The focus of the narrative following the Exodus from Egypt is on establishing ourselves in the land that G-d promised to Abraham …the land of Canaan, now known as the land of Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey. The journey through the wilderness for 40 years was not without its trials and tribulations, yet Moshe remained intent on bringing the people to their end goal, the establishment of a nation that would serve G-d in its own land. Yet, in this week’s parasha, Mattot, we find that two of the tribes, Reuven and Gad, that have large herds of livestock, want to stay on the far side of the Jordan River in order to graze their flocks and establish residence there. Moshe rejects their claim at first. “Is it fair that your brothers will go to fight (in the land of Israel) and you shall dwell here? Why are you attempting to dissuade the children of Israel from occupying the land that G-d gave them.” (Bemidbar 32:6-7)
Finally, Moshe acquiesces to their request but puts a stipulation on it that must be fulfilled in advance to their settling in Ever HaYarden, the other side of the Jordan River. The men of Reuven and Gad could leave their families in Ever HaYarden only if they would go before the other tribes to fight the enemies that they would face upon entering the Land. They must fight together with their brothers until the land is captured before returning to their families.
Why was there a stipulation? Why did it matter that all of the tribes had to enter the land at one time even if two of the tribes were going to settle elsewhere?
One of the fears, was that if the two tribes merely settled in another area, without first entering the Land with the other tribes, they would be influenced by their surroundings and feel disconnected from the rest of the nation. Feeling disconnected, they might reject G-d. A decision to be apart from the nation, could result in weakening the entire nation. So the requirement was made to have them enter the land hoping that there would be a strong emotional attachment to the Land and to the rest of the people of Israel.
Today’s parsha makes me think about the meaning of Zionism. For many, Zionism is a term that they know as introduced for the first time by Theodore Herzl when he said he wanted to establish a homeland for his people. Yet, at first that homeland, could have been anywhere on the Earth’s surface. Herzl was willing to settle anywhere because Zionism for him was a matter of first finding a safe haven for Jews. Herzl wrote, “We should be sovereign over a piece of the earth’s surface sufficient for the legitimate needs of our people. We will look after everything else.” His omission of writing where this state would be established led to the proposal of the Uganda Plan where we would be given an area of Africa to establish our State. Eventually the Uganda Plan was rejected by the Zionist Congress.
Why wouldn’t the idea of having a Jewish State outside the Land of Israel have worked for us? A story is told about a member of the British parliament who asked just such a question of Chaim Weizman? He wanted to know why Eretz Yisrael was irreplaceable. Weizman asked the parliament member if his grandmother were still alive. “Well, do you visit her?” “Of course, I do. I visit her every week.” “Well, why not visit just any old woman on the block, why your grandmother? After all, there are plenty of other old women nearby.”
It was Rav Kook, who was born in Latvia in 1865 and made his way to Israel in 1904 becoming the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, who proposed that “Zionism is based on the basis of the rebirth of the nation on her land through her Torah.” For Rav Kook, the idea of having a homeland in Israel was about having a political reality filled with the spiritual. It was to be a land in which justice and righteousness would be primal…where we would get along with each other and promote a vision of peace to the other nations. For Rav Kook, having a political reality filled with the spiritual did not mean the establishment of a theocracy, but a place that was to become a beacon of light to the other nations. The Land of Israel was an essential part of his vision of becoming one nation that would change the world for the better.
The goal of establishing ourselves in the Land after the Exodus from Egypt, was really no different than Rav Kook’s idea. We saw ourselves as a political entity, a nation committed to serving G-d through our actions of sanctifying life as a people. The fear of having groups within our ranks that were not committed to the goals of the people of Israel was seen as a deterrent to those goals.
The question we must ask ourselves today, is whether or not our attachment to the Land and people of Israel is a necessary part of our continued existence as Jews living in the Diaspora . Is it necessary to support the Jewish dream of maintaining its homeland in the Land of Israel even if we are living in another land that treats us well? How important is it to support our fellow Jews as they work to defend the Jewish state against enemies who would seek to destroy her?
Rav Kook, put it quite eloquently when he wrote in Orot, Eretz Yisrael 1. “The Land of Israel is not an external thing, a national external acquisition….The Land of Israel is an essential part of the nation that is tied up with her life, linked with internal connections with her existence.” “Love of the Land of Israel is the basis of the Torah as it brings the Jewish people and the whole world to a state of excellence.”(Ein Iyah, Berachot, Chapter 6 – Rav Kook). The fear Moshe had about the tribes of Reuven and Gad becoming disconnected from the people of Israel is still a relevant fear for many Israelis who think about Jews living outside of Israel. They worry about whether will we continue to support them and maintain a strong emotional attachment to the Land. They recognize that Eretz Yisrael has the potential to be a place that is built in regular ways, but sanctified through its desire to fulfill a dream of being a place where tzedek and mishpat/ justice and righteousness will one day always prevail.
May we learn from the stipulations put upon Reuven and Gad, that living outside the land is permissible but not being attached to the land brings danger to those who have made the decision to be present in Israel. Even when we live outside the Land, we need to recognize its centrality from a Torah perspective for the spiritual advancement of the Jewish people and its message to the rest of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment