Learning
about the Shmittah year, the Sabbatical year in which the land of Israel is to
lie fallow, presents those of us living in the Diaspora with an interesting set
of notions with which to grapple. First,
is the notion that there is really only one place in the world in which a Torah
observant Jew can actually observe the mitzvah of shmittah, and that is in the
Land of Israel. Second, is the idea that
no matter how much we might believe that we “own” the land upon which we live,
the ultimate owner is G-d. Third is the
idea that we have been inextricably tied to Eretz Yisrael since the inception
of Am Yisrael, the people of Israel.
I have a
feeling that when the Israelites entered the Land of Israel for the first time
after their ancestors had spent 400 years of slavery in Egypt, they were
mindful of how miraculous it was to finally be in the very place that their forefathers
had lived. They were acutely aware of G-d’s promises about the land to Abraham
and highly cognizant of their obligations toward Eretz Yisrael.
Do we moderns
have the same sense of miracle when we travel to Israel or hear about Israel in
the news? Do we remember that nearly 70
years ago, the generation of many of our parents witnessed one of the most
horrific periods in Jewish history, the Holocaust? Do we remember that they also witnessed the
birth of the Jewish nation rise out of those ashes? As one of my Pardes teachers, Rabbi Reuven
Grodner, wrote, “The ashes and bones of the Jewish nation that were strewn
about in Auschwitz and Treblinka were resurrected with the establishment of the
State of Israel. “ In many ways, it was a reenactment of the hope stated by the
prophet Ezekiel when he said, ‘Behold I will open up your graves, and bring you
into the Land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
opened your graves, and when I have caused you to come out of your graves, O my
people. And I shall put My spirit in you, and you shall live; and I shall place
you in your land.’ ” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).
What does it really mean to us to be alive at a time when we have a
Jewish homeland located in an independent Jewish state when we understand that
for 2000 years Jews could only hope and dream about such a time?
On Pesach,
we read the Song of Songs where the
Dod ( G-d) calls out to His beloved (Israel)
by knocking on the door. She hesitates because she is already in bed, already
has her feet washed and does not wish to dirty them if she were to answer the
door. In 1956, Rabbi Joseph
Soloveitchik, spoke about G-d knocking once again. In his speech, given on Yom HaAtzmaut, he
discusses six knocks on the door. “First, the knock of
opportunity was heard in the political arena.,” and the State of Israel was born by a vote in the
United Nations. The second knock was heard on the battlefield, when the small Israeli Defense Forces defeated the
larger Arab armies.The third knock was heard in the theological tent, reminding
the world that G-d’s covenant with the Jewish people still existed. The fourth knock was in the hearts of
assimilated youths, making them question their identity. The fifth knock was a reminder to our enemies
that for the first time in the history of
our exile, Jewish blood is not free for the taking! And the final knock was one which we must not
ignore. It was heard when the gates of
the land were opened. A Jew who flees from a hostile country now knows that he
can find a secure refuge in the land of his ancestors….that Jews who have been
uprooted from their homes can find lodging in the Holy Land.”
We
should not be apathetic to the knocks, like the shulamite was in the Song of Songs. Even though we are accustomed to the existence of the State
of Israel, and even though it might not seem like a miracle to us anymore, in
the annals of history it is an amazement that Jewish blood is no longer free
for the taking! It is a miracle that
after centuries of having to flee from hostile neighborhoods, Jews now have a
secure place that will take us in.
It
is good that we gathered last week to acknowledge Israel’s Independence Day, but
our actions and words need to go beyond just eating middle eastern food
together. Israel has been an essential
part of Judaism from the very beginning….we must not let others intimate that
it is merely a 66 year old connection! Our parasha reminds us that our
connection comes from Torah. The laws of
shmittah emphasize the sanctity and centrality of the Land of Israel in Jewish
spiritual life.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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