YOU SHALL NOT MAKE
IDOLS FOR YOURSELVES, OR SET UP FOR YOURSELVES CARVED IMAGES OR PILLARS, OR
PLACE FIGURED STONES IN YOUR LAND TO WORSHIP UPON, FOR I THE LORD AM YOUR GOD.
YOU SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS AND VENERATE MY SANCTUARY, MINE, THE LORD'S.
(Vayikra 26:1-2)
THE SANCTITY OF LIFE IS BOUND UP WITH
COVENANT AND REMEMBRANCE, NOT WITH DEAD STONES
The sign which reminds us of My supervision everywhere, is "my Sabbaths"; the place which sanctifies all your life, in order that my Holy Presence dwell among you, is "My sanctuary" - The Sanctuary of My Torah. Therefore, "You shall keep my Sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary, Mine, the Lord's." Not by statue nor by monument; God's supervision is symbolized by the Sabbaths of the Lord. The Sabbaths of the Lord are the Sabbath of Creation and the Sabbaths of the Land - Shabbat, Shmitta, and Jubilee. By teaching the idea of God, they shape all our lives as human beings and as citizens; they demonstrate our submission to God by major acts of offering and thanks. The Sabbaths of the Lord - in a broader context - include the festivals of the Lord. They are times of coming together, in order to remind us of God's supervision. All these Sabbaths of the Lord are a sign for us, covenant and appointed time; they are not hewn from lifeless stone, but they are signs of recognition, covenant and remembrance, woven from the living materials of our actions. They remind us of the supervision of the Lord - not by virtue of themselves - but through their shaping influence upon our behavior. By submission and sanctification of all our lives, they join us and appoint us to the Lord.
(Rabbi
Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, ibid., ibid.)
Shira Leibowitz Schmidt
and Tirza Leibowitz
Shira Leibowitz Schmidt: The complexity of our relationship to the Land of Israel, Eretz Yisrael, has elicited much discussion over the generations. Some insight into how past and current commentators understood this relationship can be gained by looking at the terse comments of Rabbi Ovadia Seforno (Italy,1475-1550) on a verse from Parashat Behar. Seforno's comments form the basis of an intriguing discussion by Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mann Shach, z"l. who passed away in Bene Brak on 16 Cheshvan in the fall of this year. He stood at the helm of the traditional yeshiva world in Israel for the past few decades.
Seforno's comments revolve around the verse in Behar that concludes a section of the laws of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. The verse we will be analyzing seems to contradict a verse that appears in Psalms 115 that is part of the Hallel. Juxtaposing the two verses makes it easier to see the contradiction.
(a) Leviticus 25:23: "The land [ha-aretz] shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land [ha-aretz] is Mine; for you are strangers and residents with Me."
(b) Psalm 115:16: "The heavens are the heavens of the L-rd; but He has given the land [ha-aretz] to mankind."
According to the verse in our Parashah from Leviticus, the land is Mine, i.e. G-d's, while according to the Psalm, it is mankind's. Is the land G-d's or mankind's? Is it Mine or thine?
Seforno addresses this question by first differentiating between the two different meanings of the word "ha-aretz". That word appears twice in our verse (25:23) from Behar. The first time it appears, it refers back to the cultivated lands [hakarka haneevad] about which we were just instructed in Behar vis-a-vis the Sabbatical and Jubilee years: "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity." However, the second time the word "ha-aretz" appears in our verse ["for the land is Mine"] Seforno comments that this is a reference to the Land of Israel [which he terms Galil, probably referring to the parts of the Land of Israel west of the Jordan river.] "This is G-d's Land" comments Seforno. But this raises another problem: If the Land of Israel "belongs" to G-d, how can we understand the statement from Psalms that "He has given the land to mankind"?
Seforno resolves the seeming contradiction between the phrase in our Parashah "The land is Mine" and the phrase from the Psalm "He has given the land to mankind." Seforno explains that the Land of Israel is not included in the generalization in the Psalm that the land was given to mankind. While other countries were allocated to various nations of the world, the Land of Israel was not given to Jews in perpetuity, and we are only "strangers and residents" [gerim v'toshavim], two terms that appear in the end of the verse. G-d is the true Owner of the Land. [See annotated Seforno published by Mosad HaRav Kook].
