THE LAND OF ISRAEL IN BAYIT SHENI LITERATURE

For MATAN summer learning program 5773 by R Yaakov Beasley

QUESTIONS: 1. What is the fundamental tension in the following two portrayals of the importance of the land of Israel? A. FROM BEREISHIT
, - ' , - - , -- - , . 14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him: 'Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

- - 15 for all the land which thou , - seest, to thee will I give it, and to - , , thy seed for ever. . , - - : - , , --- . 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

B. FROM VAYIKRA
-- - 27 And if ye will not for all this , ; , hearken unto Me, but walk . contrary unto Me; - , 32 And I will bring the land into ; desolation; and your enemies . , that dwell therein shall be astonished at it. , 33 And you will I scatter among ; the nations, and I will draw out , the sword after you; and your . land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. - , , ; , - , . 34 Then shall the land be paid her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and repay her sabbaths.

A. THE BOOK OF JUBILEES ()

THE SHABBAT AND ISRAEL
And He said unto us: 'Behold, I will separate unto Myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall keep the Sabbath day, and I will sanctify them unto Myself as My people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Sabbath day and do sanctify (it) unto Myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be My people and I will be their God. And I have chosen the seed of Jacob from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as My first-born son,and have sanctified him unto Myself for ever and ever; and I will teach them the Sabbath day, that they may keep Sabbath thereon from all work. (Jub. 2:1920)

By placing the selection of Am Yisrael inside the creation of the Shabbat, how does Jubilees differ from the Torah?

THE CLAIM TO THE LAND

And in the sixth year [1567 A.M.] thereof, she bare him son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days when he was born the children of Noah began to divide the earth amongst themselves they drew nigh to him, they and their children, and he divided the earth into the lots, which his three sons were to take in possession, and they reached forth their hands, and took the writing out of the bosom of Noah, their father. And there came forth on the writing as Shem's lot the middle of the earth which he should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the generations of eternity And his portion extends along the great sea, and it extends in a straight line till it reaches the west of the tongue which looks towards the south: for this sea is named the tongue of the Egyptian Sea. And Noah rejoiced that this portion came forth for Shem and for his sons, 'Blessed be the Lord God of Shem And may the Lord dwell in the dwelling of Shem.' And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord, and Mount Sinai the centre of the desert, and Mount Zion -the centre of the navel of the earth: these three were created as holy places facing each other. (8:6-14) And Canaan saw the land of Lebanon to the river of Egypt, that it was very good, and he went not into the land of his inheritance to the west (that is to) the sea, And Ham, his father, and Cush and Mizraim his brothers said unto him: 'Thou hast settled in a land which is not thine, and which did not fall to us by lot: do not do so; for if thou dost do so, thou and thy sons will fall in the land Cursed art thou, and cursed shalt thou be beyond all the sons of Noah, by the curse by which we bound ourselves by an oath in the presence of the holy judge, and in the presence of Noah our father.' And for this reason that land is named Canaan. (10:29-34)

WHAT BIBLICAL PARALLELS ARE BEING APPLIED HERE? WHAT MORAL ISSUES ARE SUBTLY BEING REMOVED?

THE PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER

For whoso sheds man's blood, and whoso eats the blood of any flesh, shall all be destroyed from the earth. And there shall not be left any man that eats blood, or that sheds the blood of man on the earth, Nor shall there be left to him any seed or descendants living under heaven;. (7:28-29)

Compare to Bemidbar 35 how does Jubilees differ?

- - , , - , , - ; - , - . , - , , -- , -- , : } {. 33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.' {P}

DISCUSSING THE SIN OF REUBEN AND BILHAH who is affected according to Jubilees?

WHAT IS AFFECTED BY SIN ACCORDING TO THE TORAH?

- , - 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of - : these things; for in all these the - , nations are defiled, which I cast out . from before you. , ; - , . - , , - , : , . 25 And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. 26 Ye therefore shall keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations;

And tell them these words of the covenant, that they may hear and observe, and be on their guard with respect to them, and not be destroyed and rooted out of the land; for an uncleanness, and an abomination, and a contamination, and a pollution are all they who commit it on the earth before our God. And there is no greater sin than the fornication which they commit on earth; for Israel is a holy nation unto the Lord its God, and a nation of inheritance, and a priestly and royal nation and for (His own) possession; and there shall no such uncleanness appear in the midst of the holy nation. (33:19-20)

- - 27 for all these abominations have the - , men of the land done, that were , ; before you, and the land is defiled-. - 28 that the land vomit not you out , , also, when ye defile it, as it vomited , - out the nation that was before you. .

