The Beast of Burden

Around one hundred years ago, many great luminaries of the old yishuv attended a pidyon haben. At the meal was Rav Kook, zt”l, who served as the kohain, and Rav Yosef Chaim Sonenfeld, zt”l. Although they often didn’t see eye to eye, many are unaware how considerate and respectful each was of the other personally. The father invited Rav Kook to say a few words in honor of the affair. Rav Kook began to address the assembled guests. “Our sages give an answer to a puzzling question. Why was the donkey chosen to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon peter chamor? After all, a donkey is a completely unclean animal! The gemara explains that the donkey was chosen because it bore the weight of the treasure that the Jewish people took out of Egypt. Rav Kook exclaimed, “Look at that! Even though a donkey is unclean and serves as a symbol for stubbornness, obtuseness and the like, it nevertheless receives a reward for carrying property to Eretz Yisrael. We see from here that even one who is defiled and has bad middos can gain a modicum of holiness if he participates in the process of bringing the Jewish people from the exile to Eretz Yisrael.” After Rav Kook completed his speech, Rav Sonenfeld immediately got up, unwilling to let the statement pass. “I had not intended to speak, but the Rav of Yaffo began his drashah without drawing the natural conclusion. It behooves me, in honor of his Torah, to complete the drashah. Rav Sonenfeld continued, “Firstly, it is clear that he is correct. The donkey merited holiness because it served as a beast of burden for Jews, despite it negative aspects. Nevertheless, the mitzvah of peter chamor proves that it is impossible for the holiness to remain with an unclean beast. There are two possibilities: either the holiness is transferred to a sheep, a clean animal, via the mechanism of pidyon. And if not, the only other alternative is that the donkey is killed!”

The Land of Light and Wisdom

Shortly after the Holocaust, when Rav Yisrael Grossman, zt”l, paid a visit to the Abir Yaakov of Sadigura, zt”l, he was surprised to find him in an exceptionally joyous mood. When the rebbe noticed Rav Grossman’s surprise, he used a parable to explain why he was filled with joy despite the recent tragedy. “Imagine a poor Jew, beaten down and sickly, who has nowhere to even rest his head. If people have mercy and open their homes to him, he will surely be filled with boundless joy from gratitude. “The Jewish people today are likened to this poor man. Although we endured such cruelty which resulted in the murder of millions of Jews, we must never lose sight of the positive. Now that we have entered Eretz Yisrael, which is our homeland, we are exactly like a poor displaced man who has finally found a home. He added, “You might argue that the spiritual level here is not exactly optimal. Nevertheless, the very fact that Hashem has brought us back home after such a tragedy is also enough to make us joyous!” The Kaftor V’ferach, zt”l, learns the greatness of Eretz Yisrael from a statement of our sages. “The Midrash Rabbah explains that the verse, 'וזהב הארץ ההיא טוב'—‘the gold of that land was good,’ refers to the spiritual gold of Torah. ‘There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael and there is no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael.’ In Bava Basra we find that the very air of Eretz Yisrael imparts understanding of Torah. In Menachos we see that when Rav Avin told over a teaching to Rav Yirmiyah, his hearer criticized those who live in Bavel saying that they were fools who lived in a place of darkness. This is in contrast with Eretz Yisrael, whose very air is the breath of Hashem.”

The Merit of Building Eretz Yisrael

When Ashkenazim began making aliyah to Eretz Yisrael in the modern period, groups were formed to purchase as much land as possible from the Arabs. After World War I, a group called “Neve Sha’anan” was established for this purpose. This group acquired an abundance of land in Yerushalayim. It was on land acquired by this group that the Kenesset and the original government complex was built. It should be noted that the majority of such groups at that time were founded and run by observant Jews.
On one occasion when Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, was present at one such purchase he gave a very moving speech. “Our sages teach that Omri became king because he added a city to Yisrael. From here we see the great merit of those who are occupied with the mitzvah of building up the holy land: due to this, one merits to rule.
“In our day we see that the Zionists add many cities and yishuvim in Eretz Yisrael and this certainly gives them merits. It is possible that due to this development they will merit to rule the holy land before Moshaich comes. If this is the direction that we are heading in, it is incumbent on all of us to build religious neighborhoods and moshavim throughout the holy land, since only in this way will we stand up to those who wish to swallow up all religious sentiment, emptying the land of all holiness to form a profane state.
“Our answer can only be resounding if we have a strong presence here. We will then be able to proclaim: ‘Your plans will never come to fruition!’”
He completed his speech with the verse, 'סולו סולו המסילה סלקו מאבן'—‘Cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones!’” As he finished he quickly slipped off the podium, removed his coat and bent to the ground. With alacrity and enthusiasm, he began to clear away the stones, intoning the verse 'סולו סולו המסילה סלקו מאבן' over and over again, with the crowd soon following behind until a broad path was cleared.

The Lofty Level of Eretz Yisrael

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, zt”l, emphasized the great importance of coming to Israel, even saying that this is the main objective of every Jew. When Rav Nosson, zt”l, asked him what he meant, he replied, “I mean the physical land...”
When Rav Aharon Menachem Mendel of Radzimin, zt”l, returned from his final visit to Eretz Yisrael, he could not stop enthusiastically praising the land. “The new Torah thoughts that I developed in the holy land were much deeper and I gained great insight that I never had before. Even the air and the earth and the sun shining in Eretz Yisrael are completely different than outside the land.”
When his student Rav Yisrael Weinstock, zt”l, asked him what he meant by this statement, the Rebbe responded unequivocally. “This can be compared to Shabbos kodesh. Even the simplest Jew experiences a difference even in the physical world on Shabbos. Even the wall of a person’s home is completely different during Shabbos, and the same is true of the physical matter of Eretz Yisrael.”
But Rav Weinstock was unsure what he meant by this explanation and continued to question. “But what does the Rebbe really mean?”
“I do not mean deep spiritual concepts that are abstract and mystical. I simply mean every person’s perception of the physical. Even the simplest Jew sees that everything is different on Shabbos, since everyone becomes very different then. The same is true regarding Eretz Yisrael.”
These sentiments were shared by Rav Chaim Brim, zt”l. His love for Eretz Yisrael was so intense that whenever he had to leave Israel he observed the same custom. Before boarding the plane—or immediately after disembarking on his return trips—he would spread out something on the ground, prostrate himself and kiss the holy earth of Eretz Yisrael.
Interestingly, the Chessed L'Avraham, zt"l, writes that the angel of death only operates outside Eretz Yisrael. Inside Eretz Yisrael, people leave the world in a much loftier manner. This is not only true for tzaddikim, who die misas neshikah. Even simple people who sincerely want to serve Hashem, leave the world in a much higher way.