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Parshat
Lech Lecha WHEN
G-D COMMANDED NOACH, as He had previously enjoined Adam, to "be
fruitful and multiply", He was talking to all of us. Then when Avraham
was told by Hashem
to leave his homeland and family, this test was not exclusively his, but ours
as well. In either case, and similarly throughout the Torah, there are lessons
to be learned, but there is a difference between the two types of utterances
by G-d. And we have to understand the difference, and respond accordingly.
Adam and No'ach were individuals, and they were prototypes of all human
beings. Avraham Avinu was also an individual, and he is the prototype
of the Jew. In many cases, he is us and we are him. (I know it should be he is
we and we are he, but I have a problem saying that.) G-D
TOLD AVRA(HA)M to
leave his land, his birthplace, his father's home and go to THE LAND which G-d
will show him, Eretz Yisrael. G-d is saying that, not just to Avraham, but
also to every single Jew who starts his life outside of Israel. IN
FACT, PARSHAT LECH L'CHA is
usually marked as SHABBAT ALIYA in many communities. But that's not the main
point of this "tidbit". It's what G-d says to Avra(ha)m a bit
further on in the sedra: "To your descendants I will give this
Land". And again, after Lot takes leave of Avra(ha)m, G-d tells him to
look in all directions. “For all the Land you see, I will give to you and
your offspring FOREVER”. G-D'S
PROMISE OF ERETZ YISRAEL is
repeated over and over to Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe Rabbeinu and
the People of Israel... and to each of US. And that is the point. Our claim to
the Land is not, based on Israel’s conquest in 1967, nor in any other period
of history. Our claim, our right, our exclusive right to Eretz Yisrael comes
from G-d's promises. We have "strings attached" concerning our hold
on the Land, but not our title to it. We must keep the Torah and be faithful
to G-d, or He will expel us from the Land, G-d forbid. But the Land is always
ours. It has been that way for a very long time, and will IY"H
continue forever, as G-d has promised. Eretz
Yisrael is Klal Yisrael’s legacy harking back to the Avot.
The promise Hashem made to Avraham Avinu in Parshat Lech Lecha
(12:7; 13:14-18) was an assurance that Eretz
Yisrael was given exclusively to Avraham his descendants for all time.
Throughout our history, although we did not always possess the land, Eretz
Yisrael is still ours. The bottom line is that we must be worthy of possessing
it by our steadfast observance of Torah and Mitzvot. Adapted from Torah
Tidbits. |
