The Soul of Israel: Owning the Land with Favor

[Music] [Applause] later on everyone will catch you listening to the soul of Israel on the Land of Israel calm on the Land of Israel Network re Abramowitz Shalom Aleichem Sholem reps loma been a while a lot of traveling yes yes and home welcome home I feel very much I don't even though we're not currently at home we're on our way up north spend they are they together up north with a bunch of our beautiful dear friends we've been learning with for quite some time now connecting reconnecting our neshama czar souls to its roots and the roots I'd the land of his room that's pretty good for the land of calm Network and that's it's the right thing and just to describe the scenic route that we're on right now we're on our way from Judea all the way up north to the spot and the view right out there I mean what are we looking at there but that's seen how much the Northern Dead see how much do you think of em Atlanta's all you think we're covering today percentage-wise seventy probably right yeah which is seventy percent you you think a lot of people out there listening to the show probably have an image of Israel as being much larger it is just because of the noise Israel makes in the were correct but you can fit Israel into the state of Texas 32 times 32 times Wow yeah so you are you ready to bid farewell to the book of burry sheath of Genesis I'm not I I'm definitely not and I look back and I cherish every parsha so much and I don't feel like I capitalized like I dove in and swam through the richness and the beauty of the book of grace sheet Oh Jeff not at all happens every year it happens every simply because that's why we got it like hold on and and and swallow every ounce of every word every letter that's written in this last portion by a which describes Jacob on his deathbed bidding farewell to his children deciding through who Messiah will come and paving the way for us to figure out how to go down into exile and eventually get out of exam as well so we saw we noticed something very beautiful this week we've been having like we mentioned before a week of traveling with our learning group and going to many different areas in the Land of Israel to connect us to the routes and we spent Sunday in one of my favorite places in the world I know yours as well and that's what everyone I don't believe you're with us on Sunday it was a very difficult decision I'll do it yeah onward and simcha huff bomb was taking one of our favorite people in the in the world so we had a we had a really special day of learning in her room and we learned something very powerful that I wanted to discuss today on our program the soul of Israel you know there's no long there's no callosum there's no Jewish ruling that tells you where you need to be buried there are rulings regarding there are laws pertaining to the manner of burial but location of burial know her and right before Yacouba Vino's passes away right before Jacob dies on his deathbed he summons in his son Joseph who's now a ruler in Egypt any system listen lies my dearest son and the words are very dramatic if I have found favor in your eyes Amina Matassa feign bein uh-huh don't bury me in Egypt bury me in the Land of Israel so what was going on there's a lot of questions about that statement why did Jacob have to ask his son on the level of please if I get a favor in your eyes it's one question and the other is what's the big deal when you're dead you're dead I understand you want to be alive in the land holiness but when you die here in the ground your soul goes back to its root what's the big deal there's no law that says you have to be buried in Israel that's the first question first first question is how why did he have to beg his son to do something so what would seem to be you know a very legitimate request good people we should all live in 220 people put it in their wills I mean he took it a step further you didn't just say if I found favor in your eyes he said swear to me swear to me swearing me the right so the reason why he had to use the concept of grace is because of what of grace pain where he is because rashi are the chief commentator points us to a very important thing that we must think about where was Joseph's mother buried who was Joseph's mother Rachel where is she buried along the way along the way so Jacob knew that Joseph would be a little bit angry with him that my mother was buried on the way you didn't even schlep her from Bethlehem to Chevron you want me to schlep you from Egypt to Chevron so Jacob explains to Joseph according to the Midrash there's a reason why your mother has to be buried there it's not that I was lazy it's that we knew that thousands and thousands of years from now they'll be Jews that will eventually want to start coming home from the Exile but where's the energy what will be the reminder for them that they could come home it's because when their ancestors first left Israel and we're exiled out into Babylon they had to pass by a certain place and that's where mama Roja where your mother's buried they had to pass through Bethlehem and over there the Midrash says that Rock'em is laka al banna man our Lena him a Benecke a name and you know the Prophet says this that that that Rachel cried when she saw her children and going out into exile saying come home come home and that crying of your mother that's why she had me buried there that crying is how you could explain a Jew feeling a very sincere desire to return to a home that they never physically lived in it's because they could still hear your mother crying so please forgive me but I had to bury her there that's maybe one of the Rex plantations we can understand why Jacob had to talk to his son in such a you know I don't know about you know you listeners but I know when I talk to my children I don't really say Pleet pretty please with a cherry on top if I found grace in your eyes can you give me a cup of water like that's not how that's how you asked maybe a peer or a king if I have found grace in your eyes not your child that's one but what was to the second question there's no law as to where you have to be buried oh right so repeat the second question second