan Eden. In place of individual immortality came the immortality of a connection with the future, an immortality of the whole. Hevron is the place where the body and spirit join. Though the body dies, as long as the spirit, the ideas and values passed on to the next generation, endures, the man is still alive.
Hevron is the place where the lower and upper worlds join; the infusion of holy purpose into future generations unites them. The creation of life in the lower world, and the living of life in the lower world with an eye to both past and future, are together our means of spiritual fulfillment. They are the guarantee of our ultimate purpose.
It is
for this reason that Hevron is considered the spiritual
entry point into Eretz Israel.[47]
The first use of the word Hevron in the Torah is
found in Bereshit 13. This first use of Hevron juxtaposes the giving of seed with the
possession of the
Bereshit (Genesis) 13:14-18
And HaShem
said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art
northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed
as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number
the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be
numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length
of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram
removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain
of Mamre, which [is] in Hevron, and built there an altar unto HaShem.
From this we derive that Hevron is our connection to Avraham and
by extension, to the patriarchs and to Adam. Hevron is our connection to our forefathers.
Shortly after Avraham reached the Promised Land, before he bought Machpelah, whilst Sarah is still alive. He built an altar in Hevron.
Later the Torah describes in painstaking detail how Avraham requests to buy the grave site at Machpelah, how the Hittites wish him to take it for free, and. when Ephron the Hittite finally agrees to make it a purchase, he charges Avraham the inflated and outlandish sum of four hundred silver shekels.
(In an extraordinary piece of arithmetic computation, the Arugat Ha-bosem proves that 400 shekel, the price of this grave site, was enough to buy 2.4 million square amot, based on the price of land given in Vayikra 27:16. In other words, there is four cubits, “daled amot” for 600,000 Jews.)
Why expend so much ink and parchment, the entire chapter 23
of the Book of Bereshit, over a Middle-Eastern souk
sale? Moreover, what is the significance in the fact that the very first parcel
of land in
This cave was purchased by Avraham Avinu as a grave for Sarah. Eventually, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivka, and Yaaqov and Leah were buried in this doubled cave.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 49:28-33 And he charged
them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my
people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that
[is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that [is] in the field of
Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for
a possession of a burying place. There they buried Abraham
and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried
Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] therein [was] from
the children of Heth. And when Yaaqov had made an
end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded
up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Why did Avraham have to purchase Sarah’s gravesite? Why had he not purchased land during the nearly sixty years that he and Sarah had sojourned in the land?
Avraham and Sarah are
semi-nomadic herdsmen because, notwithstanding Divine promises to the contrary,
there is as of yet no Hebrew nation
to settle the land. While associated with
This trial is indeed a difficult trial. Avraham must wait till the death of Sarah before he acquires his first piece of the land.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 23:4 I [am] a stranger
and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place with you,
that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
A piece of land that serves as a family crypt is perhaps the strongest notion of being linked to a place that human beings recognize.
The family sepulcher expresses in very tangible form the
intense connection to a land, a clan, and even a
way of life. To be buried in a place is to be part of that place. What Avraham seeks to establish is not simply a cemetery,
but rather an undisputed and irreversible foothold in the
There is an interesting mystical aspect to the purchase of this fantastic cave. The Sages teach us that the Aishet Chayil, the woman of valor in Mishlei (Proverbs) 31, was Sarah! They say that the “field” she considered and purchased was Ma’arat HaMachpelah! Of course this presents a massive problem in that the Torah spends most of a chapter showing us that Avraham bought Ma’arat HaMachpelah. So how can the Sages attribute this to Sarah Imienu? The Sages understood that Sarah was alive even whilst she was dead. Somehow she and Avraham had become so united that she was still with him when he acted as her vehicle to purchase the cave. Thus it is called Ma’arat HaMachpelah, the cave of doubles. One of the pairs, one of the doubles was Avraham and Sarah.
According to our Sages, Adam and Chava are also buried at Machpelah, which was excavated by Adam:
Eiruvin 53a The cave
of Machpelah. Rab and Samuel differ as to its meaning. One
holds that the cave consisted of two chambers one within the other; and the other holds that it consisted
of a lower and upper chamber. According to him who holds that the chambers were
one above the other the term Machpelah is well justified
but according to him who holds that it consisted of two chambers one within
the other, what could be the meaning of Machpelah? That it had multiples of
couples.
Mamre
the city of Arba. R. Isaac explained: The city of the four couples: Adam and Eve, Abraham and
Sarah, Isaac and Rivka, Yaaqov and Leah.
Sotah 13a
And there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation. It has been
taught: Even the horses and asses [joined in the
lamentation]. When [the cortege] arrived at the Cave of Machpelah, Esau came and wished to
prevent [the interment there], saying to them, Mamre, Kiriath-arba, the same is
Hebron — now R. Isaac has said: Kiriath-arba [is so
called] because four couples [were buried there], viz. Adam and Eve, Abraham and
Sarah, Isaac
and Rivka, and Yaaqov
and Leah — [Yaaqov] had buried Leah in his portion
and what remains belongs to me’. They replied to him, ‘Thou didst sell it’. He
said to them, ‘Granted that I sold my birth-right, but
did I sell my plain heir’s right!’ They replied: ‘Yes, for it is written: In my
grave which I [Yaaqov] have digged for me’, and R.
