The Torah Proves the Land Belongs to Israel
Our Sages explain that the Torah begins with the creation story to empower the Jewish people with a response to those who challenge their right to the Land of Israel.
The reply that “God created the world, and He gives it to whomever he desires,” although beautiful, always left me with another question.
If the Jewish people can claim that God gave the land to them, why can’t the nations make the same claim when they conquered the land?
The answer I heard is straightforward. Whenever the nations conquered the land of Israel, they didn’t need to claim that God helped them since they disproportionately outnumber the Jewish people and did it through strength.
However, when the tiny nation of Israel conquers the land, it contradicts logic and could only be accomplished with God’s miraculous intervention. That is proof of divine intervention.
In this week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23 - 25), there is another proof that the Land of Israel is the possession of the Jewish people. Abraham acquires land in Israel as a burial plot in Hebron. Abraham would not accept the land as a gift and insisted on purchasing it.
Therefore, the land of Israel belongs to the Jews not only because God gave it to them and because Abraham legally acquired it.
Furthermore, no other nation has an unbroken claim to the land of Israel. Jews have always dwelled there, even during our exile, and for centuries the Jews while in exile consistently prayed to return to Israel.
May we soon witness the acknowledgment of the nations that Israel is the rightful guardian of the Land of Israel and may peace spread throughout the region and beyond.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
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