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

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Bonding with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

לא תסיג גבול ריעך... בנחלתך אשר תנחל בארץ אשר ה' א-היך נותן לך לרשתה

"And I hereby raise my courage before You with brazenness like copper and iron, with extremely great stubbornness, to ask now before You that You raise me quickly to the Land of Israel, the Land of the Living, the Holy Land...” (Likutei Tfilot II 39)

Settling the Land of Israel requires stubbornness. It is this stubbornness which allowed us to survive so many years of tormenting Exile, as the coals of hope for the Holy Land burned in the hearts of Jews throughout the generations. It is this stubbornness, the spirit of courage, emerging from the spirit of Hebron, where Kaleb drew his courage, which is the promise of the present and the future in securing the Land of Israel in the hands of Israel. One of the laws of the Torah that highlights the 'stubbornness' and insistence on even minuscule portions of land in the Land of Israel appears in this week's parsha in our title quote - the prohibition on detracting even minuscule portions of Land - a 'finger's worth of Land' (Rambam) - from another Jew in the Land of Israel, by theft or robbery.

One of the fascinating concepts of this law is that this specific prohibition of taking land as mentioned in our title applies solely in the Land of Israel. Even though one who takes land of his fellowman in the Diaspora is liable of theft, he is not at all liable for the prohibition in our title quote. We may explain the deeper meaning of this mitzvah by contemplating yet again on our title quote. This verse emphasizes that this land is the 'Land that HaShem your God has given you to inherit'. These words seem to give reason as to the severity of this type of theft in the Land of Israel. In this Land, the Land of Providence given to you by HaShem, the ownership of this land is especially procured by God. Therefore, any alteration of this providential ownership by wicked human intervention such as theft or the like is considered especially severe.

By the same token, we may say that the fact that Hebron stands as the first Jewish purchase and settlement in the Land of Israel shows how essential Hebron is to the settlement of the Land of Israel in general, Providentially. Indeed, it is in Hebron of today that one can find the spirit of courage continuing the spirit of Kaleb. This is Hebron, Foundation of the Holy Land.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #133

"We were planning to purchase a house in Kiryat Arba, but we could not give the final ok before our bank granted us a mortgage for the purchase. Time passed, and another potential buyer showed interest in the house we planned to buy. Since much time passed, the owner explained to us one day that we must commit immediately, or otherwise forfeit in favor for the other buyer. We answered that we could not commit, and thereby subsequently lost the deal. A second after this phone-call, the bank called us to tell us that they had just assured the mortgage..." V.S 

Sources: Rambam Gneiva 7, 11

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