Johanan has said in the name of R. Simeon b. Jehozadak:
The word kirah [dig] means nothing else than ‘sale’ [mekirah], and thus in the
coast-towns they use kirah as a term for ‘sale’. — He said to them, ‘Produce a
document [of sale] for me’. They replied to him, ‘The document is in the land
of Egypt. Who will go for it? Let Naphtali go, because he is swift as a hind’;
for it is written: Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words — R. Abbahu
said: Read not ‘goodly words’ [imre shefer] but imre sefer [words of a
document]. Among those present was Hushim, a son of Dan, who was hard of
hearing; so he asked them, ‘What is happening?’ They said to him, ‘[Esau] is preventing [the
burial] until Naphtali returns from the land of Egypt’. He retorted: ‘Is my
grandfather to lie there in contempt until Naphtali returns from the land of
Egypt!’ He took a club and struck [Esau] on the head so that his eyes fell out and rolled to the feet of Yaaqov. Yaaqov opened his eyes and laughed; and that
is what is written: The righteous shall rejoice when
he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. At that time
was the prophecy of Rivka fulfilled, as it is written: Why should I be bereaved
of you both in one day? Although the death of the two of them did not occur
on the one day, still their burial took place on the
same day. — But if Yosef HaTzaddik had not occupied himself with [Yaaqov‘s burial], would not his brethren have occupied
themselves with it? Behold it is written: For his sons carried him into the
land of Canaan! — They said [among themselves], ‘Leave him [to conduct the
interment]; for the honour [of our father] will be greater [when it is
conducted] by kings than by commoners’.
Baba Bathra 58a R.
Bana’ah used to mark out caves [where there were dead bodies].
When he came to the cave of Abraham, he found
Eliezer the servant of Abraham standing
at the entrance. He said to him: What is Abraham
doing? He replied: He is sleeping
in the arms of Sarah, and she is looking fondly at
his head. He said: Go and tell him that Bana’ah is standing at the entrance. Said Abraham
to him: Let him enter; it is well known that there is no passion in this world. So
he went in, surveyed the cave, and came out again. When he came to the cave of Adam, a voice came forth
from heaven saying
Thou hast beholden the likeness of my likeness, my likeness itself thou mayest
not behold. But, he said, I want to mark out the cave. The measurement of the
inner one is the same as that of the outer one [came the answer]. (Those who hold that there was one chamber above another [say that the answer was], the
measurement of the lower one is the same as that of the
upper one.) R. Bana’ah said: I discerned his [Adam‘s] two heels,
and they were like two orbs of the sun.
Compared with Sarah, all other people are like a monkey
to a human being, and compared with Eve Sarah was like a monkey
to a human being, and compared with Adam Eve was like a
monkey to a human being, and compared with the
Shechinah Adam was like a monkey
to a human being. The beauty of R. Kahana was a reflection of [the beauty of
Rab; the beauty of Rab was a reflection of] the beauty of R. Abbahu; the beauty
of R. Abbahu was a reflection of the beauty of our father Yaaqov, and the beauty of Yaaqov
was a reflection of the beauty of Adam.
Since Adam and Eve were the first pair buried there, and therefore Hebron, where the cave was situated, bore the additional name of “Kiriath-arba”, “the city of four“; i.e., of the tombs of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivka, Yaaqov and Leah.[48]
Midrash
Rabbah - Genesis LVIII:8 SO THE FIELD OF EPHRON... AROSE (XXIII,
17): it had been held in low esteem, and now it rose, for whereas it had
belonged to a man of humble rank, it was now the property of a great man. WHICH
WAS IN MACHPELAH: this teaches that its value was doubled in the eyes of every person, for whoever was buried therein
was assured that his reward was doubled and even trebled. R. Abbahu said: The name signifies that the Holy One,
blessed be He, bent Adam
double and buried him within it.
After
Bereshit
(Genesis) 13:14-18 And HaShem had said to
Avram, after Lot separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes
and look from the place where you are, northward and southward, and eastward and westward. For all the land that you see, to
you will I give it, and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring
as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the
dust of the earth, then your offspring shall also be counted. Arise, therefore,
go about in the land, through the length of it and the breadth of it, for to you
will I give it.” And Avram pitched his tents and came
and dwelt in the groves of Mamre, which are in
Chevron, and there he built an altar to HaShem.
Melech David
King David was anointed in
2
Shmuel (Samuel)
The Zohar also speaks of this special cave at Machpelah:
Soncino Zohar,
Shemoth, Section 2, Page 3Ia (Num. XIV, 24). “Another spirit”
signifies that Caleb separated himself from the other spies and went alone to
Hebron in order to prostrate himself at the cave of Machpelah before the graves
of the patriarchs; and Hebron was allotted to him as his inheritance, as it is
written: “To him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon” (Deut. I, 36).
