"BUYING LAND/HOMES IN ISRAEL" | Rabbi Ari Shvat | Beit Midrash

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BUYING LAND/HOMES IN ISRAEL- Parshat Chayeh Sarah
We see in this week's parsha that Avraham "works hard" in a long & detailed give-and-take to buy the Ma'arat HaMachpela in Chevron. Like Har HaBayit and Shchem, Avraham refuses to accept it as a gift and davka pays with the most impeccable coins and does so in the most public way possible, for he wants it to be clear forever and to all, that no gentiles can claim Eretz Yisrael (Breishit Rabba 79, 7, see also 1st Rashi in the Torah).
The Ibn Ezra (23, 19) explains that this chapter teaches us that from this point and forever we have, not just a Heavenly promise but a tangible & eternal stronghold in the Land of Israel. It also comes "to inform us the outstanding status of Eretz Yisrael above all other lands, for the living and dead, alike".
Kiddushin, betrothing a wife, is the 1st symbol, tangible, legal and halachic sign of love & eternal bond between the couple. In my first year in high school, I heard R. Shlomo Riskin point out that it's not a coincidence that chazal (Kiddushin 2a) learn this from the very first, as well as the final land acquisition in Eretz Yisrael. Avraham's obtaining Chevron, and Yirmiyahu's buying land in Israel for the final redemption (Yirmiyahu 32, 44), are the source of how to do Kiddushin and marriage, for the ultimate example of eternal love with which we wish to bless the new couple is the similar relationship between Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. Even when nations forcibly separated us, we knew it was temporary and continuously tried (and did!) return to her. Similarly, like a faithful wife, Israel waited for her lover, not giving her fruits to foreign nations, who all tried but to no avail (Ramban, Vayikra 26). And now that we have returned, "As a young man lives with a virgin, so shall your children live in you (Eretz Yisrael)… (Yishayahu 62, 5). Moreover, as opposed to "buying" an object, when one does Kiddushin, he doesn't "own" his beloved and cannot sell or give her to others. Similarly Eretz Yisrael is our beloved land forever, and we don't really "acquire" her with "damim" (Hebrew for money and BLOOD) for she is ESSENTIALLY meant for us, and accordingly we cannot give her away or sell her, even if we want to. There's even NO possibility of DIVORCE!
Rav Kook (Ma'amarei HaReiya, p. 323), in his heartfelt cry, "Come you all to Eretz Yisrael", stresses that Aliya is the answer to ALL of the problems, both spiritual and physical. Especially today, aside from the many positive religious mitzvot, as well as national and historical reasons to make Aliya (the future is clearly here), and that real estate in Israel is a solid & eternal investment, Jews outside of Israel struggle with assimilation & intense cultural influences (like self-centeredness, weakening of the family and gender confusion, not to mention intermarriage), anti-Semitism, the cost of yeshiva education, changing neighborhoods, a lack of Torah leadership, etc. BH here we have the HOME-COURT advantage, and we select our culture and priorities. The Torah often points out that the mitzvot are (Dvarim 6,, 24) "לטוב לנו", for our benefit, and sound advice (Yishayahu 25, 1). Only Hashem can know all of the complex factors involved in such far-reaching decisions, and only He can solve all problems with one concrete command: ISRAEL, "והרושתם את הארץ וישבתם בה", "inherit=own=buy the Land & settle her" (Bamidbar 33, 53). Also note, our beloved is always referred to in the FEMININE, as our soulmate.
Friends from NY have informed me that it's not a rumor but a fact that many who planned to buy homes in Eretz Yisrael, but delayed realizing their dream, are now, with the election of Mamdani, bringing their ideal into fruition. We always preferred that our fellow Jews should come home to Israel out of ideals, and not out of fear, ובאו ציון ברינה"", (Yishayahu 51, 11), and it's not too late for that (for the assimilated Jews are not coming so soon, not to mention those running to Florida, so those making Aliya now is clearly ALSO out of ideals), but the main point is to come Home anyway possible! Shabbat Shalom, Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat)

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