It is this explanation of Seforno that Rav Shach elaborated on in a discussion of Parashat Behar nine years ago at the Ponovitz Yeshiva in Iyyar (5753/1993) [See the collection of R. Shach's works, edited by I. Bergman, Sefer MeRosh Amana]. "The Seforno explains that Eretz Yisrael is not included in the passage in Psalms 'the land was given to mankind' because the latter verse refers to the divisions of the lands of the earth among various nations, with the exception of the Land of Israel, which remains in perpetuity the possession of G-d."
R. Shach was aware that this view gives rise to another contradiction which he refers to in his continuation. Since the Land of Israel was given to Abraham, it is our inheritance. So how could Seforno say that the Land of Israel is an exception to the rule? For example the following statements in Genesis seem to belie what Seforno is saying. G-d promises Abraham, "Unto your seed I will give this Land" (12:7) and Jacob recalls the promise to him "I will give this Land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession." (48:4). Rav Shach recognized this paradox, and continued, "It seems there is a puzzling contradiction because the Land was given to our forefather Abraham and we inherited it from our ancestors. Since this is so, why does Seforno say that the verse [from Psalms] does not refer to the giving of the Land of Israel to the people of Israel?"
Rav Shach answered the question he raised by pointing out that "our ownership of the Land of Israel is not absolute because it does not belong to us the way the other lands belong to their nations." In contrast, "our hold on the Land of Israel is conditional and depends upon our behavior. It is indeed our inheritance, but our right to actualize our ownership is gained solely observing Torah and mitzvot. Holding on to the Land by conquering it with force alone does not guarantee that we will remain here." In other words, France belongs to French people, Thailand belongs to Thais, the Tahiti Islands to Tahitians. But our relationship to our Land is different, it is conditional.
To buttress his contention, R. Shach cited the verses that we say daily in the Shema, "If you will obey... then your days will be lengthened on the Land... " but, Heaven forbid, "If your heart be seduced and you turn away... you will swiftly be banished from the good Land that the L-rd gives you." (Deut. 11)
This issue of the temporary versus the permanent was a theme R. Shach often returned to, in the context of the conditional nature our relationship to the Land. He emphasized the transitory nature of our residency here (or indeed anywhere), and the fact that our right to the Land depends upon mitzvah observance and Torah study. He was well aware of contemporary geo-political issues and was outspoken in his warnings about being overconfident in our dealings with our neighbors. For example, at a dedication of the Bet HaMidrash of Vishnitz he addressed this issue (in Sivan 5743). The temporary and conditional aspect of our claim to the Land was highlighted in his elaboration of the first verse of Genesis 18, Parashat Yayera, where Abraham is described as sitting at the entrance to his tent. [v'hu yoshev petah ha-ohel]. R. Shach pointed out that wherever we have been in the Diaspora, we have been on edge, "at the entrance to the tent", bags packed, and ready, if necessary, to flee. We were never really "inside" (i.e.permanently secure in) the tent because we feared being subject to rejection and ejection. We have been transients.
At this point R. Shach referred to the examples of the expulsion from Spain and the Holocaust and based his analysis on the explanation of R. Meir Simha Hacohen of Dvinsk, the Or Sameah, in his Torah commentary Meshekh Hokhma). The Meshekh Hokhma wrote a lengthy explanation of the verse from Parashat Behukotai: "When they are in the land of enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly and to break My covenant with them" (Lev.26:44). In elaborating on the cycle of Jews settling in a Diaspora country, becoming comfortable, then being rudely and cruelly ejected, R. Meir Simha Hacohen wrote that Jews "mistakenly think that Berlin is Jerusalem." (Note: R. Meir Simha died in 1926!!)
Rav Shach then applied this observation of R. Meir Simha to our situation. "Here, too, in the Land of Israel, we are not yet at home!" This statement sounds daring, but must be understood in terms of his metaphysical conception of the ephemeral versus the permanent.
What he was referring to is that we are still awaiting redemption, geulah. "While we are surrounded by people who hate us and want to destroy us, Jewish victims are dying daily" (this was in 1983!). "We have not yet reached a state of permanence in our Land, while we are surrounded by enemies. The only true feeling of permanence is when we are in the bet hamidrash, in the study hall. Establishing additional settlements in the Shomron will not guarantee our existence, and will not add to our security. The opposite is true, it will only increase the hatred of our enemies."