And why was Hebron given to him? There is an esoteric reason for this, the same
which also underlies David’s connection with Hebron. For we find that
when Saul died and David enquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the
cities of Judah?”, the answer was that he should go up into Hebron (2 Sam. II,
1). Now, since Saul was dead and David already the rightful king, why did he
not at once proclaim his rule over the whole land? Why was it necessary for him
to go to Hebron and there become anointed as king over Judah only for seven years, not being declared monarch over the whole of
Israel till after the death of Ish-Bosheth? Truly, the Holy One,
blessed be His Name, had a deep purpose in this. The
holy kingdom could not be fully established without first attaching itself to
the patriarchs in Hebron. When that contact was established the kingdom was
firmly erected with support from the world above,
whose symbol, in David’s case, was “seven years”. Seven being the number of
perfection (connection), because it contains all. So when it
is said of the Temple,
“And he built it seven years”, the same perfection is
suggested. Now, David desired to build the perfect kingdom here below as a
counterpart of the Kingdom above; but before he could achieve his desire he had to acquire power for the task by attaching
himself to the patriarchs for “seven“ years. Thus only
was he enabled to establish his kingdom in perfection, in the fashion of the
Kingdom of supernal light: a kingdom never to be shaken. And, guided by a
similar inspiration, Caleb also went to Hebron.’
Soncino Zohar,
Shemoth, Section 2, Page 39b As they thus sat listening to the
master’s expositions, they suddenly beheld smoke ascending and descending at a
little distance, where there was a clearing in the wood. Said R. Simeon: ‘The
ground has been heated by the light from above, and now this field
emits an aroma of all spices, passing sweet. Let us remain here, for the
Shechinah is present with us. It is “the smell of the field
which the Lord hath blessed” (Gen. XXVII, 27).’ Presently he began to comment
on this verse and referred to the tradition (cf. Midrash,
Rab., Gen., LXV, I8; Zohar,
Gen. 142b) that the “precious garments” which emitted a sweet odor when Yaaqov appeared
before Isaac
originally belonged to Adam,
and in time came
into the hands of Nimrod, “the mighty hunter”, and finally to Esau, who was also a
hunter. ‘It has been remarked’, he said, ‘that these garments were made by the
Holy One Himself (Gen. III, 21), by the agency of both
Divine Names, TETRAGRAMMATON and Elohim, which is more than can be said for heaven and earth, which
were created only by Elohim (Gen. I, 1). It is rather difficult to understand
how they came to Esau. For in the first place we are
told that G-d made garments for Eve also (Ibid.), and what became of these? And
surely Adam and Eve would have been buried in them and
not abandoned such a precious gift. The truth is, however, that no other human
being ever wore those garments, which placed Adam and
Eve on a par with supernal beings. And as for the “goodly raiment” which Rivka
put upon Yaaqov (Gen. XXVII, I5), this was royal
apparel of silk and gold, which it is usual to keep in perfumes, and this is
what lsaac smelt, and he said, “See the smell of my son” (Ibid. 27), because he
knew that the smell was so sweet on account of him.
How, it may be asked, did Isaac know
of “the smell of the field which the Lord hath blessed” (Ibid.)? From two sources, which are
essentially the same. It says, “and Isaac went out to
meditate in the field” (Gen. XXIV, 63). Why in the field?
Did he not have a house or any other place in which to pray?
The truth is that that field was actually the very one
which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth, that
field which was near the cave of Machpelah; and when Isaac
passed it the Shechinah was present there and the field emitted holy heavenly
aromas, and Isaac, recognizing the Presence, made it a
regular place for his prayer.
The second fact was that Isaac smelled the myrrh ascending from Mount Moriah. Thus, when Yaaqov approached him, the paradisiacal saviors
brought back to him the recollection of the sweet odor he smelled in that
field.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin summed up the enigma of a grave in the best words I have heard:
“The
nation which chooses to forget its past has
abdicated its future, because it has erased the
tradition of continuity which it ought have transmitted to the future; the nation which does
not properly respect the grave-sites of its founding parents will not have the
privilege of hosting the lives of their children and grandchildren. Is it then
any wonder that the first parcel of land in Israel purchased by the first Hebrew was a grave-site, and that the fiercest battles
over ownership of the land of Israel surround the graves of our founding fathers and mothers?”
Dust
The first use of “dust” defines what dust is:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 2:7 And HaShem G-d formed man
[of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
Man began as dust and man will return to dust:
Bereshit
(Genesis)
Kohelet
(Ecclesiastes)
The burial place of Sarah was purchased from Ephron, whose name means the spiritual power of efar, dust. The metal of dust is lead. The vav nun on the end of Ephron’s name indicates the diminutive. Ephron, therefore, means “Little Dust”.
Avraham epitomized Efar, dust, because he identified himself with dust:
Bereshit
(Genesis)
Avraham is associated with one of the climaxes of creation; the Akeida, the binding of Yitzchak. Avraham was also associated with the subsequent crash; the death of Sarah Imeinu. To understand this, lets look at the other climaxes and subsequent crashes. Adam was the first climax and the first crash.
“Adam
was the
The climaxes of creation:
|
HIGH POINT |
CRASH |
|
The Akeida |
The death of Sarah |
|
Building of the Mishkan |
Spies despise the land |
“Ani Yosef” is equivalent to HaShem saying “Ani HaShem”. This is the preview of the revelation of Torah.
* * *
Rachel was not to be buried in the Ma’arat HaMachpelah was because she was born from the revealed and there she returned. Her place is road side for all to come and visit, to pray. Leah’s burial place, like her source, is hidden in the hidden. Where else is this idea of revealed and hidden? This is the relationship between Yerushalayim and Hevron.
Hevron is from the root, ‘hibur’- connection. It is the hidden connection between Heaven and earth.
The actions of the fathers are not just a sign but also an indication of events for the children. Avraham was not just looking to get ‘hold’ of a gravesite. He wanted to make an eternal connection and not just between him and HaShem! He wanted to make a connection between HaShem and the Jewish people that was a marriage between Husband and wife.
