PEOPLE OF THE LAND
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

YITZCHAK -
The Original Meah Shearim

At the command of Hashem, Yitzchak dwelled for a while in the Philistine city of Gerar, which he was told would eventually be possessed by his descendants. The blessing of prosperity which Hashem gave him at that time was amply fulfilled when Yitzchak sowed his fields and harvested one hundred times (meah shearim) the normal crop. (Bereishet 26:12)

When a group of Jews more than a century ago decided to leave the severely overcrowded Jerusalem within the Old City walls and to establish a new community outside those walls, the Torah portion of that week contained this account of Yitzchak's prosperity. They considered this a favorable sign and named the community they planned to build "Meah Shearim."