Strangers and Citizens Chizuk for Iron Sword by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin

once again the way in which we'll shape our few moments together is through the process of learning um hopefully this learning will be in this in Theus of the soldiers who are fighting in Theus of those who need a opens with what I think is one of the most important and most underestimated sections of the Torah if you go back and when you have an opportunity open up the Kash and take a look at the opening of par and you see that the Torah dedicates a series of sukim to the negotiation between Abraham and Ben and then ab and ephon ab and the Hittites and then abam and one particular person ab and and and and epon for the purchase of moras now this is important for us on a variety of levels first of all it's the first actual landh holding that we we see contracted in ER and it is clear from this that Aram purchases this land and that this land belongs to him and the Torah goes out of its way to say that it belongs to him and of course it's so so ironic that Kon has become or continues to be a flash point for for controversy and and and fighting when here is the the proof from our perspective of a legal holding of the land that belongs to us it also underscores ab's ab's belief uh the fact is that has been promising him this land from the outset and yet nonetheless what it comes time to bury SAR he has to go out of his way to purchase a plot of land so the the reality is that those prophecies that are being given to Abraham are not going to come to fruition until later in in history when his Nation Under undertakes to to take over the land andas only actually begins when we enter the land as a nation but I've always been struck by the fact that the to dedicates more Pim to this contract negotiation than it does to the AA more Pim are dedicated in the Torah text to this contract negotiation and if you and I were to write this portion I would argue that we could have very easily written in in four or five so we could have said abam stood up went to V asked to purchase the land they they sent him to Efron Ephron said okay this is what it'll cost it why is there so much so much text dedicated to this particular event so those of you who have learned with me perhaps will remember that I believe the answer lies in tub at the begin towards the beginning of the paragraph abam turns to Ben face and this is towards the end of his career and he says I am a v we'll come back to that phrase in a moment together with you give me a plot of land and I will bury my dead from before and if you take a look at that that phrase V kazal immediately point out that it is fundamentally inherently inconsistent the Torah uses one of two words generally to describe someone's presence in an area or or dwelling in an area it uses the word lagur when the individual's dwelling is impermanent and uncomfortable and and not going to last it uses the word levet when there's this Comfort when you're there when you when you when you when he settles and he settles in and he settles and it's comfortable and it's it's it's full G vov by definition is a mutually contradict is a contradictory phrase a stranger and a citizen well what is it are you a stranger or are you a citizen the word lur from the word g stranger L shave to dwell permanently so will go out of their way to try to say well it's one way or the other aam says to depends on what how you treat me I'll either be a g or a or perhaps what what is what what AB is saying is I was a g and now I'm a TOA but I remember feeling that you don't have to resort to that kind of explanation to really understand what this phrase means what this phrase means and I later saw it in the words of this is one of those dialectic phrases in the Torah that's meant to create attention G vov is the single best definition of this societal place of the Jew across the face of history and the first the pro progenitor of the Jewish people is saying it outright I'm a stranger and a citizen that's what I am I turn to he turns to and he says to them I am at once a citizen within this community give me the opportunity and I will rise to the highest Heights I will participate in all As ects of your Society I'll become I'll participate in the politics I'll participate in the science I'll I'm part I'm G I'm a Toof but I'm also a g I'm also a stranger and I have my own unique identity no sooner do Ben hear that pronouncement than if you look in the next p they respond as follows they would have known the Yiddish they would have said what are you hak for what are you saying G stranger and citizen you are a prince of God we consider you wonderful Prince of God in this community what you need a special plot you need a special gravestone you need a special graveyard butar in the best of our plots and clearly what Ben are trying to do is they're trying to pull Abraham in they're trying to say to him assimilate abam come part of this Society become forget this tension that you claim is yours that you that you that you claim defines who you are societally become one of us and at that point a battle is joined between a and Ben that if it would have ended up differently we wouldn't be here it's one of those quiet battles in the Torah that if it had ended different you and I would have ended up as Hittites and I don't know many Hittites Abraham insists on maintaining his Integrity on maintaining his character on maintaining that he can be at once citizen of the world and at the same time have a unique culture and Heritage that is his own and if you understand this in