The Land I Will Show You, sec. 5, chapter 8
The Land I Will Show You, sec. 5, chapter 8
Changes in the Torah
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8: Changes in the Torah
"I am a wall." Thus declares the Congregation of Israel. We have done what is required of us; now, we are waiting for the realization of the process that has begun its activity. The divine plan has not been corrupted at all. Everything is perfect and proceeds according to the plan. The inclination to idol worship has been nullified, and an era of global worship of Hashem has begun. The whole world is filling with the words of the Torah and the commandments, and these words have spread to distant islands and many nations; the world is being repaired, and the path is being straightened for the coming of the Messiah,[1] for whom we are waiting.
The question arises: If we are in a new and different era – a global era – perhaps it is not so important to return to our own land? Perhaps the emphasis on Eretz Yisrael in the holy scriptures was only relevant to the biblical era, an era of knowledge of Hashem that was limited to a chosen people who came to know God through its unique history? But after the biblical era, that is, the era of prophecy, perhaps the centrality of Eretz Yisrael has ended? Why should we assume that the path described in the Torah is still suitable for us today?
These are significant questions that deserve careful consideration. Anyone who truly cares about the worship of God and thinks deeply about it will not quickly dismiss them.
These very questions can be formulated differently. The status of Eretz Yisrael among the lands of the world will change in the future – the whole world will be sanctified with the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, as expressed in the Midrashim of the Sages:
Jerusalem is destined to be like Eretz Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael like the whole world.[2]
The Holy One, blessed is He, will make you inherit from the end of the world to its end... Israel is compared to a female, just as a female takes a tenth from her father's house, so did Israel take the land of seven nations which is a tenth of seventy nations... But in the future, when they inherit like a male, etc.[3]
This means the whole world will be the inheritance of Israel, and as the inheritance of Israel, the entire earth will be sanctified with the holiness of Eretz Yisrael.[4] If this is the end of the historical process, if this is the point towards which everything is progressing through the universal approach and through the spread of Jews and with them the Torah to distant islands and many nations, wouldn't the conclusion be that a public return to Eretz Yisrael is no longer appropriate, or at least not necessary, for now? Why would we turn back the clock of the divine plan? Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar wrote in this vein:
And the reason for the exiles... is to publicize His Torah and faith in all places... to purify the air of the lands of the nations... and prepare a throne of honor for the indwelling of the Shechinah everywhere... so that the Torah and the service of Hashem will be in all lands to purify the air of the whole world so it will be ready for the indwelling of the Shechinah... that the King Messiah will then conquer the whole world and consequently, the holiness of Eretz Yisrael will be in the whole world... in all details... everywhere will have the status of Eretz Yisrael... for you shall inherit among all the nations... 70 supernal ministers, but in the future, everything will be under the hand of the Holy One, blessed is He alone, and the whole world will be considered Eretz Yisrael... and for this, preparation is needed to purify the air of the entire world so that there will be a reality in which the holiness of Eretz Yisrael spreads to there.[5]
In the book Emek HaMelech, the desired process that ends with the coming of the Messiah and the increase of good in the whole world is described:
We have an absolute obligation to rectify the external air, for as students of Torah, it is our duty to rectify with the breath of Torah that comes from our mouths to purify the air of the lands of seventy nations, and when this air is rectified to its end, the Messiah will come to redeem us and conquer the whole world under his authority, and then good will prevail over evil as before.[6]
Accordingly, it might be considered that the conclusion is that it is not important for us to hurry to return to Eretz Yisrael. Maybe even the opposite! But this conclusion is not correct at all. The way of the Torah does not change. Not only is it important for all the scattered of Israel to gather from the four corners of the earth to our land in the days of the Messiah, at the end of the historical process, but in truth, we should return there as soon as possible, at every opportunity that arises. History changes, but the Torah will not be exchanged. The emphasis on residing in Eretz Yisrael that appears in the Torah establishes the proper action for all times – within which we can act according to it. The Torah is eternal, and its lesson is eternal. Just as at the beginning of the days of the Second Temple – when the new global era began – if it had been possible for all of Israel to return to Eretz Yisrael correctly, they would have had to do so without considering a new global approach,[7] so it is always. They did not choose then from their knowledge and will to commence a different global approach, but were forced to change because they had no opportunity to correct the root sin that led to idol worship. And so, we will never choose this path from our own choice, because the Torah teaches us what we must pursue in any case that it becomes possible, but there are also good reasons for what happens to us involuntarily, even if it occurred due to sin. It is very important that we act to achieve residence in Eretz Yisrael, as required of us. And if it is not possible, there is a heavenly reason for it; just as it is important for us to act to achieve the power of prophecy that holds an important place in the Torah, despite the departure of prophecy being linked to the spread of religion throughout the world and the advancement of the divine plan.
The Torah teaches the desired actions, while reality also teaches what must happen, even against our will. Therefore, the determination of the proper action depends solely on the centrality of Eretz Yisrael in the Torah, with care from the oaths, that is, a careful consideration of what is possible in practice; and to the extent that it is possible, the action is determined according to the revealed and explicit Torah, not according to hidden considerations that are ‘the secrets of Hashem.’[8]
This regarding the determination of the proper action. But still, one question remains: why indeed is it so? Why is it important to return to Eretz Yisrael at the end of days or even as soon as possible, if historical progress leads the world to universal and unified service of Hashem? What does a private land mean to a specific people in a unified world? To answer this question, we need to delve into the depth of the secret of exile and redemption, and to this we will dedicate the next chapter.
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[1] As expressed by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 11:4; see also Kuzari, Essay 4, Section 23. Top of Form
[2] Yalkut Shimoni on Isaiah, section 493.
[3] Ibid, Ezekiel, section 389. Two reliable witnesses quoted a more explicit statement from the Sages, whose source was not found: "Eretz Yisrael is destined to spread throughout the whole world"; see Minchat Chinuch, commandment 424 (in the name of the Gemara!), and Eretz Chemdah (by Malbim, Vilna 5633) on Numbers, the Haftarah section.
[4] In Minchat Chinuch there, he explained: "For the King Messiah will conquer the entire world and the whole world will have the status of Eretz Yisrael, as explained in Rambam's Laws of Terumot 1:3 and in the Laws of Kings 5:6, that an Israelite king who conquers other countries after conquering the entirety of Eretz Yisrael, all of them have the holiness of Eretz Yisrael... And on this, the Gemara said that Eretz Yisrael is destined to spread throughout the whole world, meaning the King Messiah will conquer the entire world and the whole world will have the status of Eretz Yisrael for all the holinesses of Eretz Yisrael."
[5] Essay on Residing in Eretz Yisrael, Section 110.
[6] Rabbi Naftali Hertz Weisel, Emek HaMelech, Amsterdam 5488, Gate Kiryat Arba, Chapter 152. In a similar spirit, the Ramak wrote, Zohar with the commentary Or Yakar, Jerusalem 5735, page 54: "Indeed, as the world exits its impurity, the entire world will become sanctified."
[7] As explained above in Chapter 5.
[8] As explained above in Chapter 3.