Feature Tidbit There He Goes Again... talking about Torah and Eretz Yisrael. Hey, it's not me, it's G-d, Moshe, the Torah. And this time, Rashi too. And the Ramban. In Parshat Ekev we have the second passage of the SHMA. First the Torah tells us what happens if we keep the Mitzvot, if we love HaShem, and serve Him with all our heart. He will give us beneficial, timely rain and abundant crops. But if we, Chas V'Shalom, turn away from Him and turn to other gods, then G-d will be "angry" with us, He will withhold the rain, the ground will not yield its crops, and we will be exiled from this Land. V'SAMTEM ET D'VARAI EILEH... Rashi says, "even after you are exiled from the Land, continue to practice Mitzvot, wear T'filin, put Mezuzot on your doorposts, so that Mitzvot will not be new to you when you return to the Land." Set up signposts, as Yirmiyahu suggests, so that you will be able to return. Rashi quotes thisphrase from the Navi, implying that Mitzvot performed in Galut will point the Jew back to Eretz Yisrael. There are commentators who claim that it is Mitzvot that have to do with the Land of Israel that we are supposed to continue to fulfill so that we will be ready to observe them upon our return to Eretz Yisrael. Yet the straight reading of Rashi makes a strong case for the idea that Mitzvot, all Mitzvot, are able to be completely fulfilled only in Eretz Yisrael. And that is where they were intended by G-d to be observed. The Ramban takes this Rashi, which is based on the Sifri, and makes the clear statement that a Jews practices Mitzvot in Chutz LaAretz so that he will be able to fulfill then in Eretz Yisrael. Some explain that the relationship of G-d - the Giver of Mitzvot - with Bnei Yisrael - the receivers and doers of Mitzvot - is qualitativelydifferent from Eretz Yisrael to Chutz LaAretz, and that this affects the nature of the obligation of Mitzvot. There was a long period of Jewish History, when Jews longed to return to Zion, but to do so was nearly impossible. For the last half-century, at least, it has become progressively easier and easier to realize the dream of living in Eretz Yisrael. But you have to have the dream. [The Eikev Homepage]
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