this way it really brings Abraham's career full circle because the beginning of ab's career he is told and that is on the one hand Rabbi say it's a commandment to set himself apart from from his family and from his land but the rabbis also say that it is like a small jar of perfume sitting in the corner you leave it in the corner nobody benefits carry it around become involved and it will benefit Society so right from the start there is this tension inherent in Abraham career to become part of a society but at the same time to remain a part and why it is so magnificent in is that unlike where God commands him concerning this tension here Abraham stands on his own and proclaims it Abraham turns to them and says this is who I am and I won't change throughout our hisory history this tension of G vosha has defined who we are as Jews we've only been able to survive by maintaining it on the one hand we've gone from country to Country and when given the opportunity we have participated in that culture but we've lost many because that participation has led to assimilation it's only those of us who have been able to maintain that g their vosha of recognition that have been able to stand aside and say no we we may be part of this Society but there are things within this society that set us that are antithetical to our tradition that we can't accept it's only because we've set ourselves aside that we've been able to survive as [Music] juice this tension and that doesn't mean closing ourselves entirely out it means being part of the world but being a part from the world at the same time and now that we have our own country the same tension defines who we are as a country we are within the site within the circle of the nations of the world we're a g vosha we're a stranger and a citizen on the one hand we are part of the world Community this is the startup Nation how much has we how much has this state contributed to Medical Practice to Scientific advancement to education how much have we in our Short History have we participated and contributed to the World At Large but and this is where the big butt enters we're strangers and sometimes the world reminds us of that we maintain a moral posture that we need to protect and that we need to guard and if that moral P posture means at times that we will turn to the world and say no you you can tell us how to fight our war we will fight our war in a way that is decent in a way that is within the rules of War but you can't Define for us because you made mistakes now that we should make the same mistakes again you can't Define for us how we're going to proceed to protect our citizens you can't Define for us how we're going to live with our neighbors that's something we need to Define for ourselves that's something we need and we need to do it in a way we will do it a way that's moral it's surrounded by those who hate we will we will struggle not to hate we will struggle not to hate surrounded by those who teach violence and and their children to to to murder and to destroy we will teach our children to love but give us the opportunity don't try to make us over in your image don't try to make us over Who You Are and I think we need to understand that we are at this historic moment not only fighting for this strip of land not only fighting for our security that would be enough if that's all it was that would be enough of a reason for the war we're fighting a World's battle we're fighting the world's battle we're fighting a Glo Battle of a war of global dimensions it's a war between light and darkness between God's Will and amalik between those of us who Celebrate life and those who Revel in murder and destruction between those who would bring God into the world and between those who struggle to keep him out we should be proud we should be proud at this particular moment of how that we are waging a war that we did not want a war that was thrust upon us that we are making every effort that we are making every effort to protect the citizens of Gaza but we can't protect them completely at our own cost we will fight in a moral way we'll make every effort to do what we can to protect innocent civilians but we will fight because we are fighting for what is right we are fighting for what is good we are fighting to retain our identity as a g Vos of in this world as a country that is part of the World Part even of the United Nations that farsal nauy at this point given what it what it preaches and how it preaches it we haven't left we're going to State the truth and we're going to State it clearly and we're going to stand on our on our on our record as a moral people who believes in God and believes in what is right and true and real this is a war we have to win it's a war that's going to change the way the way this war will determine and shape not only the shape of the Middle East it will determine and shape world history there's no question in my mind and we're there we're there just as Abram was turning to the world defining himself with pride we have to Define ourselves we should be proud of who we are we should be proud of our SAA we should be proud of our state and we should pray that will allow us to continue to maintain our posture as gim V in this world Community as part of the world but uniquely who we areem we will succeed I'm going to end as we have each time we've had one of these sessions with Thea on behalf of tah saying it for all of us asem as we're speaking they're fighting they're doing what they need to do may they be successful in their mission may they come home safely and Hope [Music] for [Music] for make