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Parshat Beha'alotcha
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

והיית לנו לעינים

‘Reveal my eyes and I shall gaze upon the wonders of Your Torah’ (Ps. 119).

The word for ‘reveal’ in this verse is ‘gal’ in Hebrew. In Hebron there is a pioneering neighborhood called the Hill of ‘Gal’, which may hint to this concept of ‘revelation’. Also, next to this neighborhood is an army outpost, called the ‘Jallis Oupost’, at the highest spot in the region from which one can gaze upon large portions of the Hebron area. Indeed, this outpost, where one can see the horizon clearly, is instrumental in the measuring of halachic times, such as the times for sunrise and sunset, for the greater Hebron region. The Zohar and the Arizal teach that by gazing at the sky one can receive spiritual inspiration which aids in perceiving the wonders of the Torah. It seems that this teaching is even more potent in the Land of Israel where the very air is considered inspirational, as our Sages say, ‘the air of the Land of Israel gives wisdom’.

This parsha contains numbers of inferences to the concepts of ‘revelation’ and ‘gazing out’. It teaches a number of lessons on prophetic revelation at its end, in the episodes of Eldad and Medad and in the episode of Miriam’s criticism on Moshe where we learn about Moshe Rabeinu’s unique level of prophecy. Earlier in the parsha, Yitro is offered to be the ‘eyes of Israel’, i.e to ‘gaze out’ and  scout out the areas of the wilderness for Israel’s travel towards the Holy Land. Simply, this mission was offered to Yitro since Yitro, who once lived in Midyan, was familiar with the landscape of the wilderness, and therefore he could be a good scout.

We may tie the concepts of ‘revelation’ and ‘gazing out’ by the Torah’s terminology calling the prophet ‘the Seer’/’HaRoeh’ as in the case of Samuel or ‘Scout’/’Tzofeh’ in the case of Ezekiel, for example. Just as we described Yitro as a good scout, since he was already familiar with the area, so too the prophet is given Divine wisdom, because he is already well-acquainted with the wisdom of the Torah. This concept is hinted to, and explained by our Sages, through the verse in Daniel: ‘He (HaShem) gives wisdom to those who are (already) wise.’ 

Further explained, we may say that the Holy Presence rests with those who study Torah, as the Mishna in Avot (ch. 3) clearly describes gradations and levels of revelation of the Holy Presence according to the numbers of people studying Torah together. Therefore, one who studies Torah in depth continuously may be given the gift of Divine inspiration, of ‘tapping in’ to the great Light of the Holy Presence. Similarly, the Holy Land is the Land of the Holy Presence. Therefore, by living in the Holy Land and connecting to its inspiring air one connects to the inspirational ‘air’ coming from the Holy Presence therein. In this way, we can understand why the Sages taught in the Sifri that prophecy is only possible in the Holy Land (or for its sake).

Hebron, whose name means ‘connecting’, alludes to this connecting to the Divine inspiration found in the Torah, as Hebron also alludes to the Torah according to the Zohar. Also, Hebron alludes to connecting to the Holy Presence of our Holy Land, for this is Hebron the Foundation of Jewish Settlement in our Holy Land.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #222

‘I once had been fasting for two weeks, barely eating or drinking at all. One person advised me to make kiddush on wine and eat challa on Shabbat, saying that it is forbidden to fast on Shabbat, and that I will not be harmed since this eating and drinking is a mitzvah. So I did, and miraculously I was not harmed from such a sudden break of my fasting, which medically speaking must be broken tremendously more gradually and slowly.’ V.L

Sources: Baba Batra 158b, Ezekiel 33, 7, Zohar Beshalah Shlah

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