Rabbi Moshe Lichtman- Sacred Land, Sacred Fruits

So I was asked to speak uh of course this is the only holiday holiday that's in the month is tishvat and I was asked to speak about something connected to the mitzvah to pirates and I understand that you already had a moreic of taking chum masro I want to speak a little bit more about the hashkafa behind it and hopefully we'll will come out of this year understanding what a tremendous zus it is that we are living here and that we can work the land and that we can eat the fruits of the land. Uh especially in our generation the fact that we are seeing all the signs of the redemption coming to pass. This is all connected to the fruits of the land. It's all connected to Tishvat as we will see shortly. So let's begin with what many people do on tubishvat and that is they plant trees they go special trips and they go and plant trees very nice beautiful but you know what what exactly is the significance of it besides you know it's very nice to plant the tree but is it more than that so the first source on the page is a midrash says we're supposed to follow or go after God. Asks the mid an obvious question. Can a human being walk after follow God? Why not? So the mid brings all these that indicate that it's obviously impossible. God's path is in the is in the waters is in the oceans. Can we can a human being follow God through the oceans? And you're going to tell me that we're supposed to walk after follow God's footsteps so to say. And then the goes on to say and we have to cling to God. Same question. We go up to heaven and cling to the God's divine presence. Why not? God is a consuming fire. You ever try to cling to fire? You're not going to do very well, etc. All these other. So, what does this mean? that we're supposed to follow Hashem, walk after Hashem, and cling to to Hashem. So, look at the underline. You want to know how you follow God? When God first created the world, the first thing God did was he planted. Where do we find that? Very simple. Elohim God planted a garden in Eden. Okay. So that's very nice. God planted. So to you when you go into sorry first thing you should do when you come into Israel is plant that's the beginning of the para of pre and you plant trees which is a bigish by the way a bigish in that because the puk seems to be saying when you come into the land right Hashem is telling Moshe to tell the B is in the midbar when you eventually get into Israel and you plant trees it sounds from the it's not a command it's saying if you plant trees so these are the these are that you can't eat the fruits for the first three years but the mid is telling us that it's not that's that's a side point the main thing is when you come into Israel plant not if you plant plant and then the is you can't eat the fruits for the first three years >> most of us do not >> I'm sorry >> most of us do not >> do not >> come into the land and plant correct you don't but I think it means more amuse and if you know a little bit of the history of of Zionism >> of the uh of the of the pioneers who came here that is exactly what they did they drained the swamps that were here after 2,000 years of neglect and they mamish built up the land by planting trees and by planting orchards etc etc. So that's probably what it means. But it goes further. The the concept really in this midrash is a very well-known concept and that is um you're supposed to follow Hashem's ways. The garra elsewhere brings many other examples which is like God is compassionate. We ought to be compassionate. There's a gumar that says just like Hashem was it said that he clothed uh so to I remember once told me that when you diaper your child you are being and it's true. You have a poor kid who who's will freeze if you don't put clothing on him. And you are following in God's ways. Just like God buried the dead, we also bury the dead. And that's a it's a kum in. And this midrash is telling us that there's another kum. And that k is planting trees init based on this midrash is a beautiful story in a book called an angel among men. A beautiful biography on Rafuk. You really don't appreciate who Rav Cook is until you read this book and understand he was beyond I mean beyond comprehension how great of a man he was. And he tells the following story that um there was a certain Yeshu was here from you know the early 1900s. So at some point there was a Yeshu called Magdiel and it was being established and they had a uh groundbreaking ceremony and he was invited and one of the uh one of the parts of the ceremony was to plant a tree and they gave Rav Cook the Zus the the privilege to be the one to plant a tree. So, of course, they gave him a a shovel and they, you know, expected him to dig the hole in it. He threw the shovel away, got down on his hands and knees and started digging the ground with his hands and people around him could see that he was so enthralled, so