Translated by Rabbi Yair Hoffman [and part of a larger work in the process of completion]
Recently, one of my sons was explaining to a sister that her car desperately needed a re-alignment. In light of a certain book that has been circulating among some of our fine Torah institutions, the same term can be applied to some of our Yeshiva students. The best way to do this is to present things in the words of Rav Chatzel Abramsky zatzal – a talmid of Rav Chaim Brisker zatzal and a world reknowned Gadol HaDor.
THE LAND OF ISRAEL: THE ETERNAL INHERITANCE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
INTRODUCTION
The Covenant of the Land
“And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember, and the land I will remember” (Vayikra 26:42). The Sifra asks a profound question on this verse: From where do we know that a covenant was established for the land itself? The answer comes from the very words of the text—”and the land I will remember.” Just as Hashem made covenants with our forefathers, so too He made a covenant with the Land itself.
The Purpose of This Work
This book, Eretz Yisrael—The Inheritance of Am Yisrael, has one overarching purpose composed of three essential components. It seeks to clarify and establish beyond doubt the three foundational pillars upon which rests the eternal right of the Children of Israel to settle their ancestral homeland. These three foundations are not mere historical claims or political arguments—they are divine truths that have sustained our people through millennia of exile and will guide us through the final redemption.
The First Foundation: The Divine Grant
The Creator of heaven and earth, Master of all that exists, whose handiwork encompasses the entire universe and who alone rules over every corner of creation—He gave this land as an eternal inheritance to our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and to all their descendants after them, “as an everlasting possession.” This gift extends throughout all generations, “for all the days that the heavens are over the earth” (Devarim 11:21), as an unchangeable decree woven into the very fabric of creation. As Dovid Hamelech proclaims in Tehillim: “He established it for Yaakov as a statute, for Yisrael as an everlasting covenant, saying: To you I will give the land of Canaan, the portion of your inheritance” (Tehillim 105:10-11).
Consider the significance of the words “everlasting possession”—achuzat olam. When Hashem promised the Land to Avraham Avinu, as recorded in Bereishis, He declared: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Bereishis 17:8). This phrase appears nowhere else regarding any other nation or land. True, Hashem told Avraham, “Do not fear to go down to Egypt” (Bereishis 46:3), and regarding Edom He said, “I have given Mount Seir to Eisav as a possession” (Devarim 2:5), and concerning Moav and Ammon He stated, “to the children of Lot I have given Ar as a possession” (Devarim 2:9). But notice the critical difference: for these other nations, the Torah never uses the phrase “everlasting possession.” Their gifts were temporal; ours is eternal. When it came to the conquest of Sichon, however, Hashem commanded: “Begin to take possession, and engage him in battle” (Devarim 2:24).
The Second Foundation: Hashem Himself Brought Us In
The Holy One, blessed be He, did not merely promise the Land—He personally orchestrated our entrance into it. In His own glory, He brought our ancestors into the land He had sworn to give them, driving out the nations before them through miracles and wonders that defied all natural law. Listen to His own words, recorded in Sefer Yehoshua: “I took your father Avraham from beyond the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan… and I brought you into the land of the Emorites who dwelt beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you, and I delivered them into your hands… and you crossed the Jordan and came to Yericho, and the citizens of Yericho fought against you—the Emorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Chittites, Girgashites, Chivites, and Yevusites—and I delivered them into your hands… not by your sword nor by your bow” (Yehoshua 24:3-12).
The message rings clear: this was no mere human conquest. The entry into Eretz Yisrael and the dispossession of its former inhabitants occurred through direct divine intervention. Hashem Himself fought for His people, toppling mighty nations and fortified cities so that His chosen people could inherit their promised homeland. This establishes that our claim to the Land rests not on military might but on divine decree and action.
The Third Foundation: The Inseparable Bond
The connection between the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael transcends all ordinary relationships between a nation and its territory. This bond resembles the connection between a soul and its body, between a tree and the soil from which it draws life. Chazal understood this deeply when they taught that “the Shechinah never departed from the Western Wall” (Shemot Rabbah 2:2), and that “no place is better suited for prophecy than Eretz Yisrael” (Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim). They went so far as to declare: “One who walks four cubits in Eretz Yisrael is assured of life in the World to Come” (Ketubot 111a).
Why such extraordinary statements? Because Eretz Yisrael possesses a sanctity found nowhere else on earth. The Land was specifically designated for the Jewish people from the six days of Creation, and the Jewish people were fashioned to find their complete fulfillment only in this Land. Just as a plant can only produce its proper fruit when rooted in its native soil, so too can the Children of Yisrael only achieve their ultimate purpose—the full observance of Torah and the manifestation of divine presence in the world—when dwelling in their divinely appointed homeland.
The Rambam in his commentary on Mesechta Ketubot (12:3) elaborates on this, drawing on the Yerushalmi (Ketubot 12:3) and the teaching found in Sifrei. The designation “Eretz Yisrael” itself, used repeatedly throughout Tanach and Chazal, reflects not merely a geographical label but a profound metaphysical reality—this is Yisrael’s Land, inseparably bound to the nation.
The Nature of Ownership
Understanding the unique character of this divine gift requires us to distinguish it from all ordinary forms of land ownership. When one person gives a field or vineyard to another, the gift transfers absolute ownership from giver to receiver. The original owner relinquishes all claim. But the gift of Eretz Yisrael operates according to an entirely different principle.
The Land belongs eternally to Hashem, as He explicitly declares in Vayikra: “For the land is Mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with Me” (Vayikra 25:23). Just as a vineyard remains the property of its owner even when leased to tenant farmers, so too does Eretz Yisrael remain Hashem’s possession even while given to Yisrael. The crucial difference lies in the eternal lease: Hashem chose Yisrael as His special treasure and gave them this Land as their inheritance forever. From the moment He brought our forefathers into it through miracles and wonders, establishing them upon it as His chosen nation, every subsequent generation inherited this divine grant from their ancestors by heavenly decree.
