B”H PARSHAT ACHAREI MOT (by Yehuda HaKohen) “The land became contaminated and I recalled its iniquity upon it; and the land disgorged its inhabitants.” (VAYIKRA 18:25) The Ramban expounds on this verse by teaching that HaShem has placed angelic forces to rule over virtually the entire world. Nearly every country has a designated angel acting as an intermediary between that nation and G-D. In fact, only in the Land of Israel – where HaShem’s Divine Providence is direct – are there no spiritual liaisons between Him and man.
As a result, the Hebrew Nation can only engage in a pure Divine service, without any foreign barriers or impurities, when situated on our native soil. This is how the Ramban explains the Talmud’s harsh declaration that “All who live in Eretz Yisrael resemble one who has a G-D, and all who live outside of Eretz Yisrael resemble one who has no G-D” (Ketubot 110b).
In the Diaspora, a Jew’s service to HaShem actually goes through these intermediary forces and works to increase their spiritual might. These celestial powers then strengthen the countries over which they preside, clarifying how throughout the long exile of the Jewish people from our native soil many of the countries in which we wandered had become great powers on the world stage. Their cultures, economies and diplomatic standings all flourished while Jews were practicing mitzvot within their borders. As soon as a nation would maltreat us, however, we would be forced to relocate and the country left behind would begin its historic decline. This remarkable pattern has repeated itself time and again throughout the centuries of our exile.
Simply by living Torah lives in foreign countries, Jews actually strengthen the angelic forces of those lands. The Ramban teaches that Israel’s strengthening of intermediary powers is in fact a form of idolatry, as pure Divine service can only take place within the Land of Israel. While it is clear that HaShem is equally present and supreme over the entire world, there is a distinction in our ability to connect with Him based on our own physical location.
HaShem divided the world between nations and gave each one a particular territory suited to its function in the grand scheme of human history. He fashioned Am Yisrael and set us in the center of His blueprint – within the borders exclusively suited to our unique inner kedusha and national mission. Like the Nation of Israel, the Land of Israel enjoys a special relationship with HaShem. Eretz Yisrael is the point of intersection between our physical world and the Divine. Nefesh HaChaim (4:11) teaches that “G-D, Israel and the Torah are One.” HaShem manifests His greatness in this world through Divinely designated receptacles of kedusha. The Nation of Israel is G-D’s national human representation just as the Torah serves as His written expression. Similarly, the Almighty’s manifestation of kedusha in geographic form appears as the Land of Israel. Therefore, a Divine Providence graces Eretz Yisrael to the exclusion of all other places and it is only within our ancestral homeland that the Jewish people can truly realize the fulfillment of our national destiny. It is only when all of HaShem’s manifestations in this world are combined to their full potential that the ultimate expression of His Divine Ideal can be revealed. Only when the entire Israeli Nation is situated in and sovereign over all of Eretz Yisrael – while being connected to the full grandeur of Torah – can the objective of Creation at long last be achieved.
It is impossible for a Jew to live up to his full potential in the Diaspora, no matter how many mikvah baths, kosher restaurants or yeshivot his community boasts. Eretz Yisrael is not simply a better place to perform mitzvot but actually the only place to perform mitzvot. Rashi (quoting our Sages in his commentary to DEVARIM 11:18) teaches that Jews must continue to observe Torah commandments even in the exile in order to ensure that when we return to our borders the commandments will not be new to us. This suggests that the only value in Am Yisrael practicing mitzvot in the Diaspora is to ensure that we do not forget how to perform them. Ramban, in his commentary to VAYIKRA 18:25, further elaborates on this concept by explaining that the Torah is meant to be observed specifically in Eretz Yisrael. The mitzvot only fulfill their true Divine function when performed within the borders of our ancestral homeland. And only by reaching its full universal expression can the Torah lead humanity towards ultimate Redemption.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula
