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/
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/
according to David Clines Israel is really important because it mentions in the torah about hashem's promise several times and he claims it to be the overarching theme. He believes that Judaism is a collection of redemption and its main focus is to create a society that's opposite of Egypt. With the land of Israel the Jews would be able to create their own society that follows their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteHowever, according to David's opinion the Jews just need a place where they could govern themselves and create their own society they don't necessarily need Israel.
^Shira Salomon
DeleteThe land of Israel is extremely important. David Clines points out that Israel is the universal theme of the Torah. Hashem is constantly promising us this land and the Torah talks about the 40 years in the desert to get to Israel. I believe that a religion needs to have a land because if the people of a religion were scattered then they would have no way of joining together and land can do that for a religion. For example, we always talk about how when Mashiach comes the Jewish people will all go to Israel where we will unite. I agree that Israel is a very holy place but I only believe that it is holy because that is where Hashem promised us land. There are so many other places on this Earth but the fact that Hashem chose Israel shows that he wants us there for a reason.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Tajfel
Israel is an important religious landmark for more religions than just the Jewish people. However, its importance to the Jewish people alone is pretty incredible. The Torah tells us how G-d has promised this land to us and how this is the place where we can best connect to G-d, and where G-d can best connect to us.
ReplyDeleteDavid Clines mentions an interesting take on the significance of a single religious area. He compares Israel's relationship to the world to Shabbos's relationship to the week: by focusing on the one holy aspect, we attribute holiness to everything else.
~Sara Shrier
:" create their own society in accordance with their own beliefs" this really sparked me when I read this article. The difference between us and Christians, is that no matter where we are in the world, we always have a place to call home. We always have something that unites us as one, feeling a strong connection. God gave us this land for a reason, and we should do our best to deserve it. No matter what type of Judaism you practice(religious wise) , we all know that at the end of the day we are a family and have a strong unbreakable bond. We're a holy nation. I completely agree with David Cline!
ReplyDeleteThe land of Israel is important in many ways and for many reasons. According to Rashi the Torah specifically starts by mentioning the idea of the land of Israel. According to David Clines the overall theme of the Chumash of the land of Israel. For example, G-d promises the land multiple times to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their future generations. The land of Israel being the overall theme of the Chumash shows its importance.
ReplyDeleteBeing tied down to a land allows us to come together as a nation. It allowed us to create a society based on our religious beliefs. For thousands of years all the Jews have yourned for was the land that was promised to us and now that we have it we can connect to it through our religion and our beliefs.
I agree with all that David Clines said. It is important to have Israel as our own. It allows us to connect, love, and protect our fellow Jews and our land.
-Elana Edery
The land of Israel is extremely significant. For example, David Clines argue that the overarching theme of the 5 books of the Torah center on God's promise of Israel to his people (Jews). This clearly illustrate Israel's importance. In addition, from this we can understand Rashi's perspective. Since this is the major theme, the beginning of creation must be directly related to our right to Israel. Establishing our right to Israel at the beginning of creation only adds to the importance of Israel. Thus Israel is very significant.
ReplyDeleteHaving a land enables us to establish laws and legislation that support justice and morality. In the past, Jews never has this land to that could give them this. With land, they are able to unite and live in accordance with their religious beliefs. Now we can live in a society where our religious beliefs are integrated into the law.
I agree with David Clines approach as a land specifically dedicated to a certain belief (Judiasm) gives us a kind of religious and emotional stability.
Olivia Butler
Israel is really important to the Jewish nation. It is so important that some Rabbis think that the overarching theme throughout the torah is Hashem's giving us the land of Israel. While considering that idea, people wonder why the torah begins with bereshit. If the theme of the torah is the receiving of the land of Israel, how is bereshit relevant?
ReplyDeleteBereshit is relevant to our claim over the land of Israel because it provides the foundation for our belief that Israel should be ours. Other nations argue that the Jewish people have no right to take over Israel. However, as seen in bereshit, the whole world is created by Hashem. That being said, if the creator of the land gave us the land, we have complete right to reside in the land.
Besides us having a right to Israel, as exemplified throughout the torah, we also have a necessity for the land of Israel. The Jewish people need a homeland to properly act in accordance to the torah. Throughout years of not having a homeland, the Jewish people learned that living in Israel is necessary to properly carry our Hashem's wishes.
I agree that Israel is a major theme in the torah, but I also believe that living in Israel could not possibly be a complete solution for all the Jews problems. Even when all the Jews were thriving in Israel living under Shlomo's rule, things still eventually turned for the bad and resulted in a diaspora.
Eden Mendelsohn
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteElisheva Feldman
ReplyDeleteI am very involved in aipac, I have many(MANY) family members that live in Israel, and I hope to one day make Aliyah. If someone was to ask me why, why do I want to move to Israel, why do I feel such a strong connection to a peice of land I would respond that because Israel is our homeland.
I agree with this article, Israel is the place where Jews can just be themselves. You can wear a kippah and not be afraid Of someone to judge you. The state of Israel is the opportunity to lead a country according to Jewish law. For example, the state of Israel every year sells their chamatz.
I don't think that where Israel is exactly matters, Hashem could have chosen any location, but having this price of land that connects all Jews alike is priceless.
2) isn't this what we learned last year? The role of Shabbos is to influence the rest of the week. The role of the mishkan is to influence and impact your lives when you leave. So if I understood the article right, the author is saying that the role of Israel is to have Hashems presence in one place so he can impact and influence the rest of the world.
3) so I think that it's a good theory for that creation was included bc to show us that Israel belongs to us, but I think that if some all powerful figure calls out from the heavens that land of Israel belongs to the Jews-- that would probably be just as convincing.
It is extremely important for the Jews to have Israel as a homeland. As a nation that has been kicked out of multiple countries and scattered across the globe, Israel is what that ties the Jewish nation together. Without it, we'd be spread across the rest of the world, a minority in each place, and we'd face a huge amount of antisemitism without a safe place to which we can turn.
ReplyDeleteReligion should be tied to a land because the spiritual holiness held by religion is strengthened by a physical bond with a land. For Jews, if the religion was not tied to the land of Israel, we'd be scattered and much smaller in numbers. Having a connected Jewish community increases not only our physical strength, but also our spiritual strength.
I agree with David Clines' approach because Israel is integral to the Jewish nation. Our right to the land is mentioned over and over in the Torah and becomes a central theme. We deserve the right to unite in the place Hashem gave us as our homeland.
-Orly Mobilio
Israel is important because as humans, we look for God in society. We see him by following a certain moral code or set of laws. As Jews, we need a land to govern our own laws, since many of them differ from those of other religions and cultures.
ReplyDeleteOne may argue, however, that we can have any land then. It doesn't need to be Israel. I disagree with this because, just like what David clines said, U.S. Receiving Israel is a major underlining theme in the Torah. By governing the land that God has given to you, it creates an even bigger faith in Him than just governing his laws would because it is proof that what He promises will come true and it is much more meaningful to be there.
Israel is a very holy and important land, it serves as a home for the Jewish people and as a home for jewish life. The fact that gd promised all throughout bereshit to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov that we as a religion and we as a nation deserve our own land to call home shows the necessity of Israel. As David Clines stated Israel is a theme that lasted all of bereshit. Clearly that right there elevates the importantness of being able to have a land set aside for one religion without having any complications with others. Although the torah is a very holy and also ancient aspect of Judaism its important to note the fact that hashem kept his promise to us. this is a place where we can do hashem's will exactly as we are supposed to. especially now a days, Israel is always under attack, jewish blood is always spilling and when a tragedy like that happens all the jews all over the world come together as one. but not as one, as one nation living in the same land. Israel proves to be a vital part of jewish life everywhere making it very important to note that we do have a place to call a jewish home at the end of the day.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Steiman
For Jews, the land of Israel is the ideal, the place we all look forward to living to today, and the land promised to our forefathers in the Torah as "the land flowing with milk and honey." It is the center of Judaism; it was where the Beit Hamikdash stood, and at the Pesach seder we always end with the hope of "Next Year in Jerusalem." According to the article, our religion requires such a land because being a society and living together is a main part of Judaism, and any civilization needs a location.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Clines explains that Israel was chosen by Hashem as this specific location, and that a huge part of the Tanakh is the promise that we will live there one day. I definitely agree- Israel is mentioned all the time in the Torah, and it has a deep-rooted connection to the Jewish people.
- Tara Shrier