“And You Shall Dwell Securely In
Your Land”
Pinchas Leiser
A few days ago, we celebrated Israel’s Independence Day. In another 2 weeks hence, we will observe “Jerusalem Day”, which marks a central signpost
in the history of the State—The Six Day War.
We
cannot deny the fact that the existence of the State of Israel and the
accessibility of historically significant sites instilled in every Jew a sense
of pride and security. Similarly, the announcement thirty-nine years ago that
“The Temple Mount is in our hands!” generated an atmosphere of exaltation in
Israel and in the Diaspora.
It
seems to me that it is still too early, historically speaking, to evaluate the
import of these events for future generations. It seems to me that it is not
within our power to decipher the plans of the Holy One regarding ‘Geulat
Yisrael”—the Redemption of Israel—and the Messianic Era. This is in contrast to
those theological approaches that try to read certain signs as predictive of
the End of Days and to extreme Ultra-Orthodox doctrine that considers the
establishment of the State of Israel to be a rebellion against the Holy One,
Blessed Be He.
From
this point of view, the issue of security vis a vis our living in
the land is certainly relevant. Does there really exist an unconditional
promise that “we shall dwell securely in our land”, a kind of ‘divine insurance policy’?
The
two parashot read this Shabbat and next Shabbat relate to the subject of the “security” of
living in this land, but the word root “b.t.ch.” appears for the first time in
the story of the massacre of the inhabitants of Shechem at the hands of Shimon
and Levi:
“And it was upon the third day, when they were still
hurting, that the two sons of Yaakov, Shimon and Levi, brothers of Dinah, took
each his sword and came upon the town (feeling) secure (“betach”), and slaughtered
every male.” (Bereishit. 34:25).
On
the other hand, in parashot “Behar” and “U’behukotai”, the promise is that we
shall dwell “la-vetach” (securely)
in your land.
“You are to observe my laws, my regulations you are to
keep, and observe them, that you may be settled on the land securely (la-vetach)
. . . That the land may give forth its fruit and that you may eat to fullness,
and you will dwell securely (la-betach)
on it.” (Lev. 25:18, 19)
“ And your
threshing will overtake the vintage, and the vintage will overtake the sowing,
and you will eat your bread to the full, and you will dwell securely (la-vetach) in your land.” (Ibid, 26:5).
In contrast to our parasha, in
Parashat Re-eh the security promised Israel is denoted by the word “betach”, without the prefix ‘la.
“And you shall
cross the Jordan and dwell in the land that the Lord your God is about to grant
you in estate and He will give you abiding haven from all your enemies around,
and you shall dwell securely (‘betach’).
(Deut. 12:10).
Is there significance in the difference between “betach” and
“la-betach”? Yet more, can scrutiny of the difference assist us in
understanding the divine promise of security for our land?
Our commentators differ in
their understanding of the word “betach” in the Shechem massacre narrative:
Rashi attributes the sense of security to the sons of Yaakov:
“Betach—for
they were hurting. The Midrash Agaddah says: They relied upon the strength of
the old man.”
According to first explanation,
the brothers’ sense of security was a result of their advantage over the
recently circumcised people of Shechem. According the Midrashic explication,
their sense of security flowed from the power of Father Avraham’s prayer.
On the other hand, many
plain-reading explicators (Onkelos, Rashbam, Shadal, and Reggio) ascribe the
sense of security to the people of Shechem. In the words of Shadal:
“And they came upon the city in security
(betach)”: It (the town) was dwelling securely, and similarly every
appearance of ‘betach’ in Scripture refers to
the inhabitants (Rashbam), and so translated Onkelos ‘that they dwelled in
security’. And similarly the Jerusalem Targum, “who were living in security”,
but Rashi and the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 80, 9) applied betach to Shimon and
Levi”.
The inhabitants of Shechem felt secure; Was the sense of security a
product of excessive complacency, typical of people dwelling in their city, on
their land? Or can it be explained by the trust they had developed towards
Yaakov and his family who had promised them “to be a single people’ provided
they circumcise every male? In any case, in retrospect it was clear that their
trust was unfounded.
With regard to the wording in
Parashat Re’eh, the Netziv, in “Haamek Davar”, explains:
“And you shall dwell securely (betach) -- you
shall not be terrified by the demons and evil spirits which are found in the
desert, and therefore, “. . . the place . . .”
According to this explanation,
the text is talking about the sense of security felt by a people living in its
land, who do not fear the uncertainty that typifies life in the desert.
Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra also seems to take this approach:
In truth, the
meaning is tranquility (menucha) – and
he shall leave them (alone), and the
portion (nachala) – and you will dwell in security.
It is therefore possible that a
people dwelling in its land, having defeated its enemies, feels a basic sense
of security. This feeling derives from the very act of dwelling on the land
that provides the inhabitants with a sense of rootedness. This natural feeling
is not unique to any specific nation; it is the lot of every people that lives upon—and has roots in—its land. “And you
shall dwell in security” can be understood as considering the tie to the land
as something natural and self-understood.
As already noted, in contrast
to “And you shall dwell securely (betach) which appears in both the Shechem
narrative and in the Book of Devarim, in Parashat Behar and Bechukotai we find
“And you shall dwell securely (la-vetach)”.
If we follow in the footsteps
of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch (quoted on the first page of this issue) we can
read verses 17-19 as a single unit:
Verse 17 prohibits deceit—which
the Rabbis explain as referring to verbal deceit in particular.
Verse 18 is to be read as a
single unit; the dwelling securely (la-vetach)
is defined by the manner of our
dwelling in the land, i.e., by our behavior on it and towards it. From these
verses, and from all the verses of these parashot, it is clear that we are
dealing here not with an unconditional promise, but with a covenant.
It is possible that the
natural, worldly, sense of “dwelling securely” is necessary as a first stage of
connection to a land. In this sense we are no different from any nation
dwelling on its land that needs minimal stability in order to feel secure. There
were long periods in Jewish history when this natural feeling was denied us,
and, in general, the existence of the State of Israel transformed significantly
the sense of security of Jews throughout the world. Unfortunately Jews abroad
are occasionally harmed because of their identification with the State of
Israel, but this does not contradict the different existential feeling.
Together with this, “to dwell
securely (la-vetach)” is not
something to be taken for granted, something that happens automatically. The
promise “And you shall dwell on your land securely (la-vetach)” is contingent upon compliance with the covenant and is
in large part dependent upon the manner in which we conduct our life in the
land. Are we not enslaved by the land or to any other property? Do we forget
that they are not in our complete ownership (“For the land is mine, for you are
strangers and sojourners with me”)? Do we remember not to cheat our fellows and
the stranger? Are we careful not to lend usuriously? Are we conscious of the
rights of workers, or are we perhaps tempted to maintain a class of slaves?
Does
there exist proper balance between the efforts invested in creation of a sense
of dwelling “betach”, and the facing up to the challenge of dwelling
“la’vetach” in our land?
Pinchas
Leiser, editor of Shabbat Shalom, is a psychologist.
