Preparing For Passover

That's where my thoughts are right now. The X family has been cleaning the apartment for the last couple of weeks. The apartment is more or less kosher for Passover, except for the kitchen. After this Shabbat the kitchen will undergo metamorphic changes: All of the non-kosher for passover stuff will be taken out, and some serious cleaning and kashering will take place. I won't bore you with the details. Mr. X (that's me) will also have to spend a lot of buying food next week. The main thing is that the food that we will eat on Shabbat HaGadol, the Sabbath before Passover will be kosher for Passover. The only "chametz" will be the "challot" for "HaMotzi". We will eat off paper plates using disposable "silverware" (I guess I should try to find something "Shabbosdik" and not the regular white plastic stuff). By the way, the spiritual preparations are also important. Mr. X (that's me again) has to think of original ideas to keep the X children, especially the younger ones, awake and attentive during the Seder. If we do not properly fulfill the precept of telling our children about exodus from Egypt, what good is the chicken soup with matzah balls? (P.S. any ideas and comments will be appreciated!)

My hope is that everything will be prepared early enough so that we will have time to rest before the Seder. You are supposed to feel like a free man and not a slave on Passover!

My son Moshe pointed out to me that "lechatchila" one should drink real alcoholic wine for the four cups and not grape juice. One who cannot tolerate wine can dilute its alcoholic content with grape juice. One who cannot tolerate even diluted wine can drink grape juice. (For more information click here and here).

Old Passover Posts

Browsing through the archives I found the following which may be of interest:

What to say, and what not to say at the seder table: Pesach=Peh-Sach

Gratitiude: Hakarat Hatov

Getting ready: Preparing For Passover

Some things never change: Blogger's Pre-Passover Guilt Trip

I would like to hear Yaakov Shwekey and Yonatan Razel sing this one: A New Song For the Passover Seder

Have a happy and Kosher Passover!

Links For Passover

Browsing through the archives I found the following which may be of interest:

Pesach=Peh-Sach

Hakarat Hatov

Preparing For Passover

Blogger's Pre-Passover Guilt Trip

A New Song For the Passover Seder

Have a happy and Kosher Passover!

Passover, Jewish Identity and Freedom

Passover is the holiday of Jewish continuity and identity. The retelling and reliving of the Exodus from Egypt is a ritual that has been conducted annually by the Jewish people for over 3,300 years. It is deeply ingrained in our psyche and being. Perhaps this is an opportunity for us to ask ourselves how much we know about Torah, our nation and history. How is it that a Jew can be a well learned in many areas but completely in the dark with regards to Jewish learning? How can a Jew be an expert in cosmology or microbiology and be an ignoramous with regards to himself? How can one neglect his very essense and waste his time watching baseball/football/basketball games on television?

Passover is also the holiday of freedom. It's a good time for one to check how free he really is. Are we free to do what we really believe? Or do we alter our behavior because we are afraid what the neighbors/gentiles/co-workers/etc. will say? Are we enslaved to bad habits and/or character traits? Are we prisoners of physical desires or passions? It is time to break free of such shackles of bondage!

Click here for other Passover related posts.

Dvar Torah for Parshat Shelach

(This was originally posted (over five years ago!) as Rejecting The Land Of Israel ) .

Two recent posts of mine brought back memories of a train ride that I took many years ago.

On the way home from my job in Newark, N.J., I met on the train a familiar figure from the Jewish community that I lived in. He had long side curls, was decked in black, and the fringes from his talit katan were out in the open (as we used to say in Yiddish, tzitzis aroys). The guy, who we shall call Shlomo, was not a Jew. He was however in the process of converting to Judaism. His seriousness about Torah and its commandments won him the admiration of many in the community.

I sat down to next to him and we began to chat. He told me that he had just returned from a visit in the land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel).

"How was it?", I asked.

"Let me tell you", he replied. "Tel Aviv is the dirtiest and most disgusting city that I have ever seen. Sabbath desecration is rampant. The Rabbanut gives a "Kosher For Passover" certification for canned corn! Can you believe it? The lone ray of light in the country is the Me'ah She'arim neighborhood in Jerusalem."


I was in shock. I had been in Israel a few years earlier, and had came back with totally different impressions. What did I remember of Tel Aviv? The beach, of course! Sand and the salty water of the Mediterranean Sea which was such a pleasure to bathe in on a humid day. The street and store signs were in Hebrew in a city that bustled with activity.

What about the Sabbath? I certainly felt the Sabbath in Israel more than I did in New Jersey. Commercial activity, especially in Jerusalem came to a standstill. This was a totally different Sabbath than those I experienced as a Jewish minority in the United states.

As for the "Kosher For Passover" corn, it is "Kosher For Passover" for all of those Jewish communities that did not accept upon themselves the Chumra of kitnyot. Thinking about that, it was really wonderful to meet Jews that came from all over the world to make their home in Israel, to see with my own eyes the (at least partial) fulfillment of the prophecy:

"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land."

And yes Me'ah She'arim is a special place without a doubt.

How could I understand the difference in our impressions of Israel? Perhaps a person sees what he wants to see. Shlomo was connected with a Torah scholar who was very anti-State-of-Israel, and perhaps that affected his outlook. I, on the other hand, was raised in a very pro-Israel if not religious household.

Years later I would hear a very different, more mystical explanation. Rabbi Dov Begon explained that the land of Israel is like a shidduch. Sometimes a girl is set on a "blind date" with a guy that she knows and doesn't particularly care for. What does she do? She shows up for the date with dirty, smelly clothes, and disheveled hair. To top things off she eats a little bit of garlic before she meets the bachur. When this guy meets the girl he is of course totally repulsed. He informs the shadchanit that he is not interested in meetings this maidele any more. He thinks that he has rejected her when in fact the opposite is true.

So it is with the land of Israel. When someone is not fit to live in the land of Israel, when he visits the land he sees things that turn him off. He thinks that he has rejected the land of Israel, when it is in fact the land of Israel that has rejected him.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A regular part of our morning prayers is the recital of Psalm 100:

1 A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout unto the LORD, all the earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD He is God; it is He that hath made us, and we are His, His people, and the flock of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks unto Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good; His mercy endureth for ever; and His faithfulness unto all generations.

This is a major theme in Judaism: to be thankful for what is, for the blessings you have received. This of course is diametrically opposed to those who are always complaining about what they lack, and are therefore in an almost constant state of depression to some degree. The thankful person lifts up the spirits of those close to him, while the chronic complainer is like air pollution to those who can see him or are in earshot.

Interestingly enough, during the seven days of Passover (and on the day before the holiday), Psalm 100 is not recited. The reason being is that part of the Thanksgiving Offering associated with this Psalm contains chametz, "leavened bread", which is forbidden to be consumed during this time:

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which one may offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour soaked. With cakes of leavened bread he shall present his offering with the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving. And of it he shall present one out of each offering for a gift unto the LORD; it shall be the priest's that dasheth the blood of the peace-offerings against the altar. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.

But that does not mean that we refrain from being thankful. The opposite is true! Passover is the ultimate expression of thankfulness. It is during Passover that we remember God's kindness and mercy towards our nation, from the times of our forefathers, through the slavery in Egypt and the following redemption, His giving us the Torah and the land of Israel, up to the building of the Holy Temple. Even after the destruction of our Temple and the expulsion from the promised land, we are grateful that the Nation of Israel was able to survive against all odds dispersed around the globe.

Our generation has an even greater reason and obligation to be thankful than previous ones. We have merited to live in an era of renewed Jewish sovereignty in the land of our forefathers. Similarly we are witness to a generation where the Torah is being learned in perhaps unprecedented numbers.

We have to remember all this especially this year, when our feeling of being free men was somewhat cramped by the restrictions imposed upon us as a result of COVID-19. Yes, we really did miss celebrating the seder with our extended families. We would have loved to travel and enjoy Israel's beautiful flowering landscapes that come to life at this time of year. We certainly miss the throngs of Jews visiting the Old City of Jerusalem, giving us a taste of what the festival will be like when the Temple is finally rebuilt. The things we lack cannot stop us, and will not stop us, from serving God with joy.

"For the LORD is good; His mercy endureth for ever; and His faithfulness unto all generations."

Blogger's Pre-Passover Guilt Trip

I really shouldn't be doing this. There is so much work to be done. I just finished shopping at Aleph in Giv'at Shaul. I shelled out almost 1000 NIS on Passover food and I still have a lot of shopping to do.

Our kitchen is still in chametz mode. After Shabbat the real work begins when we get the kitchen into Passover mode (i.e peisachdik in Mamme Loshen). Then the real war against the chametz begins. Watch out chametz, I got your number!

What you see in the pic is harmless wild barley that growing in Jerusalem. It is still attached to the ground and as such cannot become chametz.

And what are you up to? Are you reading this blog while your wife is busy cleaning the house? Shame on you! Get back to work!

Rejecting The Land Of Israel

Two recent posts of mine brought back memories of a train ride that I took many years ago.

On the way home from my job in Newark, N.J., I met on the train a familiar figure from the Jewish community that I lived in. He had long side curls, was decked in black, and the fringes from his talit katan were out in the open (as we used to say in Yiddish, tzitzis aroys). The guy, who we shall call Shlomo, was not a Jew. He was however in the process of converting to Judaism. His seriousness about Torah and its commandments won him the admiration of many in the community.

I sat down to next to him and we began to chat. He told me that he had just returned from a visit in the land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel).

"How was it?", I asked.

"Let me tell you", he replied. "Tel Aviv is the dirtiest and most disgusting city that I have ever seen. Sabbath desecration is rampant. The Rabbanut gives a "Kosher For Passover" certification for canned corn! Can you believe it? The lone ray of light in the country is the Me'ah She'arim neighborhood in Jerusalem."


I was in shock. I had been in Israel a few years earlier, and had came back with totally different impressions. What did I remember of Tel Aviv? The beach, of course! Sand and the salty water of the Mediterranean Sea which was such a pleasure to bathe in on a humid day. The street and store signs were in Hebrew in a city that bustled with activity.

What about the Sabbath? I certainly felt the Sabbath in Israel more than I did in New Jersey. Commercial activity, especially in Jerusalem came to a standstill. This was a totally different Sabbath than those I experienced as a Jewish minority in the United states.

As for the "Kosher For Passover" corn, it is "Kosher For Passover" for all of those Jewish communities that did not accept upon themselves the Chumra of kitnyot. Thinking about that, it was really wonderful to meet Jews that came from all over the world to make their home in Israel, to see with my own eyes the (at least partial) fulfillment of the prophecy:

"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land."

And yes Me'ah She'arim is a special place without a doubt.

How could I understand the difference in our impressions of Israel? Perhaps a person sees what he wants to see. Shlomo was connected with a Torah scholar who was very anti-State-of-Israel, and perhaps that affected his outlook. I, on the other hand, was raised in a very pro-Israel if not religious household.

Years later I would hear a very different, more mystical explanation. Rabbi Dov Begon explained that the land of Israel is like a shidduch. Sometimes a girl is set on a "blind date" with a guy that she knows and doesn't particularly care for. What does she do? She shows up for the date with dirty, smelly clothes, and disheveled hair. To top things off she eats a little bit of garlic before she meets the bachur. When this guy meets the girl he is of course totally repulsed. He informs the shadchanit that he is not interested in meetings this maidele any more. He thinks that he has rejected her when in fact the opposite is true.

So it is with the land of Israel. When someone is not fit to live in the land of Israel, when he visits the land he sees things that turn him off. He thinks that he has rejected the land of Israel, when it is in fact the land of Israel that has rejected him.

A Happy And Kosher Passover To All

I'm coming out of hibernation once again to wish you all a happy and kosher Passover. Let's hope that Jonathan Pollard will also be able to spend this Passover as a free man.

The Israeli Flag Waves While American Jewry Withers

It is a annual routine. A few days after the end of Passover, just around of the start of the Hebrew month of Iyar you will see them. Flying from apartment balconies and car windows, the flag with the two blue stripes and the "Star of David" in the middle is an ubiquitous sight. That flag, that symbol of the miraculous return of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel, is flown for practically the entire month. The fourth of Iyar is Israel's Memorial Day for its soldiers that have fallen in battle. Immediately following Israeli Memorial Day is the fifth of Iyar, Israeli Independence Day. Towards the end of the month comes the 28th of Iyar, the day that the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were liberated from Jordanian occupation.

In the Passover Haggadah it is written that "everyone who discusses the exodus from Egypt at length is praiseworthy." I think that one who discusses at length the miraculous accomplishments of the State of Israel, which are numerous, this is also praiseworthy. For one will come to see the hand of Divine Providence that has accompanied the Jewish People from its outset.

I have been here for more than thirty years. In this time period I have witnessed so much progress here. This little country is advancing, not only in the physical realm but in the spiritual realm as well.

“And the gold of that land is good...” (Gen. 2:12) “This teaches that there is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel.”

As I write these words the people of Israel mourn the soldiers that gave their life protecting the country and its people. Tomorrow night at this time the country will a sharp turn to rejoice and gives thanks to the Lord of Israel for giving us the opportunity to live here as free men and fulfill our potential. As Rashi explains, "...there I will make you into a great nation..."

I myself really want to celebrate Israeli Independence Day, but I cannot help but remember what I left behind. All of those poor American Jews, who may be well off financially, may have multiple degrees in higher learning, but never had the privilege of learning Torah or learning what Judaism, real authentic Judaism, is really about. If I have been blessed in seeing the State of Israel blossom, I have also been so unfortunate to watch American Jewry shrivel up and fade away.

Perhaps I should be indifferent to the demise of the American Jewish Community. Our sages tell us that only one fifth of the Israelites actually left Egypt, while the others died during the plague of darkness. Why did they die? Because they did not want to leave Egypt! I have a feeling that the Israelites that did take part in the Exodus did not mourn their brethren who were "stuck in the darkness". So why should I care about the Jews that are "stuck in America"?

Of course this is nonsense. We are one nation, one big family, responsible for one another. The holy Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria taught,

Every morning, before your prayers, commit yourself to love every other Jew as your own self. Then your prayers will be accepted and bear fruit.

I am not a kabbalist or even a Hasid, but this is part of my daily routine. I cannot possibly be completely happy while so many of my brothers and sisters are drowning in the sea of assimilation.

This Israeli Independence Day is an opportunity for every Jew to realize that he is part of a nation that in many ways was dormant but has now come back to life. It is time to free ourselves from the chains of the Diaspora, physically and spiritually. A voice is crying from Mount Horeb, and Rachel is crying for her children. Our mother, the land of Israel, is beckoning. "Whoso is wise, let him observe these things, and let them consider the mercies of the LORD."

Freedom From Blogging

I think that this will be my last post until after Passover. My all of you that celebrate Passover have a wonderful holiday. I join Rafi in his prayer for the holiday.

Speaking of freedom I saw something bizarre yesterday and caught it on film. As my bus to Tel Aviv got off on the Kibbutz Galuyot exit, I saw a parrot on a tree, free as a bird! Parrots do not live in the wild in Israel. This guy must have escaped home, or perhaps his owners decided that they did not want to care for him anymore. Click on the picture to see an enlargement:



Update: The bird is apparently a Rose-ringed Parakeet, a bird that was not a native of Israel but has made itself at home. (Hat tip: Zman Biur).

Update!: See more info at The Invasive Species Weblog.

Final Update?:Just saw this:

The ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) apparently spread naturally from Egypt, where it was introduced from India, although there is a possibility that the Israeli population originated from escaped or released pets during the 1960s (Dvir, 1988). It started breeding during the 1980s, and is now very common in the coastal plain and northern valleys, as well as along the Jordan Valley. Roosts of thousands are located along the coastal plain and other areas.

Pesach=Peh-Sach

Some people homiletically interpret the word Pesach as Peh (mouth) Sach (talks). On Passover night we have the very special mitzvah of "vehigadta lebincha", of telling the children all about the exodus. One who speaks at length about all the miracles that the Almighty wrought for us during the Exodus is praiseworthy.

Unfortunately all too often the discussions around the Passover table will be about other matters: politics, food ("I love the gefilte fish. What spices did you put in it to make it taste so good?"), the latest community gossip ("Did you see the way Feigie's daughter dresses? Such a shonde!"), etc. Instead of talking about Moses and the children of Israel we talk about Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres. These kinds of discussions can often end up as nasty shouting matches.

If this happens, we have really missed the boat. We have wasted this once a year opportunity to keep the tradition of passing on the story of yetziat mitzrayim from generation to generation! We have traded it in for worthless gibberish and have often said the kind of things that we ask forgiveness for on Yom Kippur.

When we sit down at the Seder table Motzei Shabbos let's remember what the Seder is all about. Let's pay attention to the children and make it interesting for them. Let's not give in to the yetzer hara that wants us to talk about anything and everything except yetziat mitzrayim.

This Year In Jerusalem

Jews all over the world are busy preparing for Pesach. In Jerusalem, and lehavdil in Monsey, Borough Park, Crown Heights and New Square the Yidden are very busy. There is a lot of work to do: the house has to be cleaned and the kitchen has to be kashered. The pesachdik dishes have to be taken out of the closet and the chametzdik dishes have to be locked away. A lot, and I mean a lot of groceries have to be bought: Matzot, wine, meat, and all the other food that we'll eat at the seder. The fathers are thinking of new ideas to keep the children awake and alert in order to hear the story of the exodus from Egypt. If all goes well all the mitzvot of Passover night will be fulfilled properly, and the family and guests will have an enjoyable and meaningful experience.

However, Passover was not meant to be this way. The entire Jewish People was supposed to leave their homes and come to Jerusalem. How could everbody fit in Jerusalem? This is one of the miracles that G-d did for our forefathers: "...nor did anyone say to his friend,'The place is too crowded that I should lodge overnight in Jerusalem'(Avot 5:5)." The mountains surrounding Jerusalem would be white from the multitude of sheep being brought as sacrifices. Each chavurah(group) would bring their korban pesach(paschal sacrifice) to the Temple. Afterwards the entire Jewish People would hold their seder in Jerusalem. The sacrifice would be eaten. The sound of people saying the Hallel would reverberate throughout the city.





At the end of the seder we sing "Leshannah haba'ah birushalayim habenuyah.(Next in in a rebuilt Jerusalem.)" Jerusalem today, with all of its neighborhoods, with the hundreds of thousands of Jews that live here, with all of its beauty and grace is still in a state of destruction. As long as the heart and soul of Jerusalem, the Temple is in ruins, the entire city is in ruins. "On Mt. Zion which is desolate, foxes walk upon it(Lamentaions 5:18)." Unless a miracle happens and the Temple is speedily rebuilt, our Pesach won't really be Pesach. Let's not forget that.

May we all merit to see the Beit HaMikdash(Temple) rebuilt speedily in or days.

Chametz and Matzah

I saw this in Jerusalem today. I like it:



The sign says:

I refrain from eating leavened products
on Passover
because I am a Jew!
And not because I am an Israeli!


BTW, Biur Chametz came out of hibernation and posted this. Check it out!

Za'atar Eggs

Every so often I get an email from Batya telling me to submit recipes for the KCC, that's the Kosher Cooking Carnival.