question what's the big producers why do you have to beg him second question is what why make such an alien there's no law you know just recently I was in the I was in New York and I saw cemeteries filled with great rabbis being buried in in in the night we just flew to the Ukraine explicitly for that exactly so going back at the same but it's a shame when someone has charm they realized that life is more complicated than just making sure you always do the right thing you need more than that to get through them to the real depths of life who is Yakov talking to Yosef who is Yosef that Sadiq always did everything right and Friends letting let's not underestimate the power of always doing everything right he always did everything right he was a king he was a ruler he wasn't the bow Avera the one who who erred who was sinned so what is Jacob what's left for Jacob to tell his son on his deathbed yeah you could just imagine when you're sitting there the last few hours and you know you're about to leave the world what do you want to leave for your children you want to fix their souls you don't want to just tell them listen the bank the money and that Bank goes to that person you want much more than that Jacob wanted to fix his son's soul he wanted to still give him a chance to feel like he could do it secret in this world so he tells them my son to teach you Torah I have nothing else to teach you in fact you know more than me on that level of Sadiq Tom McLoughlin you know everything but I'm not sassy Shane Vanessa I want to connect you to the land of Israel because in the land of Israel you don't learn everything by always doing everything right you learn at what you learn the lessons of the land falling a million times and getting up and for in order to get up and to feel that you're worthy of getting up you must find pain in yourself further and this following teaching from Rabbi Coble exactly when knocked off our socks and have room according to the letter of the law does Israel belong to us Jewish people yeah yes but is that enough to make me feel connected to it because something is legitimately legally mine no no this microphone you're holding in your hand is a year's yes the cup that the station owns these my exactly the network legally network on legally you own these microphones correct correct does it make you feel close to on the level of pain this is me what stained there's no role of cane what Jacob wanted to connect Joseph to is to connect us at the Land of Israel on the level of pain very even if I owned it legally that's not enough of a reason for me to feel my legitimate my real sincere connection to the land because Jacob knew there'd be a time they'll be legal disputes over the land of Israel like we have till today and it's so clear that the world could care less about on a legal level if something is along to you or not what we know we need to do is to connect to the land to the level of pain through charm when you have charm in the eyes of something that thing becomes important to you and precious to you not just because I can legally say I own this but because my heart says how could I live without this and Jacob knew that if you want to give a chance for the Jews to get out of exile one day which was what he was preparing for us in this parsha you need to connect people to level of him and that's how we look at the whole episode of what happened on Jacob's bed right before getting up on his death bed right before he took off from this world because again owning something and feeling close to it doesn't really work doesn't really happen so I've been thinking about this concept for a while for the last few days and I'm wondering how do we spread the connection and the love of the Land of Israel to the Jews of the world today on the level of Fame because look on a legal level I was literally as yours I'm sure you think the same that's exactly what I was thinking about right on a legal level all Jews in the world know that Israel belongs to us it's nice not the dispute but that's not enough to get them home right that means that we need to relearn the parsha again our partial values here and really beg a sham for rock of Yacouba Vera's words to find their way into the heart and soul of the nation because if the calling of the Land of Israel wasn't just that's the right place to be but rather that's the how could I not be there we have a much better chance of seeing the true full complete in gathering of the exiles the only question is which we're leaving for all of you listeners and we're waiting your emails how do we do it better how do we spread the message of the connection to the land of Israel through pain a bit stronger well can I ask you how do you do it right you you travel the world you're constantly on the road and do you have an approach do you have a strata feel like it's something maybe you can't really have a strategy for you know you mentioned the name before of a very dearest dear brother of ours who actually was our tour guide in Cairo know by Sam Hoffman one time before one of our trips one of the trips we did to the States he gave me a brother he said listen when you go out there just remember you're speaking on behalf of hash Aveeno of vanilla tour attesa you're asking a sham please let me be Ashley Aslam on a faithful messenger of your word not of my word not of my own agenda if it's about a Shems agenda it's something else no one ever moved to Israel because they were judged and someone told no one ever stop smoking cigarettes because someone told them you know it's bad for you right they came to it from some kind of internalization in the earlier years of traveling it was very very difficult so I felt like I walked into any shul school and I became a judge it was very hard for me and for years I asked a Shem please please two things ain't let me not judge and and B let me also not get too depressed over the situation of seeing the the so speak thriving of diaspora jury today's day and age when I go all I talk about is the twinkle in my children's eyes as they experience learning the word of God in the land of the land of Israel I bring it to the children I bring it back to their experience of