Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim discusses the Bnei Yisrael’s obligation to
be קדוש, holy. As the chosen nation of Hashem and the (at this point in
the Torah, future) residents of the holy land of Eretz Yisrael, we must hold ourselves
to the highest standards to be deserving of our title. Some of the topics
covered are immoral relationships, Avodah Zara, and various laws of בין אדם לחברו, interpersonal relationships, and בין אדם למקום, relationship between Man and God. The
Torah makes very clear that a prerequisite for staying in Eretz Yisrael is the
keeping of these standards. It explains how other nations were forced to leave
Eretz Yisrael at various points in history specifically because many of these
abominable acts were a normal part of their lives.
I would like to take
two similar pesukim from the end of Parshas Acharei Mos which express this idea
and compare them. The first pasuk says, “וַתִּטְמָא הָאָרֶץ
וָאֶפְקֹד עֲוֹנָהּ עָלֶיהָ וַתָּקִא הָאָרֶץ אֶת יֹשְׁבֶיהָ” “The land became
impure and I recalled its iniquity upon it; and the Land vomited out its
inhabitants” (Vayikra 18:25). Rashi has no comment on this pasuk. A few
pesukim later, the pasuk says, “וְלֹא תָקִיא הָאָרֶץ אֶתְכֶם
בְּטַמַּאֲכֶם אֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר קָאָה אֶת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם”
“Let not the land vomit you out for having made it impure, as it vomited out
the nation that was before you” (18:28). These pesukim are almost
completely identical, yet here, Rashi gives a mashal (parable) on how to
understand this pasuk. He explains that a prince who is used to eating only the
finest quality foods, and one day is fed something of lesser quality, he will vomit
it out. So too people who do Aveiros are forced out of Eretz Yisrael. Two
questions immediately arise at this point. First off, how are these pesukim
different that Rashi does not comment at all on the first pasuk but does comment
on the second? Secondly, why does Rashi need to explain to me what vomiting is?
The experience is most likely something familiar to us all, so why does Rashi
feel the need to give me a mashal to explain exactly how it works?
This week’s Parshah
contains probably the most famous Ramban in the entire Torah and it is written
on the pasuk we just brought, Pasuk 25. The Ramban asks, what do the immoral relationships
that the Torah just spoke about (See 18:6-24) have to do with staying in Eretz
Yisrael? The obligation to be moral is a physical commandment, not dependent on
the land? He explains that every single country has a ministering angel which
is its’ conduit between that country and God. While God still controls
everything that goes on, there are certain laws of nature that are put in place
which control what happens in that place. Everything flows with very few
changes in the natural order of things, the seasons change, the weather is
consistent and time goes on.
In Eretz Yisrael
however, everything works differently. There is no angel between God and the
land, Hashem himself oversees everything that happens. This means that there
are no rules of nature; if it is cold in the winter, it is because Hashem
decided that this day in the winter should be cold and not just because there
is a natural system in place running things. This idea is seen especially by
rainfall which is not as simple in Eretz Yisrael as it is in other places. More
than anything else, Hashem wants to see our actions and hear our tefillos
before he brings rain, he does not just bring it because of natural law. And
when we do pray for rain, Hashem will bring it in the best way possible. Chazal
teach us that when the rain falls, it will fall only on Wednesday and Shabbos
nights, which are times when people do not generally go out (at least at the
times of Chazal), and only at the time of night when everyone is
actually inside. This applies only to Eretz Yisrael and nowhere else. Outside
of Eretz Yisrael, while Hashem certainly controls what goes on, since he uses an
angel as a conduit, his presence is not as strong.
The Ramban brings a
Tosefta (Avodah Zara 5:5) which says that as long as Bnei Yisrael are in Eretz
Yisrael, Hashem will be a God to us. However if we are not in Eretz Yisrael,
then it is as if he is not our God. This point certainly presents some
difficulty, how could this be that at certain times in history Hashem will act
as if he is not our God? The Ramban then brings a Sifri (Eikev 43) which says
that Hashem tells Bnei Yisrael that if they will be forced to leave Eretz
Yisrael they must continue to perform the mitzvos while they are in
exile in preparation for when they will perform them when they eventually
return. What an incredible statement from the Sifri! The Ramban explains this
statement that performing the mitzvos is only necessary in the land of
Israel since only there is there a proper spiritual atmosphere. However,
outside of Eretz Yisrael, they aren’t necessary! There is no obligation (and
maybe even no purpose) to mitzvos outside of Eretz Yisrael. The only
reason why we still do mitzvos nowadays outside of Eretz Yisrael is to
make sure that we do not forget how to do them for when we return. However, the
עיקר, the main purpose, of the mitzvos is to
perform them in Eretz Yisrael. This is the natural form of Torah, to keep it in
Eretz Yisrael.