Avraham and Sarah were the first Jews to ever get married. Every action of man creates an action in heaven. The greater the man the greater the counterpart action. When Avraham married Sarah, HaShem decided, so to speak, He would marry the Jewish people. HaShem as the groom and Israel as the bride. A match made in heaven! Avraham was insuring by his actions that a spouse is not just a spouse in this temporal world but with the same indestructible eternity as the Ma’arat HaMachpelah. This relationship he instituted with his wife is the relationship he instituted for HaShem and us.
It is very fitting that the Gemara, in Kiddushin, opens with the purchase of the gravesite of Sarah. When a Jew gives a wife a ring it’s to buy into the Ma’arat HaMachpelah. It’s to be with her in this world and the next. We want the relationship to be as Avraham established it, like the relationship between HaShem and us. And right after the Torah defines for us what a Jewish marriage is, by the actions of Avraham, it then went right into the story of a Jewish marriage, Yitzchak and Rivka.
Har HaBayit (Jerusalem) – The eternal contact point to the Torah, of the Jewish soul.
Anatomically, Jerusalem represents the heart.
The heart is in the center of the body that is between the belt and the shoulders. It is centered left to right, top to bottom, and front to back in the area normally covered by the shirt or blouse.
The heart has two basics pumps. One pumps blood through the lungs, and one pumps to the rest of the body. This pictures the ‘pumping’ of life from the Jerusalem above (to the lungs) and the circulating of that life to the Jerusalem below.
Torah
is also the heart of the world
and the quintessential depiction of the Torah is the luchot which are depicted
as a heart.
The word “Jerusalem” is a combination of two Hebrew
words: Yireh and
Bereshit
(Genesis) 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that
place HaShem-Yireh:
as it is said [to] this day, in the mount of HaShem
it shall be seen.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of
This first use of the “Jerusalem” then suggests that Jerusalem is our contact with HaShem and His Word. Jerusalem is thus the eternal contact point of the Jewish soul with the Torah.
The prophet confirmed this understanding:
Micah
4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to
the mountain of HaShem, and to the
house of the G-d of Yaaqov;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law
shall go forth of Zion, and the word of HaShem from
Jerusalem.
King David faced a modern decision: Where to put Israel’s capital?
He had ruled the tribe of
While
King David invited everyone along to watch, but who attacked? Only the king’s men. The king did the job with his own crew. David set up a royal city no tribe had owned, no tribe had conquered, and where every tribe was the king’s guest:
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 5:6-10
And the king and his men went to
Years later, King David brought a plague on Israel by counting his soldiers. The plague was halted with a sacrifice on the threshing floor that would become the Temple. The Temple mount was purchased by David HaMelech, for fifty shekels, to stay the judgment of his census.
II Shmuel (Samuel) 24:18-24
And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto HaShem in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as HaShem
commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed
himself before the king on his face upon the
ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant?
And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto HaShem, that the plague may
be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king
take and offer up what [seemeth] good unto him: behold, [here be] oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and [other]
instruments of the oxen for wood. All these [things] did Araunah, [as] a king,
give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, HaShem
thy G-d accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy
[it] of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt
offerings unto HaShem my G-d of that which doth
cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty
shekels of silver.
David’s first act, after purchasing the threshing floor, is to build an altar. This is the site where King Solomon would build the Temple.
In the Oral Torah we also find various names for the Temple. In the Midrash Rabbah the Temple is called a “neck“:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XCIII:12
AND HE FELL UPON HIS BROTHER BENJAMIN’S
NECKS (XLV, 14). Did Benjamin then have two necks? In fact, said R. Eleazar, he foresaw through the
Holy Spirit that two Temples
would be built in Benjamin‘s portion, and both
would be destroyed. AND BENJAMIN WEPT UPON HIS NECK: he saw
that the Tabernacle of Shiloh would be built in Yosef HaTzaddik’s portion and would be destroyed.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 45:14 And he fell upon
his brother Benjamin‘s necks, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
(As a side note, Rambam suggests that the 3 phrases in
Bereshit 33:12 refer to HaShem’s relationship to the three
The Midrash also explains the Torah when it tells us that the Temple is equated to the neck:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XCIII:6
Here that it is on account of a man, the beloved of the eyes,
the one who gives hospitality
to the Holy One, blessed be He-as it says, Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covereth him all the day,
and He dwelleth between his shoulders (Deut.
XXXIII, 12) --how much the more so!’
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 33:12 Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of HaShem
shall dwell in safety by him; shall cover him all
the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
The Temple was built within the portion of land allocated to Benjamin. The neck, which is between the shoulders, alludes, therefore, to the Temple.
Strategic
One of the major trade routes, the route from
* * *
The Land and Torah
of
When Moses sent scouts to scout the land, they looked at the
length and breadth of the land, but they only looked at one
city: Hevron (Bamidbar
When Joshua sent the two spies to spy
out the land, they only went to one city:
These two leaders, Moses and Joshua, both intended to conquer the land. Moses intended to conquer the land from the south and he therefore started with Hevron. When the sin of the spies cut short that plan, HaShem changed tactics.
Joshua entered the land from the east
and began his conquest with
Joshua traveled to Shechem for the blessings and the curses: From Eval and Gerazim. His campaign then proceeded south.
