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The Book of Leviticus – ‫חומש ויקרא‬

Torah Portion Acharei Mot

In the Torah portion of Acharei Mot, G-d promises that if the Children of Israel
will keep the laws of the Torah in the land of Israel and will not do abominable
actions, they will dwell in the holy land securely and the land will not vomit
them out, as is written:

"And you shall keep My statues and My laws and you shall not do any
of these abominations, the citizen and the stranger who dwells within
you… and you shall not do any of these abominations… and that land
shall not vomit you out in your contaminating it like it vomited out
that nation that was before you." (18:26-28)

There is a question on these verses:

G-d said these things to the Children of Israel when they were in the desert and
they still had not reached the land of Israel. At that time the nations of Canaan
were dwelling in the land of Israel.
Why does the Torah speak in the past tense: "…like it vomited out that nation
that was before you"?
After all, these nations are present in the land and it has not vomited them out
yet.

Rabbi Aharon Kotler answers the question.
The Torah reminds us of a big truth. The Creator of the world is beyond time.
The name of the Creator of the world – Y/H/V/H – tells us:

He was, He is, He will be

Therefore, for the Creator of the world there is no difference between the future
and the past. He knows that the land will vomit out the nations that dwell upon
it because of their abominable actions.

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