This explains why the Torah repeatedly refers to “Eretz Yisrael” specifically—linking the Land inseparably with the nation. The designation appears throughout Torah literature, in Sifrei, in the Gemara, and in countless rabbinic sources, demonstrating that this represents not merely common usage but a fundamental theological principle.
The Commandments and the Land
Through this unique bond between Yisrael and its Land, we can understand why the Torah’s commandments achieve their fullest expression only within Eretz Yisrael’s borders. The Torah is not merely an abstract collection of wisdom and ethical teachings—it is a Torah of life, meant to be lived and practiced in the physical world. And that physical manifestation reaches its pinnacle only on the sacred soil of Eretz Yisrael.
Consider even those commandments that seem purely spiritual—mitzvot that dwell in the heart without requiring physical action, such as the fundamental commandment of emunah, belief in Hashem. Even these spiritual commandments achieve their highest level only in Eretz Yisrael, for faith in Hashem reaches its ultimate intensity through the holiness and purity of Torah study in the Land. If this holds true for commandments of the heart, how much more so for the practical mitzvot that require physical action!
The Torah designates an entire category called “mitzvot hateluyot ba’aretz”—commandments dependent upon the Land. These include terumot and ma’asrot (tithes and priestly gifts), shemittah (the sabbatical year), yovel (the jubilee year), pe’ah (leaving the corner of the field for the poor), leket and shikchah (gleanings and forgotten sheaves), and the laws of kilayim (forbidden mixtures in agriculture). These commandments cannot be fulfilled anywhere else on earth. They exist solely within Eretz Yisrael’s boundaries, intrinsically tied to its sacred soil.
Even beyond these agricultural laws, consider our festivals—Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. These celebrations correspond to the agricultural cycle of Eretz Yisrael specifically, marking “the time of our freedom,” “the time of the giving of our Torah,” and “the time of our joy” in direct connection to the harvest seasons of the Land. While we observe these holidays in exile, their full meaning and complete observance remain bound to life in Eretz Yisrael.
The Midrash Tanchuma on Parashat Vayikra teaches: “The entire Torah exists only by virtue of the Land, as it says: ‘These are the statutes and ordinances that you shall observe to do in the land’ (Devarim 12:1). As long as you are in the land, the statutes and ordinances exist; if you are not in the land, they do not exist. This teaches that the essence of the Torah is fulfilled in Eretz Yisrael.” The Midrash continues: “Another interpretation: The entire Torah was given only by virtue of Eretz Yisrael, and after Yisrael sinned and was exiled, it is as if the Torah was nullified except for the commandments that can be fulfilled outside the Land—these remain. But inside the Land, there are the twenty-four priestly gifts and the tithes and all the other commandments.”
Maintaining the Eternal Claim
From all this emerges a crucial principle: our possession and settlement of Eretz Yisrael does not depend primarily on military strength or political negotiations. It rests instead on our faithfulness to Torah and our special relationship with the Creator. Our Sages taught in Mesechta Sotah (9:15): “When Yisrael does the will of Hashem, no nation or kingdom can rule over them.” This truth appears encoded in the verse from Vayikra: “I will scatter you among the nations” (Vayikra 26:33)—but the context makes clear this occurs only if we abandon the covenant.
The Torah portions in Vayikra and Devarim elaborate extensively on this principle. They promise that adherence to Hashem’s commandments will bring blessing and security in the Land: “And the land shall yield its fruit, and you shall eat your fill and dwell safely therein” (Vayikra 25:19). Yet abandonment of the covenant will result in exile. But even these warnings of exile come paired with assurances of ultimate return. The covenant itself can never be broken. As Dovid Hamelech proclaims in Tehillim: “My covenant I will not break, nor alter what has gone out of My lips” (Tehillim 89:35).
This leads to a profound insight about exile and return. The expulsion from the Land never represented abandonment by Hashem, Heaven forbid, but rather a temporary concealment of His face—a punishment for sins, as our Sages explained. The essential covenant, however, remained intact even through the darkest periods of galut. Like a father who temporarily distances his son due to misbehavior but never severs the father-son relationship, so too did Hashem, even when sending us into exile, maintain the fundamental bond between Himself and His people, and between His people and their Land.
The Sanctity That Endures
Here we encounter another foundational principle: the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael never ceased, not even during our longest exiles. The Gemara in Mesechta Gittin (7a) establishes this clearly: “The first sanctification sanctified it for its time and sanctified it for all time.” The original kedushah (holiness) that Hashem placed upon the Land when He first gave it to our forefathers remains in effect forever, transcending all historical circumstances.
This explains why, even after the destruction of the First Temple and during the period of the Second Temple, when those who returned from Babylonia resettled the Land, the people remained obligated in all the agricultural commandments dependent upon the Land—terumot, ma’asrot, and all the rest. When that era too came to an end, when enemies destroyed Yerushalayim again and scattered Yisrael among the nations to all corners of the earth, the sanctity endured. As the verse in Vayikra promises: “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly and break My covenant with them, for I am Hashem their God” (Vayikra 26:44).
The prohibitions and obligations tied to the Land—the laws governing what is permitted and forbidden, the requirements of tzedakah (charity) and mishpat (justice)—all remain perpetually in force. The Torah commands us to pursue “tzedek tzedek tirdof”—”Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Devarim 16:20)—with particular emphasis on how we treat the poor. The Torah instructs us: “You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother” (Devarim 15:7), and further states: “there shall be no poor among you” (Devarim 15:4)—teaching us that we must strive to eliminate poverty through proper social structures and generosity.
