Parashat Vayikra: How Does Vayikra’s Small Alef Teach that the Land of Israel is Designated for Revelation?

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Parashat Vayikra
How Does Vayikra’s Small Alef Teach that the Land of Israel is Designated for Revelation?

 

Why Did the Teenager Cry so Profusely When Leaving the Land of Israel?
I’ll never forget it. Once, as I was boarding a flight for my annual international speaking tour, I passed a girl who looked like a typical gap-year student – denim skirt, casual T-shirt stamped with a bold quote. But it wasn’t her appearance that caught my attention. It was the sound of her loud, heartfelt sobs and the stream of sincere tears down her cheeks. I paused and asked gently, “Why are you crying?” offering her a tissue. “I’m leaving Israel – I’m leaving Eretz Yisrael! This is the saddest moment of my life. How can I be away from the Land of Israel?” she cried through her tears. As much as I wanted to engage in a deeper conversation with this girl, I had to move along – the line behind me was pressing forward. But even after I found my seat and recited the prayer for a safe air travel, I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl who cried so profusely because of leaving the Land of Israel. Her weeping was more than emotional; it was soulful. I’m sure if I had asked her to explain her deep attachment to Israel, she would’ve struggled to articulate it. Her connection was beyond explanation – it radiated from the depth of her Jewish soul. And perhaps her tears have etched into my memory so vividly because I feel the same way. Every time I leave Israel – even for a short visit to honor my parents – it feels like a murky cloud dulls my inner light. I sense myself drifting from my spiritual center, from the place where I feel most at home in my soul. Whereas some of my relatives fear visiting Israel, I always feel safest here, where the Divine Presence is near. Whenever I travel abroad, I remind myself of the Talmudic promise: “Those on the path to perform a mitzvah are not susceptible to harm” (Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 8a). Still, I count the days until I return. And when I do, the moment the plane’s wheels touch the holy soil, and we break into applause, I am overcome by the quiet but unmistakable feeling of coming home. The holiness of the land touches me to tears of return.

Why is the Land of Israel the Only Place Where Prophecy Blossoms?

What does my spiritual homecoming have to do with Parashat Vayikra? I must admit that it is challenging to tie the Torah portions that don’t mention the land of Israel directly to the Land of Israel. We need to dig beyond the surface to discover the deeper underlying connections.

Parashat Vayikra opens with Hashem addressing Moshe after the Mishkan had been completed,

ספר ויקרא פרק א פסוק א וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר:

“Then He called to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying” (Vayikra 1:1). 

The first word of this verse וַיִּקְרָא/Vayikra – “He called,” contains an unusual scribal deviation – it is written with a small, diminished א/alef. The midrash and commentaries offer various explanations, many of which highlight Moshe’s humility, which we will address further on. Yet this small alef also carries a profound message about the nature of revelation – and the role of Eretz Yisrael as the spiritual epicenter of that calling.  The opening of Vayikra marks the moment when Hashem speaks to Moshe not from atop Mount Sinai, but from within the Mishkan. This shift in setting underscores the transition from a one-time, grand national revelation at Sinai to an ongoing, intimate relationship rooted in sacred space. The Shechinah did not dwell in the Mishkan while the people wandered aimlessly. It began once the Mishkan was erected, oriented toward entry into the Promised Land. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi makes a powerful claim: prophecy is bound to the Land of Israel. “But it is not possible for this unique spiritual faculty to reach its divine objective apart from this place, just as a vineyard cannot thrive outside its specific mountain soil.” He teaches that no one received prophecy except in the Land or for the sake of the Land. Avraham received prophecy in order to travel there. Even the exceptions – Yechezkel and Daniel, for example – experienced prophetic visions because of the presence of the Shechinah, which had been exiled with them, having once resided in the First Temple of Jerusalem. Thus, the unique spiritual potential of the Chosen People – the heart of humanity –to prophesy can only be fully actualized and blossom within the Holy Land. The land of Israel is referred to as “before Hashem,” about which it is said: “The eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon it always” (Devarim 11:12; The Kuzari 2:12-14).

How is the Small Alef a Sign of Moshe’s Humility?

