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Parshat Balak
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו 

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"מה טבו אהלך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל" 

"How good are your tents Jacob, your sanctuaries O Israel!"

Many pronounce these words upon entering the synagogue in recognition of the sanctity of the synagogue and the Holy Presence that rests there. Because of this holiness attached to the synagogue there are many laws that pertain to its establishment, use, respect, and more. Some of these laws seem to highlight the relationship of the synagogue as place of the Holy Presence to the 'Land of the Holy Presence', the Land of Israel. One of these laws mandates that all synagogues in the Land of Israel are forever sanctified even if explicit stipulation was put upon them at their building that they may be used for a different purpose when destroyed.

This law does not apply to synagogues in the Diaspora, for the reason that our Sages taught, that 'all synagogues in the Diaspora are destined to be relocated in the Land of Israel' (Megila 29a), this meaning that these synagogues have a somewhat temporary nature which allows for stipulation on their use to hold. Another law that highlights the connection between the synagogue and the Land of Israel is the necessity that synagogues of the Diaspora face the Land of Israel. With the same token, synagogues in Israel face Jerusalem, 'City of the Holy Presence.'

If so, why did our Patriarchs, Kaleb, and others go specifically to Hebron to pray, and not to Jerusalem? To begin with, we should mention that, although Jerusalem is the primary place of the Holy Presence, Hebron is also mentioned in the Zohar as being a focal point of the Holy Presence which attracted our Patriarchs and others to pray at this location. In regard to the question, 'why not first Jerusalem', it could be that Jerusalem was meant to be spiritually developed through the initial spiritual development of Hebron (and perhaps other cities as well) as we find with David who first developed Hebron and only afterwards Jerusalem (and perhaps for this very reason the location of Jerusalem was less known till the age of David - see Zvahim 54b in which David searches with Shmuel the location of the Bait HaMikdash).

Whatever the reason, we can say that the Land of Israel is like a live organism of holiness - each plot of it essential to the entire corpus. That said, just as a body has critical organs, so too the Land of Israel has focal points of spirituality, Jerusalem and Hebron ranking as two of its greatest focal points. 

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #77:

"One morning I arbitrarily taught 1st grade boys in Kiryat Arba one halacha for about one minute at the end of the class. The halacha was that if one forgot to say Birkas Hamazon one should preferably say it within 72 minutes of eating, but if not, one can still say it as long as he is still satisfied from the last meal (and not hungry). About 2 hours later I was asked by a teacher, who didn't know anything about what I had taught, 'till when can I say Birkas Hamazon if I forgot?'"  

Sources: Megila 28b, Orah Haim 151, 11, Zohar Bo