Who’s Afraid of Israel?

A Torah Thought for Parshat Ki Tavo 

By Moshe Feiglin

And all the nations of the world will see that the Name of G-d is called upon you and they will fear you.” (From this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 23:10)

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, is the key to forging Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. It is a thorough and detailed description of how to build a Jewish kingdom in the Land of Israel such that all the nations of the world will immediately understand that the King of this nation is the Master of the Universe Himself – and their hearts will automatically fill with awe and admiration.

“And it will be when you come to the Land that Hashem your G-d is giving you for an inheritance and you shall inherit it and settle in it. And you shall take from the first fruits of the earth that you shall bring from your Land that Hashem your G-d gives you and you shall place them in the basket and you shall go to the place that Hashem will choose for His Name to dwell there.” (Deuteronomy 26:1-2)

The King of Kings, the Master of the Universe, dwells in your midst – in the royal palace; the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. And you, before you harvest the fruits of your economic success and close yourself off in your own world, are commanded to first ascend in joy to the royal courtyard; its gates are open for you. There, in the courtyard of G-d’s house, you will thank your King, remember and appreciate Him and internalize the loving kindness that He has bestowed upon you. You will coronate Him again as King over you, your family, your community, your nation and the entire world.

Afterwards, your daily routine will be informed by the guidance that you received at the Temple, in accordance with the holistic Torah that emanates from the place chosen by G-d. The Temple is really the only place from which the Torah can emanate in its pure, complete, unified and relevant form.

If a Jew does not live in the Land in this holistic way, he really has not yet entered the Land. Deep in his heart, he believes that he is merely a guest. The other nations of the world can protect their interests beyond their borders, but Israel dares not do so. Not because we are physically weak, but because we do not feel that this is our home. We have not come to the place chosen by G-d. True, we are the legal inheritor, the sons of the queen. But we have hurriedly passed the responsibility on to the son of the handmaiden. Israel does not ascend to the courtyards of G-d, but to the courtyards of Uncle Sam.

There is only one way to change direction. The face of the nation is its leadership. Israel urgently needs G-d fearing leadership.

And all the nations of the world will see that G-d’s Name is called upon you and they will fear you.

Shabbat Shalom