The Land of Israel lives in the heart of the Jewish people. From our very inception, our collective journey has been intertwined with this special place. In fact, the first time that the Torah informs us of G-d’s interaction with the first of our forefathers, Avraham Avinu, G-d directs him to travel “to the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). Throughout our history, the prophets and sages have inspired within us a deep love for the land. Why? What makes the land so special? Highlighting the land in which we live seems so arbitrary. Whether in Cypress, North Dakota or Peru, one can still say the same prayers, eat the same food, and have the same way of life. It is not the land per se that gives flavor to a community, but rather the people who are superimposing their personalities and beliefs upon the place they live. If our homeland is considered to be of such monumental importance, we must understand why.

In the first chapters of the Torah, we find many characters, or groups of people, losing their land. Adam and Chava are kicked out of the Garden, Kayin is forced to be a wanderer, and the entire generation of Noach is wiped away through the means of waters erasing all of the land in the world. Sin continuously seems to induce the punishment of losing one’s place. This notion is underscored as well when the Jewish people are exiled from Israel twice. In the other direction, we see times in which one can merit land. For instance the resting place of the forefathers in Me’arat Hamachpeila is an earned place. The question that begs to be answered at this point is why? Why is land the specific point of reward or punishment?

The answer to our question can perhaps be found by a major teaching of the Ramban in his Commentary on the Torah, Bereishit 2:3. In a discussion about the creation of the world, the Ramban suggests that the six days of creation are a microcosm of the course of history. The Talmud, Avodah Zarah 9a, teaches that the Mashiach is supposed to come by the year 6000 of the Jewish calendar and this number can be divided into six portions of 1,000 years each. Each 1,000 years matches one day of creation. He goes on to explain that the years 1000-2000 parallel day two of creation because day two is the day of the waters splitting and the generation of the flood of Noach, lived during those years. Avraham Avinu was born at the end of that era in 1948 of the Jewish calendar, just in time to welcome in day three, the time of land and fruit. The Ramban explains that righteous people will produce good deeds and acts of kindness, which is the fruit of their labor. In other words, the notion of land is a place to facilitate growth in this world. The produce of our world is acts which fuse this world with goodness and righteousness. This stands in stark contrast with the generation of the flood who wreaked havoc upon the world and filled it with darkness and emptiness. Their generation produced no fruit and therefore no longer needed land.

With this new understanding, let’s return to our earlier questions. Why do we see such a theme of land in the Torah? The answer is that the world has been given to us to facilitate a relationship with Hashem. We are to work the land of the world and fill it inside and out with rich produce of good deeds in every which way. Whether this is manifest through Torah learning, acts of loving kindness or a simple whispered prayer from our hearts, we have chances to produce fruit all the time. If, however, the fruit are not coming about, then the land is no longer needed. Gan Eden had to expel Adam and Chava because the sin of the tree uprooted the purpose of that existence. The baseless hatred of our people took away our homeland in the times of the Roman Empire. By contrast, the good deeds of Noach in his times and Avraham Avinu in his, earned them both places upon which to live. The Ark was granted to Noach because his righteousness was insular. It was a righteousness that only existed in contrast to the rest of the generation. This is similar to the Ark, which produced an insular space. Avraham Avinu on the other hand was not an insular person. Just the opposite—his greatness elevated those around him. Therefore, he did not just merit land for himself but rather he was the one who created a forum for the rest of the world to perform acts of righteousness. He was granted the Land of Israel, which would remain the example par excellence of which fruits of righteousness can be produced.

Finally, though the Jewish people remain in the times of exile, the opportunity of having the Land of Israel must open our eyes to a window of opportunity. For almost 2,000 years we have groped in the darkness of the world, striving to find a place to stand and join together to once again be a people in our land. With the State of Israel comes an opportunity to fulfill a purpose of being a shining light to all those around us, just as our forefather, Avraham Avinu, was. May we continue to be and increasingly fulfill that purpose. חג שמח!