Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The Sanctity of Eretz Yisrael by Moshe Dann. Relationship of Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael is fundamental component of Judaism

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Zachor: The sanctity of Eretz Yisrael
By MOSHE DANN, The Jerusalem Post
December 5, 2014
The relationship between the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael is a
fundamental component of Judaism.


... But why do we need a homeland? Isn't being a People
and practicing Judaism enough? The laws of Shmita provide an answer.
These Torah-mandated laws which take effect at the end of a seven-year
cycle restrict Jews in Eretz Yisrael from agricultural work, even that
done in private gardens.....The sanctity of Eretz Yisrael does not come only from exercising control over it, but from recognizing that God alone is sovereign.
...Without Torah and Eretz Yisrael, we lose our connection to the process
of redemption, our opportunity and obligation to transform the world.
...We transform the land, and the Land transforms us. That process can only happen in the context of Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael.
...The core of Jewish civilization is living Torah, bringing ethical
monotheism to the world, rebuilding Eretz Yisrael and reestablishing
Jewish nationhood. That dream did not begin with Theodor Herzl, or
with his successors. 
...With Jews unable to express their collective, national consciousness at the
Temple Mount, Judaism was recast; ritual became embodied in prayer.One of the critical elements of that common purpose is the constant focus on Eretz Yisrael and the Temple, symbols for the spiritual and physical wholeness of the Jewish People.
...Reestablishing the State of Israel and regaining most of Biblical
Israel in 1967 created a new context and opportunity for the Jewish
People.
...The Covenant which binds us to Eretz Yisrael links Jewish history and
Jewish destiny, past and future.
...
Possession of Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish People confirms and is a
manifestation of God's presence and the purpose of the Jewish People.

That explains the very first Rashi in the Bible: when Jews are accused
of stealing Eretz Yisrael, they can respond that just as God created
the world, every nation received its land, including the Jewish
people.

Not only is Eretz Yisrael holy, it gives and receives holiness, as if
it were alive; it stands for an awareness of God's presence, not only
as Land, but Being.

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Zachor-The-sanctity-of-Eretz-Yisrael-383716
--
Sincerely,

Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing.

Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com 

Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog. 

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