Earth, Israel and Kedusha

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth.

After the Ark was taken away, there was a stone there, from the days of the earliest prophets, called Shtiyah, which rose three fingers above the ground, upon which he would place [the coal-pan].

There was a stone there from the days of the first prophets, and it was called foundation, elevated three fingers above the ground. In the beginning the ark was placed on it. Once the ark was taken away they would burn the incense which was offered in the inner chamber upon it. R’ Yose said that from it the world was founded as it says, “From Tzion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth.” (Tehillim 50:2)

The mishna taught that a stone sat in the Holy of Holies and it was called the foundation [shetiyya] rock. A Sage taught in the Tosefta: Why was it called shetiyya? It is because the world was formed [hushtat] from it. The Gemara comments: We learned the mishna in accordance with the opinion of the one who said that the world was created from Zion. As it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: The world was created from its center, as it is stated: “When the dust runs into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together” (Job 38:38).

And the Rabbis say: The world was created from Zion, as it is stated: “A Psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord God has spoken and called the earth, from the rising of the sun to its place of setting” (Psalms 50:1), and it states: “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth” (Psalms 50:2), meaning: within Zion is included all beauty of the world.

The world was created from Zion - Zion was created at first, and around it matter accreted until the borders of the world (planet) from all sides:

“When the dust runs into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together” - there was one solid clod [at first] and around it more clods stuck together:

(37) Who is wise enough to give an account of the heavens? Who can tilt the bottles of the sky, (38) Whereupon the earth melts into a mass, And its clods stick together.

Halacha 1

The place of the altar is extremely precise. And it may never be placed anywhere else as it says (Chr. I 22:1), “This is the Altar for the offerings of Israel.” And it was in the temple [place] that Yitzchak was bound as it says (Gen. 22:2), “and go to the land of Moriah” and it says in Chronicles (Chr. II 3:1), “and Shlomo began to build the House of God in Jerusalem on Mt. Moriah; that which was shown to David his father, which David had established in the place of the threshing floor of Arnan the Yevusi.”

Halacha 2

And it is a tradition accepted by all, that the place where David and Shlomo built the altar at the threshing floor of Aravna was the place that Avraham built the altar and bound Yitzchak upon it, and that was the place that Noah built upon when he left the ark, and that was the altar upon which Kain and Hevel sacrificed, and upon which Primal Human sacrificed when he was created. And from there was born the saying of the sages that “Man was created from the place of his atonement.”

“When you come into the land and plant…” (Leviticus 19:23) This is what is written, “And I made for myself gardens and orchards, and planted in them fruit trees of every kind.” (Kohelet 2:5) Doesn’t all humanity plant anything which they desire?! Whatever a man plants in the earth it produces, whether pepper or anything else – if a man plants it, it grows! Rather, people do not know the proper place for each particular plant. But Shlomo, who was wise, planted all manner of trees [as it says “And I made for myself gardens and orchards, and planted in them fruit trees of every kind”]. R’ Yannai said that Shlomo even planted pepper plants, and how did he plant them?! Shlomo was wise and knew the essential foundation of the world. From where? “From Tzion the sum of all (michlal) beauty God appears...” (Tehillim 50:2), from Tzion which completed (nishtaclal) the whole world. Why is it called the Foundation Stone? Because the whole world was founded from it. Shlomo knew which tendon of its’ earth extended to Kush and planted pepper on it, and it produced immediately, just as he said, “and I planted in them trees of every kind.” Another explanation: “and I planted in them fruit trees of every kind…” Just as the navel is placed in the middle of a man, so is the Land of Israel the navel of the world, as it says “those who sit on the center of the land (Ezekiel 38:12). The land of Israel sits in the middle of the world, and Jerusalem in the middle of the land of Israel, and the Temple in the middle of Jerusalem, and the palace in the middle of the Temple, and the ark in the middle of the palace and the Foundation stone before the palace from which the world was founded. Shlomo, who was wise, understood the roots that went out from it to the whole world and planted on them all types of trees, and therefore he said – I made for myself gardens and orchards.

(6) There are ten degrees of holiness. The land of Israel is holier than any other land….

(7) The walled cities are still more holy...

(8) Inside the wall [of Jerusalem] is more holy than these...The Temple Mount has greater sanctity...The Cheil [a low fence around the Temple, which served as a boundary, beyond which entry to those impure was prohibited] has higher sanctity, because gentiles and people contaminated with corpse impurity may not enter there. The women's courtyard has higher sanctity...The Israelites' courtyard has higher sanctity...The priests' courtyard has higher sanctity, because the Israelites may not enter there except at the time of their [ritual] requirements: the laying on of hands, the slaughter, and the wave-offering.

(9) Between the porch and the altar has still higher sanctity...The sanctuary has higher sanctity...The holy of holies has greater sanctity than these, because no one may enter there except the High Priest on the Day of Atonement at the time of the service...

He has hereby made her prohibited onto the rest of the world, like Hekdesh - and "you are hereby mekudeshet to me forever… And the simple meaning of the statement is: Specific to me, unique to me, dedicated to me.

There is none as precious as Eretz Yisrael. The Holy One said to Moshe: This land is precious to me, as it says, (Deut. 11:12) “The land which God your Lord seeks out constantly”; and Israel is precious to me, as it says, (Deut. 7:8) “For it was because of God’s love of you”. So said the Holy One: I will bring in My precious Israel to the land which is precious to Me, as it says, (Num. 34:2) “For you are coming to the land of Canaan”.

