In the aftermath of the Chanukah story, the last remaining son of Matisyahu, Shimon, became ruler of Judea. His rule was recognized by Rome and by the Seleucid Greeks, thus establishing Jewish political independence and the beginning of the Hasmonean dynasty, whose leadership passed to Shimon’s descendants. He also began to expand the territory of the Judean kingdom, conquering cities like Gezer and Yafo, which gave the newly re-established kingdom access to the sea. At one point, however, Antiochus VII Sidetes (not the infamous Antiochus of the Chanukah story, but a later Seleucid king) reneged on an alliance with Shimon and made the following accusation: “You are occupying Yafo and Gezer and the citadel of Jerusalem; these are cities of my kingdom.”
Shimon sent the following reply: “It is not foreign land we have taken nor have we seized the property of others, but only our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies. Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors.” In his response, Shimon made no mention of the land being G-d-given or to any divine rights to the land. His claim was purely historical.
A few months ago, in Daf Yomi, we learned the famed third chapter of Bava Basra, called Chazkas HaBatim. This chapter is entirely about claims and counterclaims to land, to real estate. It describes how property owners who are unable to be physically present on their lands can still prevent its current occupiers from gaining legal possession. The primary method for doing so is called macha’ah, where the true owner, at least once every three years, makes a formal protest of the occupier’s presence there. Surprisingly, the very end of the chapter discusses various practices that we do zecher le’churban, to commemorate the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. What is this discussion doing at the end of Chezkas HaBatim? I think it is clear. By doing these zecher le’churban practices, like leaving part of our homes unplastered, we issue a macha’ah, we state that though we are physically distant, we have not relinquished our title to our ancestral homeland. In other words, our collective claim of return to Eretz Yisrael conforms to the legal technicalities of Chezkas HaBatim.
That is not to say that G-d is not part of the equation, chas ve’shalom. The land is an expression of our covenant with Hashem and is completely bound up with our upholding that covenant and our performance of Torah and mitzvos; one need look no further than the second beracha of Birkas HaMazon to see that. Nevertheless, legal perspectives play an important role. A divine mandate is very difficult to prove, no matter how firmly it is believed; just as importantly, what prevents another group from claiming that they are, in fact, the recipients of the divine promise – in addition to, or instead of, the Jewish people? There is no shortage of people, today or in eras past, claiming to be the “real” or “true” Israel.
It is for reasons such as this that law must operate, as John Rawls stated, behind a “veil of ignorance,” meaning, that a fair and just legal system is one that would be created by a group of people who have no knowledge of what their “original position” would be within the society governed by that system. And hence we may ask: is a legal system that privileges claims based on divine right over any other legal or historical claim a just system? Is that what we would adopt if we had no prior knowledge of who G-d would choose? Would I readily vacate my home if someone knocked on the door one day and professed that G-d appeared to him in a dream and granted him my house?
The theological dimension of our relationship to Eretz Yisrael is crucial. This is where the Torah reaches its greatest fulfillment, where we build a civilization with the Torah as our blueprint. But we also live in and interact with a diverse and complex world, and we believe that justice and fairness is an important part of that world, within each nation and among nations. So it is important that, in addition to our divine mandate, our presence in Eretz Yisrael is justified according to broadly accepted principles of justice and fairness. Every morning, when we recite kapitel 146 of Tehillim, we give expression to this idea. Before arriving at the ultimate passuk, repeated in Kedushah, proclaiming that Hashem, our G-d, will reign forever from Zion, we describe Hashem as providing justice for the oppressed, frustrating the wicked, and loving the righteous. Evidently, Hashem’s eternal reign from Zion and Hashem’s love of justice are two sides of the same coin.
– Rabbi Elli Fischer is a translator, writer, and historian. He edits Rav Eliezer Melamed’s Peninei Halakha in English, cofounded HaMapah, a project to quantify and map rabbinic literature, and is a founding editor of Lehrhaus. Follow him @adderabbi on Twitter or listen to his podcast, “Down the Rabbi Hole.”
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One should not have to defend Israel. One must go on the offense and control the conversation as to why the person is questioning Israel’s existence but not questioning the existence of any other country on the planet. One never wins on the defense no matter how good the argument. Take control of the argument, as Israel took care of the situation in the 1967 Six-Day War by launching a pre-emptive attack. The best defense is a strong offense,
– Rabbi Chaim Jachter is a prominent rabbi who serves as the rabbi at Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, and is a popular Torah teacher at the Torah Academy of Bergen County. He also serves as a Dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth and has acquired an international reputation of excellence in the area of Get administration. He has authored sixteen books on issues ranging from contemporary Halacha, Tanach, Aggada, and Jewish Thought all available on Amazon.
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There is no question that Israel can stand alone in terms of its value and accomplishments. It represents a nation that has contributed so much to the betterment of the world. From science to technology, from being a nation of successful startups to being a nation that cares for its people, Israel is the example of democracy located in a sea of nations that hate her and would love to see her disappear from the face of the earth.
With that said, Jewish people in general enhance any society that they live in and they really don’t need Israel to advertise their accomplishments. Jews can be successful wherever they live. That’s just the nature of our people. We are a driven people! We are intelligent. We will do well anywhere we choose to live.
And that’s exactly the point!
My wife and I made aliyah ten years ago not because we disliked living in America. In America we were very comfortable with a nice home, a good salary and respected in the Jewish community. We were comfortable with the language we spoke and we could secure anything that would enhance our Judaism. In short, it was a good life!
We made aliyah not because we expected that things would be better in Israel. We moved because we knew that to live as a Jew, one should live in Israel. Most everyone who has made aliyah will tell you that it is very challenging. A new language, a new society, and a people who are probably more educated Jewishly than most pulpit rabbis in the States – so much so that a simple street sweeper in Israel might know all of Tanach by heart!
We moved to Israel because Torah without Israel is an anomaly. There are thousands of references in the Talmud and the Torah to the inseparable link of Torah and Eretz Yisrael. For a Jew to live without Israel is the equivalent of a Jew living without a soul.
So, even though Israel could easily be defended without invoking Hashem and our divine right, our only claim to Israel is that divine directive and inspiration – that to be a complete Jew one must live in Israel.
– Rabbi Mordechai Weiss lives in Efrat, Israel, and previously served as an elementary and high school principal in New Jersey and Connecticut. He was also the founder and rav of Young Israel of Margate, N.J. His email is [email protected].