The connection between the small alef and the significance of the Land of Israel can be understood through the importance of humility and submission to G-d’s will, as a prerequisite for upholding the sanctity essential for dwelling in Eretz Yisrael, where the Shechinah is most manifest. By humbling ourselves, we make room within to invite the Shechinah to dwell. Rashi explains that the small alef in the word Vayikra signifies Moshe’s modesty; unlike Bilam, to whom G-d “happened upon” (vayikar), implying a casual encounter, Hashem “called” (vayikra) Moshe, indicating a deliberate and affectionate communication. Moshe, in his humility, wished to downplay this distinction represented by the alef. Therefore, he reduced the size of the alef. ​ When Moshe was commanded to write the word Vayikra, he objected. He did not want to write this word in a way that showed that he had a close relationship with Hashem. Moshe, as the most modest man on earth, did not want to convey his prophecy as being higher than Bilam’s. Even when Hashem forced him to write Vayikra and not vayikar, Moshe did so only with a small alef, so as not to draw attention to his special relationship with Hashem (Ba’al Turim, Vayikra 1:1). The Kotzker Rebbe explains an enigmatic Midrasic comment. The verse states that Moshe “did not know that his face was shining” (Shemot 34:30). Moshe had to cover his face to conceal this overpowering light for the sake of teaching his people. Moshe’s face shone because of the extra ink left over from writing the Sefer Torah. The luminescence of Moshe’s face came from the ink that Moshe left over when he chose to write the word Vayikra with a small alef. That ‘leftover ink,’ therefore, represents Moshe’s humility (The Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Ki Tisa 37).  This aspect of humility was what made Moshe so holy that his face reflected the celestial light of the Shechinah, making it impossible to behold him with human eyes.

How is the Land of Israel Designated for Ultimate Intimacy with Hashem?
From the very beginning of creation, Eretz Yisrael is the land “before Hashem” – the place where divine presence is most tangibly revealed, and where humankind’s mission to connect with the divine reaches its fullest expression. It is no coincidence that Cain and Hevel fought over it, or that Yitzchak and Yishmael, Ya’acov and Esav, all contended over who would inherit this holy ground. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi explains that this is not merely a geographic conflict but a spiritual one – a struggle over who will be attached to the divine purpose and who will fall away like a discarded husk (The Kuzari 1:95). Although the desert experience conveyed the most intimate connection with Hashem, who guided the Israelites with His Clouds of Glory and fed them manna from heaven, nevertheless, the Zohar teaches us that no matter how good it is in Chutz LaAretz – even from a spiritual standpoint – something is lacking, for true Jewish perfection can only be attained in The Land of Israel! Nowadays, until October 7, many Jews have enjoyed tranquil spiritual lives in the diaspora, with bursting Jewish communities and Torah institutions. Yet despite the spiritual intimacy of the Israelites during the desert wandering, their existence was considered imperfect, simply because it was still outside of Israel. We learn this from the Zohar that puts the entire Book of VaYikra in perspective, by explaining the small alef of Vayikra most astoundingly: Why is there a small alef?  Because this “calling” was imperfect.  Why so?  For it took place in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and in a foreign land, because true perfection can only be found in the Land of Israel (Tosafot HaZohar 1, quoted in Itturei Torah, vol. 3, p. 7; cited by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman, Vayikra and the Land of Israel). The diminished alef at the beginning of Parashat Vayikra alludes to the truth that only by serving Hashem in His Chosen Land can we attain our ultimate goal.

The Soil Where Divine Communication Blossoms
This Zohar transforms how we read the first verse of Vayikra which sets the tone for the entire book of Vayikra. The small alef doesn’t only reflect Moshe’s humility – it whispers a truth about the Land of Israel. Though hidden and subtle, Eretz Yisrael is the soil in which divine communication blossoms. Even the Vayikra, the “calling,” is specific to the Holy Land. Just as prophecy cannot flourish outside the Land, the highest expression of the Mishkan – the Beit Hamikdash could not be established elsewhere. The Shechinah rests only where Hashem has chosen – in the land uniquely fit for revelation. Thus, the small alef of Vayikra is not a diminishment – it is a distillation. It represents the concentrated holiness of a place uniquely chosen to carry divine presence. The Midrash affirms this by listing the times the word “Li” (to Me) appears – in connection with the Kohanim, the Levi’im, Eretz Yisrael, Jerusalem, the Beit Hamikdash, korbanot, and even prophecy itself. Wherever the Torah says “Li,” that entity or place is bound to Hashem for eternity – in this world and the next (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 2:2). May we merit to live in the Land of Israel not merely as an inheritance of the past, but as the present and future landscape of our divine calling – the very ground of redemption and closeness to Hashem. May we merit to experience the return of prophecy in the land of divine revelation!

Parashat Vayetze: How are the Angels of the Land of Israel Different than Angels from Elsewhere?

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Parashat Vayetze
How are the Angels of the Land of Israel Different than Angels from Elsewhere? 

How Do You Sense the Angels Present in Your Life?
I’ve always been fascinated by mystical and angelic beings, and I wish I could see them or at the very least communicate with even one. While I haven’t yet been blessed with a conscious relationship with my own guardian angel, I do sense the presence of angels in my life. When my sons were young, they often did so many dangerous things somehow without injuring themselves, that it seemed like Hashem’s angels were protecting them. It also regularly happens that I receive exactly what I was missing in mysterious ways as if an angel was appointed as my personal emissary. For example, several times when I prepared a fruit basket for a sick woman in our community but didn’t have the time to bring it, someone – who was anyway going in the same direction – came to my doorstep at that precise moment, happy to deliver it, what an angel!   Last week, for our Rosh Chodesh Kislev Retreat, I had to cook the Friday night meal for 19 people in two hours with only one kitchen helper. Somehow, we managed to prepare meat, veggies, several dips, and salads, besides a gluten-free dessert in a short time. Everything just flowed and we finished all the cooking and most of the cleaning up in the same amount of time it usually takes to cook for only two people! I truly sensed the extra helping hands of the angels. One of my friends claims to communicate with angels in her spiritual healing practice. She told me that the departed ancestors of her clients come to bring a message to help their descendants heal. To my reaction that departed ancestors aren’t exactly angels, she responded that they introduce themselves as angels, and she has learned that you can never win when arguing with an angel! So, considering that the original meaning of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ/malach – ‘angel’ is ‘messenger,’ I concede that in a broader sense, anyone who carries a spiritual message can be considered an angel.

Do You Have to Be a Prophet to Sense the Presence of Angels?

I’m not going to argue with my friend’s claim that she communicates with angels, despite that according to Rambam angels cannot be perceived with our senses. Rather than being physical manifestations within this world, angels are an expression of Divine Supervision. Therefore, whenever Scripture refers to ‘seeing’ angels, it is due to a prophetic vision (Rambam, The Guide of the Perplexed 2:41-44). Ramban, however, makes a radical distinction between prophecy and visions, including the vision of an angel. Not only can one ‘see’ an angel without being a prophet, but there exists a phenomenon where one ‘sees’ things and experiences things normally not experienced. The Ramban agrees that angels being spiritual, are generally invisible, nonetheless, people who aren’t prophets could have visions of angels. It involves a deeper sense of seeing, as G-d “opens the eyes” of someone to enable him to see the angels that are really there. You cannot see them with normal eyes, which are sensitive to light waves, but G-d endows certain people with the special ability that allows them to ‘see’ angels (Based on Ramban, Bereishit 18:1). In defense of Rambam, we recall that the word מַלְאָךְ/malach – means ‘messenger or agent’ and angels can be understood to be G-d’s heavenly agents, closely associated with Him.  So, for instance, when an angel calls out to Hagar in the wilderness and tells her to return to Sarai (Bereishit 16:9-12), we understand it to refer to the voice of G-d.  This perception is strengthened by the fact that the angel uses a first-person singular case when referring to an action of G-d.  “He said to her: I shall greatly increase your seed; it shall not be numbered for multitude” (Bereishit 16:10). The same thing occurs when the angel prevents Avraham from slaughtering Yitzchak declaring “…now I know that you are a G-d-fearing person, for you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me” (Bereishit 22:12). This does not imply that a malach is another name for G-d, but rather it is Hashem’s emissary acting on His behalf.

 

What is an Angel and What is its Mission in the World?

There are many different sorts of angels, some who more directly represent Hashem’s will and others who carry out Divine retribution. Angels can manifest themselves through good or evil people who affect us. “G-d has made one corresponding to the other” (Kohelet 7:14). When a person sins, a destructive angel is created as it says about Bilam, when he went to curse the Jewish people, a destructive angel was created (Bamidbar 22:22,32). Yet, G-d’s compassion is expressed even through the destructive angel who waits for the person to do teshuva before it can return back home, where it desires to be. All the more so when we perform a mitzvah, we create a guardian angel (Midrash Shemot Rabbah 32:6). The mission of angels of this category is threefold:

1.     It saves us from harm and damage.

2.     It saves us and guards us from committing any wrongdoing.

3.  It goes before Hashem and recommends us for good, since the angel is created from the certain mitzvah that we performed.

(Tiferet Shlomo on the Torah, Parashat Devarim).

What is the Difference between the Angels of the Holy Land and Angels of Outside Israel?

In Parashat Vayetze we learn about the angels that escort Ya’acov when leaving the Land of Israel to build his family, and when returning back home.

ספר בראשית פרק כח פסוק יב

וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ:

“He dreamed and behold! a ladder set up on the ground and its top reached to heaven; and behold, angels of God were ascending and descending upon it” (Bereishit 28:12).          

 

Rashi explains that the angels who escorted Ya’acov in the Holy Land ascended to heaven, as they do not serve outside the Land of Israel. Once Ya’acov left the Land of Israel, a different category of angels descended to escort him there (Rashi, Bereishit 28:12). Why did Rashi explain the Torah verse differently than its simple meaning that Ya’acov dreamed about a ladder on which angels would go up and down? According to the simple level of angels coming down and going up, it should have stated, “Descending” before “Ascending” since the abode of the angels is above, and we would expect them to come down from there before going back up.  Therefore, according to Rashi the Torah verse refers specifically to switching the angels of the Land of Israel with those outside of the Land. It thus makes sense that the angels of the Holy Land ascend and return on high when Ya’acov departs from there, before the new category of angels – whose domain is outside of Israel – descend to escort Ya’acov. One of the sub-commentaries on Rashi asks, why didn’t the angels from outside Israel descend to be ready to protect Ya’acov before the angels of the Land of Israel left him? Then Ya’acov wouldn’t be left even a moment without protection. He explains that the angels outside of Israel are on a lower level than those guarding the Holy Land. They, therefore, do not have permission to exhibit dominion in the presence of the angels of the Land of Israel, so they had to wait to descend until the angels of the Holy Land had ascended (Mashkil l’David, on Rashi, Bereishit 28:12). Even if we understand angels to represent Divine Providence, there is a distinction between Divine providence within the Land of Israel and outside her. This is stated explicitly in the Torah: “A Land Hashem, your G-d, looks after; the eyes of Hashem, your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (Devarim 11:12). Thus, the angels – the spiritual powers of G-d’s providence within the Land were taken from Ya’acov when he left the Land on his journey to Charan and were returned to him when he returned to the Land: 

ספר בראשית פרק לב פסוק ב וְיַעֲקֹב הָלַךְ לְדַרְכּוֹ וַיִּפְגְּעוּ בוֹ מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים:(ג) וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר רָאָם מַחֲנֵה אֱלֹהִים זֶה וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא מַחֲנָיִם:

“Then Ya’acov went on his way, and angels of G-d met him. And when Ya’acov saw them, he said, ‘This is the camp of G-d’ and he named that place Machanaim” (Bereishit 32:2-3).

AND ANGELS OF G-D MET HIM - the angels of Eretz Yisrael came to greet him and escort him to the Land. MACHANAIM - Two camps, [one of the angels] outside the land, who came with him up to here, and [one of the angels] of Israel, who came to greet him (Rashi, Bereishit 32:2-3).

Angels of Love versus Angels of Anger

I was wondering how exactly the angels of the Land of Israel distinguish themselves and was happy to discover an interesting answer from a Chassidic perspective: The angels in Israel are distinguished above all other angels as Angels of Love, while those outside Eretz Yisrael are Angels of Anger (Shem MiShmuel Parashat Vayishlacḥ 5678). This differentiation parallels the Talmudic distinction between the Torah scholars of Eretz Yisrael and Babylon.

Rabbi Oshaya said: “What is the meaning of the verse ‘And I took for Myself two staffs; one I called Pleasantness (Noam), and one I called Destroyers (Chovlim); and I tended the flock.’ ‘Noam’ refers to the scholars of the Land of Israel, who treat each other graciously when engaged in halachic debates; ‘Chovlim’ to the scholars of Babylon, who injure each other’s feelings when discussing halacha” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 24a).

