Assignment Due Monday night October 19th 11:59pm.
How important is the land of Israel really? Why should a religion be tied to a land? Do you agree with David Clines conclusion of the place of Israel in Tanach?
Read the article below and answer the questions above in the comments!
http://www.rabbisacks.org/bereishit-5771-the-g-d-of-creation-and-the-land-of-israel/
Read the article below and answer the questions above in the comments!
http://www.rabbisacks.org/bereishit-5771-the-g-d-of-creation-and-the-land-of-israel/
Cynthia Lando:
ReplyDeleteWoohooo! First comment! This article was very well written, yet hard to follow at some points. For the most part the conecting point of the entire article is our connection to eretz yisroel, and the challenges that come our way for example: plenty of other religeos countries (sepecially ones who are extremely anti-semetic), and how Jews have been exiled all over the world yet through struggle, always return to their home. A specific point that stood out to me was the question that arose "why should a religion be tied to a land" if Jews are monotheistic and we believe that god is everywhere and therefore can be served anywhere why specifically one land that is the holy land? That had personally never dawned on me, and if I were to assume an answer it would be that: yes. you can serve Hashem anywhere in the world but to have a land of unity and holiness will only drive us closer to Hashem and am yisroel as a whole. To be perfectly honest I do not entirely understand Rabbi Issac's answer to that question... anyone want to insight me?.... David Clines conclution of the place of Isreal in Tanach is that "Seven times in Bereishit G-d promises the land to Abraham, once to Isaac, and three times to Jacob." and Moshe is told that the land is flowing with milk and honey. What I take away from David Clines' opinion is that the land itself is very special and that is why jews are specifically "tied" to that land".
Ameerah: The land of Israel is very special and important to us since it is the only Jewish state. While Muslims have 56 states and Christians have 82 states, Jews have only one small state. Religion should be tied to the land because laws are what make up society and therefore, Jews can create their own society according to their beliefs. The Jew have been in exile for many years so, many have not been able to experience a society like that. This is a shame because then they cannot experience what it feels like to practice Judaism freely. Also, Shabbat is a holy time and Israel is a holy place therefore, the land is linked to the religion. I do agree with David Clines conclusion that a major theme of the Torah is Israel. Hashem spoke about the land of Israel with our fathers. Also, the last 2 book of the Torah (Bamidbar and Devarim) revolves around the land of Israel.
ReplyDeleteRuthie Lando
ReplyDeleteThe land of Israel is really important. If I understood correctly I think the religion is tied to the land because you need space to do your religion so it would be really helpful to have a specific area of land to have your religion. I agree with this because if you don't have a land than there is some commandments you can't do because there is some mitzvot that we cant't do out of our land which happens to be Israel.
I just wrote a whole big comment and somehow It deleted it so here it goes again:
ReplyDeleteAccording to me, I always thought we were tied to a state because the Jewish people were always promised one so we can unite, have a place to call home. Also, it was consistently promised to us and many people in the Torah. Two whole books of Torah are even dedicated to Israel and its laws. What I found very interesting was that the Christians and Muslims had so many states in which they are all scattered and live. I think it is so amazing how the Jews have one place to unite as a nation. Also, because of what's happening in France, so many more people are moving to Israel from there. So many of the laws are also tied to Israel, you can't get the full Jewish experience without living there. For example: shmita, amount of days of holidays, field related activities are all for Israel. Even though I have never been there, I think that doing something in America verses Israel are two completely different things. One probably feels much more holy, spiritual, and connection to God in Israel. I am very happy to know that there is one state where I can be fully accepted for who and what I am.
i have no clue how to work this and my comments got deleted three times so I'm just going to tell u my ideas in school lol sorry
ReplyDelete-lauren
classic how now it works
DeleteBecca Cohn:
ReplyDeleteIn response to this article, I feel that the land of Israel is incredibley important to us Jews. It is the only thin we have to claim as our own. It is the only Jewish state in the world and it is just one very small piece of land. It is so important for us to keep claim over this land because if there is ever a time when Jews are persecuted from their countries, we will need somewhere to go. In the times of the holocaust, Jews were looking for a safe haven to escape from the prejudices and torture in Europe. Unfortunately, not many countries accepted Jews in and if they did it was a minimal amount. If the state of Israel was in existence in that time, the Jews looking for refuge would have had somewhere to go. Sadly, that was not the case at that time but thankfully now we do have our Jewish country and it is extremely important and we must protect it and keep it. Israel is a Jewish state tied to a Jewish religion. One can argue that a land should be tied to a religion, or that it shouldn't be. I feel like it could go either way. A reason why it should be was just like the one above like when a specific religion is being persecuted, they have somewhere to go. I feel that land shouldn't be tied to a religion in a way where people of other religious backgrounds wouldn't be allowed to live there. Lastly, I feel that the mention of Israel in the Torah does make sense where it is because the idea is that we are first shown creation of the world and shortly after we are shown which land belongs to us and the entire rest of the story are law as about how to live there and our journey leading up to the day we finally entered Israel. I think that we should all be so lucky to be able to visit and live in our Jewish state and we should all have pride in it. There is only one place in the world that belongs to the Jews and therefore it is our job to keep it that way.
