Q:
On Shabbos, in the mussaf shemoneh esrei, we pray שֶׁתַּעֲלֵנוּ בְּשִׂמְחָה לְאַרְצֵנוּ, וְתִטָּעֵנוּ בִּגְבוּלֵנוּ – that Hashem should bring us up with happiness to our land and plant us in our borders. So are we required to go to settle in the land of Israel?
A:
These words about going back to Eretz Yisroel are talking about when it’s going to be l’artzeinu and gevuleinu. So those words are not talking about now. Whether or not it’s a duty to settle in Eretz Yisroel today, that’s a question that we’ll leave to the Rishonim. But these words are not referring to that.
We’re not asking that Hakodosh Boruch Hu should let us win a raffle, that we should be able to go up to Eretz Yisroel for a couple of days. We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about when we’ll go up b’simcha. We’re talking about when it will be fulfilled ושא נס לקבץ גלויותנו – Raise up a banner to collect all of our exile communities.
But first it’ll be תקע בשופר גדול – it’ll be a great shofar.
Now the question is, why do you need a shofar and a banner? You need two things?
The answer is, a banner is for us. We’re willing to look at the banner and we’ll see the banner and we’ll come. But the nations won’t look at the banner. Saudi Arabia and Syria and Egypt, they’ll ignore the banner. They’ll say, “No. The land doesn’t belong to Jews.”
So first Hakodosh Boruch Hu will blow with a great shofar. A shofar you can’t ignore. It’ll be a thunderous shofar! It’ll shatter the world and the world will have to yield. Now what form the shofar will take, I cannot tell you. It’ll be a little more than noise, however. It’ll blast them and the nations will just yield and they’ll say, “The land is yours.”
Once the nations yield, then Hakodosh Boruch Hu will raise a great banner; but the banner will be a big banner. On the headlines of New York Times – I hope by that time it won’t exist anymore – or some other newspaper; all the newspapers in big blue letters, just big blue letters: “Jews are returning, are flocking to Eretz Yisroel from all sides of the world!” And that’ll be the whole front page!
On all the ships, if a gentile tries to book passage on a ship or an airplane, he can’t. No space. Jews are traveling to Eretz Yisroel now.
They’ll try maybe on some freighter, on a fruit ship, a banana ship. Even that’s packed with Jews. Everybody is going back to Eretz Yisroel. ושא נס – raise up a banner, לקבץ גלויותנו – to gather together our exiles.
But only one kind of person will be eligible: If you feel you’re in exile. But if you’re happy in New York City, if you like Manhattan and you feel that you belong to this culture, then Hakodosh Boruch Hu doesn’t want you. It’s only goliyoseinu. If you’re in exile, then I’ll let you come back. Otherwise, get lost. Go get lost!
Those who are not comfortable, those who hate the wickedness of the umos ha’oilam, those who want to come close to the Shechina, so Hakodosh Boruch Hu will say, “Get found.”
TAPE # 400 (March 1982)