Thus, the angels of Eretz Yisrael – similarly to the scholars of the Land – are angels of love, as opposed to the angels outside the Land, who are angels of anger. Service of G-d outside the Land is on the level of “Shun evil,” of instigating the Good Impulse against the Evil Impulse. In contrast, Divine service in the Land is on the level of “Do good” – The service of G-d filled with love and graciousness (Shem MiShmuel Parashat Vayishlacḥ 5678). The angels who accompanied Ya’acov assisted him in dealing with the various difficulties he faced. At the home of the deceitful Lavan Ya’acov had to overcome Lavan’s numerous attempts to cheat him. When returning to the Holy Land, Ya’acov’s service was once again on the level of pleasantness. Therefore, he was then escorted by angels of love who helped him with grace and pleasantness. Yet outside the Land, he was accompanied by angels of anger who helped him in his struggle to protect himself and his family from the deceit of Lavan. From the perspective that angels represent Divine Providence – outside the Land, G-d’s providence was limited to saving Ya’acov from Lavan’s evil, while within Eretz Yisrael G-d’s providence over Ya’acov was complete, and he dwelt in tranquility (Based on Nir Shaul, presented by: Rabbi Mordechai Gershon, Israel National News, Eretz Yisrael Yomi, Nov 12, 2021).

G-d’s Providence over the Land of Israel in Our Days

Whereas one can attain levels of spirituality and Torah learning outside Israel, G-d taught Ya’acov that the levels we can achieve in Eretz Israel are higher. As Rabbi Yehudah Halevi affirms, just as a vineyard can only flourish in a place with the proper conditions and climate, so can Israel only flourish spiritually on its own land (The Kuzari II, 12). Abarbanel concurs that the angels of Eretz Israel are superior to the angels in Chutz la-Aretz and that this was G-d’s way of reminding Ya’acov that he must return to Eretz Yisrael, which is on a higher spiritual level. Ya’acov understood the Divine message and took an oath that he would return to his father’s house in Eretz Israel:

ספר בראשית פרק כח פסוק כ וַיִּדַּר יַעֲקֹב נֶדֶר לֵאמֹר אִם יִהְיֶה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי וּשְׁמָרַנִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ וְנָתַן לִי לֶחֶם לֶאֱכֹל וּבֶגֶד לִלְבּשׁ: (כא) וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה הַשֵׁם לִי לֵאלֹהִים:

“Ya’acov uttered a vow, saying, ‘If G-d will be with me, and He will guard me on this way, upon which I am going… Then I will return in peace to my father’s house, and Hashem will be my G-d (Bereishit 28:20-21).

Ya’acov, as we know, did return. Throughout the generations, Jews have been pursued and persecuted, and today is no exception. The merit of the Eretz Yisrael is crucial for the protection of Jews everywhere in the world. Yet, the challenges facing the Jewish people who have returned to our Holy Homeland are mitigated by the immense Divine protection we experience here. It is truly a miracle that we keep surviving! G-d’s special supervision in the Promised Land is certainly felt today more than ever, with the interception of so many missiles flying over Israel. It is undoubtedly due to G-d sending His protecting angels to guard us. May Hashem’s angels keep protecting our soldiers and may we experience even more revealed miracles in the Land as Hashem guides our leaders to let Good triumph over Evil! 

Parashat Lech Lecha: How Does Avraham’s Journey Reflect the Spiritual Journey of Every Jew?

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Parashat Lech Lecha

How Does Avraham’s Journey Reflect the Spiritual Journey of Every Jew?
 

Why Did I Choose to Teach Parashat Lech Lecha for Numerous Years?