Miriam F.G.:
ReplyDeleteMost Jews would agree that Eretz Yisroel is one of the most important aspects of being Jewish. Eretz Yisroel, for the Jewish people is a home, a place where we are supposed to be free from religious persecutions. Muslims and Christians also think that Israel is very important, their religions got started in and revolve around Israel, especially Yerushalayim. The Jewish people are commanded to follow all these laws about the land, the court of justice, and society. How can we keep these laws without being together in one place? We cannot. Therefore we need to have a land where we can all observe these laws, which we cannot obey if we are spread all over the world, each person in their own universe. I do agree and yet do not agree with David Clines’s opinion on Eretz Yisroel in Tanach. I agree that Eretz Yisroel is very important in Tanach, but I do not think it is the main point.
Words can not describe how important the state of Israel is to the Jewish people. However the Muslims and Christians also find Israel important, and that causes conflict. Israel religiously is our holy place. We have many commandments that are only done in the Holy Land, and of course we need to be there to do them. The Jews have been spread out all over the world. We went through incredibly tough times, all we want is that tiny little state in the middle east called Israel. We want to be concentrated in Israel. Together as a nation. We need Israel to be our safe home, our place of refuge.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLeora Schwartzbach
ReplyDeleteI feel that the land of Israel is of utmost importance to us as. Since there are 56 muslim states and 82 christian states and one single tiny Jewish state, it is the only state we have to claim. This being said, it is so very important for us to defend and keep our land so we in a way "have a dollar to our name". For instance, during the holocaust, Jews were looking for a place of their own to escapes the hardships of the Nazis and other European anti-semitism. If we would have had Israel, our safe place during this time, maybe the Holocaust never would have happened. I feel that religion should not be tied to a country's name for many reason. First off i would like to look at world history. The amount of people that have been persecuted due to religious intolerance is unacceptable. Even in today's society people are STILL being killed for religious intolerance in their country. I would like to bring up a very bad, but also very good example. As we all know the Palestinians have been in a wave of terrorist attacks over the last month (about). This is because they HATE jews and think that Israel is truly a muslim STATE. David Cline concludes with the place of Israel in the torah with, "Seven times in Bereishit G-d promises the land to Abraham, once to Isaac, and three times to Jacob." What I think of this is that us Jews are destined to end up in Israel, whether it be now, or after Moshiach comes, us Jews will always have Israel no matter what happens.
I feel that Israel is really important to all Jews. Jews need a place to unite and be a whole. There's a lot of people out there that don't like our beliefs or what we stand for so we need a place to be safe. Israel is just one big community of Jews and almost everyone is part of the community. You are influenced dramatically by your neighbors and they can influence you to do good and be a better Jew. Christians and Muslims have many different countries that belong to their religion but I don't think that it as good as it seems. They aren't all united with each other and they don't all love each other. Also there are a lot of holy things that happened in Israel in the past and special mitzvot that we still have today just for that holy land. This is our land that G-d promised us and we should take advantage of having it under our control by going there often. Having our own state allows for us to make up our own rules and always being able to serve G-d the best we can. I agree with David Clines because a lot of the Torah and mitzvot are based of Israel.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Israel is extremely significant to all Jews. It is important for Jews to have a place to be who they are. Many people in this world have hatred towards the Jews, so we need a refuge for all Jews. One is able to learn a lot by being in Israel with all Jews. Many other religions have countries they can call home, just like the Jews do. Jews are special because they are all have something in common one way or another. Israel is so spiritual to all that come.Having our own state gives us the ability to always feel free to serve G-d. I agree with David Clines because a lot of the Torah and mitzvot are based off of Israel. Clara Loeb
ReplyDeleteI believe that Israel is extremely significant to all Jews. It is important for Jews to have a place to be who they are. Many people in this world have hatred towards the Jews, so we need a refuge for all Jews. One is able to learn a lot by being in Israel with all Jews. Many other religions have countries they can call home, just like the Jews do. Jews are special because they are all have something in common one way or another. Israel is so spiritual to all that come.Having our own state gives us the ability to always feel free to serve G-d. I agree with David Clines because a lot of the Torah and mitzvot are based off of Israel. Clara Loeb
ReplyDelete