The Torah’s concern for the dignity of the poor emerges clearly in its commands. One who gives charity must do so graciously, never causing embarrassment, for as Dovid Hamelech teaches: “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Tehillim 51:19). The Gemara in Bava Batra (9b) goes further: “Greater is one who causes others to give charity than one who gives himself.” And all this applies with special force regarding the poor of Eretz Yisrael, who possess unique sanctity by virtue of dwelling in the holy Land.
The Obligation to Settle the Land
One point emerges with crystal clarity: even though many commandments dependent on the Land cannot be fulfilled today during our exile—due to our many sins and the incomplete nature of our return—the fundamental obligation to settle the Land and never abandon it to foreigners remains eternally binding. Hashem commanded His people to dwell in the Land He swore to give them, and He bound them with this obligation across all generations.
Scripture testifies that when our ancestors failed to heed the commandment “to inherit the Land that I have given you,” they faced severe punishment. The Torah explicitly warns: “Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies” (Devarim 28:47-48). This teaches that whoever has the ability to ascend to the Land and does not do so, and whoever has settled there and contemplates leaving—Scripture holds them accountable.
The obligation falls upon every Jew not to abandon the inheritance of our forefathers and not to turn away from the holiness of the Land to live among the nations. Just as it is forbidden to emigrate from Eretz Yisrael to settle elsewhere (as codified in halachah), so too one is obligated to make every effort to return when possible. Even now, scattered as we are among the nations, the Torah obligates us concerning the Land’s welfare and its building. Our Sages declared with utmost clarity in Sifrei: “The commandment of settling Eretz Yisrael is equivalent to all the commandments in the Torah combined.”
The Status Compared to Other Lands
No other land has ever been granted such sanctity and exalted status. Even among foreign lands, distinctions exist based on proximity to the Holy Land—those closer to Eretz Yisrael take precedence in certain halachic matters. The Torah itself hints at this hierarchy when describing Eliezer’s mission: “And he arose and went to Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nachor” (Bereishis 24:10)—choosing a location that, while outside the Land, maintained relative closeness to it.
Historical Precedent: Avraham’s Test
Consider the profound lesson embedded in Avraham Avinu’s experience during the famine. Scripture relates: “And there was a famine in the land, and Avram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land” (Bereishis 12:10). This episode represents one of Avraham’s ten trials mentioned in Pirkei Avot (5:3), and perhaps among the most challenging. When a righteous person faces a test involving his very physical survival—”for the famine was severe”—this constitutes the most difficult trial imaginable.
Yet notice the language carefully: Avraham “went down to Egypt to sojourn [lagur] there”—not to settle permanently, but as a temporary resident. Even when sustaining life in the Land became impossible, Avraham understood that leaving could only be temporary. The Torah emphasizes this distinction because the principle remains binding across all generations: one may leave Eretz Yisrael temporarily to preserve life, to learn Torah, or for other compelling reasons, but permanent emigration is forbidden.
The Gemara in Mesechta Ketubot (110b) teaches: “One may leave Eretz Yisrael to learn Torah, to marry, or to save oneself from danger.” But even these exceptions permit only temporary departure. One who settles outside the Land permanently, even for a seemingly good reason like marriage, acts improperly. The Rambam codifies this principle explicitly in Hilchot Melachim.
The Divine Presence in the Land
Why such strict rules about leaving? Because the Shechinah—Hashem’s Divine Presence—dwells in Eretz Yisrael in a unique way found nowhere else on earth. One who leaves the Land essentially separates himself from the Shechinah. The Gemara in Ketubot (110b) states boldly: “Whoever dwells outside the Land is like one who has no God”—not literally, Heaven forbid, but teaching that the connection between man and his Creator that flourishes in Eretz Yisrael cannot be replicated elsewhere with the same intensity.
Hashem chose this Land from all the lands to make His Name dwell there, as Scripture declares: “And I will dwell among the Children of Israel and be their God” (Shemot 29:45). Onkelos translates this: “And I will cause My Shechinah to dwell among the Children of Israel”—establishing that the divine Presence manifests more fully in the Land than anywhere else. This is not mere sentiment or poetry; it represents a metaphysical reality that shapes every aspect of Jewish life and observance.
AVRAHAM AVINU: THE FIRST HEBREW TO ENTER THE LAND BY DIVINE COMMAND
The Divine Call
When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to Avraham our father and selected him from all humanity to be His servant and the progenitor of a great nation destined to inherit the Land, the first command was revolutionary: “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Bereishis 12:1). Notice that Hashem did not initially specify which land. He said merely “the land that I will show you”—making even the destination part of Avraham’s test. Avraham departed without knowing his final destination, trusting completely in Hashem’s word.
This command structured itself in ascending order of difficulty: “from your land”—leave your familiar country; “from your birthplace”—abandon the town where you were born and raised; “from your father’s house”—separate even from your immediate family. This was not merely a geographical relocation but a complete spiritual transformation, a total break from the idolatrous culture of Ur Kasdim. And the destination—”to the land that I will show you”—would be revealed gradually, teaching that the relationship between Avraham and the Land must be built on absolute faith and trust in divine providence.
The Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah (39:1) notes that this journey was for Avraham’s own benefit—to refine him, to elevate him, to prepare him for his role as the father of the Jewish nation. But it was also for the Land’s benefit, to begin sanctifying it through the footsteps of the righteous.
The First Promise
When Avraham arrived in Canaan, a momentous event occurred: “And Avram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh, and the Canaanites were then in the land” (Bereishis 12:6). At precisely that location, at that historic moment, “Hashem appeared to Avram and said: ‘To your seed I will give this land'” (Bereishis 12:7). This marked the first explicit promise of the Land to Avraham and his descendants—a promise that would be repeated, elaborated, and reinforced throughout Avraham’s lifetime.