The significance of this route must not be lost. Avraham‘s route led to a temporary exile in
Avraham‘s route
Moses intended to reverse this pattern in order to eliminate the exile. Because of the sin of the spies, this pattern was abandoned and the road to exile was paved again. We know that the conquest of the land led to the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. After that exile we restored to the land only to be sent into the longest exile, the exile we are currently experiencing.
Each of these three locations is a contact point of Jewish value for Jewish souls.
The entire war, with the PLO, is based on who’s in charge of the holy sites. The Arabs sense that their life-force comes from the Jews’ holy sites. That’s why their battles have always been focused on the graves of our righteous ancestors, because these places nourish their life-force. It’s no wonder that they hold fast to Kever Yosef, Kever Rachel Imeinu, Ma’arat HaMachpelah, and most importantly, Har HaBayit.
These three
locations have become the MOST problematic area of Eretz
The following communal actions must be taken if we are to survive. We can NOT do these things on an individual basis. There are four / five things that will tear up the sealed decree against us, as we can see from the Gemara:
Rosh
HaShana 16b R. Isaac further said: Four things cancel the doom of a man, namely, charity, supplication, change of name
and change of conduct. Charity, as it is written, And charity delivereth from death.
Supplication, as it is written, then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses. Change of name,
as it is written, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name
be; and it continues, And I will bless her and moreover I will give thee a son
of her. Change of conduct, as it is written, And G-d saw their works, and it
continues, and G-d repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them and
he did it not. Some say that a change of place [also avails], as it is written,
now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and it proceeds, and I will make of thee a great nation.
And the other [why does he not reckon this]? — In that case it was the merit of the land of Israel, which availed him.
1. Tzedaka (charity)
Mishlei
(Proverbs) 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth
from death.
Tehillim
(Psalm) 107:19 Then they cry
unto HaShem in
their trouble, [and] he saveth them out of their distresses.
3. Changing your name – Now she can have a son:
Bereshit
(Genesis)
4. Changing your deeds - Teshuva
Yonah
3:10-4:2 And G-d saw their works,
that they turned from their evil way; and G-d repented of the evil, that he had
said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not. But it displeased Jonah
exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed
unto HaShem, and said, I pray
thee, O HaShem, [was] not this my saying, when I was
yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou [art] a gracious G-d, and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
5. Changing your place -
Bereshit
(Genesis) 12:1-4 Now HaShem had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew
thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou
shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram
departed, as HaShem
had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of
There are four cities that characterize our attachment to the land:
|
CITY |
ELEMENT |
ERETZ ISRAEL FIRST |
PERSONIFIED |
|
The fiery torch in the covenant between the parts. The city of the covenant. Between Eval and Gerizim. Fire is an idiom for HaShem Himself.[51] HaShem
and Eretz |
Fire – Aish Fire goes from place to place. |
Avraham‘s first arrival location. |
Yosef HaTzaddik Ovadiah |
|
Hevron – The unity of the Jewish people Klal |
Dust – Efar Man comes from dust |
The first purchased location. |
Ephron |
|
The key to Eretz |
Air – Ruach Spirituality |
The first conquered location. |
The origin of Mashiach. Mashiach judges by smell. Bereshit 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the waters. |
|
Torah |
Water – Mayaim People go to the water. Water comes from the heights and flows to the depths. |
The first city of |
Mashiach ben David |
Yericho was the first place in Eretz Israel, which was
conquered.
According to the Midrash, at the
same time as the scouts entered
Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XV:15 R. Samuel b. Nahmani explained:
Jericho was the bulwark of the Land of Israel. If Jericho was taken the whole
country would instantly be conquered. Consequently the seven
nations assembled therein.
The town of
It took the return of a daughter of
It remains for the Mashiach ben David to reverse the route and lead us in a conquest from the south. A conquest that will start with Hevron!
May we merit this tikkun speedily in our days!
In the future Redemption, Yericho
will also occupy a major place. In Sifrei at
the end of Devarim, it is written: And he showed him the Negev and the
plain, the
As I was studying about Eretz
Brit mila is known by our Sages as a “covenant of Fire“. Most men will immediately understand the association of the procreative organ, to fire.
To begin our understanding, lets look at the origin of Brit Mila:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 17:3-12 And Abram fell on his face: and
G-d talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant
[is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but
thy name shall be Abraham;
for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations
of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in
their generations
for an everlasting covenant, to be a G-d unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto
thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein
thou art a stranger, all the
All covenants include the responsibilities and privileges of both parties. This Brit is no exception.
Note that HaShem
has indicated that His part of the Brit, the covenant,
includes the giving of Eretz
Bereshit
(Genesis) 17:8 And I will give
unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the
So, HaShem
was responsible for giving Avraham and his seed, Eretz
Bereshit
(Genesis) 17:9-10 And G-d said
unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore,
thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This [is]
my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and
you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among
you shall be circumcised.