B. THE TESTAMENT OF MOSES ()

A. THE CONNECTION TO THE LAND and he called to him Joshua the son of Nun, a man approved of the Lord, that he might be the minister of the people and of the How does this compare to the Torah when is the land of Israel given by a covenant and an oath?
- , , : 16 and said: 'By Myself have I sworn,

tabernacle of the testimony with all its holy things, and that he might bring the people into the land given to their fathers, that it should be given to them according to the covenant and the oath (1:9).

, , - . - -

saith the LORD, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.'

, - - - , , , ; .

, , , .

, , , - - ; , , . ,

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou didst swear by Thine own self, and saidst unto them: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.'

B. THE RETURN TO THE LAND Here is the prayer found in the Test. Of Moses
Then there shall enter one who is over them, and he shall spread forth his hands, and kneel upon his knees and pray on their behalf saying: 'Lord of all, King on the lofty throne, who rules the world, and did will that this people should be Your elect people, then (indeed) You didst will that You should be called their God, according to the covenant which You didst make with their fathers. And yet they have gone in captivity in another land with their wives and their children, and around the gates of strange peoples and where there is great vanity. Regard and have compassion on them, O Lord of heaven.' Then God will remember them on account of the covenant which He made with their fathers. and He will manifest His compassion in those times also. And He will put it into the mind of a king to have compassion on them, and he shall send them off to their land and country. (4:1-3)

ACCORDING TO THE TORAH what is supposed to precede the return to the Land?
- , - , , ; , , - , - . , - , , - , : . - - 1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt bethink thyself among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; 3 that then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.

- , ; , , - , .

C. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THIS EPISODE?

Then in that day there shall be a man of the tribe of Levi, whose name shall be Taxo, who having seven sons shall speak to them exhorting (them): 'Observe, my sons, behold a second ruthless (and) unclean visitation has come upon the people, and a punishment merciless and far exceeding the first. For what nation or what region or what people of those who are impious towards the Lord, who have done many abominations, have suffered as

WHAT PARALLELS DO YOU RECOGNIZE TO THIS STORY?

great calamities as have befallen us Now, therefore, my sons, hear me: for observe and know that neither did the fathers nor their forefathers tempt God, so as to transgress His commands. And you know that this is our strength, and thus we will do. Let us fast for the space of three days and on the fourth let us go into a cave which is in the field, and let us die rather than transgress the commands of the Lord of Lords, the God of our fathers. For if we do this and die, our blood shall be avenged before the Lord. (9)

C. THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES (pseudo-Philo )

A. WHY AVRAHAM?
And it came to pass after these things, that the people of the land turned not from their evil thoughts and said: The people shall not be overcome for ever: and now let us come together and build us a city and a tower which shall never be removed. And before all of them will I choose my servant Abram, and I will bring him out from their land, and lead him into the land which mine eye hath looked upon from the beginning when all the dwellers upon earth sinned before my face, and I brought on them the water of the flood: and then I destroyed not that land, but preserved it. Therefore the fountains of my wrath did not break forth therein, neither did the water of my destruction come down upon it. For there will I make my servant Abram to dwell, and I will make my covenant with him, and bless his seed, and will be called his God for ever. (7:3)

Compare with the Torahs presentation

- - , - , . ,

1 Now the LORD said unto Abram: 'Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, unto the land that I will show you.

B. AND NOW the real sleight of hand And God appeared unto Abraham saying: Unto thy seed will I give this land; and thy name shall be called Abraham, and Sarai thy wife shall be called Sara. Ana I will give thee of her an eternal seed and make my covenant with you. And Abraham knew Sara his wife, and she conceived and bare Isaac. (8:2)

What is the text doing to the Torah? - , -- : , . - , , , , ; . 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'