Pay careful attention to the phrase “and the Canaanites were then in the land.” Why does the Torah include this detail? Rashi, based on the Gemara, explains that it means they were in the process of conquering the land from others. But the straightforward meaning teaches an even more fundamental lesson: despite the current inhabitants, despite the military might of the Canaanites and their established cities, Hashem declared that this Land was destined for Avraham’s children. The divine promise transcends all present political or demographic realities. Jewish ownership of Eretz Yisrael flows from divine decree, not from human circumstances.
Avraham’s Response
How did Avraham respond to this extraordinary promise? “And he built there an altar to Hashem who appeared to him” (Bereishis 12:7). No questions, no doubts, no hesitation. Avraham immediately established a place of worship, acknowledging Hashem’s sovereignty and accepting the divine promise. But this act of building an altar carried deeper significance—it constituted a physical claim to the Land, a public declaration that this place was now consecrated to the service of the One God.
Avraham continued traversing the Land: “And he moved from there to the mountain east of Beit El, and pitched his tent, having Beit El on the west and Ai on the east, and there he built an altar to Hashem and called upon the name of Hashem” (Bereishis 12:8). Throughout his journeys, Avraham repeatedly built altars, establishing sacred sites and demonstrating his active connection to every corner of the territory Hashem had promised him.
The Ramban on these verses explains that Avraham’s purpose in building altars throughout the Land was not merely personal worship but a public proclamation of monotheism, a sanctification of each location, and an implicit claim of ownership for future generations. Every place where Avraham prayed became forever marked with holiness, preparing the Land for its ultimate destiny as home to Hashem’s chosen people.
The Covenant Between the Parts
As the narrative unfolds in Bereishis chapter 15, we encounter one of the most pivotal moments in all of Jewish history—the Covenant Between the Parts, Brit Bein HaBetarim. Despite Hashem’s promises, Avraham still had no children. He expressed his concern: “O Lord Hashem, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” (Bereishis 15:2).
Hashem responded with a magnificent promise. He brought Avraham outside and commanded: “Look now toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He declared: “So shall your seed be” (Bereishis 15:5). The Torah testifies to Avraham’s reaction: “And he believed in Hashem, and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Bereishis 15:6)—establishing emunah, faith, as the foundation of Jewish identity.
But the promise extended beyond numerous descendants. Hashem continued: “I am Hashem who brought you out of Ur Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it” (Bereishis 15:7). When Avraham asked, “O Lord Hashem, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Bereishis 15:8), Hashem established a formal covenant through the dramatic ritual of cutting animals and passing between their parts—a ceremony that would bind Hashem Himself to His promise through the most solemn oath conceivable.
The Boundaries Revealed
During this covenant ceremony, Hashem revealed to Avraham the entire future: the exile in Egypt that his descendants would endure, their affliction for four hundred years, and ultimately their redemption and return to inherit the Land. Then came the explicit delineation of boundaries: “On that day Hashem made a covenant with Avram, saying: ‘To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River'” (Bereishis 15:18).
This verse demands our careful attention, for it defines not some modest territory but a vast expanse—from the River of Egypt (identified by some commentaries as the Nile, by others as Wadi El-Arish in the Sinai) all the way to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. This encompasses far more territory than the Jewish people have ever fully controlled, even during the golden ages of Dovid Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech.
The promise specifies ten nations whose lands would become the inheritance of Avraham’s descendants: “the Keni, the Kenizi, the Kadmoni, the Chitti, the Perizi, the Refaim, the Emori, the Canaani, the Girgashi, and the Yevusi” (Bereishis 15:19-21). Rashi notes that while the Torah usually mentions only seven Canaanite nations, here ten are listed—including three (Keni, Kenizi, Kadmoni) that were never actually conquered. This leads to a profound question addressed by our Sages: Why promise territories that would never be fully possessed?
Various answers emerge from different commentators. Some say the complete fulfillment awaits the Messianic era, when all the promises will be realized in their fullness. Others teach that the partial conquest in each generation resulted from the sins and spiritual failures of that generation—had they merited it, they would have inherited everything. The Ramban suggests that the promise includes lands that will be added in the future redemption. But all agree on one crucial point: the promise itself remains eternal and unconditional. The Land belongs to the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov by divine decree, regardless of whether they have physically occupied every portion of it in every generation. As Hashem told Avraham earlier: “For all the land which you see, to you I will give it and to your seed forever” (Bereishis 13:15).
The Purchase of Me’arat Hamachpelah
Years later, when Sarah Imeinu passed away, Avraham made his first actual purchase of land in Canaan. The narrative in Bereishis chapter 23 provides extraordinary detail, emphasizing the legal and formal nature of this transaction. Every step is documented with precision that seems unusual for a biblical narrative—until we understand its purpose.
Avraham approached the Chittites and requested: “Give me a possession of a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead” (Bereishis 23:4). Efron the Chitti offered generously: “The field I give you, and the cave that is in it I give you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead” (Bereishis 23:11). But Avraham insisted on paying full price: “If you will, please hear me: I will give you money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there” (Bereishis 23:13).
The transaction proceeded with meticulous formality: “And Avraham listened to Efron, and Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the children of Chet, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant” (Bereishis 23:16). The Torah then emphasizes the comprehensive nature of the purchase: “And the field of Efron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Avraham as a possession in the presence of the children of Chet, before all who went in at the gate of his city” (Bereishis 23:17-18).
Why such extensive documentation? The Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah (79:7) provides the answer: Three places exist that the nations of the world can never claim we stole—the Cave of Machpelah (purchased by Avraham), the Temple Mount (purchased by Dovid Hamelech from Aravnah the Yevusi), and the plot in Shechem (purchased by Yaakov from the sons of Chamor). All three were acquired through documented, witnessed, legal transactions according to the commercial laws recognized by all nations. Our claim to these sites rests not only on divine promise but also on legitimate purchase—a dual foundation that leaves no room for denial.
