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This Land Is Our Land!

ה � זֶַּה ןַמַ � זֶַּ�בַּ םֵהָה םיִמַ � יַ�בַּ
ְ
ֶ
ָ

Rabbi Reuven Taragin

hen Antiochus demanded Hashem said: “I have given the land to but to fortify our own confidence. This is
that the Maccabees cede you as an inheritance” (Shemot 6:5). Even implied by the verse Rashi quotes: “The
territory to him, Shimon before arriving in Israel, the Jewish people basis of His deeds, He tells His people.”
WHaMaccabi responded: already owned it (Bava Batra 117). This is Though we may not be able to convince
“We have not taken a foreign land; we do why we own the Land of Israel even when others of our Heavenly-ordained ancestral
not hold the property of others. Rather, we are in exile (Tosafot, Bava Batra 44b). home, our recognition of this fact should
the land is our ancestral inheritance taken Even when conquered by others, the Land bolster our confidence in the face of such
from us lawlessly. When G-d gave us the continues to be associated with us (Shu”t accusations.
strength, we returned it to ourselves” Maharam 536).
ָ
ָ
ֶ
ַ�
ַ
ַ�
ֵ
ְ
(Maccabees 1 15:33–34). ה � זֶּה ןַמַ � זֶּבַּ םהה םיִמַ � יבַּ
We, like Shimon, face similar challenges to When G-d gives us strength This message has never been more rele-
our right to the Land of Israel. Let’s study Ultimately, what makes the Land our ances- vant or essential. The Hamas massacre
his response. tral inheritance is the fact that Hashem and subsequent war have unleashed the
designated it for us. Shimon HaMaccabi hatred of those who deny our rights to the
Where it began hints at this by emphasizing that the retak- Land of Israel. Enemies who do not care
Hashem’s first words to the first Jew direct ing of the Land was not the result of mere that the Biblical promise of the “river to
him to move to Israel. Though Avraham’s might or political opportunity, but Hashem sea” was given to the Jewish people alone
enabling us to take it back.
seek to destroy us.
religious quest and commitment began
decades earlier, the Torah skips over those Rashi’s first comment on the Torah rein- We should not be intimidated by this.
stories and begins with his move to Israel. forces this idea. Remember that Rashi predicted this sit-
Judaism begins with the arrival of the first Rebbe Yitzchak explained: Why did the uation almost a millennia ago and that
Jew in Israel. Torah begin with Bereishit and not with Shimon HaMaccabi faced these claims
Throughout Avraham’s life, Hashem con- the first commandment (ם ֶכִּ ָל ה ֶ�ז ַה ׁשַׂ ֶדֹחַ ַה)? over two millennia ago. Let us use their
response to these claims to answer the
tinuously promises him and his children Because of the verse, “The basis of His accusations we face today.
the land as their inheritance. This is why actions, He explained to His people to
Avraham insists that Yitzchak’s wife move give them the land inhabited by others” May Chanukah remind us of the Divine
to Canaan (Rashbam, Bereishit 24:7). He (Tehillim 111). If other nations accuse basis of our return to and relationship
understood that Hashem did not want the Jews of being thieves for taking the with our Land and give us the strength to
Yitzchak to leave the Promised Land. land of the seven nations, they should continue fighting to defend it.
respond by explaining that all the land
After Ya’akov and his family were forced belongs to G-d. He created it all and gives
to leave the Land, the rest of the Torah is it to whom He sees as deserving. Just as
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about their struggle to return and settle He once gave it to them, He now took it daily Divrei Torah WhatsApp group
there.
from them and gave it to us.
The return from the Babylonian exile and Living in a period when Jews were scat-
the Maccabean struggle for independence tered around the world and Muslims and
reinforced the eternal nature of our rela- Christians controlled Israel, Rashi foresaw
tionship with the Holy Land. Like our Avot, a time when our return to the Land would
even after being removed from the Land, be met with accusations of thievery. The
we continued returning to it. This is when Torah’s creation narrative aims to rebuff
and why the land became known as the these claims. We are here because of an
Rabbi Reuven Taragin
“Land of Israel.” act of G-d; our mandate comes from Him. is Educational Director of Mizrachi
Nachalat Avoteinu Despite Rashi’s anticipation of these accu- and Dean of the Yeshivat Hakotel
Overseas Program.
Though we were exiled and others took sations centuries ago, we know that much
control of our land, it remained ours of the world does not accept his response.
because it is our ancestral inheritance. Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook explained that A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
mizrachi.org/speakers
When we were still slaves in Egypt, Rashi’s words aim not to convince others

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