Parashat Lech Lecha is one of my favorites because it is about G-d charging Avraham and Sarah with the mission to follow Him to the Land of Israel. Avraham and Sarah’s journey toward the land, while forging their relationship with Hashem, parallels my own and the journeys of most of my students in so many ways. As Ramban teaches “The actions of the (fore)fathers are an indication to their children” (Ramban, Bereishit 12:6). Just as G-d told Avraham, “Lech lecha – go to yourself,” to your source, each of us is always trying to grow spiritually whether we are fully aware of it or not. Since we can all identify with leaving our country, birthplace, and our father’s house, I have chosen to teach Parashat Lech Lecha and continued to teach it for numerous years. For most students from abroad (including myself 45 years ago), it can be challenging to uproot ourselves from our well-known surroundings and replant ourselves in an unknown land with a foreign language and culture. Therefore, we are soothed by Rashi’s comforting words which resonate so well with our own inner truth: “Go for yourself - for your own benefit, for your own good” (Rashi, Bereishit 12:1). Going to the land of Israel, for a born Jew or a Jew to be, is a spiritual journey to the essence of our soul which is enrooted deeply in the Holy Land. Our connection to the Land of Israel is like the relationship of our soul to the body. Without the Land of Israel, we are a mere shadow of our inner potential, unable to truly express our Jewish Neshama. The Divine gift of the Promised Land to Avraham’s descendants has its own positive deeper purpose that transcends any rational explanations. When G-d told Avrahamלֶךְ לְךָ/Lech lecha, He didn’t reveal where to go, because his true destination was the internal journey to the essence of his soul. Avraham was to go to the place from where he was created, which is the Temple Mount. For humanity is created from the place of his atonement. The Temple below is connected to the Temple above. From this place, the souls descend and ascend on the ladder (Kli Yakar, Bereishit 12:1). In my own spiritual journey, at that very place, I discovered my soul! Any tourist visiting Israel ends up sooner or later at the Western Wall. I just stood there, in awe of the sense of sanctity that pervaded the place, without a word of prayer crystallizing on my lips. The intense light reflected by the ancient stones penetrated the empty space in my very heart and soul. As I entered the square in front of the Wall, I knew that I had finally come home.  

Eretz Yisrael the Land of Prophecy

ספר בראשית פרק יב פסוק א וַיֹּאמֶר הָשֵׁם אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ:

“Hashem said to Avram, ‘Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you’” (Bereishit 12:1).

Why didn’t Hashem reveal to Avraham which land he was leading him to? According to Rashi, by not revealing his destination at once, Avraham would value the land so much more. In addition, Hashem wanted to reward Avraham for fulfilling His commandment each step of the way. Another reason is that it’s impossible to perceive the meaning of the Land of Israel outside of the land. Many newcomers to Israel can testify to how they had to arrive here before understanding what Eretz Yisrael is all about. In this spirit, Kli Yakar explains that G-d did not want to show Avraham the original place of body and soul until he first received a Divine spirit from above. Since prophecy does not exist outside the land of Israel, whenever he was still outside the land of Israel, he did not understand the essence of the soul whose source is at the Temple Mount. He could not even understand the core of the formation of the physical from there. Only within the land of Israel – the place prepared for prophecy – could G-d show him the goodness of this holy place and how it is the place of the essence of humanity, for there is his home and the place from where both his body and soul emanate. Therefore, it is fitting to leave everything behind to go and cleave to this holy place, for from there we will be able to cleave to the Divine presence… (Kli Yakar, Bereishit 12:1).

“The Land that I Will Show You” – Our Dynamic Relationship with the Land of Israel

The phrase הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ – “…the land that I will show you,” can also be understood as “the land to which I will show you.” (The suffix ךָּ/cha – “you” can be read both as – ‘I will show the land to you,’ or as I will show you to the land.’ In the holy tongue, the root of the word to see or to show ר-א-ה/resh, alef, heh is also the root of the word רָאוּי/ra’ui – ‘seen,’ ‘fitting’ or ‘suitable.’ Thus, the meaning of the word אַרְאֶךָּ /areka – I will show you to her and her to you. For one without the other is not seen (fitting) to have the Shechina dwell successfully. When Hashem told Avraham to follow him to the land that he would show him, Hashem also alluded that Avraham and the Land of Israel are suitable for one another. Furthermore, they will be in a 2-way relationship. The land is not only seen by Avraham, Avraham is also seen by the land. (Based on Ohr Hachayim, Bereishit 12:1). Just as the painter sees the tree, the tree sees the painter. Hashem is saying, “I will show you to her, and I will show her to you.” In Israel, you will experience and feel as if the land looks back on you. Here we are not only a subject but also an object. Be’er Mayim explains the phrase, “In the land, I will reveal myself to you.” That is, only in the Holy Land does G-d reveal Himself to us. The land of Israel endows us with a new quality of seeing, it is the quality of mutual relationship with Hashem, the land, and with ourselves. Perhaps we can say that Israel is “The Land of Relationship.” 

