Q&A: The Meaning of the Land of Israel
The Meaning of the Land of Israel
Question
Throughout the sources we see different attitudes toward the importance of the Land of Israel. I wanted to ask what the Rabbi thinks about the Land of Israel: is there something special about it, and why? What does the Land of Israel mean to the Rabbi?
Answer
For me, the Land of Israel is a land like any other land, except that we are commanded to settle it and live in it. That is all. All the mysticism attached to it does not sound well-founded to me. Already in the Bible it speaks of a land “upon which the eyes of the Lord your God are,” in contrast to the land of Egypt. But that is true of any land that depends on rain and not on the waters of the Nile. Fundamentally, this is a natural distinction. Of course, if the Holy One, blessed be He, chose this land for us to dwell in, then it now has a status, and perhaps His eyes are indeed upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. But all this has nothing to do with mysticism or with special properties, about which I have no idea, and I assume no one else does either.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know what it was like in the past.
According to your view, that there is no providence and that even in the past it was rare, why are “the eyes of the Lord your God” more on a land that depends on rain than on one that depends on the Nile?