Emunah, land of miracles

And Rava said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because there were no more trustworthy people there, as it is stated: “Roam about the streets of Jerusalem and see, and search its plazas, if you can find a person, who acts justly, who seeks integrity, that I should forgive it” (Jeremiah 5:1). The Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t Rav Ketina say: Even at the time of Jerusalem’s failure, trustworthy people did not cease there, as it is stated: “For a man will grab his brother of his father’s house and say: You have a garment. Come be a chief over us and let this ruin be under your care” (Isaiah 3:6)?

(...)The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. Here, where it was taught that they were faithful, that was with regard to matters of Torah; whereas here, where it was taught that there were no more people of faith in Jerusalem, that was with regard to matters of business.

(3) Know! the essential reason for exile is nothing other than a lack of ÆMuNaH (faith), as is written (Song of Songs 4:8), “Come, gaze from the peak of AMaNaH.” And emunah is synonymous with prayer, as in (Exodus 17:12), “his hands were emunah,” which Onkelos renders: “[his hands] were spread out in prayer.”

(4) And [prayer] corresponds to miracles, the supernatural. For prayer transcends nature; the natural course dictates a certain thing, but prayer changes nature’s course. This is a miracle. And for this, one needs faith. A person has to believe that there is a M’chadesh (an Originator) with the power to originate as He sees fit.

(5) Now, the quintessence of faith, and thus prayer and miracles, is only in the Land of Israel, as is written (Psalms 37:3), “Dwell in the Land and cultivate emunah.” The principal elevation of the prayers is there, as in (Genesis 28:17), “This is the gate of heaven.”

(6) Because of this, when Avraham erred in saying (Genesis 15:8), “How shall I know [that I will inherit it]?”—thus blemishing his inheritance of the Land, which corresponds to faith/prayer—<he brought on> the exile in Egypt. And it was specifically “Yaakov and his [twelve] sons who descended into Egypt” (Joshua 24:4; see Genesis 46), for they correspond to the “twelve versions of prayer” (Zohar III, 170a).

(7) And, [God] exiled them <to Egypt, because> the Land of Egypt is the antithesis of [the Land of Israel, the place of] NiSiM (miracles), as is written (Exodus 14:27), “And the Egyptians NaSiM (were fleeing) against it.” For [Egypt] is not the place of miracles. It is also not the place of prayer, as in (Exodus 9:29), “When I go outside the city I will spread out my hands [in prayer].”

(8) [Our Sages taught:] All exiles are known as MiTZRayIM (Egypt), because they MeTZeiRIM (cause anguish and suffering) to the Jewish people (Bereishit Rabbah 16:4). Thus, when a person blemishes faith/<miracles>/prayer/the Land of Israel, he descends into <the depths of> exile.

(5) He took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He added, “So shall your offspring be.” (6) And because he put his trust in the LORD, He reckoned it to his merit. (7) Then He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.” (8) And he said, “O Lord GOD, how shall I know that I am to possess it?” (9) He answered, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young bird.” (10) He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing each half opposite the other; but he did not cut up the bird. (11) Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. (12) As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. (13) And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; (14) but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. (15) As for you, You shall go to your fathers in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age.

It is written (in Ps. 37:3), “Trust in the Lord and do good; settle the land and maintain yourself with faith.” R. Haggai said in the name of R. Isaac, “Interpret this verse by transposition, like this:⁸PRK 10:2. Do good; trust in the Lord. It is comparable to a market commissioner who went out to inspect the measures. When a certain person saw him, he began hiding from him. He said to him, ‘Why are you hiding from me? Look to your measures, and do not be afraid.’ This is what is written, ‘Trust in the Lord and do good.’” (Ps. 37:3, cont.:) “Settle the land and maintain yourself with faith.” [Have] faith, which settles the Divine Presence in the land. Another interpretation: Bring about the settlement of the land, sow and plant. Another interpretation (of Ps. 37:3), “settle the land”: Make His staff dwell in the land. (Ps. 37:3, cont.:) “And maintain yourself with faith,” maintain yourself from the faith of the forefathers.⁹Here again is interpretation by transposition. Maintaining faith enables the settlement of the land. It is so written (in Ps. 101:6), “My eyes are on the faithful of the land that they may dwell with Me.” R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi, “Israel atones for itself before the Omnipresent by merit from [observing] two commandments, [i.e.,] by merit from the Sabbath and by merit from tithes: By merit from the Sabbath, since it is written (in Is. 58:13), ‘If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath.’ What is written after it (in vs. 14)? ‘Then you shall take delight in the Lord.’ By merit from tithes, since it is written (in Deut. 26:11), ‘Then you shall rejoice with all the good.’¹⁰The context here concerns first fruits, and the following verse (12) mentions the tithe of the third year. And good can only [mean] Torah, since it is written (in Prov.4:2) ‘For I gave you good instruction; [do not abandon my Torah].’” For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall surely tithe.”