Deserving of the Land

Sources from essay by Rabbi Jeremy Barras
in The Social Justice Torah Commentary

(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃ (ג) וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ד) וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃

Genesis 12:1-4

(1) יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
(2) I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing.
(3) I will bless those who bless you
And curse the one who curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.” (4) Abram went forth as יהוה had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

What do we learn from God's first conversation with Abraham?

בראשית ט״ו:ט״ז

(טז) וְד֥וֹר רְבִיעִ֖י יָשׁ֣וּבוּ הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֧י לֹא־שָׁלֵ֛ם עֲוֺ֥ן הָאֱמֹרִ֖י עַד־הֵֽנָּה׃

Genesis 15:16

(16) And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

ויקרא י״ח:כ״ה

(כה) וַתִּטְמָ֣א הָאָ֔רֶץ וָאֶפְקֹ֥ד עֲוֺנָ֖הּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַתָּקִ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֶֽיהָ׃

Leviticus 18:25

(25) Thus the land became defiled; and I called it to account for its iniquity, and the land spewed out its inhabitants.

במדבר ל״ה:ל״ג

(לג) וְלֹֽא־תַחֲנִ֣יפוּ אֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתֶּם֙ בָּ֔הּ כִּ֣י הַדָּ֔ם ה֥וּא יַחֲנִ֖יף אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְלָאָ֣רֶץ לֹֽא־יְכֻפַּ֗ר לַדָּם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שֻׁפַּךְ־בָּ֔הּ כִּי־אִ֖ם בְּדַ֥ם שֹׁפְכֽוֹ׃

Numbers 35:33

(33) You shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

ירמיהו ט״ז:י״ח

(יח) וְשִׁלַּמְתִּ֣י רִאשׁוֹנָ֗ה מִשְׁנֵ֤ה עֲוֺנָם֙ וְחַטָּאתָ֔ם עַ֖ל חַלְּלָ֣ם אֶת־אַרְצִ֑י בְּנִבְלַ֤ת שִׁקּֽוּצֵיהֶם֙ וְתוֹעֲב֣וֹתֵיהֶ֔ם מָלְא֖וּ אֶת־נַחֲלָתִֽי׃ {פ}

Jeremiah 16:18

(18) I will pay them in full—
Nay, doubly for their iniquity and their sins—
Because they have defiled My land
With the corpses of their abominations,
And have filled My own possession
With their abhorrent things.

What connection does the Tanakh draw between human action & the land on which we live?

ויקרא רבה י״ז:ו׳

(ו)...אָמַר רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בַּר נַחְמָן שָׁלשׁ פְּרוֹזְדִּיגְמָאוֹת שָׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶצְלָם, הָרוֹצֶה לְפַנּוֹת יְפַנֶּה, לְהַשְׁלִים יַשְׁלִים, לַעֲשׂוֹת מִלְחָמָה יַעֲשֶׂה.

Vayikra Rabbah 17:6

Rabbi Yishmael son of Nahman said, "There are three ultimatums that Joshua sent to them [the Canaanites]: the one who wishes to leave, may leave. The one who wishes to make peace by committing to observe the 7 Noahide laws, may make peace. And the one who wishes to make war, let them do so.

Why did the rabbis find it important to tell this story of Joshua?

ישעיהו א׳:כ״א

(כא) אֵיכָה֙ הָיְתָ֣ה לְזוֹנָ֔ה קִרְיָ֖ה נֶאֱמָנָ֑ה מְלֵֽאֲתִ֣י מִשְׁפָּ֗ט צֶ֛דֶק יָלִ֥ין בָּ֖הּ וְעַתָּ֥ה מְרַצְּחִֽים׃

Isaiah 1:21

(21) Alas, she has become a harlot,
The faithful city
That was filled with justice,
Where righteousness dwelt—
But now murderers.

אבן עזרא על ישעיהו א׳:כ״א:א׳

(א) איכה. [וגו'] הנה הוכיחם הנביא ולא שמעו:

Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 1:21:1

(1) The prophet has thus reproved the people but they do not listen.

Though this metaphor is deeply rooted in misogyny, what do we learn from it? Is there a more apt metaphor? How might this be applied to the United States today?

We can infer that unlike in other lands, exchange of authority in the Land of Israel became possible in the biblical and Rabbinic periods only when one nation reached its threshold of immorality and the Land could no longer tolerate its presence. With the return of Jewish sovereignty to Eretz Yisrael in our day, consideration of ancient precedent might be useful in assessing what Jewish sovereignty means today in terms of moral expectations and with respect to other nations living among the Jewish majority. In that sense, we could argue that the future of Jewish sovereignty in the State of Israel today is dependent on its own moral performance, and therefore it must take care to create a polity based on justice where immorality is not tolerated. On the other hand, that same state has the right to expect other nations living within its borders to behave in a similar fashion and to reject the three cardinal sins that pollute the Land, just as Joshua required the Canaanites who remained in the Land.
Rabbi Jeremy Barras

What role does land play in the story of the Jews? How might our tradition guide us now that Israel has autonomy and Jews in America have achieved considerable integration and safety?

Discussion Questions by Ariel Tovlev

According to this parashah, what makes the Land of Israel different from all other
places?
What causes exile from the land? How is this relevant in contemporary times?
Do you think Rabbi Barras’s argument about attack and exile as a result of sin
applies to modern-day Israelis and Palestinians?