At this point, we have all become used to explaining to others the necessity of a Jewish state – especially when we are confronted with threats of BDS, from those who seek to delegitimize and ultimately dismantle the Jewish state.
But there is an even more important audience and an even more basic question.
The more important audience is us. And the basic question that we need to be able to answer is, “What is our role in the Jewish state?”
I’d like to share an insight from this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which offers a powerful answer.
In Chapter 8 of the Book of Devarim, the Torah describes the Land of Israel in the most beautiful of ways, noting its natural beauty, produce, resources and minerals.
However, beyond the poetic beauty of the description lies an important sequence which teaches us a crucial lesson about our relationship with God.
The first verse relates that God is bringing us to a good land with flowing streams and springs. (Deuteronomy 8:7)
These are things that exist independently from our involvement; we are passive recipients.
In the next verse, our active partnership is required, as we must plant and reap wheat, barley, vines, figs and pomegranates. (Deuteronomy 8:8)
The verse continues, repeating the word “Eretz”, and speaks of things requiring even more human initiative, as it is not enough to simply harvest the olives or the dates; but rather, one must crush an olive to obtain its oil and squeeze a date to access its honey.
Next, the Torah refers to the Jewish People in the land not lacking for food, using bread – the staple food – in this context. (Deuteronomy 8:9)
Making bread is an arduous process which requires a lot more human participation than any of the previously-mentioned items.
And finally, the Torah discusses the natural resources and minerals found within the Land of Israel: copper and iron and gas and oil, all of which require an immense amount of work to mine before we can benefit from them.
And then, immediately after this progression from passively receiving the Land’s bounty to becoming active partners in its acquisition, the Torah mentions the necessity of thanking God:
ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ה’ אלוקיך
And you shall eat and be satiated and shall bless the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 8:10)
This is the verse where we learn about the mandate for Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after Meals, to be recited after eating bread.
Birkat Hamazon is longer and more comprehensive than the blessings “Boreh Nefashot” and “Me’ein Shalosh”, which are recited after other foods.
Since a person doesn’t have to do much in order to benefit from grapes or other produce, and one can more clearly see God’s role in providing it, the blessing after consuming the product doesn’t need to be extensive.
However, the line from the wheat in the field to the bread on one’s table is less direct. It’s not hard to start believing that the bread is the result of our own toil, rather than a gift from God.
It is human nature to forget about the central role that God plays in our lives when we invest so much into the initiative ourselves. Therefore, the Grace after Meals after eating bread is more extensive.
And now, to answer our original question: What is our role in the Jewish state?
The messages of these verses are clear:
- The Land of Israel, given to us by God, requires human initiative in order to flourish; this is shown in the movement we see in the verses that describe the land. We must be actors in the ongoing drama known as Yishuv Eretz Yisrael.
- Whether it is the tilling of the soil, or the technological advances that so often emanate from this “Start Up Nation”, or the engagement of the hearts and minds of others who live in the land, it is our responsibility to grow the land, to actualize the potential of the land and to realize that while God is the Senior Partner in this process, we must also be active participants in the experience.
- God wants us in this land to be brothers and sisters, to engage and to use its gifts to better our lives. To never use His Torah, a Torah of peace, or the Land and its holy sites to divide people, but rather to transform this land of milk and honey into a place of harmony and a light to the nations of the world.
For these reasons and so many more, we need – and the world needs us – to help shape our Jewish state.
And we can play a role in this process whether we live within its borders or anywhere else in the world.
May we merit to continue working to fulfill Israel’s potential and its promise.
Shabbat Shalom.