In Parshat Toldot, at the beginning
of Breisheet, Chapter 26, there is a famine in the Land and Yitzchak goes down
to Grar (the Gaza strip).
In verses 2-3 we read:
God appeared to him and said, “Do
not go down to Egypt. Settle (Shechon) in the Land that I will make known to
you. Stay temporarily (gur) in this land and I will be with you and bless you,
for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands…”
We learn in Bresiheet Raba 64:3: The
land that you should live in temporarily is Grar, a place of poor soil, and you
shall permanently dwell in the rest of Israel- cultivate the land, be a sower,
be a planter- plant seeds, plant trees.
Breisheet Raba also brings another
interpretation- Shechon- cause the Shechina (Divine Presence) to dwell in the
Land.
Rav David Avraham Spector teaches
that not only should we not leave the Land of Israel at a time of crisis, it is
the time to develop settlements and agriculture. By building up, settling and
cultivating the Land, we will cause the Divine Presence to rest there like it
says in Shmot 25:8: “They shall
make me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.”
The Bach (Orach Chayim 208) teaches
about the holiness of the fruits grown in the Land of Israel:
The fruits of the Land of Israel are
nurtured by the holiness of the Shechina which dwells in the Land. That is why
we say the “Bracha Me’ein Shalosh” after we eat fruits from the seven species
of Israel: “to eat its fruit and to be sated with its goodness.” When we eat
the fruits from the Land of Israel we are being nourished by the holiness of
the Shechina.
We complete the bracha with “al
peiroteha,” “on her fruit” when the fruit of the seven species was grown in
Israel, as opposed to “al hapeirot,” “on the fruit” when the fruit was grown
outside of the Land. This is a constant reminder to appreciate the fruits that
are grown in Israel which are imbued with an extra element holiness.
On Simchat Torah, in addition to the
tremendous loss of life, Hamas destroyed a lot of the crops in Southern Israel
by burning down the farms and fields on the kibbutzim. They also murdered and
kidnapped many of the foreign workers from Thailand who worked in the fields. Most
of the surviving workers were brought back to Thailand.
Moshe Saiid who was best known as
Dod (Uncle) Moshe, an Israeli version of Old MacDonald, was murdered on his
Kibbutz, Nir Oz and his wife, Adina was taken hostage and is in Gaza. His
company, Dod Moshe, promises to
continue working the fields to produce the best vegetables including potatoes,
radishes and carrots.
Israelis are stepping up to the
plate and volunteering to help pick all types of produce including avocados,
lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. We need more Israelis to seriously consider
working in agriculture in order to continue the mission of settling the Land of
Israel and benefitting from its produce.