The insistence on payment rather than accepting a gift reflects profound wisdom. A gift can be disputed, questioned, or claimed to have conditions. But a purchase at full market value, witnessed publicly, documented in the presence of the city’s leaders—this creates an ironclad legal claim that transcends generations and cannot be challenged. Avraham understood that for the sake of his descendants, this first parcel of Eretz Yisrael must be acquired in a manner that would withstand any future scrutiny.
Avraham’s Ten Trials
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (5:3) teaches: “Avraham Avinu was tested with ten trials, and he withstood them all—to show how great was the love of Avraham Avinu.” Among the most challenging of these trials was the Akeidat Yitzchak, the Binding of Yitzchak, which occurred on Har Hamoriah—the very mountain that would later become the site of the Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalayim.
After Avraham demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice even his beloved son in obedience to Hashem’s command, the angel called to him from heaven with a dramatic prophecy: “By Myself I have sworn, says Hashem, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore, and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And through your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Bereishis 22:16-18).
This oath, sworn by Hashem Himself—”By Myself I have sworn”—represents the highest level of divine commitment possible. It reinforces and intensifies all previous promises. Not only will Avraham’s descendants inherit the Land, but they will “possess the gate of their enemies”—meaning they will have dominion, security, and victory over those who oppose them. The dual metaphor of “stars of heaven” and “sand on the seashore” suggests both the spiritual heights the Jewish people will reach (like stars) and their earthly proliferation (like sand), with both aspects tied intrinsically to their inheritance of the Land.
The Repeated Confirmations
Throughout Avraham’s life, Hashem repeatedly confirmed and elaborated upon the promise of the Land. After Lot separated from Avraham, Hashem said: “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed forever” (Bereishis 13:14-15). The word “forever”—le’olam—demands our attention. This is not a temporary grant or a conditional lease. It is an eternal inheritance that will never be revoked.
Hashem continued: “And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your seed will also be counted. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its breadth, for I will give it to you” (Bereishis 13:16-17). The command to “walk through the land” carried both symbolic and practical significance. By traversing every part of the territory, Avraham was taking possession of it—not through military conquest, not through political agreement, but through the act of a rightful heir surveying his inheritance. Each footstep marked another portion of the Land as belonging to him and his descendants.
The Ramban explains this command beautifully: Hashem wanted Avraham to develop an intimate connection with every part of the Land, to see its mountains and valleys, its rivers and plains, its cities and forests. This personal acquaintance would be passed down through the generations, creating an unbreakable bond between the Jewish people and every corner of their homeland. When Jews in exile would yearn for Eretz Yisrael, they would remember not just an abstract concept but specific places that their forefather had walked, specific vistas he had seen.
The Covenant of Circumcision
When Avraham reached ninety-nine years of age, Hashem appeared to him again to establish the covenant of circumcision—Brit Milah. At this momentous occasion, Hashem changed Avram’s name to Avraham, transforming him from “exalted father” to “father of many nations” (Bereishis 17:5). And once again, Hashem made a promise regarding the Land: “And I will give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Bereishis 17:8).
This verse weaves together several crucial elements. First, “the land of your sojournings”—eretz megurekha. Even though Avraham dwelt there as a sojourner, not yet in full possession, not yet able to claim sovereignty, the Land was already designated as his and his descendants’ inheritance. The temporary state of being a stranger did not diminish the eternal promise.
Second, “all the land of Canaan”—kol eretz Kena’an. Not portions of it, not parts of it, not conditional sections, but the entire territory. Third, “as an everlasting possession”—le’achuzat olam. This phrase appears here and nowhere else in relation to any other nation’s land grant. It establishes the unique, eternal, unbreakable nature of Jewish ownership of Eretz Yisrael.
And finally, the verse concludes: “and I will be their God.” This is not coincidental. The connection between the People, the Land, and Hashem Himself forms an inseparable trinity. The Land is not merely real estate—it is the physical location where the relationship between Hashem and His people reaches its fullest expression. Removing any one of these three elements—the People, the Land, or the Divine Presence—destroys the complete structure that Hashem established at creation.
The covenant of circumcision serves as the eternal sign of this relationship. Every male descendant of Avraham who bears the mark of the covenant in his flesh testifies to the eternal bond between the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael. The physical sign on the body corresponds to the physical inheritance of the Land. Both are permanent. Both are covenantal. Both are divine gifts that come with responsibilities. Just as a Jew can never remove his circumcision and remain fully Jewish, so too can the Jewish people never fully separate themselves from Eretz Yisrael and remain fully themselves.
The Ramban on this verse (Bereishis 17:8) elaborates: “This covenant has three components: numerous descendants, the Land of Canaan as an eternal inheritance, and ‘I will be their God’—meaning the special relationship of prophecy and providence. All three are interconnected and eternal. One cannot exist in its fullness without the others.”
RECEIVING THE TORAH AND INHERITING THE LAND
The Acceptance at Sinai
When Bnei Yisrael gathered at the foot of Har Sinai to receive the Torah, they were not simply receiving a legal code or religious instructions. They were accepting the mission and purpose for which they had been created—to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Shemot 19:6). But this mission could only be fulfilled completely in one place: Eretz Yisrael.
The Gemara in Mesechta Shabbat (88a) describes how Hashem held the mountain over them “like a barrel” and declared: “If you accept the Torah, good; if not, here will be your burial.” This was not coercion but a revelation of reality—the Jewish people without Torah cannot survive, and the Torah without the Jewish people dwelling in Eretz Yisrael cannot achieve its purpose. The two are inseparably bound.
When Moshe Rabbeinu ascended the mountain, he remained there forty days and forty nights, as the Torah states: “And Moshe went up to Hashem” (Shemot 19:3), and “at the end of forty days and forty nights” he descended (Devarim 9:11). During this time, he received not only the Aseret Hadibrot but detailed instructions about how Bnei Yisrael should live—and crucially, where they should live. Throughout the Torah’s commandments runs a constant thread: these laws achieve their fullest expression in the Land.