excited. Something like came over him and one of his students who was with him asked him like, "What is what what are you so excited about?" You know people plant trees in Eritisha all the time. And Rafuk answered as follows. When I held that tender sapling in my hand, I remember the midras in the midash that we just read that planting an erit Israel is in effect following in the ways of God. And when I was about to put the sapling in the ground, I remembered these words and felt as if I was clinging to theina. Thus, I was overcome by fear and trembling. Now, I don't know how many of us could get to that level. But we should understand that working in the land of Israel and planting trees in the land of Israel, you know, none of us are going to be uh farmers, but you know, we all have our backyards. Some of us have our backyards and right, you plant a tree in that's an unbelievable. In fact, if we're already on it, just because we're on it, I I I'll skip a little bit for a second. If you look at source 11, it's an amazing amazing hala. >> We'll get back. What >> planting is it? >> It's part of the mitzvah of ar. Look, if you don't have it, you don't have it. You don't have it. You can't do it. Maybe you can go on a trip and and and plant or maybe donate to caca and you know donate a tree to be planted. They have those all the time, right? There's an unbelievable Rambam based of course on a gamarra which Rambam always is zetav. Let's say following situation a guy has let's say I'll give it as an example. has three or four olive trees in his in his little backyard in his field or whatever it is and comes along a deluge of waterm this year to a tremendous beautiful rains here in Israel and a rain comes and it just washes away one of those one of those trees and supplants it into someone else's his next door neighbor's backyard right vish and it replanted it in his friend's field. Now before we go on, what would you say the is? What would you say? Just using your pure logic, what should be the halak? >> Return it. >> He has to return it. It's not his. This guy is the one who uh who planted it. That's why it's so surprising that the Rambam writes. The guy, the real owner of the tree says, "I give me back my my olive tree." We don't listen to him. We do not give him his tree back. Why? And the garra and the raan in in in place of the garra says because it's part of the mitzvah of leave the tree where it is. What does that mean? So the which is the next source for one of the this is brought down also in the explains as follows. I'll read it. I'll explain it outside. This guy as I said has three or four trees in his backyard. Right? The other guy wasn't interested in olive trees for some reason. He had none. Now, if we tell him he has to give the tree back, what's going to happen? It's just going to go back to the way it was. There going to be four olive trees in in this area. Right? If we let him keep that tree, the other guy is going to say, "All right, what could I do? I lost my tree. I got to replant another one. I want I want four trees. I want a whole orchard. I I sell olives for a living." He'll plant another tree. So it'll end up that there'll be another tree, another olive tree in Erit is because of that we do something so illogical. We say keep the tree. No, you don't have to give it back. And that's only a den of course init. If the same thing happens in init, we would say of course give the tree back. Who are you? It's not yours. But init because of the mitzvah of ish of Isel, we say give the tree back. So there's something very special about planting trees in Eric Israel. What? >> What did I say? I'm sorry. Don't give the tree back. Keep it so that the other guy will replant another tree. I'm glad people are listening. Good. Let's go on. Let's go back to the beginning. Okay. >> I'm sorry. >> It's a loss. >> That Yep. >> It's a loss. >> It's a loss. Look, he didn't do it. He didn't steal it if he stole it. He just Yeah. God Exactly. It's an act of God. God gave him a God gave him a gift. God gave him a gift, an extra tree. Okay, we'll get back to that later on. Um, go now now back to the first page, source number three. Um, and here we're going to move over to from planting to more fruits of Israel. So, the tour, I hope you all know the tour is the precursor of the Shanarak. The tour is written by Rabbi Yakov Basher. The rush, the famous rish, the rush. um one of the three pillars of according to the according to Cairo he bases all halak on ramam riff and rush the rush raenu asher his son Jacob wrote a monumental work called arbatim the four pillars which basically is all that applies nowadays and in the section dealing with named shalosh which we call but in the Gmorra it's called it's one it's similar to benching it's basically benching but a shortened version of benching okay so there he says as follows source number three he referring to the mitzvot wrote some say in