growing up in the land and I hope that they'll be more and more things that I could find to connect to and bring up and bring forth but for now it's my kinder luck it's my children because we live in a frat which is about five minutes from Bethlehem 15 minutes from Chevron and 15 minutes from Jerusalem when my daughter's learning about The Binding of Isaac on the altar and she wants to get a feel of it all she has to do is lift up her eyes from her classroom and look at the neighboring mountains to feel that scent that that incredibly powerful connection to it as much as I can learn about it in Williamsburg or in Sydney or in France and my last something you could do so I I definitely think that that's a very good approach going through the children I think another thing that's striking me right now is thinking about yesterday you you brought a great ruff to come teach us reven awesome and he said a few things you know he was talking about the the air of the land because just being geographically close to the place where it happened okay that's good intellectually but there's an x-factor there's a different air a different energy a different vibration a different frequency that experientially causes life and the connection with God to be different here so to at least you know try to convey that I thought it was beautiful when he said we're not better in Eretz Israel very important we're not better we're better off but I think we didn't when he said that it also really struck a chord in me but I think we erred there I think we I think the early stages of Aliyah got caught up a little bit and like look at us look who we are not look at what's given to us right I think we need a big Tico in there I think that'll probably help raise this concept of pain a little bit more from you know from to where it needs to be I think but dearest friends every email you send goes right to the heart we would love to hear from you those that live here those that don't yet how what do you feel how could how could we raise not just the importance of living in the land of Israel but the importance of or the necessity of opening our hearts to the passionate connection that each soul has to this holy land in a non-judgmental way and the way that Yahoo Avena wanted to teach Yosef on the level of pain and that is why he's basically telling Yosef his son you're right on the level of right or wrong I can even find legitimate holic reasons as to why maybe I can stay in the land of outside land level of right or wrong there are there are locals that say there are three reasons why you could leave the land for Parnassus for livelihood to find a wife and to learn Torah maybe I could find those reasons as well but still how could I how could i how could I not be here well can I just ask you on that because it's a question that I had when I think he addressed it but it didn't absorb for me it's still an outstanding question have there's three reasons to you could leave Israel right to find a wife to find a husband whichever one it is to earn a living okay but to learn Torah the whole message of yesterday that we've been talking about right now right now it's a different thing here so it would seem that it's counterintuitive to say you could leave Israel to learn Torah when on a qualitative level the Torah cannot possibly be there what it is here so why is that before 9:00 before 1939-1945 I could hear that for whatever the reason was somehow I don't know what it is if the greater Torah scholars were outside the lens but now that's not the situation and I mean my question is if it's an intrinsic Oh truth then it doesn't matter what year it is even if the greatest Shiva's are in Europe right is it not better to I guess the answer is no right but but again if someone hearing this would God forbid sense any level of judgment then we're not doing that justice either so that's why even though the question is valid that's still I don't know if that's gonna raise the concept of pain up from the ground and that's what we're really aiming towards and this is how we bid farewell to the opening of our lives to the opening of the Torah the first book and this is how we'd go out into Egypt and we can make it out in any exile if I remember why I'm there to lift up Sparks and get back home well it still takes us another four books of the Torah and then a few books of the prata and then the beginning of the first book of the Prophet till we do that but that's the story of our lives and we're still there so like we learned this week and rough cooks teaching something about the land of Israel on the prophecies and the Ruach Hakodesh the spirit of holiness that hovers throughout the land and the air here of the land that's as well that's Mahim that makes one wiser please God our journey out of whatever personal gutless were in is hopefully almost done and God will come and reveal himself with the zero concealment saying Kindle us thank you so much for the wait I've been waiting for you to let me ask you well you travel a lot let's say they're listeners out there well I feel like you're gonna be maybe mad that I'm even asking you this they want to bring you to their community they wanted their community to experience your your pain your music your teachings and the way you weave them in so beautifully together do you is there a way to bring you out my highest honor please reach out absolutely and they just email you directly yeah yeah that's why I deal with that's you know in today's day and age it's very easy to connect to people and just a topless level to begin touch please reach out so um what the Land of Israel com so that's really uh that's really you know talking to you here as we're traveling through the land looking at every Rock and pebble palm trees it's amazing friends on the one hand and the one side of the highway there are palm trees and on the other side of barren empty dance polish I will this is a story of our lives it's all of us one side of me is blossoming one side of me is crying but at least I have people that I could cry with here and people that I could laugh this year friends join us Shalom from the land of Israel [Music] Oh [Music] I did Oh [Music] water [Music] Oh