Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Va'era "Why Eretz Yisrael? - Revisited" Volume 25, No. 14 25 Tevet 5771 January 1, 2011 Sponsored by the Rutstein family in memory of family friend Dr. Leonard Schlossberg a"h Today's Learning: Tanach: Yeshayah 35-36 Mishnah: Terumot 3:2-3 Halachah: O.C. 591:7-592:2 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Zevachim 52 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Challah 20 We read in this week's parashah that Hashem commanded Moshe to tell Bnei Yisrael (6:6-7): "I am Hashem, and *I shall take you out* from under the burdens of Egypt; *I shall rescue you* from their service; *I shall redeem you* with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. *I shall take you to Me* for a people and I shall be an Elokim to you; and you shall know that I am Hashem your Elokim, Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt." Our Sages say that there are four promises in these verses (underlined above), which is one of the reasons we drink four cups of wine at the Pesach Seder. But, there is a fifth promise (verse 8): "I shall bring you to the land about which I raised My hand to give it to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and I shall give it to you as a heritage -- I am Hashem." Seemingly, this promise was never fulfilled, since the generation of the Exodus died in the desert! R' Moshe Zuriel shlita (former mashgiach ruchani of Yeshivat Sha'alvim) explains: It is true that the generation of the Exodus did not enter Eretz Yisrael in their physical bodies. Nevertheless, they did inherit portions in Eretz Yisrael. Specifically, when Bnei Yisrael conquered the Land, it was not divided among those who entered the Eretz Yisrael. Rather, it was divided among those who had left Egypt--although nearly all of them were now in the grave--and then passed forward to their heirs. Since the body is not the essence of the person, owning a share of Eretz Yisrael without being physically present there is also a form of entering the Land. In any event, R' Zuriel continues, they actually did enter the Land because the Sinai Desert is also part of Eretz Yisrael. This is stated in the 11th century work Kuzari, in explanation of how Moshe Rabbeinu could be initiated into prophecy (in last week's parashah) at Har Sinai, something that is impossible outside of Eretz Yisrael. (Drishat Tzion) ******** "Hashem said to Moshe, `See, I have made you a master over Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your navi'." (Shmot 7:1) Although the word "navi" is commonly translated "prophet," in this context it means "spokesman." Rashi z"l explains that the term derives from the verse (Yeshayah 57:19), "Niv / utterance of the lips." R' Yechezkel Abramsky z"l (av bet din in London and rosh yeshiva in Israel; author of Chazon Yechezkel on Tosefta; died 1976) once observed: There are some Torah scholars who sit and study in a quiet corner all day long and appear to have no influence over their surroundings. However, that appearance is misleading. The mere fact that Jews are studying Torah in a state of holiness causes love of Torah and a state of holiness to spread among the Jewish People. How do we know this? R' Abramsky asked rhetorically. We learn it from a statement by Rambam. He writes in his Mishneh Torah (Hil. Yesodei Ha'Torah 7:7) that there are two kinds of nevi'im (plural of navi). Some nevi'im are sent with missions to direct a city or a nation on the correct path, while other nevi'im prophesy for themselves alone, i.e., to raise their own spiritual states. How can this be? asked R' Abramsky. As noted, the word "navi" comes from the phrase "niv / utterance of the lips." A navi is a spokesman! How then can somebody who prophesies only to himself be called a navi? We see from here that even when a person appears to be improving only his own spiritual situation, he is, in fact, influencing his surroundings. He is, in reality, speaking quite loudly. (Quoted in Peninei Rabbeinu Yechezkel) ******** "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, `Provide a wonder for yourselves,' you shall say to Aharon, `Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh -- it will become a snake!'" (7:9) R' Moshe ben Nachman z"l (Ramban; 1194-1270; Spain and Eretz Yisrael) writes (in his commentary to Shmot 4:3): We can understand why it was appropriate for Hashem to give Moshe and Aharon the ability to perform wonders in front of Bnei Yisrael and Pharaoh. In last week's parashah, however, we read that Hashem performed wonders in front of Moshe Rabbeinu himself! Why, after Hashem spoke to Moshe and revealed to him His Name was it necessary to strengthen the message with wonders? Ramban explains: Hashem wanted to demonstrate to Moshe that it really is possible to change nature. He did this to give Moshe confidence that he could perform the makkot / plagues, which, in effect, brought new things into Creation. R' Simcha Zissel Broide z"l (1912-2000; rosh yeshiva of the Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim) comments: "These words are truly amazing!" Ramban is teaching us that even someone as great as Moshe Rabbeinu can have his faith in G-d's Word strengthened. This is because, no matter how great one's abstract knowledge is, there is no substitute for a tangible demonstration of a fact. This, continues R' Broide, is the meaning of the statement in the Gemara (Megillah 14a), "The removal of Achashveirosh's ring [when he gave it to Haman] had a greater impact than all of the rebukes offered by all 48 prophets and seven prophetesses, for all of those rebukes did not bring about repentance, but the removal of the ring did bring about repentance." This, adds R' Broide, is the reason why we are commanded to perform mitzvot. When it comes to acquiring awe and fear of G-d, action, not abstract philosophical reflections, is what is necessary. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Sahm Derech p.112) What was the role of the staff in creating the wonders and plagues? asks R' Zalman Sorotzkin z"l (1881-1966; rabbi in Lutzk, Poland; later in Israel). Why couldn't Moshe and Aharon just wave their hands or utter commands to make the plagues happen? Having the staff gave Moshe credibility as the redeemer because it was a physical manifestation of his status as Hashem's messenger. The importance of physical evidence of reality is illustrated in the Gemara (Yevamot 25a), which states that a person who testified that a man had died is prohibited from marrying the man's widow lest he be lying, whereas a man who delivered a get / bill of divorce is permitted in some cases to marry the divorcee. Why? Because the divorce document itself gives the messenger credibility [even though he might have forged it]. So, too, Moshe's staff gave him credibility. Likewise, writes R' Sorotzkin, this explains why Hashem gave part of the Torah to Moshe on stone tablets, as opposed to simply dictating the Aseret Ha'dibrot to Moshe and having him write them, as Moshe recorded the rest of the Torah. The Luchot were physical objects that added credibility to Moshe's teaching of the Torah. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Ha'shir Ve'ha'shevach p.92) ******** Why Eretz Yisrael? "I shall bring you to the land about which I raised My hand to give it to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and I shall give it to you as a heritage -- I am Hashem." (6:2, 8) R' Shlomo Kluger z"l (1784-1869; rabbi in Brody, Galicia) notes that our parashah contains no mention of Eretz Yisrael's bounty, unlike in last week's parashah, where Moshe was told to tell Bnei Yisrael (3:8), "I shall descend to rescue [the Nation] from the hand of Egypt and to bring it up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. . ." Why? He explains: There are two ways to view Eretz Yisrael. One can see the Land simply as a refuge where the Jewish People can live in peace; for this purpose, it is of supreme importance that Eretz Yisrael is a bountiful land "flowing with milk and honey." Or, one can focus on Eretz Yisrael as the Holy Land, the place to fulfill Torah and mitzvot; for this purpose, it is of greater interest that Eretz Yisrael is the land to which Hashem pays special attention (see Devarim 11:12), the land whose air makes one wise (see Bava Batra 158b). If the goal is merely a place to live in peace, it does not have to be Eretz Yisrael. Parts of Egypt are very verdant and bountiful; Hashem could have brought a plague to wipe out the Egyptians and given their land to Bnei Yisrael. This, writes R' Kluger, is what King David wondered about in Tehilim (105:43-45). He wrote (as punctuated by R' Kluger), "He led out His nation with joy? His chosen ones with joyous song?" Why was the Exodus considered joyous? "He could have given them the lands of nations [i.e., Egypt]! They could have inherited the toil of regimes [i.e., the land that the Egyptians built up]!" (R' Kluger explains that Canaan cannot be called "the land of nations" because the descendants of Canaan had been cursed to be slaves to the descendants of Shem; therefore, their land was not their own.) Why then did He take Bnei Yisrael all the way to Eretz Yisrael? King David answers: "So that they might safeguard His statutes and observe His teachings." Hashem gave Eretz Yisrael to Bnei Yisrael for its spiritual qualities, as the ideal place to observe the Torah, not for its physical qualities. What changed between last week's parashah-when Hashem spoke of Eretz Yisrael's physical bounty--and this week's parashah? At the end of last week's parashah, Pharaoh decreed (5:11), "Go yourselves and take for yourselves straw from whatever you find . . ." And we read, "So the people spread out through the entire land of Egypt to gather gleanings for straw." R' Kluger explains that this was a test of Bnei Yisrael's faith, much as we read about another gathering expedition (Shmot 16:4 -- regarding the mahn), "Let the people go out and pick each day's portion on its day, so that I can test them, whether they will follow My teaching or not." Thus, in the last verse of last week's parashah, Hashem told Moshe (6:1), "Now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh, for through a strong hand he will send them out . . ." The strong hand refers to Bnei Yisrael's merit in passing their test; "Now" that they have passed this test and proven themselves worthy of receiving the Torah "you will see [that] through a strong hand" the Exodus will occur. And, once the primary focus of the Exodus changed from taking Bnei Yisrael to a refuge to giving them the Torah, the focus from the physical characteristics of Eretz Yisrael to its spiritual side changed as well. (Chochmat Ha'Torah p.48)