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Israel: Motherland and Mother Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner Focus of the Biblical Universe, Cradle of It Only Produced the Latter

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Israel: Motherland and Mother Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner Focus of the Biblical Universe, Cradle of It Only Produced the Latter בס“ד Parshat Bechukotai (Diaspora) 27 Iyar, 5779/June 1, 2019 Vol. 10 Num. 36 (#414) Our Evening of Tribute is Tuesday evening June 25, celebrating Ten Years of our Beit Midrash! For more information and to make a contribution, please go to www.torontotorah.com/dinner19 Israel: Motherland and Mother Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner Focus of the biblical universe, cradle of it only produced the latter. (Bereishit remember Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov our nation, throne of King David’s Rabbah 5:9) The concept of territorial and “The Land”. Rabbi Teichtel theocentric empire, haven from our consciousness continued as the sages commented, “It is written (Vayikra foes, coordinate at which our mitzvot envisioned stones desiring to serve 26:42), ‘And I will remember My are most practical and practicable, righteous Yaakov. (Talmud, Chullin covenant with Yaakov, and also My host of our most palpable connection 91b) Many more classic sources ascribe covenant with Yitzchak, and also My to the world of the spirit, terraced hills consciousness to a range of inanimates. covenant with Avraham I will remember, across which the plangent Divine Certainly, at least some of these texts and the land I will remember.’… Rashi declaration, “Here I will dwell, for I are meant to provide moral instruction there wrote, ‘Why are they listed in have desired her (Tehillim 132:14)” still rather than to describe ex-cerebrum reverse? As if to say: Yaakov the echoes – Israel has been all of these for thought processes. Nonetheless, the youngest is worthy of this, and if he is the genetic and spiritual heirs of identity of Israel as thinking and not worthy then Yitzchak is with him, Avraham and Sarah. feeling mother to the Jewish people, and if he is not worthy then Avraham is adds depth of meaning to our exile, and with him.’ Based on this, one may add In the vision of Rabbi Avraham intensifies the imperative for our return. that even if all of them are unworthy, Yitzchak haKohen Kook and Rabbi meaning that the merit of our ancestors Yissachar Teichtel, though, Israel Of course, numerous nations describe has ended, still, ‘The land I will plays a more active role. Earth, stone, their homelands in maternal terms, remember,’ for the merit of the Land of river and sea are anthropomorphized depicting these spaces as environments Israel itself will save them from as limbs controlled by a humanesque which passively provide nourishment, trouble… She will protect us, to free us consciousness, and the space formerly security and familiar comfort. As whenever we are placed in trouble, known as Canaan is identified as a Professor Rosemary Marangoly George Heaven forbid.” (Eim haBanim living being, an independent spiritual wrote, “Home is a place to escape to and Semeichah, First Prologue) entity to whom we are bonded. a place to escape from. Its importance lies in the fact that it is not equally Like Queen Esther approaching Rabbi Kook stated this explicitly, available to all. Home is the desired Achashverosh and offering herself on writing, “The Land of Israel is not an place that is fought for and established behalf of her people, the Land of Israel external thing, an external prize as the exclusive domain of a few.” (The approaches Hashem and offers her own acquired by the nation, a means Politics of Home: Postcolonial Relocations merit on our behalf. toward the end of national unification and Twentieth-Century Fiction) Our and reinforcement of the nation’s concept of Israel as Mother transcends This personification of Israel as mother physical or even spiritual survival. The this role, though; we envision the Land and protector should add a dimension Land of Israel is an independent entity, of Israel as an active matriarch, like to our longing for aliyah. Our impulse to bound to the nation in the bond of Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Batsheva, return is not only a selfish desire to live life…” (Orot Eretz Yisrael 1) protecting her children. As noted by in the land of our ancestors, or to use Rabbi Teichtel, Eretz Yisrael evicts the land and products for our rituals. Description of land as a thinking, unworthy tenants and invokes her own We are not only walking the Bible and feeling entity did not originate with the merit on behalf of her longed-for laying claim to the once and future Land of Israel; a midrash places this children. home of the Beit haMikdash. We are concept at the start of the Torah, when returning to our mother, who longs to G-d charged the land to create both This vision of the Land begins in our have