In the discussion of the verse from Behar, "the Land is Mine", R. Shach exphasized our special kind of "ownership" of the Land of Israel, a conditional ownership. It may be that the Land is promised to us as an "everlasting possession", but only on the condition that we keep our part of the covenant. Then in his discussion of Abraham's "sitting at the entrance to the tent", he elaborated on a different aspect of this conditional, dependent relationship: the danger in the illusion that we have already come home and settled permanently here. He warned against exaggerated over-confidence in military solutions and against aggravating our geopolitical situation by antagonizing the neighboring peoples.
Nevertheless he was cautiously optimistic. Had he not been hopeful and committed to rebuilding his life here in the Land of Israel, he would not have chosen to come here when he fled Europe in 1939. At that time it was feared that Rommel and the German army would conquer Mandatory Palestine. Despite warnings by colleagues not to come here, and entreaties to go to the United States, he insisted on coming on aliyah to Eretz Yisrael. His discussion of the verse in Behar "for the Land is Mine" closed on a hopeful note, by pointing out that if our possession of the Land of Israel is dependent on our commitment to Torah observance and especially to study, "then we have a heavy responsibility towards klal Yisrael, to the people of Israel. But even a small minority, if it is dedicated to Torah and mitzvot, can save the entire people."
Our possession of the Land of Israel is eternal in its potential; but we have to actualize this potential through mitzvot, and not through might alone.
Tirza Leibowitz: One cannot ignore the underlying non-Zionist posture of Rav Shach's words. Completely absent is any recognition of the hold we presently have on the Land - partial and tenuous as it may be - that was achieved by the Zionist enterprise, i.e. political and military endeavors that resulted in our achieving national Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Rav Shach returns us to the limited status familiar to us from centuries in galut, when he says (further on in his essay) "a truly Jewish understanding of our situation would acknowledge that we have no permanence here in our Land surrounded as we are by enemies. The only permanence we have is in the bet midrash, the study hall!" And what to you seems a hopeful conclusion in his derasha is, in my opinion, a form of supercilious noblesse oblige: "A small minority... dedicated to Torah and mitzvot... can save the entire people." The majority, it seems, do not have any merits; only the minority (the scholars?)
Shira Leibowitz Schmidt: Granted that the "minority" Rav Shach refers to and addresses are his own community. But that does not invalidate the sociological truth that a minority - from any sector - can effect change far above and beyond its size and numbers. That is why I find his words encouraging to the moderate religious-Zionist sector, which is probably a minority today. One way to influence the majority is to cooperate with sectors other than your own . In this case, it might be wise to try to build coalitions with the community of Rav Shach, z"l. We should be wary of falling into the "label trap" - the tendency to put a label on people (e.g. right/left; Zionist/ non-Zionist/anti-Zionist; etc.) In a eulogy that Rav Yehuda Amital wrote in memory of Rav Shach, Rav Amital states that there is "a paradox: there is no one who brought the ultra-Orthodox world closer to the State and its institutions than Rav Shach" (Alon Shvut Graduates' Journal Nissan 5762).
Therefore it behooves us to abstain from labeling people. The labels "Zionist" or "non-Zionist" are not relevant.
Tirza Leibowitz: I wonder how many followers Rav Shach has who take seriously his warning that "establishing additional settlements in the Shomron will not guarantee our existence, and will not add to our security. The opposite is true, it will only increase the hatred of our enemies." There is a large sector of the public that does not agree with that view, but sees our situation in terms of "Land of Israel-inalienable ownership-military might-Divine promise-eternity." I will grant that, at least theoretically, Rav Shach's approach does represent a clear break with that sector. Thus Rav Shach's worldview is the antithesis of the messianic religious view of our connection to the Land and serves as a counterbalance to that latter approach. In my view, his warning about the danger of the illusion that our presence in the Land is guaranteed solely by physical might far, far outweighs the question whether or not he recognizes the contribution of Zionism. Thus for the Zionists among us, we would do well to give a hearing to what he has said.
Shira Leibowitz Schmidt is a translator and a lecturer in English as a
Foreign Language.
