In Parshas Lech Lecha begins the journey
of Avraham Avinu as he travels to Eretz Yisrael and so forges the destiny of his
future children, the Bnei Yisrael. We read about his first encounter with God,
when he is given the promises of children and Eretz Yisrael, and makes the
famous Covenant of the Parts with God in which God promises that Avraham’s
descendants will become His chosen nation. In this sense, the basic foundation
for Bnei Yisrael is set up for all time in this parshah. You might call it the
beginning of the rest of the Torah! It is the promise of Eretz Yisrael that I
would like to focus on this week.
It says in Perek 13 Pasuk 14-15, “שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ
וּרְאֵה מִןהַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁראַתָּה שָׁם צָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה וָקֵדְמָה וָיָמָּה…”
“…Raise now your eyes and look out from where you are: northward, southward,
eastward and westward” “כִּי אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה
רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם” “For all the land
that you see, to you will I give it, and to your descendants forever.”
(Bereishis 13:14-15) Skipping to Pasuk 17, it says, “קוּם
הִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ לְאָרְכָּהּ וּלְרָחְבָּהּ כִּי לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה”
“Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth! For to you will
I give it.” (13:17) In these pesukim, Hashem is telling Avraham to travel
throughout the entire country of Israel, so he could see what he and his
children were getting. It almost sounds as if Hashem is showing off his gift
like a proud parent, which is exactly what he is doing.
The Kli Yakar points
out two discrepancies between these two separate “commandments” to explore
Eretz Yisrael. First off, the first pasuk tells Avraham to simply look at the
land, implying that all that is necessary for him to finalize his acquisition
of it is to observe it from where he stands. However, Pasuk 17 tells him that
he must go and explore every inch of the land on foot! This implies that he
must walk through every corner of the land in order for it to become his!
Secondly, in Pasuk 15, Hashem tells Avraham that he is giving the land to him, “וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם” “and to your
descendants forever.” In Pasuk 17, however, the pasuk only says that the
land will be given to Avraham with no mention of his children at all!
The Kli Yakar answers
that there were two sections of Eretz Yisrael that Avraham had to acquire, the
physical part and the spiritual part. At this point in time, Avraham was camped
in a city called Beit-El, which is now the spot of Har Habayit, the Temple
Mount. And while there was no temple built at the time of Avraham, or nowadays
for that matter, that spot is directly lined up with the Temple, which is
constantly erect, in heaven. Because of this, there exists a latent presence of
God on the mountain regardless of whether we see any physical manifestation of
it. This presence is so strong, says the Kli Yakar, that one who merely glances
at this spot is immediately imbued with a spirit of holiness and purity. Hashem
constantly keeps watch over that spot and anyone who comes there is immediately
seen by Him. Therefore, anyone who comes will “see” God as well, and will
receive this spirit, all it takes is looking at this spot. However, this
only takes affect at the Temple Mount itself, nowhere else in the world, even
in Eretz Yisrael itself, does this happen. So Hashem was telling Avraham to
look around the spot where he was living in order that he would reach a level
of holiness and purity which could not and still cannot be reached anywhere
else in the world.
Furthermore, this
spirit of holiness will never leave him and will even be passed to his
descendants, even if they do not see the Temple Mount! This is why the first pasuk
makes specific mention that God will give the land to Avraham’s children after
him, it is referring to this spiritual effect.
The physical
acquisition of Eretz Yisrael works differently, it must be done by showing
physical ownership. Therefore, Avraham was required to walk through the entire
country and only then could he officially claim the land as his own. Furthermore,
we are told that if we sin, we will lose Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, Hashem could
not promise to Avraham that his physical claim on Eretz Yisrael would go to his
children as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
For question, comments, or to subscribe to our email list, please email us at AIMeMTorah@gmail.com
AIMeM
No comments:
Post a Comment