To summarize the
Ramban, because Hashem’s presence is strongest in Eretz Yisrael more than
anywhere else, it is more sensitive to Tumah than anywhere else.
Therefore, if we do not act morally while we are here, the pasuk of “וַתָּקִא הָאָרֶץ אֶת יֹשְׁבֶיהָ” “and the Land
vomited out its inhabitants” applies. Secondly, Eretz Yisrael is the only
place in the world where mitzvos can be performed to their fullest
potential. Because of this, the obligation to do mitzvos outside of
Eretz Yisrael is only in order to remember how to do them for when they can be
done in Eretz Yisrael.
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi in
his famous work, The Kuzari, says that every country in the world has something
special which they produce better than any other place in the world. For
example, France grows the best grapes for wine, the United States has
tremendous wheat fields covering the Midwest, and so and so forth. What is the
special material produced in Eretz Yisrael? The Kuzari says that it is Nevuah,
prophecy. He explains that the natural effect of Eretz Yisrael is to
bring someone closer to Hashem, ultimately resulting in the high spiritual
level of Nevuah. Simply being in Eretz Yisrael leads a person on this
path.
If we put this
together with the Ramban, we come out with an unbelievable idea. The Ramban
says that Eretz Yisrael is constantly under Hashem’s watch and is the only
place in the world where mitzvos can be done with the complete spiritual
effect. Simply put, it is much easier to get closer to Hashem in Eretz Yisrael
than anywhere else in the world. However, this closeness is only from the
standpoint that Hashem is here. The Kuzari says that it is from the standpoint
of Eretz Yisrael itself that we can get closer to Hashem! The land
itself was created with a special ability to bring you closer to Hashem,
bringing you closer to the level of Nevuah.
My rebbi, Rabbi
Elchonon Fishman, used these two Meforshim to explain our Rashi. In
Pasuk 25 it says, “…וָאֶפְקֹד עֲוֹנָהּ עָלֶיה”
“and I recalled its iniquity upon it…”. The pasuk says that Hashem will
notice the Tumah that has been done in the land, and then “וַתָּקִא הָאָרֶץ אֶת יֹשְׁבֶיהָ” “and the Land
vomited out its inhabitants”, meaning that Hashem will throw them out. This
is the pasuk that the Ramban comments on since his point is Hashem’s direct
supervision over Eretz Yisrael and nowhere else. However, in pasuk 28, the
pasuk says, “וְלֹא תָקִיא הָאָרֶץ אֶתְכֶם”
“Let not the land vomit you out”. There is no mention of Hashem
at all in this pasuk! It is the land that will throw you out, just like
the Kuzari explained. Since we might not understand how it could be
that an inanimate piece of ground could do this, Rashi brings this Mashal
here of a prince. Since he is not used to eating foods of lesser quality, he
will automatically vomit out something below his standards, simply as a
natural reaction. He cannot prevent this from happening, he simply cannot
handle this food! So too Eretz Yisrael cannot handle people of lesser quality,
i.e. sinners and immoral people, and will automatically vomit them out. Rashi
even brings the Targum here to translate this word, “תָקִיא”,
to mean, “ריקון”, which means to empty itself out.
In the first pasuk in
the Torah, Rashi asks, why does the Torah start from the story of the Avos and
the Shevatim? If the whole purpose of the Torah is to teach us the mitzvos,
why don’t we start from Parshas Bo where the first mitzvah is recorded? Rashi
answers that the entire Torah from Parshas Bereishis till Parshas Bo was
written in order to prove to the world that Eretz Yisrael was given to the
Jewish People. According to what we have explained, this makes perfect sense.
Eretz Yisrael is the key to the entire Torah! It is the only place where the
mitzvos can be performed to perfection. Therefore, before the Torah starts
teaching us the mitzvos, we must know that we own Eretz Yisrael. It
shows us that the whole point of creation, and the only place where every
action you do is a mitzvah, is in Eretz Yisrael.
As Jews, the driving
force in our lives is to get closer to Hashem. According to Chazal, Eretz
Yisrael is the only place we can do this completely! Nowhere else can we
fulfill the true potential of mitzvos. And when we do the mitzvos in
Eretz Yisrael, we do not live under the laws of nature, rather, we live under
the constant actions and monitoring of Hashem. A land where every step is a
mitzvah, where every event is dependent on the Torah, where everything you do
pushes you closer to God; why would you want to be anywhere else?
Shabbat Shalom!
Last year Parshas Acharei Mos fell out on Pesach so there was no Dvar Torah.
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