Love of the Land

Love of the Land - Stones of Substance

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Love of the Land
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

STONES OF SUBSTANCE

When Rabbi Chanina Hagadol went from Babylon to Eretz Yisrael there were no signposts or border guards to indicate that he had reached his destination. But he had his own litmus test. He would pick up stones and feel their weight. As long as the stones were still too light he would cast them aside with a sense of disappointment that he had yet not reached his goal. When he finally picked up some stones of real substance he declared that these were "Eretz Yisrael stones," and he kissed them in fulfillment of King David's words (Tehillim 102:15) "Your servants hold dear her stones."

(Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Shlach - quoted by Tosefos in Kesuvos 112a)


The Love of the Land Archives

Written by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
HTML Production: Eli Ballon
HTML Design: Michael Treblow

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