Avraham and his seed were required to be circumcised. This was Avraham‘s and his seed‘s
responsibility according to this Brit. The giving of Eretz
Now that we understand the connection of Brit
Mila and Eretz
The next time circumcision is an issue, after Avraham circumcised himself and his household, is after the birth of Isaac:
Bereshit
(Genesis)
In the above pasuk, we see that the Torah closely associates
the permission of Avimelech to allow Avraham to
settle in Eretz
In Bereshit 34, we again see the issue of circumcision and dwelling
in Eretz
Most Jews understand that a man must be circumcised in order to eat the Pesach lamb. It is also well known that all males were circumcised before the Pesach in Egypt:
Shemot
(Exodus) 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee,
and will keep the passover
to HaShem, let all his males be circumcised, and then
let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one
that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
This pasuk also clearly associates Eretz
At this chronological point, something strange happens. The
Children of Israel are circumcised in preparation
for the Passover, which in turn is the preparation
for leaving Egypt and entering Eretz
The answer to this puzzling question can be understood by looking at the next time that the Children of Israel are circumcised:
Yehoshua
(Joshua) 5:2-8 At that time HaShem
said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And
Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of
Yehoshua and the Children of Israel have just crossed the Jordan river. They have entered Eretz
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 14:20-24 And HaShem
said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But [as] truly [as] I live, all
the earth shall be filled with the glory of HaShem.
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my
miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me
now these ten
times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land
which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any
of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I
bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
So, this still does not explain why those born in the wilderness were not circumcised?
The Sages teach us that the new generation, those who were under twenty years of age at the time of the sin of the spies, was exempt from the mitzva because of their unpredictable travel plan and its dangers[55]. Rashi, in particular, talks about a north wind that HaShem caused to blow during the entire forty years in the wilderness. The dust stirred up by this wind made it hazardous to circumcise.
So why did HaShem cause this north wind? Rashi gives us a concise explanation:
“If
your offspring will observe the commandment of circumcision
they will enter the
Because the spies slandered Eretz
In the days of Moshe, HaShem made explicit another implication of this Brit Mila that may be missed by some folks. This connection shows that there is an intrinsic implication that circumcision of the heart happen along with the circumcision of the foreskin:
Devarim
(Deuteronomy)
First HaShem commands that Avraham’s seed circumcise their hearts, then HaShem
ties that command to Eretz
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 11:8-9 Therefore
shall ye keep all the
commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be
strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that
ye may prolong [your] days in the land, which HaShem
sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to
their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Thus we see that Brit Mila (physical circumcision), circumcision of the heart,
and Eretz
The ideas for this section were originally presented in a shiur by Hakham Yitzchak Ginsburgh.
To begin with, the whole
The Jewish leaders in Eretz
The plan of action is based on the seven days of creation. This process correspond to the seven processes of the heart which are encapsulated within the Sefirot HaOmer.
The solution to our problems, with Eretz
These first five are based on havdalah, on separation
|
Chesed (Kindness) |
This kindness is giving the land to ourselves, to all Jews. |
|
Gevurah (Strength) |
We must do good before we can use our might in action. We must eradicate terrorism. |
|
Teferet (Beauty) |
Torah law must replace civil law. As long as the law is not Jewish we can not have a Jewish state. We now have a goyish law and a goyish state. |
|
Netzach (Victory) |
After we have Torah law we can really promote aliya. This will attract even those who are well off. |
|
Hod (Glory) |
Expel evil from the land. Not just terrorists, but anyone who is hostile to Torah. The good goyim can remain, but the bad goyim must leave. |
The havdalah state must NOT be skipped over. Havdalah MUST be first!
These next are
based on merging
|
Yesod (Foundation) |
This is the union, the marriage, is peace between the Torah religious and the secular religion, which is science. In short this is the unification of Torah and science. This is related to the coming of Mashiach ben Yosef. |
|
Shechinah (Presence) |
Shabbat and Mashiach ben David. This is when all the Jewish people are related and the Beit HaMikdash is restored. |
The Supreme Court and the University professors of
The road that needs to be followed
is the road of Teshuva. We must return to HaShem. However, the primary use of shuva, to
return, is to return to Eretz
The removal of “the kingdom of violence” must precede the establishment of G-d’s kingdom.
It then becomes significant that Yosef HaTzaddik is also
buried in a border city, the city of Shechem, which forms the
boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. Border cities leave us with the idea of connecting something. Rachel’s tomb connects Judah
and Benjamin;
and Yosef HaTzaddik’s tomb connects Ephraim and
Manasseh. Even so, ALL of
* * *
Based on the
Imrei Shaul, Parshat Shlach:
“V’hischazaktem U’lekachtem Mipri Haaretz... Be courageous, and take from the Fruit of the Land”...[56]
The Imrei
Shaul, who was known for his intense love for Eretz
The Imrei Shaul finds some direction in the Targum / translation of Yonatan Ben Uziel. V’hischazaktem - rather than relating it to courage or strength, he translates it to mean - “make a kinyan chazaka on the Land. (Note: Chazaka is one of three halachic methods of acquiring land by demonstrating possession of it. Examples are: locking it up, putting up or taking down a fence, and walking around the property.)
But now we ask - why?
As mentioned,
there are three
methods to acquire land: by monetary payment, by deed, and by the chazaka
process mentioned above. To make Eretz
Our Forefathers carried out the financial acquisition. Avraham Avinu purchased with money, when he bought Ma’arat
HaMachpelah (the
As a national entity, we carried out the documentary acquisition, with the Torah being the deed that gives us ownership. The Imrei Shaul points out that from here, we see that Eretz Israel is designated specifically for learning Torah.
However, the chazaka process was still lacking, and this was the unique mission that the Meraglim (Spies) could have carried out. Moshe Rabbeinu commands them to go out, and according to the Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel, to make a kinyan chazaka to culminate the process.