Tirza Leibowitz, her daughter, is an attorney for Bizchut, The Israel
Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities, and is a facilitator at Bet
Midrash Elul.
Do not be upset [at having to return the land at the Jubilee] - for it is not yours.
(Rashi, Vayikra
25:23)
He admonished not to sell land as a permanent sale, for He said: "The land shall not be sold beyond reclaim".
(From
Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvoth, Negative Mitzvah 227)
"The land shall observe a Sabbath of the Lord." - the
land shall be free of human labor during the seventh year... "In the
seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest"... therefore
did the Torah command this law, that all kinds of rule and mastery by man shall
be free of working the land, in order that man contemplate that there is no
complete mastery and rule, except by the Master of All, Blessed Be He.
(Rabeinu
Bechayey, Vayikra 25:2)
"At the end of seven years" - the Shmitta year brings Hakhel and peace, for since there will be no planting or growth, the poor of his people will eat, because he is not permitted to hold the produce of the seventh year as a householder, and this is without doubt the cause of peace, because all quarrels derive from "What's mine is mine," "this one says all of it is mine," and all this is not so during the seventh year, for not all are equal in matters of "rise up and act", but in matters of "sit, and refrain from action", all are equal, and this is indeed the meaning of peace...
(Kli Yakar, Devarim
31:12)
Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Great is peace, for peace is to the land
as is yeast to the dough. Had not The Holy One, Blessed Be He, given peace to
the land, the sword and wild animals would have bereaved man. What is the
source for this? It is written "And I will bring peace to the
land" - and 'the land' means Eretz Yisrael.
(Tractate Derekh Eretz Zutta, Chap.
Hashalom 1)
Should you say: There's food and there's drink - yet if there is no peace, there is nothing?! Said the Torah: "I shall bring peace to the land" - thus teaching us that peace outweighs everything. And so does it say: "I... make peace and create woe" - teaching that peace outweighs everything.
(Sifra, Bechukotai, 1)
"I will bring peace to the land" - Scripture continues to explain how you sit in security, for even though it may not be necessary to leave the land for the sake of sustenance, there is no proof that you may not have to travel from place to place in order to guard over the land. Regarding this, the Torah says that not because of civil war - for there will peace in the land - nor for the sake of war with the nations... "the sword will pass through your land" - you will not be accustomed to wielding the sword.
(Haamek
Davar, Vayikra 26:6)
To our readers:
We will be happy to
have you actively participate in "Shabbat Shalom" by:
For details, contact Miriam
Fine (053-920206 or 02-6730196)
If you enjoy Shabbat
Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and
distribution.
·
Hebrew
edition distributed in Israel $1000
Issues may be
dedicated in honor of an event, person,
simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the
Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.
US, Canadia or
British tax-exempt contributions to OzveShalom may be made through the New
Israel Fund or through P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.
Contributions
should be marked as donor-advised to OzveShalom/Netivot Shalom, the Shabbat
Shalom project.
New Israel Fund,
POB 53410, Jerusalem 91534 (Please include Israeli address and telephone
number)
New Israel Fund,
POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA
New Israel Fund of
Canada, 801 Eglinton Ave. West, Suite #401, Toronto, Ontario M5N 1E3 Canada
(Canadian tax exemption)
New Israel Fund of
Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, United Kingdom (British tax
exemption)
P.E.F. Israel
Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017
USA
About us:
Oz Veshalom-Netivot
Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel.
It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice,
concepts which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot
Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views
peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the
religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It
maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just
society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an
imperative.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot
Shalom`s programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars,
lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students,
educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and
Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence
between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious
relevance.
9,000 copies of a 4
page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and
published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350
synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is
www.netivot-shalom.org.il.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot
Shalom`s educational forums draw people of different backgrounds, secular and
religious, who are keen to deepen their Jewish knowledge and to hear an
alternative religious standpoint on the subjects of peace and social issues.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills
an ideological vacuum in Israel's society. Committed both to Jewish tradition
and observance, and to the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is
in a unique position to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the
religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians.
Our
activities are funded by donations and one part time employee.
OzveShalom/Netivot
Shalom Tel./Fax
972-2-5664218
Pob 4433 Email:
ozshalom@netvision.net.il
Jerusalem 94310, Israel www.
netivot-shalom.org.il