Since Creation, our right to our land

As I begin this piece let me pre-empt the criticism.  Yes I admit I have written on this topic (many times) before. But as far as I am concerned it is so fundamental that repetition and reiteration are undoubtedly in order. This is particularly the case in light of the recent international moves “recognising Palestine” at the expense of part of our heritage.

From a prima facie perspective the expression “living with the times” would not appear to be a catchcry expected from the Chassidic world. Nevertheless Chabad, always eager to adapt any positive concept to the advancement of Judaism, has taken it up as referring to the need for all Jews to live with the parasha of the week – the weekly Torah reading and its messages.
“L’olam yashlim adam parshiyotav im hatzibbur – a person should always complete (studying) his chapters with the general public.” (Berachot 8a) This dictum is accepted by Jews worldwide to mean that we are required to study the weekly parasha, with the general mode of doing so based on “sh’naim mikra v’echad targum – recitation of the Hebrew text twice and the (Aramaic) Targum (translation of Onkelos) once”. Many however go even further and study each weekly parsha with commentaries; given that each parasha is divided into seven sections for the aliyot on Shabbat it is obvious that one of those sections can be studied each day of the week.
And whilst there are a multitude of commentaries classical and modern available to today’s student, the basic commentary is of course that of Rashi which is printed in most sets of chumashim published today – whether or not other commentaries are presented as well.

Rashi – Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105 – lived in France during the Crusader period. His commentary is considered the most outstanding straightforward interpretation of the basic meaning of the words of the Chumash.

And so, given that this week we once again recommence the reading of the Torah from Bereshit, let us peruse Rashi’s opening comment on the Chumash, albeit that it does seem to stray from simple elucidation of terms and phrases. And indeed it casts a new light on a contemporary implication of “living with the times” by being timely in spelling out an eternal truth that apparently to Rashi is “p’shuto shel mikra – the simple, straightforward intention of the text”.

And so I cite a verbatim translation to which I have only added the bracketed words to clarify the meaning of Rashi’s terminology:

“Amar Rabbi Yitzchak – Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Torah did not need to start from Bereshit but from (the chapter including the verse) ‘hachodesh hazeh lachem – this month (Nisan, the month of the exodus) shall be for you the first of the months (Shemot 12) for that is the first mitzvah that Israel (as a nation) were commanded. And what is the reason He began the Torah with Bereshit (the story of creation)? Because ‘the power of his deeds he told to his people to give them an inheritance among the nations’ (Psalm 111:6). For if (or perhaps ‘when’) the nations of the world will say to you that you are armed robbers in that you conquered the land of the seven nations (that existed in Canaan prior to the arrival of Israel) they (meaning Israel) shall say to them (meaning the objectors to Israel’s presence there) ‘all the land belongs to the Holy One blessed be He, He created it and gave it to who was right in his eyes; with His will He originally gave it to them and with His will He took it from them and gave it to us.’”

Rashi, who lived during the Crusades when ownership of the land was the subject of intense fighting between Christians and Muslims and a Jewish perspective regarding its ownership was no more than academic, is nevertheless very specific in stating that it is our duty as the people of Israel to state emphatically our Divine right to the land as spelt out in the Bible. And while some will see this as serving little purpose in today’s world, perhaps Rashi is telling us that we need to understand that only if we ourselves are convinced of our rights will we be able to defend our position to others who dispute our claim. It is worth recalling that whilst David Ben Gurion was not what today would be termed “an Orthodox Jew”, that there was a biblical basis to our claim to the land was exactly the approach that he took during his discussions with and presentations to international personnel prior to the United Nations debate and resolution regarding establishment of the state. At least at that moment in time the world recognised our biblically based claim to the land. We could do worse than emulate his approach as we deal with those who now dispute our very right to our existence in the land and its historical, let alone theological, basis.

Sadly, we live in an era when increasing Holocaust denial is being followed up by denial of so much else of Jewish history. Palestinian media repeatedly states that there never has been a Jewish temple on Har Habayit and never will be! And in case you thought that the argument is only over the Har Habayit, the Temple Mount, remember the increasingly oft repeated mantra regrettably now heard in Australia as well: that “Palestine, from the river to the sea”, is the property of Palestinians/Muslims and no one has the right to give up even a single grain of earth or one stone.

And so it is indeed timely to recommence Bereshit. Once again, we will read of the origins of our nation in the very cities and other holy places in Israel whose names have not changed. We will read both the weekly parashiyot regarding the patriarchs who lived in Be’er Sheva, Hebron and Shechem, and the many associated haftarot that tell of the prophets and kings of Israel and Judah whose domain extended throughout the land. And we will recall that those patriarchs and kings, who are the subject of the biblical stories and regarding whom archaeologists are finding more and more evidence, lived in our land for two millennia prior to the arrival on the world scene of a religion barely 1400 years old, many of whose representatives today would deny our roots in that land we cherish.

As we leave the yamim tovim behind, may all of Israel have a shanah tovah, a year of peace and progress in regard to our personal and national aims.

Shabbat shalom,
Yossi