Someone once asked me why Israel plays such an outsized role in the collective Jewish consciousness. Even Jews who have never been there, have no family living there, and have no grasp on the lifestyle of its inhabitants or its form of government, are very passionate about it.
Outside the Jewish community, there is a tendency to connect what is going on in Israel with Jews outside of Israel. This past year alone proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that what happens in Israel has an impact on Jews around the world. What’s the deal? In this week’s parsha we learn about Abraham, the first of the Jewish patriarchs. His spiritual journey from his father’s heathen beliefs to discovering G-d the Creator of the world started the process of the creation of the present-day Jewish nation. Abraham’s dedication to G-d and literal self-sacrifice to popularize monotheism made him so beloved to G-d that he was chosen to be the beginning of what would become the “Chosen Nation.” A people entrusted with the awesome task of being G-d’s ambassadors to the world. The narrative opens with G-d’s instruction to Abraham to move away from his birthplace and travel to “the land I will show you.” When he arrived in the area then called the Land of Canaan, G-d promised him the land would be an eternal inheritance for his descendants. This becomes an integral detail of the covenant G-d makes with Abraham, reiterated numerous times throughout the parsha. So the Jewish connection to Israel is not coincidental or even historical. Our relationship to this land goes to the core of what it means to be a Jew. Even if we do not live in the geographical location called the Land of Israel, we are bound up with its destiny and whatever happens there matters very much to all of us wherever we may be. The Rebbe explained that understanding this truth and projecting it to the world is a vital step to ensuring true and everlasting security for our brothers and sisters in Israel and by extension throughout the world. I encourage you to watch this 18-minute film produced by Jewish Educational Media, which presents this foundational idea based on the Rebbe’s teachings and guidance in connection with the ongoing security challenges faced by Israel. Israel's Deed of Ownership: The Rebbe's Roadmap to Peace, Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmY3-GXJ0Rs Let us proudly cherish our connection to our eternal homeland and prepare the entire world for the era of Moshiach by doing more Mitzvot and encouraging everyone to increase in acts of goodness and kindness, which will usher in an era of true global peace and tranquility for all.