Transcript
Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
something happens to a Jew in Judea,
right? The longer we breathe this air
and walk this soil, the more we return
to the to the more we we return to parts
of our land that we've never been to,
walked on the soil of Judea that we've
never walked on before. The more we
return to parts of ourselves that we
didn't even know we're missing. You
know, I can only speak for myself, but
my journey to Israel, to Judea has been
very Abrahamic, you know, and you know,
I very much identify as Abrahamic. My
name is Ari Yehuda Abrahamitz, lion of
Judah, son of Abraham, you know. So, I
very much my from the hospitality that I
endeavor and strive don't come close to
Abraham, but that's my aspiration. I
very much connect with every every
dimension of Abraham's life. And I think
many of you as being Abrahamic Hebrews
feel that as well. Um, tell me, do you
do how many of you identify as
Abrahamic? Raise your hand if you feel
like you are Abrahamic.
The only thing that surprises me here is
that there are any hands that are not up
in the air right now because I consider
all of you Abrahamic just by virtue of
the fact that you're here. But anyways,
when Hashem said to Abraham,
he wasn't merely saying go, you know, he
said in the language of our sages, go
to yourself. Go into the depths of who
you really are. And that journey of
self-discovery is a lifelong journey. A
journey that actually transcends our own
lives. It's an intergenerational
building spanning from not only the
times of Abraham, but on the deeper
level, from the beginning of time until
the end of time. That's the story of
mankind. And and part of my own journey
has been the transformation from a
diaspora Jew into a Judeian Jew, a Jew
of the land. And I'm not I'm I'm not
fully there yet. I know I'm not. I may
never be entirely there in this
lifetime. You know, 19 centuries of
exile are are heavy layers to peel back.
There's a there's a lot to unpack there,
but the ideas that came to me at least
this week in the in the construction of
this fellowship, they felt like Torah
Erit Israel, the Torah of the land of
Israel and not Toratalut.
And and that is what that's what we say
about this fellowship. That's what we
we're trying to share this fellowship
with the world and we're telling people
that the Torah emerging here is becoming
less the Torah of the exile and more the
Torah of the land. Now, what's the
difference between the two? You know,
the Torah is one. It's eternal. It's
unchanging. But its manifestation
is different. The consciousness is
different. The purpose it activates in
the world is different depending on
where and how it's lived. Right? And
Torah in Israel is Torah in its natural
habitat. Like a seed that is finally
planted in its native soil, right? It
becomes expansive and integrated and
visionary. It speaks of prophecy. It
speaks of national mission and
redemption. It it illuminates the root
causes of things, not just the symptoms.
It's the Torah of what Hashem is doing
right now in history. We're not afraid
to say that is the Torah of the living
God who is communicating to us right
now. It's not some abstract ideas that
need to be dust off from the past. God
is communicating to us right now. And
the Torah of the exile um though it is
beautiful and lifepreserving
is it's expressed through the
limitations of the exile. Right? I'm not
bashing exiled Jews. I always get so
attacked when I talk about this. I'm
like nervous to talk. The the more real
and relevant a subject is, I guess the
more you're going to be attacked. But
the Torah of the exile, it focuses on
survival, on identity, on community, on
the m on the mainten maintenance of the
flame, right? Diaspora Torah asks, "How
do we remain Jews?" And Torah erit of
the land of Israel says, "How do we
redeem the world?" Right? That sums it
up. And when I looked at this week's
Torah portion through that lens,
suddenly all of the chaos of the world,
uh, aligned, you know, for a brief
moment, I didn't see darkness. I saw
sparks of redemption. I felt optimism
and empowerment and purpose. Not like
not like an object being acted upon,
which is how many Jews feel today. Like
an object, like a victim, like just
trying to respond. I didn't feel that
way. I felt like a subject in Hashem's
unfolding story because of one of the
foundational elements of Torah Israel,
the Torah of the land of Israel is
taking responsibility. Responsibility is
not it's not blame. Responsibility is
empowerment.
Responsibility is the birthplace of
destiny. You know when we say when we
say this is happening to us, you know,
we shrink. We shrink when we say this is
happening for us. When we say this is
happening through us, then we become
partners in redemption. And uh and
taking responsibility means asking, you
know, Hashem, what are you calling on us
to do right now? Because when Israel
steps into our mission, the nations find
their place. Like Jeremy was saying,
when Israel shines, confusion lifts. And
when Israel leads, then the world
breathes
