Rabbi Frand on Parshas Bechukosai
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion: Tape #
11, Rationing Medical Care. Good Shabbos!
Good News in the Middle of the Tochacha
There is a very long and interesting Ramba"n in this week's Parsha,
which attempts to demonstrate that all the terrible things in the
Tochacha, those things that the Torah predicts will occur if we do
not keep the mitzvos, did indeed happen.
For instance, the Ramba"n says that the verse "G-d will return you to
Egypt in boats" refers to the days of Titus when the Jews were loaded
onto boats and shipped as slaves to Egypt. The Ramba"n brings many
different examples... "The King which you will appoint over
yourself..." refers to Agrippa; the pasuk [verse] hints to the fact
that he was not worthy of being a King.
Finally, the Ramba"n says that the pasuk [26:32] "I will make desolate
the Land, and your enemies who dwell upon it will be desolate"
(V'shamemu aleha oyeveichem hayoshvim bah) is not a curse, but rather
is a blessing. It is a bit of "good news" in the middle of the
bad: the pasuk tells us that our Holy Land will not accept our
enemies upon it. The Ramba"n says that this is a great proof of the
Divine Hand in action. "For there cannot be found throughout the world
a land that had been so good and fertile (which now became so desolate
and inhospitable)".
If you want to be a Believer, says the Ramba"n, all you have to do is
look at Eretz Yisroel. Look what happened there for 2000 years when it
was occupied by Romans and by Arabs and by Turks and by the British.
It had previously been a beautiful and fertile land, but under foreign
dominion it became the most desolate. The Torah assured us that from
the day we left Eretz Yisroel the land would not accept any other
nation or populace. They all tried to settle it, but none were
successful.
This is the meaning of what the Torah says, "Your enemies will be
desolate upon it". No nation will ever be successful at inhabiting
Eretz Yisroel, except Klal Yisroel [The Jewish Nation].
What would happen if the Indians came to the Federal Government and
said, "We made a silly mistake 200 years ago. We sold Manhattan Island
to you at a rock bottom price -- $24. We realize that you're entitled
to a profit, so we'll give you $48 for Manhattan"? Or even if they
would offer 48 million dollars! Or 48 billion dollars! Guess what?
There would be no sale. What has happened to Manhattan Island in those
200 years? Considering its value now, there is no way the Government
would ever give it back.
Imagine if other nations had been successful in making Eretz Yisroel
profitable. Imagine if in 1948, it was a beautiful and productive land.
Would they have consented to returning it to the Jewish People? But as
the Ramba"n says, they were not able to develop the land. In 1948, when
we came to ask, "Can we have the land back?" those in power may have
thought, "Do you mean that strip of land that's hard like iron, in
which nothing grows? Are you talking about that worthless strip of land
in the middle of the desert? Good Luck with it!" This is Divine
Providence, as promised by the Torah in this week's parsha.
I have always wondered - if one examines the Middle East -- Saudi
Arabia has oil, Quatar, Iraq, Yemen all have oil, every country has
oil. Even Egypt has oil. How is it that from our Holy Land, the
choicest of all lands, we can not squeeze a drop of oil? Is this "the
Eyes of the L-rd are upon it from the start of the year to its end?"
But what would have been in 1948, if the British were sitting on a
Saudi Arabia? What would have been if they were sitting on Kuwait?
Obviously they would not have been so eager to give black gold to the
Jews. This is part of "Your enemies will be desolate upon it."
The upshot of all of this is that if we seek a lesson in Emunah, if one
is unimpressed with all the other miracles and wonders that G-d has
done... Just look at this Ramba"n, just look at this Pasuk, just look
at that Land. If one's eyes are open, one will see the Hand of G-d and
His Divine Providence upon us and upon all the Jewish people.
Glossary
Chutz L'Aretz -- Outside the Land (of Israel)
Tochacha -- (Section of the Torah dealing with) rebuke (for sins)
Emunah -- Belief (in G-d)
Hashgocha Prottes -- Personal Divine Providence
Personalities and Sources
Ramba"n -- Rav Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270); Spain; Eretz Yisroel.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
Many of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas Behar /
Bechukosai are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
