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Parshat Lech Lecha
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Cleaving to the Holy Presence In Our Holy Land

"Bet El at the West and HaAi at the East"

"Blessed are You HaShem Our God King of the Universe Who erects the borders of the widow".

This blessing is said when sighting a building newly settled by Jews in the Land of Israel (according to some opinions specifically a sanctuary), described as a 'widow' awaiting the 're-living' of her 'huband' - the People of Israel. Seeing the Land of Israel as a 'widow' waiting to be redeemed seems to be a constant theme throughout the generations, whether to a greater or lesser extent. This is so since in essence there is no end to the level the power of the Holy Presence in the Holy Land can be greatened and enhanced, and in this sense the Holy Land is always 'needy' of this 'enhancement'.

It seems that one of the locations in the Land of Israel indicative of this concept is the city 'HaAi', mentioned in this week's parsha in context of Avraham's first settlement in the Land of Israel. Similarly, this location reappears in Joshua's conquest and re-settlement of the Land after Israel's exile in Egypt. The reason this location indicates the 'neediness' of the Land of Israel is due to the literal meaning of the name HaAi meaning 'The Ruins' (Ai or I'im (plural) means ruins), suggesting ruins which 'need' to be re-built. Indeed, our Sages teach that it is at this location that Avraham prayed upon his descendants in the time of Joshua who he foresaw would 'need help' at this location. This 'need for help' at this location refers to the first lost battle in Joshua's conquest of the Land due to Achan's theft of Jericho's hallowed spoils. Due to this, Achan is exposed, Achan repents, and is stoned to death in atonement for this great sin, whereby HaShem warrants the successful conquest of HaAi.

Thus, the episode of the HaAi teaches us an important lesson in regard to connecting to the Land of Israel, i.e the 'need' of human effort, justice, 'sacrifice', and repentance in 'redeeming' this 'needing' Land. If, in contrast, everything would go easily by HaShem's kindness in attaining this Land, there would be a so-to-speak 'dishonor' to this Holy Land, as if this Divine Land can be treated 'light-headedly' with no serious respect and/or work on our parts, God forbid. This said, it seems that the Torah also wants us to balance this relationship of 'justice' towards our Land with the attributes of mercy and kindness. Thus, the Torah teaches us that Avraham camped between Bet El from the West and HaAi from the East. This passage may teach us that the 'justice' of HaAi must be balanced by the 'kindness' of Bet El, which means 'House of the Kind God' (God's Name 'El' refers to His attribute of kindness).

Indeed, this parallel seems very exact as the numerical value of HaAi is equal (85+1 ('hakolel') a very accepted gematria method) to the numerical value of God's Name of judgment - 'Elohim'. In addition, HaAi is said to be East of Avraham's encampment which suggests the balancing of the attribute of justice with the location of the rising sun in the East, signifying the attribute of mercy in the rising sun-light. In contrast, Bet El, signifying the attribute of kindness, is to the West where the sun sets, which signifies the attribute of justice and limitation by the dimming of sun-light.

All this said, it is crucial to remember that this whole episode is only an encampment on the way to Avraham's main settlement in Hebron a few verses later. Ultimately, by balancing the attributes of kindness and justice in regard to the Holy Land in the proper way Avraham and his descendants are able to settle the City of Unity, Hebron, which unites these attributes in a harmonious whole.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #194:

'I was hitchhiking from Hebron to Jerusalem in order to arrive in Jerusalem on time for a wedding. My wife was nervous that I wouldn't make it in time, since I left only an hour before, so she said a special prayer, formulated as a thanksgiving in past tense: 'thank You HaShem for the ride You gave my husband towards the wedding'. Just after this 'prayer' my wife received a text message from me saying that I had just caught a ride straight to the wedding by the Rabbi officiating the wedding, who would also take me back to Hebron...' Y.A

Sources: Joshua ch. 7 

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