The Imrei Shaul then shares with us an astounding Gematria, the sum of the introductory words of the Parsha “Sh’lach Lecho Anoshim” is exactly the same as the three words “kesef, shtar, chazaka”, 789. This is the real reason that Moshe Rabbeinu sent the Meraglim (Spies) into Eretz Israel, to finish this three-tiered acquisition process.[57]
Rabbi Hillel Shklover
The general mission of Mashiach ben Yosef is three-fold:
revelation of the mysteries in the Torah, ingathering
of the exiles, and removal of the unclean spirit from the land. The ingathering of exiles encompasses three
tasks: building
* * *
http://www.freeman.org/m_online/aug97/eidelber.htm
By Prof. Paul
Eidelberg
Before discussing these requirements, consider the results of
a recent study. During the last six years, more than 200,000 Israelis have
become observant. Another 130,000, formerly secularists, now identify
themselves as “traditionalists.” From this and other demographic data one may reasonably conclude that
It requires no great wisdom to enumerate the axiomatic
requirements of a Jewish national strategy. Only
needed is candor and courage, without which no Jewish
leadership movement is worthy of moral and financial support. The axiomatic
requirements of a Jewish national strategy are
simply these:
1. Public affirmation that
2. Public affirmation that a Jewish
State must be based on Jewish principles and values.
3. Public affirmation that the primary source of Jewish principles and values is the Torah.
4. Public affirmation that only Jews, whether religious or
not, can formulate a Jewish national strategy.
5. Public affirmation that the previous axiomatic
requirements preclude complete equality of Jewish
and non-Jewish residents of
6. Public affirmation that Israel’s system of government, its
laws and institutions, must be consistent with the
foregoing axiomatic requirements.
Authentic Jewish leaders and their
financial supporters must acknowledge these axioms, meaning these self-evident
truths. Having done so, they must then go on to expose those basic flaws in
Israel’s system of government which makes an authentic Jewish
State impossible. These flaws -- they are largely responsible for Israel’s
disasters and humiliations, should be publicized throughout the country:
1. The dictatorial concentration of power in the Executive
Branch. An Israeli prime minister can (a) make agreements with foreign states
and even criminal organizations without serious Knesset or public debate; (b)
dispose of the land and holy places of the Jewish
People; (c) release Arab terrorists who have murdered Jewish
men, women, and children; (d) ignore the convictions of those who elected him
to office.
2. The impotence of the Legislative Branch. Lacking
constituency elections, Knesset Members are subservient to party leaders, hence
incapable of exercising independent judgment vis-à-vis government policies.
Conversely, citizens lack power to influence government policies via their own
elected representatives.
3. An unrestrained Judicial Branch. The absence of a Knesset
accountable to the people augments the power and “judicial activism” of the
Supreme Court, many of whose decisions violate fundamental Jewish principles and values.
4. A grotesque Electoral System. Proportional representation
with a low threshold multiplies parties, fragments the Government and renders
the latter incapable of developing coherent and comprehensive national
policies.
5. The lack of a clear and concise and coherent body of fundamental laws -- say
a basic document with which to educate youth and thereby promote civic virtue
and national unity. These flaws point to only one
remedy: a Constitution. Furthermore, anyone who thinks
Fear of the racist canard dominates Israel’s political and
intellectual leaders and their financial backers in the Diaspora. Even among Jews who want a Jewish
State, most are afraid to draw the logical consequences
of such a state, namely, that its laws and policies must
be determined exclusively by Jews as prescribed in a Constitution. I have
written lengthy moral and philosophical justifications of such a Constitution
and have elaborated on its necessity and practicality. Although more and more
Jews in
Summing up: Authentic Jewish
leadership is impossible given the flaws in Israel’s political institutions,
which flaws can only be remedied by a Jewish
Constitution. A fragmented Cabinet will undermine any decent prime minister and
make it impossible for him to pursue a Jewish
national strategy. He will be undermined by a faction-ridden Knesset whose Arab
members will hold the balance of power on many issues affecting foreign and
domestic affairs.
The Jews of Israel have only two
alternatives: preserve the existing political system, which can only lead to
disaster, or promote a Constitutional Party that advocates a Jewish Constitution. Without such a Constitution there
can be no authentic Jewish State. Hence the present
writer will make himself available to any Jewish
organization or philanthropist that has the vision and courage to support such
a Constitution.
* * *
TO MERIT
[copyright (c) 2003] by Rabbi Dr. Natan T. Lopes Cardozo [nlc@internet-zahav.net]
LIBERATED
Speaking to the owner (Efron), Avraham says:
“I will give you the price of the field, kach mimeni (take it from me) and I will bury my dead therein”.[58]
Efron takes the money. Avraham
becomes the official owner of this field and, hence, the legal owner of a part
of the
The Babylonian Talmud[59]
connects this incident with the institution of marriage.
Devarim (Deuteronomy)
This is an application of an interpretative rule called a gezerah shava which states that when two words are identical, even when they are stated in completely different contexts, both passages are subject to the same laws.
This Talmudic ruling has drawn much criticism. How can one compare both cases? Is marrying one‘s wife similar to buying a piece of land? This seems to be offensive and in complete opposition to what Jewish marriage is all about.
Nowhere does Jewish law allow a man to deal with his wife as if she is his possession. If he does, the woman is allowed to demand an immediate divorce. It is Jewish law itself which objects to any such comparison. So why make it?