Batya must think that I know how to cook. So I decided to demonstrate my great culinary skills in this post. I'm sure that you all will be awed.

This dish is the za'atar egg. To make it we need two eggs, preferably organic ones from Giv'ot Olam:




We also need a little bit of canola oil , and a lot of za'atar . Za'atar is a spice usually made out of thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, and salt. I never heard of it until I came to Israel. The main ingredient in za'atar is the thyme (in Hebrew Eizov). It grows wild in the mountainous regions of Israel. It is mentioned in the Torah several times, and is usually translated as hyssops. For instance:

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them: 'Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families, and kill the passover lamb. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

The chumash lesson is over and now the cooking class begins.



Pour a little bit of canola oil in a frying pan. While the oil is heating up, crack open an egg into a clear cup in order to check it for blood spots from all angles:




If the egg is blood free, pour it into the pan. Do the same for the second egg.

Now you have to smother these eggs with za'atar:



Be sure to flip the eggs over to make sure that they are well fried. The result:



La'Briut!

Happy Passover

Don't forget Biur Ma'asrot!

This is what my 10 Agorot coin looked like after the biur:

President Obama Recognizes the Jewish People's Historical Claim to the Land of Israel

To tell you the truth, I'm too busy preparing for Passover to closely follow President Obama's trip to Israel. However, I did hear him say something that was music to my ears:

I know that in stepping foot on this land, I walk with you on the historic homeland of the Jewish people. More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here. And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish state of Israel, was a rebirth, a redemption, unlike any in history. Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages: to be masters of their own fate in their own sovereign state. Just as we have for these past 65 years, the United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.

Thank you Mr. President. You are absolutely correct. We, the Jews, are revenants that have returned to our ancient homeland. Enjoy your stay here in the land of Israel.

A New Song For the Passover Seder

Are you looking for something different and exciting to say at this year's seder? Here's a song that you can recite or sing before "Chad Gadya":

On the Eve of the Fifteenth
by Cosmic X

On the eve of the fifteenth it will be so nice,
The Temple Mount free of foxes and mice.
Fine wine, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and paschal sacrifice.

Jerusalem is being built, with its holy sites,
The prayers are soaring up to the heights,
In spite of the anti-Semites and other mental mites,

On the eve of the fifteenth...

We shall be free from B.H. Obama,
Secret sympathizer of the odious Osama,
Born in Kenya, Indonesia, Hawaii and Havana,

On the eve of the fifteenth...

We shall be free from the full of vice Joe,
Who at Sheikh Munis University put on a show,
Recieved raging applause from the arrogant low.

On the eve of the fifteenth...

We shall be free from the Secretary of Dirt,
To kiss slimy Suha herself she did exert,
Poor partner for life of the cigar wielding pervert,

On the eve of the fifteenth...

We shall be free of J Street, The New York Times and other things rotten,
Rahm your heart, your God you have forgotten,
When the they go down it is down to the bottom,

On the eve of the fifteenth...

It's time to come home, sell your houses and cars,
Leave behind your baseballs, shopping malls and bars,
Because when we go up we go up to the stars,

On the eve of the fifteenth it will be so nice,
The Temple Mount free of foxes and mice.
Fine wine, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and paschal sacrifice.

By the way, "He who says something in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world"(Avot 6:6). Therefore, if you recite this at your seder, please say it in the name of "Cosmic X".

Blogging Break

Not that I have been blogging a lot lately, but I think that I will be more or less "off line" until after Peisach. Have a happy and kosher Passover!

Dvar Torah for Ki Tavo - Happiness in the Land of Israel

What makes you happy? Different people would probably answer that question differently. Rabbi Chaim Ben 'Atar, in his commentary on the Torah Or HaChaim at the beginning of this week's portion, tells us that there is no happiness like the happiness of coming to the land of Israel. You will not find happiness in a bigger house or a fancier automobile. If you are looking for happiness this is the place to be.

