Love of the Land

Love of the Land - A Desirable Portion

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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

A DESIRABLE PORTION

"My eye gives you counsel," Hashem says to us through King David (Tehillim 32:8), and our Sages in the Midrash interpret this as a Divine "wink of the eye" in regard to Eretz Yisrael.

A king once made a feast for everyone in his palace. When the serving plate was brought before them, the king winked a hint to his favorite guest to take a particularly good portion. When he realized that the hint was not understood, the king took the portion with his own hands and presented it to his beloved.

In similar fashion, when Hashem divided His world amongst the nations, each of them selected a land double the size of Eretz Yisrael. Hashem winked to the Jewish People to choose Eretz Yisrael but they were reluctant to do so because it was so much smaller than all the other lands. What did Hashem do? He took Eretz Yisrael into His hand and presented it to His favorite people.

This is what the Prophet Yirmiyahu alludes to when he says in Hashem's Name (Yirmiyahu 3:19) "I presented you with a desirable land."

(Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 32)


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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