“The Land of Israel is Acquired through Suffering” 

Why wasn’t Avraham born in the Land of Israel? Why did he have to undergo the extreme difficulties of uprooting himself from his familiar surroundings and enduring ten increasingly difficult tests? Avraham served as our predecessor by overcoming tests and challenges to deserve the Holy Land. “The Land of Israel is acquired through suffering” (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 5a). To reach Eretz Yisrael, the Jewish people demonstrated complete commitment to her. Throughout the exile, ascending to Eretz Yisrael was most difficult, with many dying en route. In most generations, the majority of those who succeeded in reaching the Land were forced to live in poverty. Establishing the State of Israel also involved great self-sacrifice and hardships, we have been forced to fight for her. Had Avraham not undergone his great challenges to earn the merit of the Land of Israel for his descendants, the Land would not and could not have become part of the heart of Jews, nor would we have been privileged to return to her and live within her. The first time we encounter the need to suffer to merit the Land of Israel is in chapter 15 of Bereishit. In the Covenant Between the Pieces, G-d promised the Land to Avraham’s descendants who would have to first go through oppression during the Egyptian exile (Bereishit 15:13). Still, today during our current war, the suffering continues as our brave, devoted, and holy soldiers are risking their lives fighting for our safety. 

The Holocaust Teaches us About the Value of the Land of Israel

During the Covenant Between the Pieces, an intense fright and a great darkness fell upon Avraham as he was shown a vision of a smoking furnace which is dreadfully reminiscent of the holocaust:

ספר בראשית פרק ט”ו פסוק יז וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה וַעֲלָטָה הָיָה וְהִנֵּה תַנּוּר עָשָׁן וְלַפִּיד אֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָבַר בֵּין הַגְּזָרִים הָאֵלֶּה:

“Now it came to pass that the sun had set, and it was dark, and behold, a smoking furnace and a torch of fire passed between these pieces” (Bereishit 15:17).

Indeed, this pasuk includes a Torah code spelling out the word Hitler with an ELS (equal letter sequence of seven. It is not by chance that only three years following the end of the Holocaust, the land of Israel returned to Jewish hands after almost 2000 years of exile. Nobody can explain or justify the horrors of the Holocaust, but it still gives us a clue about the value of the Land of Israel, that we had to undergo suffering to this extent in order to merit the Land of Israel. Let us honor those who perished in the Holocaust by investing our energy and efforts in connecting to and building the Land of Israel! Nevertheless, we will never be able to realize the preciousness of the G-d-given land intertwined with the essence of our soul. 

The Connection between Character Development and the Final Boundaries of the Land 

Whenever I get up to the end of Bereishit Chapter 15 in my course in Parashat Lech Lecha, my students are always surprised to learn that according to the Torah, the final boundaries of the land of Israel will be so much greater than the part of the Land that we possess today. The difference between Israel today and Israel in the time of Mashiach is almost according to the same proportion as one single finger to a hand. Hashem promised Avraham not only the land of the seven Canaanite nations that King David had conquered, mentioned in Devarim 7:1, but also the land of three additional nations, the Kenites, the Kenisites, and the Kadmonites (See Bereishit 15:19-21). Ten nations are mentioned here, but He only gave them seven nations. The three first ones mentioned the Keni, Knizi, and Kadmoni are nicknames for Edom, Moav, and Amon their land will only be inherited in the future-to-come (Rashi, Bereishit 15:19). The Keni is Amon, The Kenizi is Moav, The Kadmoni is Edom since Amalek came from him who was the first (kadmoni) to attack Israel... (Chizkuni). For many years I have been teaching that I believe the ten nations correspond to the 10 sefirot. They are divided into three and seven corresponding to the three intellectual sefirot (Chabad) and the seven emotional. The ten nations were the impure husk of the sefirot (the other side). Recently I learned a Torah teaching that confirmed my assertion. Our ability to conquer the Holy Land depends on rectifying our character traits corresponding to the sefirot. Our Patriarchs were promised the land of Israel due to their rectification of the character traits that correspond to the seven lower sefirot. When Mashiach will come and rectify the three uppermost sefirot of Keter, Chachma, and Binah, then we will be able to conquer the entire land promised to Avraham in the Covenant Between the Pieces. For those of us who aren’t serving in the army, fighting evil terrorists, it is good to know that we too can contribute to the victory of our current war, by working hard at refining our character.