When a Jew would bring Bikkurim, the first fruits to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, he would recite a special text. This text is probably one of the most familiar texts in Judaism, as it plays a central role in the Passover Haggadah. Here it is in the context of the parasha:

1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and dost possess it, and dwell therein; 2 that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 3 And thou shalt come unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him: 'I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our fathers to give us.' 4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 And we cried unto the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. 9 And He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which Thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And thou shalt set it down before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God. 11 And thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the land of Israel. When a Jew would bring the first fruits, he would thank God from many things: how from few we became many, how He saved us from the Egyptians, etc. We also thank God for the land. Our appreciation of the land is repeated over and over again in the text. When we say Birkat HaMazon, the grace after meals, "the land" receives a place of honor: 'Al HaAretz Ve 'Al HaMazon.

I've been living here in the Land of Israel for a long time. Sometimes, as I walk down the streets of Jerusalem, I have to figuratively pinch myself. Is this really happening? I, my children and grandchildren, are living in the land of our ancestors, the Holy Land which the Jewish People have dreamt about for hundreds of years during the long and bitter Diaspora. This is certainly something to be happy about. Miracles do happen.

To get an idea of how great this miracle is, take a look at Rabbi Eliezer Papo's classic book of ethics, Pele Yoetz. Turn to the chapter entitled "Eretz Yisrael", the land of Israel. Here is a small segment of what this great rabbi wrote:

 

 

ארץ ישראל הצבי ישראל (כתובות קיג, א). ידוע מעלתה כי רבה, כמבאר בזהר הקדוש (ח"ג דף עב) ובשאר ספרי הקדש, אשר יבחר בו ה' יקריב אליו לחזות בנעם ה' ולבקר בהיכלו. וצריך כל אדם שיהיו עיניו ולבו שם כל הימים, על דרך הכתוב (תהלים מב א) "צמאה נפשי לאלהים לאל חי מתי אבא ואראה פני אלהים". ובכן ישתדל בכל עז לקבע דירתו בארץ ישראל, רק יפקח עיניו תחלה שלא לבוא להיות תוהה על הראשונות ושלא להצטרך לחזר ולצאת. וגדר לזה שלא לילך אלא לעת זקנה לאחר שחדל מהיות לאשתו ארח כנשים ואינה יולדת, ולא יוליך עמו ילדים בנים או בנות. ואם הרחיב ה' את גבולו יוכל להוליך בת, שהיא מוצאת ונצול הימנה, אבל בן לא יוליך כלל, שמתרבה הטף ולא ידע מה ילד יום. והן אמת שאוירא דארץ ישראל מחכים (ב"ב קנח, ב), אבל לפי מה שעינינו הרואות קשים מזונותיו של אדם בארץ ישראל, ועל הרב הם נצרכים לצאת עד שחוטפים השליחות של מצוה לצאת קרית חוצות כעשר שנים או יותר, וחיי צער יחיו הם ונשותיהם יותר מהם, ורבה רעת עוברי דרכים לגוף ולנפש, כידוע. לא כן היושבים בחוץ לארץ, מוצאים כדי פרנסתם במקומם. וכשילכו זקן וזקנה כאשר יאות, יוכלו לחיות שם בשיבה טובה, ואפלו אם חיי צער יחיו, לחיים טובים יחשב לפי רב הטובה

 

I apologize to those that do not read Hebrew for not translating this. In short, Rav Papo describes the spiritual loftiness of the Land of Israel. However, he also warns the prospective immigrant to the Holy Land that it is very difficult to find physical sustenance there. He was describing the situation that existed about 150-200 years ago.

My point in quoting this passage is to remark how things have changed for the better in the most dramatic way. The shuk in Mahane Yehuda and the supermarkets are full of produce! One who is willing to work, live modestly and endure the affliction that the land of Israel is acquired with, can almost surely find his place here. May all of you Jews who are still living in the Diaspora merit to experience the happiness that the Or HaChaim described: the happiness of living in the land of Israel!