There are ten portions of beauty in the world: nine in Jerusalem and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of wisdom in the world: nine in Eretz Yisrael and one in the rest of the world. There are ten portions of Torah in the world: nine in Eretz Yisrael and one in the rest of the world.

“Which there is the gold” – this is a reference to words of Torah, which are more previous than gold and abundant treasure. “And the gold of that land is good” – this teaches that there is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael, and no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael.

Another explanation. “The fairest of branches, the joy of the entire earth.” R’ Yochanan said: there was a dome of accountings outside of Jerusalem, and people would take their accountings and do them outside of Jerusalem under that dome outside of the city limits. Within the city, they would eat, drink and be joyful.

The Sages taught: A person should always reside in Eretz Yisrael, even in a city that is mostly populated by gentiles, and he should not reside outside of Eretz Yisrael, even in a city that is mostly populated by Jews. The reason is that anyone who resides in Eretz Yisrael is considered as one who has a God, and anyone who resides outside of Eretz Yisrael is considered as one who does not have a God. As it is stated: “To give to you the land of Canaan, to be your God” (Leviticus 25:38).

The Gemara expresses surprise: But can it really be said that anyone who resides outside of Eretz Yisrael has no God? Rather, this comes to tell you that anyone who resides outside of Eretz Yisrael is considered as though he is engaged in idol worship.

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael says: Jews who are outside of Eretz Yisrael are considered to engage in idol worship in purity, i.e., unwittingly. How does this occur? In the case of a gentile who prepared a feast for the marriage of his son, and invited all of the Jews in his town, even though they eat of their own kosher food and drink of their own kosher beverages, and their own attendant stands before them, the verse ascribes guilt to them as though they ate of the offerings to the dead, i.e., idols, as it is stated: “And sacrifice to their gods, and they call you, and you eat of their sacrifice” (Exodus 34:15).

Halacha 9

It is forbidden to leave Eretz Yisrael, ever, except for purposes of learning Torah or marrying or to be safe from the non-Jews. Then he must return to the Land. Similarly, one may leave for commerce. However, one may not settle permanently outside of the Land unless there is famine so severe that wheat which once cost one Dinar now costs two Dinars. This rule applies when people have money and the fruit is expensive. However, if fruit is cheap, but people have no money or income, and he doesn’t even have a cent in his pocket, one may go to wherever he can to make a living. But although it may be permissible to then leave the country, it would not be characteristically righteous thing to do so. For we see that Machlon and Kilyon, who were two of the greats of their generation, left only because of the considerable troubles there were then and, nevertheless, were responsible for their own perishing.

Halacha 12

A person should always dwell in Eretz Yisrael, even in a city where most of the residents are idolaters, rather than live outside of the Land in a city where most of the residents are of Yisrael. For anyone who leaves the Land is considered as if he worships idols, as it says, “for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave to the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘go serve other gods’” (I Samuel 26:19). And regarding the calamities it says, “Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 13:9).

...Settling the Land of Israel is a positive commandment for all the generations, every individual is obligated to do it, even in the time of exile, as it's written in the Talmud in many places...

Said the Almighty: A small group in the Land of Israel is more precious to Me than a Supreme Court outside the Land.

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: Anyone who is set in the land of Israel, speaks the Holy Language, eats his produce in purity, and reads Kriat Shema by morning and by evening, he can be assured that he is a resident of the World to Come.

Rabbi Abba would kiss the rocks of Akko, which was on the coast of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Ḥanina would repair its stumbling blocks, i.e., any potholes in the land, so that travelers would not fall and consequently speak ill of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Ammi and Rabbi Asi would stand and pass from a sunny spot to a shady one, and from a shady spot to a sunny one, so as to always sit in comfort and never have cause to remark that they were uncomfortable in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Gamda would roll in the dust of the land, as it is stated: “For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and love her dust” (Psalms 102:15).

“And dwell in their land”: It happened with R. Yehudah b. Beteira, R. Matia b. Charash, R. Chanina b. Achi, R. Yehoshua and R. Yonatan, who were traveling abroad and arrived at Paltom (probably Puteoli, a great sea-town of Italy – M.J.), that they remembered Eretz Yisrael, whereupon they raised their eyes and wept and rent their garments, and recited this verse: (Deut. 12:29) “Take heed and hearken to all of these things … and dwell in their land” — at which they said: Dwelling in Eretz Yisrael weighs out equal to all of the mitzvot in the Torah — and they returned and arrived to their place.

And it happened with R. Elazar b. Shamua and R. Yochanan Hasandler, who were traveling in Netzivim near R. Yehudah b. Beteira to learn Torah from him. Arriving at Tziddon (in Phoenicia), they remembered Eretz Yisrael, whereupon they raised their eyes and wept and rent their garments and recited this verse: “Take heed and hearken to all of these things … and dwell in their land” — at which they said: Dwelling in Eretz Yisrael weighs out equal to all of the mitzvot in the Torah — at which they returned and arrived to their place.

“I will sleep in the desert forever” (Tehillim 55:8) It is preferable to dwell in the deserts of Eretz Israel rather than the palaces of Chutz LaAretz.

Rabbi Oshaya said in the name of Rabbi Pinchas: in days that will come, Jerusalem will ultimately be a metropolis for all the nations, as it says (Isaiah 60:3) “And nations will travel by your light”.