Love of the Land - Unchallengable Claim
  PEOPLE OF THE LAND Selections from classical Torah sources which express the special relationship between the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael
Those who wish to enjoy the wealth of material which appeared in previous "Love of the Land" features can do so on our website, www.ohr.edu. NOACH � A TALE OF TWO SURVIVORS Noach shared something very special with the Land of Israel � both were survivors of the Deluge that destroyed the rest of the world and all of its land inhabitants outside the Ark. The survival of Noach and his family is clearly recorded in the second parsha of the Chumash. But where is it indicated that the flood waters did no damage the Land of Israel? The answer lies in the olive leaf which the dove brought back to Noach as evidence that the flood waters had receded. Where did this bird manage to find a leaf in a world whose animal life and vegetation had been so completely devastated? Rabbi Levi, in Midrash Rabbah (Vayikra 31:10) supplies the solution to this mystery by revealing that the olive leaf came from a tree on the Mount of Olives in the Land of Israel. The devastating rains which destroyed all vegetation elsewhere did not descend upon this land, and the flood waters which did reach there covered its trees but did not destroy them.This survival of the land, say our Sages, finds expression in the prophecy of Yechezkel (22:3) who was told by Hashem that �it was not rained upon in the day of fury.� |
Written by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
HTML Design: Michael Treblow
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