From the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Excerpts About the Uniqueness and Holiness of the Land

Free translations of unedited transcripts of talks by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

The Holiness of the Land and Every Jew's Bond to It

1“The Eyes of Hashem Your G-d Are Upon It”

10 Shevat 5751 · Shabbos Parshas Bo 5751

“Whether at the beginning of the year, at the end of the year, or during the entire time in between—as explicitly stated in the verse, ‘From the beginning of the year to the end of the year’—‘the eyes of Hashem your G-d are upon it’. ‘The eyes’ indicates the supreme level of Hashem’s focused attention specifically upon Eretz Yisroel, even during the time of exile. Consequently, there must be strong faith and trust regarding Eretz Yisroel—even compared to all other lands—that it is the safest place for the Jewish people, and no harm can touch Jews there, for any threat lacks all true substance.”

“Moshe Rabbeinu declared this three thousand years ago, proclaiming it with a great voice that was engraved in the Torah and reached all the way to us. When you perform all necessary matters in Eretz Yisroel, ensuring that all matters of Torah and Mitzvos are revealed there, then it becomes openly manifest that it is ‘a land upon which the eyes of Hashem your G-d are constantly from the beginning of the year to the end of the year’.”

2Every Jew Worldwide Has an Inherent Share in the Holy Land

13 Tishrei 5738 · 28 Tishrei 5750

“Every single Jew living in the diaspora possesses a share—and consequently has an opinion and a direct stake in every matter taking place—in Eretz Yisroel. This land fits the name by which it is called even in the languages of all nations, ‘the Holy Land’. This includes the fact that it is a land where ‘the eyes of Hashem your G-d are constantly upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,’ meaning a land where one sees with physical eyes how Godliness is openly present there.”

“When Eretz Yisroel requires assistance, it is self-evident that every Jew wherever he is located assists in a manner aligned with Torah. His prayer passes through Eretz Yisroel, through Jerusalem, and through the site of the Holy Temple—even when in ruins—because holiness never moves from its place, being bound to the Shechinah.”

“Since the Covenant Between the Parts, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham ‘To your seed I have given this land’ (‘given’ in the past tense, meaning ‘already given’), every single Jew possesses an eternal portion in Eretz Yisroel.”

3“Make Here Eretz Yisroel” Through Torah and Mitzvos

13 Tishrei 5738 · Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha 5750 · Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha 5752

“All Jewish men and women in all diaspora communities, through establishing a place of Torah, a place of prayer, and a ritual bath (Mikvah), make their portion in the world into ‘Eretz Yisroel’. The word Eretz (land) is derived from the expression ‘it desired (ratztah) to perform the desire of its Creator’.”

“As in the famous directive of the Tzemach Tzedek: ‘Make here Eretz Yisroel!’—a Jew must make every single place in the world into Eretz Yisroel, into ‘the land that I will show you’.”

“By completing and finishing the remaining actions required in this task, starting from ‘make here Eretz Yisroel’ within one’s own soul, and subsequently in one’s surroundings and portion in the world, one immediately merits ‘Go forth to the land that I will show you’—the actual physical journey to Eretz Yisroel in the true and complete Redemption.”

The Redemption, the Expansion of the Land, and Jerusalem

4Expansion to the Land of Ten Nations: Keni, Kenizi and Kadmoni

Shabbos Parshas Toldos 5747 · Shabbos Parshas Matos-Masei 5751 · Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha 5752

“We will enter our Holy Land, a land of seven nations, together with ‘Hashem your G-d shall expand your border’—a land of ten nations. And our leader, the Nasi of our generation, at our head.”

“The true and complete Redemption through Moshiach Tzidkenu will take place immediately and openly, in the complete Eretz Yisroel, starting with the land of the seven nations in pleasant and peaceful ways, and furthermore—the land of ten nations, including Keni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni.”

“The refinement of the emotional attributes (Middos) takes place now, whereas the refinement of the transcendent intellective faculties (Moichin) will take place in the Future Era, as explained regarding Keni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni, which represent the divine service of Moichin that belongs specifically to the Future Era when Hashem expands your borders.”

5Jerusalem Belongs to All of Israel: “It Was Not Divided Among the Tribes”

Shabbos Parshas Bereishis 5741 · Shabbos Parshas Behar-Bechukosai 5749 · 17 Tammuz 5749

“And in the Holy Land itself—in the Holy of Holies of this holiness, which is Jerusalem the Holy City, which ‘was not partitioned among the tribes’. It belongs to every single Jew and to all Jewish people across all generations, and especially in the present generation.”

“In Jerusalem and the dwellings of Jerusalem, which ‘was not partitioned among the tribes’ because the true dwelling of every single Jew and all Jewish people—the Holy of Holies—belongs to everyone.”

“Jerusalem was not partitioned among the individual tribes because Jerusalem is the site and foundation for the Holy Temple, and the Holy Temple is a communal house where public sacrifices are offered. Just as the Holy Temple produces unity among all Israel, so too Jerusalem acts as the city that binds us together in complete unity (‘Ir SheChubra La Yachdav’).”

6The Future Jerusalem: Without Walls, with Hashem as a “Wall of Fire”

19 Kislev 5739 · Shabbos Parshas Bereishis 5741 · 19 Kislev 5748

“In the Future Era, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited unwalled’ (Prazos Teshev Yerushalayim), for the spirit of impurity will be removed from the earth and the glory of Hashem will be revealed. Yet even then there is a wall, not for protection or limitation against external forces, but rather ‘I will be to her a wall of fire round about’—the revelation of lofty, encompassing Divine lights, alongside ‘and I will be the glory in her midst’ in an internal, internalized manner.”

“A physical wall has two functions: protection from unwanted forces, and limitation of space. In the future, when evil is removed, Jerusalem will expand without boundaries (Prazos Teshev), while simultaneously Hashem Himself serves as a ‘Wall of Fire’, uniting both transcendent and internalized Divine revelations.”

“The ‘Wall of Fire’ in Jerusalem produces complete unity among all Israel dwelling within it. Thus, Jerusalem combines two transcendent opposites: limitless expansion (Prazos Teshev Yerushalayim) alongside the protective, unifying revelation of Hashem’s ‘Wall of Fire’ (Chomat Esh).”