CONQUERING OUR INNER ISRAEL
Masei
As the Jewish people are poised to enter Eretz Yis-roel, Parshas Masei defines the borders of the land which would be given to the Tribes.
Since the borders are identified by cities and geo-graphical features (some of whose locations are not precisely known), there is much debate among the commentators as to the exact size and shape of the Land.
Defined borders are necessary to demarcate the land which is sanctified with Kedushas Eretz Yisroel. Mideoraisa, the agricultural Mitzvos such as Terumah, Maaser, Shemittah and Challah only ap-plied to to the land within these borders.
According to all of the authorities, this area is a far-cry from the ‘Greater Israel’ promised to Avraham; a country spreading from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Whilst Avraham was promised the territory belong-ing to 10 nations, the inheritance described here was that of only 7 Canaanite nations. This conquest will only be actualised in the Messianic age when ‘Hashem your G-d will extend your borders’ to in-corporate the remaining 3 lands.
Yet even the borders in our Parsha could be shifted outwards. Halachically, any land conquered by a Jewish king, judge or prophet on behalf of the Jew-ish people becomes a part of Eretz Yisroel, sharing the same level of Kedusha. And so, Eretz Yisroel towards the end of the first Temple period was much larger, extended by a succession of kings.
The Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel was only imbued when the Jewish people conquered and settled the Land. In the times of the patriarchs it may have been G-d’s chosen Land, but it was not yet holy.
Mekom Shmuel explains that this holiness is creat-ed by the potential for the Mitzvos connected to the land to be fulfilled.
Whilst this is true for the rest of the Land, Yerushalaim and the site of the Beis Hamikdash were exceptional. The Rambam writes that the holy city was sanctified by the Divine Presence. It always was and always will be holy no matter what.
Chassidus explains that the Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel parallels the Kedusha of Bnei Yisroel.
Hashem gave each one of us a ‘land’ - our body and the life and environment into which we have been placed.
Our ‘land’ too is inhabited by the Canaanite exist-ence of our animalistic soul whose 7 negative drives are represented by the 7 nations of Canaan. Our spiritual battle is to drive out these ‘nations’ and settle our ‘land’ with the Kedusha of our Neshama as the dominant driver within our lives.
When we are victorious in this conquest, our lives become infused with the Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel.
Yerushalaim is the essence of the Neshama - the pintele Yid which. The essence of the Neshama is a part of Hashem Above. It’s Kedusha is innate and cannot be blemished no matter how Canaanite-dominated our lives may be. It is from this intrinsic connection to Hashem that we gain our strength and strategic advantage in our conquest to assert our G-dly self over our animalistic self in our daily lives and tasks.
In this sense we are all settlers. The mind frame of the settler is twofold;
Firstly we must strengthen and protect our existing borders; bolstering our commitment in keeping the Torah and Mitzvos that we already do. We cannot cede even one inch of the holiness in our lives.
But we cannot remain on the defensive. We have to strive to extend our borders outwards, conquering even more aspects of our lives and ourselves and filling them with Kedusha. Like the conquest of Bnei Yisroel, when we put in the effort, Hashem will help us drive out our inner Canaan and ultimately ex-tend our borders of Kedusha to create a ‘greater Israel’ within our lives as well.
May the effects of our spiritual settlement draw down blessings to Holy Land with true peace and security with the coming of Moshiach when Eretz Yisroel and its Kedusha will spread to encompass the entire world.
Since the borders are identified by cities and geo-graphical features (some of whose locations are not precisely known), there is much debate among the commentators as to the exact size and shape of the Land.
Defined borders are necessary to demarcate the land which is sanctified with Kedushas Eretz Yisroel. Mideoraisa, the agricultural Mitzvos such as Terumah, Maaser, Shemittah and Challah only ap-plied to to the land within these borders.
According to all of the authorities, this area is a far-cry from the ‘Greater Israel’ promised to Avraham; a country spreading from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Whilst Avraham was promised the territory belong-ing to 10 nations, the inheritance described here was that of only 7 Canaanite nations. This conquest will only be actualised in the Messianic age when ‘Hashem your G-d will extend your borders’ to in-corporate the remaining 3 lands.
Yet even the borders in our Parsha could be shifted outwards. Halachically, any land conquered by a Jewish king, judge or prophet on behalf of the Jew-ish people becomes a part of Eretz Yisroel, sharing the same level of Kedusha. And so, Eretz Yisroel towards the end of the first Temple period was much larger, extended by a succession of kings.
The Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel was only imbued when the Jewish people conquered and settled the Land. In the times of the patriarchs it may have been G-d’s chosen Land, but it was not yet holy.
Mekom Shmuel explains that this holiness is creat-ed by the potential for the Mitzvos connected to the land to be fulfilled.
Whilst this is true for the rest of the Land, Yerushalaim and the site of the Beis Hamikdash were exceptional. The Rambam writes that the holy city was sanctified by the Divine Presence. It always was and always will be holy no matter what.
Chassidus explains that the Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel parallels the Kedusha of Bnei Yisroel.
Hashem gave each one of us a ‘land’ - our body and the life and environment into which we have been placed.
Our ‘land’ too is inhabited by the Canaanite exist-ence of our animalistic soul whose 7 negative drives are represented by the 7 nations of Canaan. Our spiritual battle is to drive out these ‘nations’ and settle our ‘land’ with the Kedusha of our Neshama as the dominant driver within our lives.
When we are victorious in this conquest, our lives become infused with the Kedusha of Eretz Yisroel.
Yerushalaim is the essence of the Neshama - the pintele Yid which. The essence of the Neshama is a part of Hashem Above. It’s Kedusha is innate and cannot be blemished no matter how Canaanite-dominated our lives may be. It is from this intrinsic connection to Hashem that we gain our strength and strategic advantage in our conquest to assert our G-dly self over our animalistic self in our daily lives and tasks.
In this sense we are all settlers. The mind frame of the settler is twofold;
Firstly we must strengthen and protect our existing borders; bolstering our commitment in keeping the Torah and Mitzvos that we already do. We cannot cede even one inch of the holiness in our lives.
But we cannot remain on the defensive. We have to strive to extend our borders outwards, conquering even more aspects of our lives and ourselves and filling them with Kedusha. Like the conquest of Bnei Yisroel, when we put in the effort, Hashem will help us drive out our inner Canaan and ultimately ex-tend our borders of Kedusha to create a ‘greater Israel’ within our lives as well.
May the effects of our spiritual settlement draw down blessings to Holy Land with true peace and security with the coming of Moshiach when Eretz Yisroel and its Kedusha will spread to encompass the entire world.