Parshat Tetzaveh
By: Moshe Goodman, Kollel Or Shlomo, Hebron בס"ד
Longing for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"וידעו כי אני ה' א-היהם אשר הוצאתי אתם מארץ מצרים לשכני בתוכם אני ה' א-היהם"The goal of our exodus from Egypt, going to the Land of Israel, was, and still is, the dwelling of the Holy Shechina in our midst, that we should know and experience HaShem in our lives.
This week we learn more on the Mishkan, forerunner of the Bais Hamikdash, with the special reading of Zachor which teaches us the commandment to obliterate the seed of Amalek, ancestor of Haman in the Megila. These two topics are fundamentally linked to the Land of Israel, as we see in Rambam's ruling in the beginning of the Laws of Kings: "Israel was commanded to fulfill three mitzvot upon entering the Promised Land (that is, in each of these commandments the entrance to the Land is a prior requirement as mentioned in the verses + these mitzvoth are dependent one on another (c on b and b on a) at least at first): a) To choose a king, as Deuteronomy 17:15 states: 'Appoint a king over yourselves;' b) To wipe out the descendents of Amalek, as Deuteronomy 25:19states: 'Erase the memory of Amalek;' c) To build God's Chosen House, as Deuteronomy 12:5 states: 'Seek out His Presence and go there.' (this is our title verse).
Later on, Rambam gives proof-texts to the dependency of c on b and b on a, but the question we ask is what is the deeper meaning of the dependency of these mitvot on one another, and moreover to their common dependence on entering the Land of Israel?
In previous weeks we explored a number of keys in understanding the deeper meaning of the Land of Israel. One of the keys explored, especially in parshat Yitro, was the meaning of the Land as expressing the "Honor of HaShem", which is also a term which refers to the Shechina. Further explained, we may say that the presence of our People in the Holy Land, especially as a whole or majority, is an ultimate honor to God's Name, expressing before the whole world that indeed the People of God actually live in the Land promised to them by God.
It is thus not surprising that at such a state of "honor of God" that the spiritual aspect of HaShem's Honor, i.e the Shechina, also returns with the return of Israel as we saw in Zohar 2, 79b.
After this is understood, we may understand why appointing a king, whose honor is called "the honor of all Israel" (see Nimukei Yosef 11a and more), is so connected to the Land of HaShem's Honor. After appointing a king it is possible to wage war on Amalek, which was the first nation to taint HaShem's Honor by battling our people soon after Yetziat Mitzraim, the great miracle that gave honor to God's Name. After battling Amalek the Honor of HaShem is attained, giving leeway to the pursuit of the spiritual aspect of "HaShem's Honor", the Shechina, by building the Bait Hamikdash.
Now we may understand one of the unique rules of Purim (Rambam Megila 1): "Every city, whether in Eretz Yisrael or in the diaspora, that was surrounded by a wall at the time of Joshua bin Nun should read the Megillah on the fifteenth of Adar. This applies even when a wall does not surround the city at present."
The reason for this law is then explained: "Why was the matter made dependent on the time of Joshua bin Nun? To give honor to the cities of Eretz Yisrael that were in ruin at the time of the Purim miracle. Although they are in ruin at present, this would allow them to read the Megillah on the fifteenth as do the inhabitants of Shushan, since they would include a remembrance of Eretz Yisrael."
"And I will be for her, says HaShem, a wall of fire surrounding and an honor I will be in her midst" (Zecharia 2, 9) - Indeed, the concepts of the surrounding wall and honor are deeply linked (see also Batei Midrashot p.2 "lo tov" which seemingly gives the same proof-text for a wife being a protective wall and an honor to her husband). A city's surrounding wall, at least in ancient times, reflects the importance and honor of the city worth protecting.
In other words, by linking the observance of honored-walled cities on Purim to the time of Joshua bin Nun, the Rabbis linked the honor of Purim to the "Honor of HaShem", present when our People first entered the Land in the time of Joshua Bin Nun. Today, with God's help, we can regain HaShem's Honor by re-entering the Land, showing that HaShem's People re-live God's promise to our Forefathers of Hebron from antiquity.(correction to last week's citation: Zohar 2, 5 should be Zohar 2, 19).
Real-life Hashgaha story #6: "I go shopping at a certain super-market in Jerusalem about 4-5 times a year. On one occasion, I heard the name of one of my daughters (two names - 8 letters) called on a different girl in that super-market. On a different occasion I went to the same super-market, and I heard the name of a different one of my daughters (two names - 6 letters) called on a different girl. I have never heard these names called on girls at different times or different places. What is the probability of that?
