Bava Batra 157-163
Wisdom Is in the Air
Rabbi Zeira said, "I see from this that the air of the Land of Israel makes one wise."
After Rabbi Zeira “went up” from Bavel to the Land of Israel, he did a 180-degree reversal in the halachic ruling he had made regarding a case of inheritance. In Bavel, he had ruled one way, and then he changed his ruling when he went to Israel. He explained the reason for the change: The air of the Land of Israel makes a person wiser.”
The Rashbam explains that Rabbi Zeira reached this conclusion about the “special power” of the air of Israel as follows: Rabbi Zeira said to himself, “Ever since I came up to the Land of Israel, I have put my heart (i.e., made great effort and toil in my Torah study) to find fault with my earlier ruling and to be certain that my conclusion is the pure truth of the matter.” It appears that Rabbi Zeira had a small measure of doubt about his ruling from Bavel, possibly because another Sage, Rabbi Ila, ruled differently than him in Bavel. So, when he left Bavel for Israel, he felt a renewal of will and wisdom in his search for truth, and, in fact, he reversed his earlier ruling and came to agree with the ruling of Rabbi Ila as being the halacha.
The Maharsha cites a reason for the unique “wisdom power” of the air of the Land of Israel. Moshe was informed by Hashem that he would not enter the Land of Israel, and was told: “Go up this Mount Avarim to Mount Nevo, which is in the land of Moav, that is facing Jericho, and see the Land of Canaan that I am giving to the children of Israel as a possession.” (Dev. 32:49)” When Moshe looked at the Land, his gaze infused the Land of Israel with a special capacity for extra wisdom for those who breathed its air.
Rabbi Ovadia Seforno gives a different reason: Since the waters of the Great Flood did not reach the Land of Israel, its air was not affected for the worse, unlike the air of the other lands of the world. This appears to be a scientific explanation for the air of Israel being a potentially positive factor in helping a person achieve greater wisdom in the Land of Israel than in other places.
On a lighter note, I recall a certain product that was being sold in Israel a few decades ago (and perhaps today as well). Small, sealed cans of “Air from Israel” were being sold in stores throughout Israel for about a dollar or so each. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I saw a can that mentioned it being “Holy Air from the Holy Land,” and the quotation of our gemara, which states that the “air of the Land of Israel makes one wise.” It may also have had a seal of Rabbinical supervision that it was indeed “kosher” and authentic air from the Land of Israel. However, this all seemed somewhat unusual and touristy at the time, since – after all – air is air! The air in Eretz Yisrael is presumably identical to that of the rest of the world, and, if tested, would show the identical molecular and chemical components as any other air. Nevertheless, I considered buying a can to send to a friend in the States to “inhale” since he said he was struggling with his studies at the time. I did not, but perhaps I really should have…
Bava Batra 158b
