Lech Lecha: Eretz Yisrael, The Homeland of Our Soul

‘To the land which I will show you.’¹ In this week’s parsha, Hashem promises the land of Eretz Yisrael to Avraham and his descendants. Originally, before it was given over as a gift to the Jewish people, the land was called Canaan, because it is a place of complete hachna’a, submission, to the Divine Will. The love between Hashem, the land and the Jewish people is a most powerful and soul-stirring trio. Throughout the generations, there has always been a deep national desire for Eretz Yisrael and it all started with Avraham and Sara’s love, admiration and eternal bond with the land. 

The relationship between the Jewish people and the land begins in this week’s parsha with the words of Hashem: ‘Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward.’ ²The Ohr HaChaim tells us that Hashem allowed Avraham to see the beauty of the entire land from one vantage point. Avraham did not have to turn his head, all of the land was captured in one panoramic view. All of it was destined to belong to his children. Hashem commands Avraham both to ‘raise his eyes’ and ‘look’ and in the following verse, Hashem tells Avraham once more to ‘look’ at the land He is giving to his descendants. The parsha began with Hashem commanding Avraham to go to the land which he will be shown. These many references to ‘seeing’ and ‘showing’ contain great depth. 

The Kli Yakar tells us that aside from the physical benefit of the land: being granted ownership over its borders, there is incredible spiritual benefit too. We receive the lofty spiritual gifts of the land simply by beholding it. Merely by looking at the land with our eyes, we are filled with an inner purity which enables us to see the glory of Hashem. This is reflected in our daily request to Hashem in our shemone esrei that ‘Our eyes should see when You return to Tzion.’ When our eyes see the holiness of the land, they see the beauty of the King: Hashem. 

This is why Yerushalayim was named Yerushalayim: it is a composite of two words yeraieh and shalem. Yeraieh, that Hashem will be seen by His people, and shalem, because there we reach absolute perfection. Avraham and Sara had to express this desire to see the land, because through vision, the spiritual gems of the land and its connection to Hashem, is unlocked. As we pray on Shabbat, ‘May our eyes see Your Kingship.’ The land of Israel is a land where we truly see Hashem. 

In the same vein, the land of Israel is also the land where Hashem truly sees us. On Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, when the Jewish people ascend to Yerushalayim, the verse³ tells us ‘three times a year, all your males appear before Hashem.’ Hashem gazes with love at his people at these three appointed times, special times for the nation to bond with Hashem. In Devarim⁴, the Torah tells us that ‘Hashem’s eyes are always on it,’ His eyes are always focused on Eretz Yisrael. So intense is Hashem’s presence in Eretz Yisrael that when Kayin is expelled from Gan Eden, the pasuk⁵ says ‘He left the presence of Hashem.’ Rav Wolbe⁶ explains that this reference does not only refer to Kayin’s departure from his conversation with Hashem after killing Hevel, but of his departure from Israel. Leaving Eretz Yisrael is leaving the presence of Hashem. Living in Eretz Yisrael is living in the most revealed, intense and close presence of Hashem. 

The nisayon which Avraham and Sara faced was the challenge to leave the comforts of their home and move to their spiritual homeland and birthplace. The way in which they willingly uprooted their familiar life and surroundings for a higher spiritual goal implanted in us, their descendants, a deep love of the land and a willingness to make aliya, even with all the difficulty involved. The Ramban famously wrote ‘maaseh avot siman l’banim,’ which means that ‘the action of the fathers are a sign for the children.’ In other words, what our avot and imahot experienced is a blueprint of what is to come for us, their descendants. The heart which pulls each Jewish male after Eretz Yisrael stems from the national heart of Avraham Avinu. And the soul which draws every Jewish woman after Eretz Yisrael emanates from the soul of Sara Imeinu. 

Hashem commanded Avraham to walk through the land, through its length and breadth⁷. The Chibba Yeteira, a sefer written by Rav Henkin, explains that this was done for the sake of future generations. Hashem knew that one day the Jewish people living in the land would want to say ‘Avraham Avinu walked here!’ or ‘Sara Imeinu travelled there!’ We treasure our land even more when we know that our greats were the first to leave the footprints. On a deeper level, Rabbeinu Bachya points out that Avraham did not necessarily take a physical walk through the land. He derives this from the word ‘hit-halech,’ which is a reflexive verb as opposed to ‘lech’ which simply means ‘walk!’ 

Hashem did not command Avraham to walk physically, but reflexively. The journey that Avraham and Sara embarked on was not just a physical one. In fact, the verse immediately after the command to walk the land, tells us that Avraham pitched his tent in Chevron and sat there, which would indicate that Avraham did not travel the land. Rabbeinu Bachya concludes that Avraham did not neglect Hashem’s command, rather he took it as it was intended: a spiritual demand. Hit-halech does not mean to walk but to journey towards wisdom. It means to travel, not by the sole of the foot, but by the soul of our essence. This is the journey each of us takes inside Eretz Yisrael. 

Hashem did not command Avraham to walk physically, but reflexively. The journey that Avraham and Sara embarked on was not just a physical one. In fact, the verse immediately after the command to walk the land, tells us that Avraham pitched his tent in Chevron and sat there, which would indicate that Avraham did not travel the land.

Nowadays, we know that we are lacking the full beauty, joy and glory of Yerushalayim. Without the Beit Hamikdash, we do not have the perfect holiness which once seeped into the streets. I asked Rebbetzin Tziporah Gottlieb if the Avot and Imahot were also lacking kedusha, since they too lived without the Bet Hamikdash. The Rebbetzin answered me, “What do you think the tent of Sara was?” All the purity, goodness and depth of Eretz Yisrael was contained within the tent of Sara Imeinu, it was a true mikdash me’at (mini Temple). 

Even if we live far from our land, even if our eyes are not gazing at its holiness, even if we are not walking its pure cobbled streets, each of us can create for ourselves a mini Eretz HaKodesh inside the sanctuary of our own homes. This will truly emulate the legacy of Sara Imeinu and her deep ties with Eretz Yisrael. 

¹ Bereishit 12:1

² Ibid 13:14

³ Devarim 16:16

⁴ 11:12

⁵ Bereishit 4:16

⁶ Alei Shur, piece on Eretz Yisrael

⁷ Bereishit 13:17