In Parshat VaEtchanan (“I pleaded”), Moshe desperately wants to enter the Land Of Israel.
He asks God in Dvarim 3:25: “Please, allow me to cross over and see the good land that is across from the Jordan, this good mountain and the Levanon.”
Unfortunately, God’s answer is no.
Moshe is not the only one who longed to go to the Land of Israel. He is the first in the chain of Jewish history. Some, like Moshe, wanted to go but were not able to for all different types of reasons and circumstances while others were able to fulfill their dreams to either visit Israel or make aliya.
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, was a doctor and a philosopher as well as one of the greatest Hebrew poets. He lived from approximately 1075-1141 in Spain. He loved the Land of Israel and ached to go there. One of his most famous quotes is: “Libi BaMizrach V’Anochi BeSof Maarav,” “My heart is in the east while I am stranded in the farthest end of the west.”
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi’s longing for Zion is not just for the land itself, but for the Shechina(Divine Presence) that dwells in the Land. In the Kuzari, he explains that the Shechina never departed from the Land and is still present. In order to find God, one must go to the Land of Israel.
He yearned to visit the places where God spoke to the prophets. He considered every place where God revealed Himself to a prophet to be holy.
We especially see Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi’s longing for the Land in his poem, Yefe Nof (Beautiful Vista):
Landscape of beauty, joy to the world
Headquarters of a sovereign multitude
For you my soul yearns
from the far far West.
Great compassion is stirred within me
By remembrance of future past
Your glory, which was revealed,
Your dwelling places doomed by the sword.
And who will give me
with which to fly, eagle’s wings?
Until with my grateful tears
I can quench the dust of your dry earth.
You are always on my mind
And though your King is not within you
And if, instead, where flowed the Balm of Gilead
Now scuttle the snake and also the scorpion.
Still on your stones
I will bestow kisses
For the taste of the Land on my lips
is sweeter than honey.
In the year 1140, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi went to Egypt and then moved on to the Land of Israel. Sadly, according to the legend, when he arrived, he prostrated himself on the ground and was killed by an Arab horseman.
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi’s pining for the Land of Israel is evident. He reminds us of how great Zion was before the destruction and how great it will be once again.
We are lucky to have the opportunity to live in Israel or fly in and out, unlike in the days of Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi where it was a dream which was only fulfilled by a lucky few.
