In Parshas Eikev, the beautiful and stirring words of Moshe Rabbeinu, during the last days of his life, continue to inspire, elevate and teach us.  One of the main themes of the final teachings of Moshe is the topic of our beloved Land, Eretz Yisrael.  Though Moshe was never allowed to enter the land (not in life, nor in death for kevurah), he speaks of the Land’s beauty, miraculous nature, holiness and special qualities. 

Here is a small selection of pasukim regarding Eretz Yisrael from this week’s parsha:  

Devarim 7:13 - וַֽאֲהֵ֣בְךָ֔ וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֖ וְהִרְבֶּ֑ךָ וּבֵרַ֣ךְ פְּרִי־בִטְנְךָ֣ וּפְרִֽי־אַדְמָתֶ֠ךָ דְּגָ֨נְךָ֜ וְתִירשְׁךָ֣ וְיִצְהָרֶ֗ךָ שְׁגַר־אֲלָפֶ֨יךָ֙ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת צֹאנֶ֔ךָ עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לַֽאֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ לָ֥תֶת לָֽךְ - And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the choice of your flocks, upon the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you; 

8:1 - כָּל-הַמִּצְוָה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת:  לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן וּרְבִיתֶם, וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע ה’ לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם - Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that Hashem swore to your forefathers;

v.7 - כִּי ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ, מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל-אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה אֶרֶץ, נַחֲלֵי מָיִם--עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת, יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר - For Hashem your G-d is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains;

v.8 - אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה, וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן; אֶרֶץ-זֵית שֶׁמֶן, וּדְבָשׁ - a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey;

v.10 - וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ--וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת-ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ, עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לָךְ - And you shall eat and be satiated, and you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good land that He has given you;

11:12 - אֶרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ דֹּרֵשׁ אֹתָהּ תָּמִיד, עֵינֵי ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּהּ--מֵרֵשִׁית הַשָּׁנָה, וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה - it is a land that Hashem, your G-d, seeks out; the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.  

Though he never merited to enter into the Land, as an emissary of Hashem, Moshe was in love with Eretz Yisrael,.  He knew that it was the only place where Torah and mitzvos could be properly fulfilled as prescribed by the Torah (Sotah 14a), and Moshe exhorts us - over and over again - to love, appreciate and cherish the good Land.  

Over the last close-to-eleven months, Hashem yerachem aleinu, much of the happenings from Eretz Yisrael are exceptionally, painfully difficult and impossible to comprehend.  From the brave soldiers fighting for us all, the fallen who gave their lives, the hostages and their families, the evacuees from the North and South, the continuous barrage of missiles, rockets and drones in the North, the businesses destroyed, the hatred of the world for our State and our Nation… our beloved Land and nation are under attack.  However, despite all the losses and all the pain, we must remember that Hashem loves us and His Land, and His eyes are upon the Land always (cf. Devarim 11:12, quoted above).  Earlier this week, a great miracle occurred in Tel Aviv, reminding us of Hashem’s ever-present Hashgacha and shemira upon us.  During these challenging times, it behooves us, and encourages us, to remember that Hashem’s Merciful Guidance is always present.  

Rav Avraham Meshulam, the Gabbai of the Rashbi shul in southern Tel Aviv, where a great neis occurred on Sunday evening (August 18, 2024) when a suicide bomber’s powerful bomb prematurely exploded ten meters away from it, spoke to the media on Monday about the magnitude of the neis (miracle).  “The explosion was louder than I’ve ever heard before,” he said. “The whole shul shook like in a powerful earthquake. The electricity went out in part of the building and the glass of the windows shattered on people. Miraculously there were no people on the street at the time except for one passerby who was injured and we daven for his speedy recovery.”

“They saw on the security cameras that the terrorist had already approached the entrance of the shul, checked out the area and saw that there was a shul there full of people. Afterward, you see him going back ten meters and sitting on a bench and fiddling with the buttons inside his knapsack. HKB”H caused him to accidentally press the wrong button, activating the device at that moment and not several minutes afterward. It truly was a neis. The building next to the shul, a hardware store, was destroyed – the wall completely exploded. The glass that shattered on us was really marginal, nothing. None of us were hurt, not even a little. We believe that HKB”H protects us and saved us.”

Rav Meshulam told B’Chadrei Chareidim that the shul has a Yeshivas Bein Hazemanim every day, the largest one in the city, and the shul is especially crowded at night with mispallelim and lomdei Torah – exactly the time that the device exploded.  “Just last week, the Sephardi Rav of Bnei Brak, HaGaon HaRav Masoud Ben-Shimon, came to the opening ceremony for Yeshivas Bein HaZemanim, and said: ‘Know one thing –  this Yeshivas Bein HaZemanim protects all of Tel Aviv.’  At that time, people didn’t attribute much importance to his words and thought it was simply a statement of chizzuk. But B”H, everyone understands the koach of Torah – that’s what protects Am Yisrael. It could have ended in a mass-casualty incident – the explosion was extremely powerful.  My father built this shul 75 years ago in the name of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai. The shteibelach have been here for 75 years and are full of tefillos and Torah all the time” (https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2306848/astounding-bnei-brak-rav-last-week-limmud-torah-in-this-shul-protects-all-of-tel-aviv.html).  

May we merit to witness the ultimate Revelation and Redemption, with the coming of Moshiach; כִּי תִּמָּלֵ֣א הָאָ֔רֶץ לָדַ֖עַת אֶת־כְּב֣וֹד ה’ כַּמַּ֖יִם יְכַסּ֥וּ עַל־יָֽם - For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Hashem, as the water covers the sea (Chavakuk 2:14).

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום