Rabbi Mayer TwerskyParsha Braishis

R. Yitzchak said: [God] need not have begun the Torah but from "This month shall be for you" because it is the first commandment which Israel was commanded. What is the reason that [God] began with the book of Genesis? Because [He wished to convey the message of the verse] "The power of His acts He told to his people in order to give them the estate of nations." So that if the nations of the world will say to Israel "You are bandits" for you conquered the lands of the seven nations, Israel will say to them "The whole earth belongs to the Holy One Blessed be He. He created it and he gave it to the one found proper in his eyes. By his wish He gave it to them and by His wish He took it from them and gave it to us". (1)

R. Yitzchak's comment highlights a most striking and jarring contrast. "Of all lands Eretz Yisroel alone is holy" (2); it is the choicest of lands.

Rather [the verse means] that Hebron was fertile, with all that was good sevenfold, in comparison to Zoan. [The verse] comes to inform you of the excellence of the Land of Israel, for there is no more rocky terrain in the Land of Israel than Hebron. This is why they set it aside for tombs of the dead. And you have no superior to Egypt among all the lands...and Zoan is the best in the Land of Egypt...yet Hebron was better than it sevenfold. (3)

Eretz Yisroel is the focal point for divine providence. "A land that Hashem, your God, seeks out; the eyes of Hashem, your God, are always upon it...". (4)

On the other hand, the seven nations were abominable and loathsome. "When Hashem, your God, will cut down the nations ... beware for yourself lest you be attracted after them ... and lest you seek out their gods ... you shall not do so because ... for everything that is an abomination of Hashem, that He hates, have they done to their gods...". (5) "Do not follow the traditions of the nations that I expel from before you, for they did all of these and I was disgusted with them".(6) In fact, these nations were so thoroughly corrupt and singularly wicked that the Torah singles them out for eradication. "But from the cities of these peoples that Hashem, your God, gives you as an inheritance, you shall not allow any person to live". (7)

What are we to glean from the fact that Eretz Yisroel was originally given to the seven nations?

This jarring contrast was intended to foreshadow a fundamental historical pattern - indeed, a veritable law of history - and metaphysical truth. Sanctity arouses violent opposition. Ruminating in an ahistorical context one might have theorized that morally debased and religiously corrupt people would simply ignore sacred sites. Such sites lie beyond their ken and orbit of interests. However, this has never been the case. On the contrary, those people(s) who constitute and represent forces of evil and impurity are perversely drawn to holy sites. They seek to suppress sanctity by gaining sovereignty over such sacred places from those who would safeguard their sanctity. Thus, for example, Titus, from all of his conquests, singled out the conquest of Jerusalem to be celebrated by the construction of the Roman Arch of Triumph.

This historical pattern continues unabated in present times. Current Palestinian nationalism did not exist while East Jerusalem, including Har ha-Bayis, was occupied by Jordan. Palestinian nationalism is a response to Jewish sovereignty over these sacred sites.

The initial giving of Eretz Yisroel to the seven nations foreshadowed this historical pattern and metaphysical reality. Precisely because of its sanctity, Eretz Yisroel would arouse the forces of evil and become the focal point in the struggle between Good and Evil.

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  1. Rashi, based on Medrash Tanchuma, to Braishis 1:1. Translation is from the Saperstein Edition.
  2. Mishna Mas. Keilim Chap. 1.
  3. Rashi, based on Gem. Sotah, to Bamidbar 13:22. Translation as above.
  4. Devarim 11:12. Vide Rashi and Ramban ad loc.
  5. ibid 12:29 - 31.
  6. Vayikra 20:23.
  7. Devarim 20:16.