The Spies and the Rejection
The tragic episode of the Meraglim—the Spies—illustrates the catastrophic consequences of rejecting Eretz Yisrael. When twelve leaders were sent to scout the Land, ten returned with a demoralizing report: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than us” (Bamidbar 13:31). Only Yehoshua and Calev stood firm, declaring: “The land that we passed through to spy it out is an exceedingly good land. If Hashem delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey” (Bamidbar 14:7-8).
The people’s rejection of the Land—their statement “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!” (Bamidbar 14:2)—represented not merely cowardice but a fundamental betrayal of their mission. They were essentially saying: We do not want the inheritance Hashem promised to our forefathers. This rejection resulted in the decree that the entire generation would perish in the desert over forty years, never entering the Land they had spurned.
The punishment fit the crime with precise measure: one year of wandering for each day the spies spent in the Land—”According to the number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, a day for each year, you shall bear your iniquities forty years” (Bamidbar 14:34). The message was clear: If you do not want the Land, you will not receive it. But your children, who did not participate in this rejection, will inherit it.
Moshe’s Plea
Even Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest prophet who ever lived, yearned desperately to enter Eretz Yisrael. After leading the people for forty years through the wilderness, after enduring their complaints and rebellions, after teaching them the entire Torah—Moshe pleaded with Hashem: “Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good mountain and the Lebanon” (Devarim 3:25).
The intensity of Moshe’s desire to enter the Land emerges clearly from his language. He doesn’t just ask to enter; he specifically mentions “that good land,” “that good mountain” (referring to Yerushalayim and the site of the future Beit Hamikdash), and “the Lebanon” (according to some commentaries, this refers to the Beit Hamikdash itself, which “whitens” the sins of Yisrael). Moshe understood what no one else could fully grasp—that leading Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, establishing them on their Land, seeing the fulfillment of Hashem’s promises—this would be the crown and completion of his life’s work.
But the decree had been sealed. “Hashem was angry with me for your sakes and would not hear me, and Hashem said to me: Enough! Speak no more to Me of this matter” (Devarim 3:26). Instead, Hashem commanded: “Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan” (Devarim 3:27).
The Midrash asks: If Moshe could not enter, why did Hashem show him the Land? To teach us that even seeing Eretz Yisrael from a distance holds tremendous value. Even the vision of the Land carries sanctity. When Moshe stood on Har Nevo and gazed upon the Land spread before him, he experienced profound spiritual elevation, even though he could not physically enter.
Yehoshua Takes the Mantle
Leadership passed to Yehoshua bin Nun, Moshe’s devoted student and servant. “And it came to pass after the death of Moshe the servant of Hashem, that Hashem spoke to Yehoshua the son of Nun, Moshe’s minister, saying: Moshe My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the Children of Yisrael” (Yehoshua 1:1-2).
Notice the language: “which I am giving”—present tense. The gift was happening at that very moment. The Land already belonged to them by divine decree; the crossing of the Jordan merely actualized the possession. Hashem continued with a promise identical to what He had told Avraham: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given to you, as I said to Moshe. From the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River, all the land of the Chittites, and to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun, shall be your border” (Yehoshua 1:3-4).
The repetition of these exact boundaries reinforces a crucial point: the promise made to Avraham hundreds of years earlier remained in full effect. Nothing had changed. The covenant was eternal, and now the time had come for its physical realization. The boundaries stretched from the southern desert through the entire land northward to Lebanon, eastward to the Euphrates, and westward to the Mediterranean—a vast territory that would become the inheritance of the twelve tribes.
The Promise of Divine Support
But conquering such a vast territory populated by powerful nations with fortified cities seemed impossible by human standards. So Hashem reassured Yehoshua: “No man shall stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you; I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (Yehoshua 1:5-6).
Three times in this chapter Hashem commands Yehoshua: “Be strong and of good courage” (Yehoshua 1:6), “Only be strong and very courageous” (Yehoshua 1:7), “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for Hashem your God is with you wherever you go” (Yehoshua 1:9). Why such repetition? Because courage in the face of overwhelming odds requires constant reinforcement. And Hashem was teaching not just Yehoshua but all future generations: When you act to claim your inheritance in Eretz Yisrael, I am with you. Do not fear the nations, their armies, their weapons. Your strength comes from Me.
The condition for this divine support emerges clearly: “Only be strong and very courageous to observe and do according to all the Torah that Moshe My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may have success wherever you go. This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Yehoshua 1:7-8).
Here lies the key: Military victory and secure possession of the Land depend not primarily on military strategy or numerical superiority but on faithful adherence to Torah. When Yisrael observes the Torah, studies it constantly, and implements its teachings, then “you will have success wherever you go.” This principle would prove true throughout Jewish history—when we remained faithful to Torah, we flourished in the Land; when we abandoned it, we faced defeat and exile.
The Conquest Begins
The crossing of the Jordan River marked the beginning of Eretz Yisrael’s conquest. Hashem performed a miracle reminiscent of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds: “When the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant touched the edge of the Jordan’s waters, the waters coming down from above stood still and rose up in a heap” (Yehoshua 3:15-16). The people crossed on dry ground, and Hashem declared: “This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Yisrael, that they may know that as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you” (Yehoshua 3:7).
The fall of Yericho demonstrated that this conquest would defy natural military logic. A fortified city with massive walls fell not through siege warfare or battering rams but through the power of faith and obedience to divine command. The people marched around the city for seven days, and on the seventh day, “the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city” (Yehoshua 6:20).
Each victory reinforced the same lesson: “I have delivered them into your hand; there shall not a man of them stand before you” (Yehoshua 10:8). The sun stood still at Givon (Yehoshua 10:12-13), hailstones fell from heaven upon the fleeing Emorites (Yehoshua 10:11)—nature itself fought for Yisrael because they were reclaiming their divinely granted inheritance.
The Division of the Land
After the major conquests, the time came to divide the Land among the tribes. This division was not arbitrary or based on military contribution. It had been predetermined according to divine plan, with each tribe receiving its specific inheritance. “And Yehoshua cast lots for them in Shilo before Hashem, and there Yehoshua divided the land to the Children of Yisrael according to their divisions” (Yehoshua 18:10).
The tribe of Levi received no territorial inheritance, for as Hashem declared: “I am your portion and your inheritance among the Children of Yisrael” (Bamidbar 18:20). Instead, they received cities scattered throughout the other tribes’ territories—forty-eight Levitical cities, including six Cities of Refuge. This distribution ensured that Torah teachers and spiritual leaders would dwell among all the tribes, maintaining the religious and educational foundation necessary for secure possession of the Land.
The Incomplete Conquest
Yet the conquest remained incomplete. Various Canaanite peoples continued dwelling in certain areas. “The Children of Yehuda could not drive out the Yevusites who dwelt in Yerushalayim; so the Yevusites dwell with the Children of Yehuda in Yerushalayim to this day” (Yehoshua 15:63). Similarly, Menashe “could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, and the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land” (Yehoshua 17:12).
Why did this happen? The Gemara and various commentaries offer several explanations. Some attribute it to lack of complete faith—had they trusted Hashem fully, they would have conquered everything. Others suggest it was a test, as stated explicitly: “Now these are the nations which Hashem left to test Yisrael by them” (Shoftim 3:1). The Rambam suggests that complete conquest would occur gradually, generation by generation, based on the people’s spiritual merit.
But perhaps the deepest explanation appears in the Torah itself: “Hashem your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase against you” (Devarim 7:22). The Land needed to be settled gradually, with population growing to fill it properly. A premature conquest of the entire territory without sufficient population to inhabit it would have been counterproductive.
Regardless of the reasons, one point remains clear: the unfulfilled portions of the promise do not invalidate the promise itself. The boundaries declared to Avraham, confirmed to Yitzchak and Yaakov, restated to Moshe, and reiterated to Yehoshua remain the eternal borders of Eretz Yisrael, even if not every generation merits controlling them fully. As Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi taught: In the First Temple era, certain territories were controlled that were not held in the Second Temple era. But the fundamental promise—”from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River”—remains eternally valid, awaiting complete fulfillment in the era of Mashiach.
THE ETERNAL VALIDITY OF THE PROMISE
Through Exile and Return
The history of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael follows a pattern revealed in the Torah itself—periods of faithful observance bringing prosperity and security, followed by spiritual decline leading to exile, yet always with the promise of eventual return. This cycle appears explicitly in the blessings and curses of Parashat Bechukotai and Ki Tavo.
When Bnei Yisrael observe the Torah, the blessings flow abundantly: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in its season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit” (Vayikra 26:3-4). The promise extends to security: “And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid” (Vayikra 26:6). Even military threats evaporate: “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword” (Vayikra 26:8).
But abandonment of the covenant brings catastrophic consequences: “And I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste” (Vayikra 26:33). This is not vindictive punishment but natural consequence—when the Jewish people separate from Torah, they separate from the very foundation of their connection to the Land.
The Promise Within the Curse
Yet even in the midst of describing exile and destruction, the Torah inserts a promise that has sustained the Jewish people through two thousand years of dispersion: “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly and break My covenant with them, for I am Hashem their God” (Vayikra 26:44).
This verse deserves careful analysis. First, “when they are in the land of their enemies”—even in exile, even under foreign domination, even scattered across the world. Second, “I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them”—the relationship continues, the covenant endures. Third, “to destroy them utterly”—complete annihilation will never occur. Fourth, “and break My covenant with them”—the covenant is unbreakable. And finally, “for I am Hashem their God”—the fundamental relationship between Hashem and His people transcends all historical circumstances.
The next verse reinforces this promise: “But I will remember for them the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, to be their God; I am Hashem” (Vayikra 26:45). The covenant with the Patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah—these foundational events guarantee that the Jewish people will never be permanently severed from their Land or their God.
The Prophetic Vision
The prophets elaborated extensively on this promise of return. Yeshayahu prophesied: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that Hashem will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people… and He will assemble the dispersed of Yehuda from the four corners of the earth” (Yeshayahu 11:11-12). The phrase “the second time” indicates that just as there was a first return (from Babylonian exile), there will be a second, greater ingathering.
Yirmiyahu declared: “Behold, the days come, says Hashem, that I will bring back the captivity of My people Yisrael and Yehuda, says Hashem, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it” (Yirmiyahu 30:3). Notice the language: “the land that I gave to their fathers”—emphasizing that the return is not to a new land but to the original inheritance, reaffirming the eternal nature of the grant.
Yechezkel received perhaps the most detailed prophecies of return and restoration. In the famous vision of the dry bones (Yechezkel 37), Hashem demonstrates His power to revive the Jewish people: “Thus says the Lord Hashem: Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people, and bring you into the land of Yisrael” (Yechezkel 37:12). The resurrection imagery conveys that even when the nation seems dead, buried among the nations, beyond any hope of revival—Hashem will bring them back to life in their Land.
Yechezkel continues: “And I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land… And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God” (Yechezkel 36:24-28). Again, the emphasis falls on “the land that I gave to your fathers”—the same Land, the same promise, eternally valid.
The Second Temple Period
The return from Babylonian exile under Ezra and Nechemiah demonstrated the validity of these prophecies. After seventy years of exile, as prophesied by Yirmiyahu, Koresh (Cyrus) king of Persia issued a proclamation: “Thus says Koresh king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Hashem, God of heaven, given me, and He has charged me to build Him a house in Yerushalayim which is in Yehuda. Whoever there is among you of all His people, Hashem his God be with him, let him go up” (Divrei Hayamim II 36:23).