the alamy that we should also pray to Hashem that we should be able to come to Israel and eat of its fruits and be satisfied by the goodness of the land. But then says the smog one should not say that. Why? One should not desire the land of Israel for its fruits and its goodness, its physical goodness, rather for its spirituality. What's the source of this? There's a gamarra and sot just very quickly is a gamarra and sot which asks why did Mosher Rabenu want so badly to go into and it asks exactly these words. Mosher Raenu really cared about getting some good fruits in Erit Israel. Oh, was he doing it in order to be satiated from the good of the land? Of course not. Rather and the Gmorra gives an answer and that's a whole she and of itself. What's the Gar's answer? But it seems from that gamarra that it's a negative thing to want to come into Israel to get fruits and to get goodness, physical goodness, material wealth. So therefore the smog bases his says you should not say that in continues the tour right the says the only reason you should want to come to is toot the special that are dependent on the land of Israel is one of the one of the he said yes no he has it in his in his version of the braon my father the he wouldn't say it. So it seems from this that we shouldn't say it. Now everybody here has ever said in your lives you know that we how do we of course we say it. So why do we say it? If seems pretty clear there's the smog and there's the there's the rush and the tour seems to pasan like that that we shouldn't say it why do we say it? So look at the bach there's two major perushim on the tour. One is the b y that is y cairo the author of the he basically summarized all of the y into the bottom line which we live our lives by. And there's also the Bach the Badash of Yolkis. He wrote also a major per on the tour and he writes as follows blah blah blah. He first quotes the quote right after the quote says the I don't understand this makes no sense. Hello. Is it not that the holiness of the land of Israel which is influenced by the holiness of the superal land of Israel? We believe that there's a shala there's a fre song about that right there is this concept in in in Kabala wherever it is that there is a superal equal existence up in heaven of Israel and of just like there is down here on this world so says the why is there kaduca here init because it's influenced by the kadusha up from from the heavens and that kadusha he I'm on the third line third word of the second line he that kadusha that influence of kadusha goes through into the fruits of the land sorry they they they draw their sustenance from the of the dwells in this land who dwells in this land. So when you eat the fruits of Israel, you're eating you're taking a bite out of out of you are embibing you know we the concept you are what you eat right when you eat a fruit of Isel you get a little piece of the with it says the and therefore after a whole lengthy explanation he says in the final last two lines where I underlined it makes sense That's why it makes sense that we do say this in our why by eating the fruits of the land. We get we get nourished. Next time you take a bite out of a fruit of you shall understand that there is holiness in that fruit and it is becoming part of you. You know there's a famous Ramban who explains why the whole list of the uncooser birds it doesn't say why those birds dava are not kosher and the and everything else is kosher. Why why is a vulture not kosher and a chicken kosher kosher because the Torah says so. But why? So Ramban says it's because the whole list of the uncosher birds are more birds of predator birds of prey, right? They they they attack other birds or other creatures and they rip them apart and they eat them. So they have this very evil trait which is okay. It's part of nature. That's fine. But know from our perspective they have this trait of of pouncing on others and and and and eating up devouring others. And we don't want to take that into our bodies. If we're going to eat that, Hashem doesn't want us to eat that because it'll affect us. You know, maybe not in a you know, you won't know the difference today and tomorrow, but over time it will affect you because you are literally emb that's why that's why eating on kosher is such considered such a terrible sin because it becomes part of you. Other sins you do a sin and then you walk away and it doesn't become part of you. But when you eat uncosher, you are you're ruining yourself. you you're you're ruining your actual cells, the makeup of your whole body. So the same thing works on the opposite when you eat the fruits of it is you are literally becoming holier because you are embibing and kadusha. So says the bach and we pass in that way because we do eat we do say even okay another unbelievable source source number five midrash talpot okay midrash is some collection of different teachings it's not a midrash in the sense of like kazal times of kazal it's more later day um and in This piece he quotes a cpher called if you ever heard of David. So the kid's grandfather was a okay he was known as a tremendous uh cababalist makubal and also great talmudist and he asks a very good question in two weeks from now I think what are we yeah two weeks from now in paral we're going to read about the man right the man that started falling for Israel in in the desert And there it says that Ben Israel ate the man until they entered Erit Israel. Right before they entered Erit Isel, the man stopped falling. And he asked a good question. The man is this holy bread that came directly from Shamayim. Wouldn't you think maybe in Erit Israel we should get it even more is a holy land. We should get we should get the fruits of Hashem. We should get direct sustenance from Hashem. Davka and Erit Israel and and and more so than the Midbar. So the midbar was more of a practical thing. We needed it. We had, you know, had no way of of surviving. But why wouldn't we get the why would it stop right before we got into Israel? So I think I would answer just as a an aside that the answer is because the whole situation in the Midbar, the way the Jews lived miraculously, their clothing didn't wear out. They grew with them and they got the water from a rock and and man mana from the heavens. That's not the norm. That's not the way Hashem wants his world to work. He wants us to be normal and to work the land and plow the land and and and and serve Hashem through nature, not to be sustained in a miraculous way. During the midbar, okay, it had to be done that way. It was sort of like a bieid. And once we got terit Israel, that's it. So now you have your own land. What what do you need the money for anymore? That's what I think is the is the simple answer. But he gives a much more cabalistic answer. And you have to listen to this. It's it's unbelievable. So in order to understand it, go back for a second and look at source number two, okay? Because this really is a puk that explains everything about Erit Israel. Explains why Erit Israel is so special in Judaism. Hashem tells Moshe to tell this land is not like Egypt. It's not like that you just, you know, you you water it with the Nile. You know, you make canals and the Nile rises and feeds your fields. That's not what it is. The land that you're going to go into to inherit is mountains and valleys. You get water from the heavens as opposed to Egypt. Okay, stop there for a second. So, if you would have a choice, you could either live in Egypt besides, you know, you're not Jewish. Okay, you can either live in Egypt or in Erit Israel, right? Egypt, there's always water in the Nile, right? Erit is Barashem, we have a great year, a lot of rain coming down. But those of you who've been here for a while, you know, last year and the year before it was dry. So, it's not so simple. Not so simple to be a farmer here. You have to you have to, you know, sometime Well, exactly. And that's the point. You have to pray. You have to pray. And that's why Hashem does it. That's why earth is so so special because we have a closer connection to God. Because in Egypt, you can get sort of thinking like it's all me. You know, I planted and I and I made the proper irrigation and it's all going to work. But initi everything, but if it doesn't rain, you're in big trouble. I know today we have desalinization plants and all that stuff. Okay. But originally the way it was is that if there was if it didn't rain you're in big trouble. So what do you do? You turn to Hashem and you say please God give us rain. And in that way you develop a relationship with and that is the whole point of Israel to be closer to Hashem. And then it goes on and here's the key. That's why earth is so special because Hashem constantly seeks out this land. God's eyes are on this land constantly from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. And that is not true about any other land in the world. The Ramban explains in a very famous piece inraud he explains the unique character of it is and in short he says it's based on sukim it's very clear that Hashem divided up the world amongst angelic ministers meaning every land has an angel in charge of that land. It's not that Hashem couldn't have done it all by himself. Hashem could do anything, right? But he chose to do it similar to what a, you know, a human king would do. He wouldn't say, "I'm in charge of everything." He say, "Okay, you're the governor of that province. You're the the mayor of that city, and you know, come to me when you have problems. You know, we'll talk." So, Hashem did the same thing. Said, "I'm by myself, you." And he sent out his angels to be in charge of each different land. And that's why for example a few weeks ago in uh para is invo fighting with the angel who was that angel sro as has a sar as an angelic minister up in heaven and as also has a land that belongs to him. Seir, the land of seir is supposed to be for Asav. Every nation has a land that's supposed to be for them. And in that land, they have an angel in charge watching over their people. There's one exception is init. There's no intermediary. There's no angel. It's as this says, Hashem's eyes are on this land from beginning of the year to the end of the year. When you serve Hashem and Israel, it's direct. When you serve Hashem outside the land of Israel, it has to go through angels. So to which the Ramban uses also to explain the famous hazal that calls loca anybody who lives in is as one who has no god what does that mean very firm Jews living in they it's as if they don't have a god yes because when they learn Torah when they do mitzvot un either unbeknownst to them certainly not purposefully but they are really serving that angel and then that angel angel brings it over to Hashem. It's not direct. There's supposed to be a direct connection between Israel in with God and that's only in Erit Israel. And therefore, getting back to the question that the Lraham asks in source five, which you could read the the whole source by yourself. Um, so why didn't the man fall in Israel? He says very simple. It didn't have to. Why did the man fall in? Because we got out of Egypt. Don't forget we were supposed to go to Israel right after receiving the Torah. Within 11 days, we're supposed to be in Aritzel. End of story. Ultimate complete everlasting redemption. Never ever going into exile. What happened? was bad but not as bad as forgave us for not forag when we rejected Hashem said no you're going to this whole generation has to die out and it's going to take 40 years so we wandered around in the desert for 40 years had to give us something to eat now why couldn't he tell us so start planting and you know I'll give you some seeds go plant because then we would have been getting our sustenance from an angel because it's in the midbar. It's not init. And Hashem didn't want that during this very sort of like a honeymoon for Israel. He brought us out of Egypt. He wants to be very close with us. So he wanted to sustain us directly. But once we get into Israel, we don't need that anymore because the fruits of it is have the same spiritual components as the man itself. I said before when you eat a fruit of Israel you're like biting into the when you eat a fruit of Isel you're eating man. You always wondered you know what does man taste like you know that's what it tastes like the fruits of Isel that's what it is because it's the same concept because in Erit is we have our direct sustenance from Hashem there's no intermediaries just like when he when he gave it to us from the heavens in the midbah and we don't need the heavens it comes from the grounds the same thing it's as if it came from the heavens um if you want just quickly just read that that that one line The last line it's verse five, right? The fruits of come from holiness. The very same spiritual components which was fitting for the manoim. They sort of latched on now to the holy fruits of Isel. when you eat fruits of it is you're eating you're eating the man basically. I was just recently in Hutzlar. It's for a family wedding. Um and I don't I don't know if any of you have been there recently. You you really we've been here for many years and it's been a long time since I went back to Hutz Larret and you sort of forget you tr you eat vegetables and fruits there you're like eating plastic. It's like it's not the same. The fruits and vegetables here are just so natural. They're so they're so much juicier and so so much better. It's clear that this is the real thing there. It's whatever. Okay. There's another What? When do I have to Oh, no. I only have till one. That's really bad. Okay. Um Yeah. Look, I'll try to do whatever I can. Listen, I want to show you something else. Source number six. Okay. I have the whole thing printed out here for you. I'll tell you outside. Shoot Azar. Okay. The Azer. Anyone know who the Azar was? Aram Bournestein from Sakachav. You ever heard of Sakavidim? So he was the first Sakavi and he was a greatist. He was a gonam. You know someies are just and some are who who have some of the most important chot out there. The Azer is one of them and he has a very lengthy chuva. This is just a small part of a lengthy chuva on the mitzvah of Yeshua. He lived in the late 1800s. That's when he lived. So it was that was the hot topic. Zionism is there a mitzvah to live in Israel. And it's a very long chuva where he comes to the conclusion that yes it's a mitzvah to live in Israel. So then he asks a question. He says, "Okay, if it's really true that it's a mitzvah to live in Israel, why didn't all the rebies and all the sadikim move to Israel? Why?" And that's a question I have till this day. Why aren't the gdole moving to Israel? People ask me all the time and I say, "I don't know. Ask them. I I I have no I have no answer. There's no explanation except okay, they have to be there to, you know, to to to lead the flocks, but they should be leading the flocks to where they belong." You know, they say, "Go, go. I'll be I'll stay. I'll be the last one to come. You go. You all go." But they don't they don't push it. But anyway, that's a different topic. That's Mikail. Mikail is amazing what he does. His videos are amazing. You know, it's, you know, there's there's this concept of being jealous of someone else. You can't be jealous of a of a student, right? I never taught him but I mean he as he said as he said he learned a lot of what he knows from my books but he took my books and he put it out in the media that people listen to now like people how many people buy books and you know read a read a book ah I could just write a watch a half hour video and and get the same you know the same ideas and that's what he does and it's amazing anyway um so he asks why why aren't the reb making aliyah why didn't they make aliyah so he says he brings as a possibility first. Okay. He ends up rejecting it. But just the havin is unbelievable. He says what we just presented, we just explained that the whole purpose and the whole uniqueness of Israel is that this is where we can have a very close relationship with where Hashem sustains us. We are his children. He is giving us food directly. There's no intermediaries, no angels, no nothing. It's hashemova. So, and he claims even from a perspective that that is the of the mitzvah, the mitzvah of is so that we can be closer to Hashem and that we could be sustained directly from Hashem. So he said again in the late 1800s he said let's say a kidic rebu would pick up and make aliyah and come to Israel and set up court near Israel. How exactly would he live and survive? You think he would like start a business? You think he would uh buy a field and and plant it? Of course not. He's going to be sitting in, you know, giving brahas and who knows what. How is he going to survive? He's going to survive because his especially at the late 1800s that the only way the people in here in Israel survived was because of stuck that was given by by the Jews and because they realized how important it is special is for Jews to be living in Israel. And they helped them. They they they what was it? Uh there was a special pushka that everyone gave to I forget what it's called this specific name >> but no something specific um vada something I don't know why >> that's why they stay >> right right no so now it's not true anymore because look at all the Israel is one of the strongest economies in the world much stronger than than than America I mean America's dollar is going down and down and we're trying to figure out what to do with the few dollars we have left in America like I want to get rid of them already because >> Yeah. Anyway, yes. You can't work whatever I was working like on capital of employees of companies that have US tech. I'm not talking about other sectors which is known to Yeah, for sure. >> Right. But in those days in the 1800s, a kid certainly would not have been able to make a living by himself. He was living off of says the wait a second. What's this? It says he would be defeating the purpose of moving to Israel because he would be getting his sustenance from. And the whole point of living in get our sustenance directly from and he gives that as possibly possibly the reason why they didn't make aliyah. Um he eventually rejects it and says that no nonetheless it still is a mitzvah. It might not be the highest level of a mitzvah to live in Israel and get sustained from like all these people who who live here but like work two weeks there or work you know over over on Zoom or something and they get all their money from there. So it's definitely not as ideal from aik and and spiritual perspective but you still do fulfill the mitzvah of of and therefore he says we have to give another explanation and later on the book he gives another explanation why he thinks they're not making aliyah okay but just what >> still taxes >> right that's true you still pay taxes so you still are contributing a little bit to okay but anyway just this concept of the sustenance from is actually brought down by the ner that that possibly that could be the reason why people weren't making aliyah in his days. Of course, it doesn't doesn't apply at all today anymore. That's not a good excuse anymore. Okay, we're going to skip skip. I want to end. I know it's time is up. Uh yeah. Okay. Two let me let me just do two more things if that's okay with you. Um all the way on the third page. Third page. Source 12. Okay, we brought before at the beginning I I I quoted that Rambam about the olive trees being uh being washed away into someone else's field etc. That's one of the many many sources that indicate that the Rambam must hold that it's a mitzvah to live in Israel because this and this the garra says the reason for that is that means there is a concept of and there's a famous question as to what is the Rambam's explanation what does he hold about the mitzvah is because on the one And in the mitzvah, I'm sorry, in the book of Sephra Mitzvah, right? You know, right, Ram wrote many books. One of them is Sephra Mitzvah where he just enumerates the 613. And then there's Mishna Torah where he goes through all the detail of all that ever ever applied when there is a bas that all applied. I'm actually mash like 15 days away from finishing the Ramon for the first time. I I did this this Rambami thing. It's really amazing. I recommend it to everybody. It's not easy. Not easy, but it's really it's an amazing you really like encompass the entire Torah because he he writes on everything. He doesn't leave any leave anything out like the doesn't doesn't bring any that applies to it is or applies to the B mikdash etc. So anyway, if you go through Mishna Torah, this is only one of many examples where he pascins that are based on the mitzvah of Yeshua is clearly from the Gmorra from him himself. He says he himself said but inituates the 613 he doesn't count as one of the mitzvot the mitzvah to live in Israel. It's very famous comes along the Ramban who was one of the two major commentaries on the Rambam say for a mitzvot and the Ramban aman writes that he was wrong he missed a mitzvah it's there is a mitzvah to live in basically you know the very famous Ramban he explains why it is a mitzvah live in okay but the question remains so if the Rambam really holds it is a mitzvah as we see from many this being only one example where he pass that are based on but on the other hand he doesn't count it so how do you explain it so what does he hold so there's a lot of different answers one answer is the one you have in front of you which is source number 12 is I'm specifically bringing this one because I think it's very much connected to uh tovat and eating fruits like we said eating from the hand. So, Rafael gives them such a novel explanation. Let's put it this way. Many of the explanations are, well, the Rambam didn't count it because he already counted another mitzvah which includes in it the mitzvah to live in Israel. Okay, I won't go through other examples. He says the reason the Ram didn't count it as a mitzvah even though for sure it's a mitzvah holds for sure it's a mitzvah is because it's already included in the mitzvah of benching what the mitzvah to live in Israel is somehow included in the mitzvah benching what's going on here so we know hopefully you know that benching is made up of three and then one dab the Three are righteous I mean right first one is gives us sustenance what's the second start no thank you right for the great land that you've given us etc et for and the third is foresh and then there's a fourth braid was added later It's called it's when the uh those who were killed in betar were finally allowed to be buried. Okay. So it ends up that no one disagrees with this. No one disagrees that there's these three in most we say are not the when you make a on an apple that's only the but after you finish eating is delic. And it has three parts alma according to everybody. So says included in the mitzvah to say thank you to Hashem for Erit Israel is by definition a mitzvah to live in Erit Israel. Because how strange would that be if you thank Hashem for this land, say, "Oh, thank you for this beautiful land that you've given us." But you choose to live outside the land when you could live in Israel. So basically you're a hypocrite and you're just giving, you know, lip service. You're saying, "Oh, I love it's so amazing. Thank you so much for the land." It's like someone giving you a gift. You say, "Oh, thank you so much." And you walk over to the nearest garbage and you jump dump it in the garbage. Is do you really are you really thanking Hashem for that for that >> or thanking the person? >> Do you speak about that? I'm just curious. >> I do. >> I do. But yeah, I do say this. But anyway, yeah, I do say this. I'm not always, you know, it's not always appreciated, but uh >> what can I tell you? I try my hardest. I try to be, you know, a little bit uh politically correct, but sometimes you have to tell the truth. What can I tell you? So anyway, Israeli says, "Therefore, it's understood that if Hashem is telling us, thank thank me for the for the land that I've given you that he obviously wants us to live there and it's therefore a mitzvah." So when Rambam Poskins that it's a mitzvah to say included in that is an obvious mitzvah to live in the land because that's the greatest way to show Hashem that you truly do appreciate the land. Now I always tell people I say like I don't know if that's really what the Ram holds. There's other answers I think that are better, but you can't deny the truth of the concept that we have a mitzvah to