Igor, an Oleh Chadash (new immigrant) and former refusenik arrives in Israel. Taken in by the sights and sounds of the Holyland, he mutters over and over, “What a Special Land!” He notes the beautiful hills, and exclaims, “What majestic hills! Even the hills here are special!” He takes in the view of the Kinneret and exclaims, “What a scenic lake! Even the lakes here are special!”
Wandering into an orchard, he picks an apple, sits on a rock and takes a bite. He then says, “Such sweet apples! Even the apples here are special!”
Suddenly he hears someone shouting from behind him, “Adoni (sir) – Don’t you know that the Torah says Lo Tignov-- Don’t steal!”
Igor throws his arm around the farmer and says, “Unbelievable! A farmer that quotes from the Torah! Even the farmers here are special!”
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov moved to Eretz Yisrael, then part of the Ottoman Empire, at the end of his life. Shortly after he arrived, he remarked that he finally understood a verse in this week’s Parsha that had always bothered him.
Ki Tavau El Haaretz Asher Ani Noten Lachem…When you will come into the land that I am giving you…
This verse, which introduces the Mitzva of the Shmita, the biblically mandated agricultural sabbatical year, seems odd. Shouldn't the Torah have used the past tense – “When you come into the land that … I HAVE GIVEN you”, rather than “…I AM GIVING you?”
Rebbe Nachman answered as follows: Living in the Holyland is an art of living in the present. Each and every day is a new appreciation, a new holiness, and new adventure into the divine. In Eretz Yisrael, one does not live in the past; one appreciates, more and more, each moment in the present.
While we may not merit to dwell in the holyland, we can create in our lives a spiritual state of Israel. When we are focused on human growth, and our deeper life purpose, we too can live a life of mindfulness and growth. By being a better person today than I was yesterday, each day is full of discovery, meaning and excitement.
‘A New York Minute’ ? Try a Jerusalem or Tel Aviv second.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yisroel Hecht