Many excellent explanations have been given. Without denying their importance and truth, we would like to suggest a different approach.
It may quite well be that the sages wanted to emphasize the
holiness of the
One does not buy a piece of the Land
of
Jews treat the
Our love for the
Just as at the time of the marriage ceremony a man
gives a woman an object of value as a symbolic expression of his willingness to
make sacrifices for her sake, so one “pays” for the
Just as in human matrimony where one
marries for higher and noble goals, so one betroths the
The Jewish relationship to the
For other nations this may be difficult to fathom, for the Jew it is the air he breathes.
It was Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (1883-1946), Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, who gave this thought still another important dimension in Drashot El Ami (Commentaries to My People). Just as the giving of a valued object at the time of the marriage ceremony to one‘s wife is only the first payment, so is the buying of the land only a first payment.
No one should ever believe that the
Anything else will lead to a divorce.
Shavua Tov (Have A Good Week) from Liberated Yerushaliyim,
Rabbi Dr. Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo
PRAYER REQUESTS FROM RABBI LOPES
CARDOZO: Because of the serious political situation in
* * *
Berachoth 5a It has
been taught: R. Simeon b. Yohai says: The Holy One,
blessed be He, gave
* * *
“The I.D.F. should utterly destroy the enemy!” the text
reads. “This is what David Melech
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
L’shana
Haba’a b’Yerushalayim!
* * *
IN THE DESERT
=============
DAN
|
EFRAIM - [MISHKAN] - YEHUDA
|
REUVEN
IN ERETZ
================
EFRAIM
|
DAN - [BINYAMIN] - REUVEN
|
YEHUDA
* * *
The Midrash tells us that the three most sacred places for Judaism in
Let us be found worthy of the land. Let us not be vomited out!
* * *
This study was written by
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian
4544 Highline Drive SE
Olympia, WA 98501
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 918-2905
Return to The WATCHMAN home page
Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com
[1] Most of this study I learned from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh.
[2] Shemot 12:1
[3] Tehillim 111:6
[5] Tanakh (Hebrew: תנ׳ך) (also Tanach, IPA: [ta’nax] or [tə’nax], Tenakh or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. The acronym is formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Tanakh’s three traditional subdivisions:
Torah (תורה), meaning “teaching” or “law,” includes the Five Books of Moses. The Torah is also known by its Greek name, “the Pentateuch”, which similarly means “five scrolls”.
Nevi’im (נביאים), meaning “Prophets”. The Nevi’im are often divided into the Earlier Prophets, which are generally historical, and the Later Prophets, which contain more exhortational prophecies.
Ketuvim (כתובים), meaning “Writings”, are sometimes also known by the Greek title “Hagiographa.” These encompass all the remaining books, and include the Five Scrolls.
[6] Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18.
[7] Bereshit 36:6
[8] Bereshit 36:43
[9] Bereshit 37:1
[10] Bereshit 14
[11] By the way, this suggests, as our Sages teach, that our thoughts when we make love will be foundational to the child we are creating.
[12] Logic of the Mind, Logic of the Heart
[13] Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
[14] Een anatomically, the midbrain (Shechem), the heart (Jerusalem), and the womb (Hebron) are all in the center (from left to right and from front to back. They are also dead center of their respective araeas.
[15] Seen anatomically, the brain, heart, and womb are the warm areas of the body which always stay warm.
[16] If we look anatomically, Shechem is the midbrain between the two hemispheres, Jerusalem is the heart which is between two lungs, and Hebron is the womb between two ovaries.
[17] Yirmeyahu chapter 36
[18] “Ant.” iv. 8, § 48
[19] Bereshit 37:12 et seq.
[20]
Shoftim
[21] This paragraph was excerpted from The Jewish Encyclopedia.
[22] The sheaves of corn [a symbol of the mind] that bowed to the sheaf of Joseph. – Bereshit (Genesis) 37:7
[23] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:16
[24] King Solomon
[25] Sefer HaMaamarim Meluket vol. 3, pp. 58-60. Maamarie Admur HaEmtza’I, Devarim vol. 1, p. 9-10
[26] see Rashi on Bereshit 48:22
[27] See the Pri Tzadik, Parashat VaYishlach, 9
[29] “The Lamentation in Jerusalem”, The Articles of Harav Kook
[30] This promise of ‘seed’ is fitting for Machpela which is the womb of Israel.
[31] The Patriarch - Jacob
[32] Bereshit 33:18
[33] Bereshit 34
[34] Gen 37:12-14
[35] Gen 37:15-17
[36] Quoted in Shai Latorah
[37] Rashi
[38] Rashi
[39] Rashi, Bereshit 37:33
[40] Known simply as “Rebbi”
[42] Yehoshua chapter 8
[43] Sotah 36
[44] Succah 52a
[46] Sota 34b
[47] Hakham Ovadia Yossef shlit”a
[48] ‘Er. 53a; Sotah 13a; comp. Gen. R. lviii. 4
[49] Yitzchak Ginzburgh
[50] Shemot (Exodus) 6:8, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:4)
[51] Devarim 4:24
[52] Yochanan 4:24
[53] Yehoshua 24:11
[54] plain - see D’varim 34:3
[55] Yevomot 73a
[56]
Bamidbar
13:20
[57] Translated by Reb Eliezer Weger of Rechovot, a Modzitzer Chasid.
[58]
Bereshit/Genesis
[59] Tractate Kiddushin 2a