thank Hashem for the land of Israel. And the greatest way to show that thanks is to live in in to live here. And if we don't, we are sort of, you know, we're sort of just uh Yeah. We're we're being hypocrites. Yeah. >> Can I ask two questions? First of all, a lot of people We spend most of our life and trying to make so many desperate people trying. The second thing is that the second >> you don't say what >> the second >> what second paragraph do you not say here? I don't know what you're talking about. >> No, we say that >> next to my mean. Oh, >> yeah. I don't know. Uh I I don't know why we don't say that. That's just a per That's just some tahillim before benching cuz there's a concept. >> No one says you're not allowed to say it. No one says you're not allowed to say it. You could say all the tim you want. You could go through the entire book of tim before you say benching every day. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. You could say it. The is not to say that. That doesn't mean >> I don't know. I don't know. I've heard explanations but I don't I don't know. I don't remember but that's totally irrelevant. That's not part of benching. Benching starts with that's where benching starts. The only reason we say a peric of tim beforehand is because there's a gar that says or I think it is that if people are sitting together and eating and there's no detra it's as if they ate meaning. So therefore we say Torah make sure that before we bench we said some Torah or pavl on a regular day right that's the only reason so I don't know why I don't know why we don't say it here in Israel but it's not part of benching it's a prelude it's like an introduction that we say before benching >> nothing to do nothing to do with vengeance >> the fact that God said that we should plant means he wants us to be here and here. If he said come and visit, okay, you don't have to plant. We go and visit. It's a nice trip and okay, see you. We keep on going. >> So, the the whole thing to plant a tree means to put your base there. >> Seven years. >> 100%. What? >> Trees take like seven years. >> Yeah. Okay. >> True. True. >> It's a long term. Exactly. It's the long long term. Okay. I know my time's up. I want to just I want to just maybe uh end the morning. [laughter] I want to end maybe with just one more concept which I have here. Besides all this which is beautiful and which could have been true 500 years ago. Everything I said up until now could have been true 500 years ago. A Jew should have should strive to live in Eratel and to plant and to eat the fruits of the land. It was true. Everything was true 500 years ago as well. But there's one aspect that's not that only is true since about a hundred years ago when the Jewish people started returning and the land of Israel started waking up once again because you know for 2,000 years the land was desolate close to 2,000 years right and once the Jewish people started coming back it started rejuvenating. We said before the the kalutim the pioneers dried the swamps and Israel started giving forth its fruits and there's a famous gam on the bottom of the third page source number 13 there's no clearer sign of the following all he does is quote a from you oh mountains of Israel give your branches and yield your fruits for my nation Israel the is very important because they're about to come home Israel give your fruit so that the Jewish people can come home and that according to is the greatest the clearest sign of gula and rashi explains what does it mean when gives its fruits once again in an ab an abundant way then the end will be near. There's nothing clear. There's no clearer sign of the gula than that. Anybody who denies that we are living at the time of Gulah either just doesn't know this Gamarra or many many other sources um or is just fooling himself and looking only at the negative and not understanding the the tremendous uh changes in history that have been happening in the last 150 years since Amisel started coming back home and that's also connected to the fruits of the land. In other words, the greatest sign is when the fruits of the land start coming back because the fruit because Israel waits for us to come back. For 2,000 years, there's plenty of people who tried to to settle this land and they were never successful. As the Ramban says in the next page, it's only because Amis had to come home. And when Amis came home, it started giving forth its fruits. >> See it today when you see the >> correct correct 100%. >> Yeah. So anyway, um to sum up, uh take this opportunity, take the opportunity this month and throughout the year to to embibe the kaduca of its Israel and to plant the land to be involved in the rebuilding of the land in any way you can. I just want to quickly introduce my books. Anybody interested? So I already said an angel among men, a biography of Cook, beautiful safe only 60 shackle. All the prices are very