Approximately 42,000 Jews returned in that first wave (as recorded in Ezra 2:64), a small fraction of those living in Babylonia and Persia. Most chose to remain in exile. Yet those who returned rebuilt the Beit Hamikdash and reestablished Jewish sovereignty in the Land. The Gemara in Mesechta Gittin explains that the second sanctification of the Land by those who returned from Babylonia “sanctified it for its time and for all time”—establishing that the sanctity would endure even after the Second Temple’s destruction.
The Second Temple period lasted over four hundred years, seeing periods of independence under the Chashmona’im and other times under foreign domination. Yet throughout, the Jewish people maintained their presence in the Land and their observance of the commandments dependent upon it.
The Great Destruction
The destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 CE and the subsequent exile after the Bar Kochva revolt marked the beginning of nearly two thousand years of dispersion. Yet even this catastrophic upheaval did not nullify the divine promise. Jewish communities remained in Eretz Yisrael throughout the exile—in Yerushalayim, Tzfat, Chevron, Tiberias, and other cities. The study of Torah continued, great yeshivot flourished, the Yerushalmi Talmud was compiled in the Land.
And throughout the long centuries of exile, Jews never ceased praying for return. Three times daily, in the Shemoneh Esrei, we pray: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom, and raise a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth.” In Birkat Hamazon, we beseech: “Have mercy, Hashem our God, on Yisrael Your people, on Yerushalayim Your city, on Zion the dwelling place of Your glory, on the monarchy of the house of Dovid Your anointed.” At every wedding, we break a glass and declare: “If I forget you, O Yerushalayim, let my right hand forget its skill” (Tehillim 137:5).
This constant yearning for return, maintained across two millennia and in every land of exile, testifies to the unbreakable bond between the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael. No other nation exiled from its homeland has maintained its identity across such vast time and space. No other people has clung to such an ancient claim. This persistence itself constitutes evidence of the divine nature of the connection.
The Promise Fulfilled in Our Time
The modern return to Eretz Yisrael and the establishment of the State of Israel represent the beginning of the fulfillment of these ancient prophecies. While the redemption remains incomplete—the Beit Hamikdash has not yet been rebuilt, the Mashiach has not yet arrived, many Jews remain in exile—nonetheless, the ingathering of exiles has begun on a scale unprecedented since the Second Temple era.
Millions of Jews have returned to the Land from over one hundred countries. The Hebrew language has been revived. The Land, which lay desolate for centuries, now blooms with agriculture and industry. Cities destroyed two thousand years ago have been rebuilt. This extraordinary development fulfills the promise given through the prophets, particularly Yeshayahu’s vision: “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Tzion was in labor, she brought forth her children” (Yeshayahu 66:7-8).
This return occurred not through the merit of those who returned—many were secular, some were even hostile to Torah—but through the power of Hashem’s promise to our forefathers. As He declared: “But I will remember for them the covenant of their ancestors” (Vayikra 26:45). The covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov guarantees our return, regardless of our immediate worthiness. Yet with the gift comes responsibility—now that we have returned, we must fulfill the Torah’s commandments that can only be observed in the Land, and we must live according to the covenant that grants us possession.
The Contemporary Application
In our time, when political pressures and international opinions often call for territorial concessions or question Jewish rights to the Land, we must remember these fundamental truths:
First, our claim to Eretz Yisrael does not rest on United Nations resolutions, international law, or political agreements—though these have their place. Our claim flows from divine promise, recorded in the Torah, confirmed through prophecy, validated by history, and maintained through two thousand years of unwavering faith.
Second, the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael are not determined by current military control or political convenience. They were established by Hashem in His promise to Avraham: “From the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River” (Bereishis 15:18). While we may not control all these territories today, the promise remains eternally valid.
Third, security in the Land depends not primarily on military strength—though appropriate defensive measures are obligatory—but on faithfulness to Torah. As our Sages taught: “When Yisrael does the will of Hashem, no nation can rule over them.” The surest path to secure possession lies in observing Shabbat, maintaining kashrut, studying Torah, and fulfilling all the commandments, particularly those dependent upon the Land itself.
Fourth, every Jew has an obligation regarding Eretz Yisrael. Those with the ability should make aliyah, fulfilling the commandment to settle the Land. Those unable to move should support those living there, visit when possible, and maintain constant awareness that our ultimate home lies in Eretz Yisrael, not in the lands of exile.
The Eternal Covenant
Let us conclude where we began—with the covenant. Hashem made an unbreakable, eternal covenant with our forefathers regarding this Land. Unlike treaties between nations that can be abrogated, unlike agreements that expire, unlike promises that can be broken—this covenant endures forever. As Dovid Hamelech proclaimed: “He remembers His covenant forever, the word that He commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant that He made with Avraham, and His oath to Yitzchak, and confirmed to Yaakov as a statute, to Yisrael as an everlasting covenant, saying: To you I will give the land of Canaan, the portion of your inheritance” (Tehillim 105:8-11).
The word “forever”—le’olam—means exactly that. Not contingent on our behavior, though our behavior affects how fully we benefit from it. Not dependent on world opinion or political circumstances. Not subject to historical accidents or military defeats. Forever means forever.
When we stand on the soil of Eretz Yisrael, we stand on ground made holy by the footsteps of our patriarchs, sanctified by the presence of the Shechinah, watered by the blood of martyrs who died al kiddush Hashem rather than abandon it, and blessed by Hashem’s eternal promise that it will be ours forever. No power on earth can nullify this promise. No nation can override this decree. No political pressure can abrogate this covenant.
As we face the challenges of our time—whether political opposition, military threats, or even internal doubts—let us remember the words with which we began: “And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember, and the land I will remember” (Vayikra 26:42).
Hashem remembers. And so must we.
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