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

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

And You Shall Return

'Return us our Father to Your Torah, and bring us close to Your service, and return us with full repentance before You...'

These days are days of returning to God, returning to the source of our souls, returning to our roots. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Torah in this week's parsha links the return to God to the return to the Holy Land (in 'parshat hatshuva'), our root connection to God's Holy Presence. The connection between returning to the Holy Land and returning to God in general with repentance can be seen in the ruling of the great Master Rabbi Moshe Zakut zt"l (Igrot 16), which puts 'Tikun Hatzot', a prayer in which one bemoans the Exile from the Holy Land, as the central prayer for forgiveness: "Great is the rectification made after midnight [by reciting tikun hatzot] in regard to the 'Exile of the Holy Presence' more than all prayer, Torah study, and asking forgiveness, and one should never miss it (tikun hatzot), and if one does not have enough time to say both tikun hatzot and selichot he should prefer tikun hatzot, for it is the essence of forgiveness , and it is the more accepted/pleasing prayer before God, and this time is incumbent on every faithful man to not forget the love of Jerusalem and the endearment of Zion, and great is his merit before the Almighty..."

This matter can be explained by saying that although selichot express repentance and seeking forgiveness on a more individual human level, tikun htzot seeks to rectify the more essential source of rectification for all our misdeeds, the return of the Holy Presence to our very lives. When this Presence returns, our consciousness and that of the world over will be enlightened to a much greater level of return to God. The halachic conclusion here, preferring tikun hatzot over selichot in lack of time, is brought in many well-accepted halachic works such as the Birkei Yosef (581:3), the Ben Ish Hai (Vayishlah 9), Yalkut Yosef and many more. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these sources maintain that women are not to say tikun hatzot. One of the fascinating reasons for this is due to the fact that women did not sin in the sin of the spies which is essentially the source of the destruction of the Temple and the 'Exile of the Holy Presence'.This matter seems to have implications even in today's settlement of the Land of Israel. Some say (perhaps also in the name of Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin Ashlag - son of the 'Baal HaSulam') that specifically women, and not men, were able to re-settle 'Beit Hadassa' about 30 years ago, for women did not sin in the sin of the spies.

This idea also highlights how our connection to Hebron is also a type of rectification for the sin of the spies, which ultimately rectifies the destruction of the Temple and the 'Exile of the Holy Presence' at its source. It is Hebron, where Kaleb prostrated himself before the tombs of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs which was key in giving Kaleb the great spirit to overcome the sin of the spies. Indeed, this is Hebron, Beacon of the Holy Land, returning us to our roots, ending the Exile of the Holy Presence, with the kindness of our Patriarchs in the Light of Redemption.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #189

"One day I thought of starting a business with someone from the Hebron area. Just about an hour or two later I 'happened' to meet this person on the sidewalk after not seeing him for several months..." I.G

Sample Prayer #2:  "Blessed are You HaShem our God and the God of our Forefathers, and blessed are You Who returns His Presence to Zion. Thank You HaShem for Zion and Jerusalem, for Hebron and the Holy Temple You built and will build! Thank You HaShem for Your great gift of repentance and forgiveness; thank You for showing me the matters I need to correct; thank You for so much aiding me in coming closer to You! Thank You HaShem for allowing us to re-settle Beit Hadassa, the former Healing Center of Hebron, and indeed thank You for healing our People with the return to Zion and Hebron, the return to Your Holy Presence of our Holy Land. Indeed, may we evermore see  Your return to Zion with compassion..."

Sources: Igrot HaRemez 16, Ben Ish Hai Vayishlah, Shut R.S Eliyahu

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