her children restored. fruit tree and fruit-producing tree, but parshah, when G-d promises to [email protected] OUR BEIT MIDRASH ROSH BEIT MIDRASH RABBI MORDECHAI TORCZYNER SGAN ROSH BEIT MIDRASH RABBI ELIHU ABBE AVREICHIM EZER DIENA, RABBI ALEX HECHT ADULT SEDER BOKER DIRECTOR RABBI MOSHE YERES WOMEN’S BEIT MIDRASH MRS. ELIANA ABBE ISRAELI CORRESPONDENTS RABBI ADAM FRIEDMANN, RABBI BARUCH WEINTRAUB, RABBI JONATHAN ZIRING Find our upcoming classes on-line at UNIVERSITY CHAVERIM ISAAC BUSHEWSKY, NAFTI DIENA, YISHAI DISHY, COREY www.torontotorah.com KAMEN, ARI KARON, JAY KARON, YEHUDA LEVI, COBY LYONS, JACOB POSLUNS, MORDECHAI ROTH, ARI RUBIN, DANIEL SAFRAN, ILAN SHIELDS, DAVID TOBIS, EYTAN We are grateful to WEISZ, URIEL WEISZ, ELI WELTMAN, MARK WERNER, BARUCH WISE Continental Press 905-660-0311 Journey Through Tanach: Shoftim, Chapter 10 Ezer Diena Summary The chapter ends with the Jewish gods without discriminating against Following Avimelech’s death, Tolah, the army encamping at Mitzpah, ready to Hashem, but ignoring their own Deity son of Puah, of Yissachar, judges the battle the Ammonites in Gilad, but and worshipping every other one to be Jewish people for 23 years. Following lacking a leader, who will be revealed found was a true chutzpah. him, Yair the Giladite judges the nation in Chapter 11. for 22 years, and both of their reigns Food for thought: Perhaps the reason pass without incident. However, Insight why the Jews did this was because they immediately after the death of Yair, the As mentioned in the summary, the were embarrassed to worship G-d nation returns to idol worship of a very nation once again returned to serving alongside so many other deities, since severe degree. They worship no fewer other gods, but this time, reached an they knew how much Hashem abhors than seven deities, from a variety of even lower level than on other idol worship. Would that (somewhat) cultures, and completely forsake occasions: “And the children of Israel justify their stance here? Additionally, Hashem. In response, Hashem gives again did that which was evil in the are there times when we, on a lesser those living in Transjordan over to the sight of the Lord, and served the scale follow the same reasoning, and Ammonite and Philistine armies, who Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the once we have done one misdeed, follow oppress them for 18 years. Following gods of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, with more sins? that, the Ammonites cross the Jordan and the gods of Moab, and the gods of and invade the land of Yehudah, the children of Ammon, and the gods [email protected] Binyamin, and Ephraim, and persecute of the Philistines; and they forsook the them as well. Lord, and served Him not.” (10:6, alhatorah.org translation) The narrative then records a long discussion between the Jewish people We could question the final clause of and Hashem, in which they admit their this verse; isn’t it clear that if they wrongs and cry out for help, followed by were serving seven other gods, that G-d telling them that they should cry they forsook Hashem and weren’t out to all of the gods they have been serving Him? Rashi, Radak and others worshipping, and that He is not therefore understand this verse to be interested in helping them. However, teaching us that despite their service once the people remove all the foreign of basically every god in the entire gods from their midst, and return to area, there was one whom no Jews worshipping Hashem, He becomes worshipped – Hashem. It would have sympathetic to their cause. been bad enough to worship other Law of the Land: Minority Rights in Israel Rabbi Jonathan Ziring Many of the Torah’s laws seem to be in tension with the holy Torah…. Even if we assume that when we accepted the modern value of religious tolerance. These include the state with this condition the Jewish government would obligation to destroy idolatrous places of worship, and violate a prohibition when fulfilling this condition, even so I prohibitions on allowing non-Jews to buy/rent land in Israel, would say “the prohibition is overridden to save the lives of to name a few. However, the modern state of Israel, founded the Jewish nation,” when we pay attention to the situation under the auspices of the United Nations and subject to of the nation in the world. And even though [the right/ international law, was of necessity founded with an obligation] of protecting lives does not stand up to idolatry, acceptance of religious tolerance and freedom. Many rabbinic or even its ancillary parts, that is only with regards to Jews authorities struggled, and struggle, with ways to open space themselves, but the prohibition of tolerating Gentile for such freedom. worship, and certainly the prohibition against them dwelling in the Land and the like, is not included, and it does not Admittedly, there were those who demurred from reconciling override saving the lives of the collective Israel.
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