Parshat Vayechi

[Amanda1]

Hello Rabbi Reichman,

I had a question on your shiur this week. You said that Yaakov was a constant tzaddik and davka in Egypt to show that our environment is no excuse and that we can be holy anywhere. I agree that our environment shouldnt be such an excuse but isnt being in eretz yisrael conducive to being holy? If I'm not mistaken, Rashi says living in chutz laaretz is as if one has no Gd. I've also heard that our mitzvot in chutz laaretz are just "practice" and are not counted unless they are done in Israel. If this is the case arent we on a higher madrega in Israel? So, yes you can be a tzaddik anywhere like Moshe but doesnt Israel bring up your madrega even more so? Thanks, good shabbos

~Amanda

[Rabbi Hershel Reichman]

Shalom Amanda,

You are absolutely right that Eretz Yisrael is a special environment which brings out the latent holiness of a Jew. The Gemara says that a Jew who moves to Eretz Yisrael can actually multiply his holiness four-fold. The Torah many times urges Jews to live in Israel. However, I think that Shem MiShmuel is pointing out that certain Tzadikkim have the ability to achieve maximum holiness even outside Israel. He talks about Yaakov Avinu and you mentioned Moshe Rabbeinu as another example. This is somewhat of a puzzle, but I think of the statement attributed to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov who reportedly said "Wherever I go, I am in Eretz Yisrael". Also one of the Lubavitcher Rebbe supposedly said to a Chassid who was contemplating moving to Israel "Make Eretz Yisrael here".
Perhaps we can explain this by the famous comment attributed to the Baal Shem tov, who said "A person truly is where his mind is". If someone mentally is in Eretz Yisrael the he IS there, and on the conrtrary someone can physically be in Eretz Yisrael, but mentally be in Galus thereby he IS in Galus. So we can theorize that Yaakov Avinu was always mentally and spiritually in Eretz Yisrael, thereby was never affected spiritually by his Galus. This would be true by Moshe rabbeinu as well. For almost all other Jews, our mental locus is very much affected by our physical locus. To these people, living in Israel physically is very important spiritually.
Be well,
Rabbi Hershel Reichman

[Fraidi1]

What about people who seem to take a spiritual downturn when they move here?  Does Chassidus have an explanation for this phenomena?

[Amanda1]

Hello Rabbi Reichman,

Thank you very much for your answer. I enjoyed it but I still have more, if you don't mind. If only tzaddikim can keep their mental locus in eretz yisrael mode then why did the Baal Shem Tov make the statement, " A person truly is where his mind is" as if anyone can keep their mind in that mode? Furthermore, why did the Lubavitcher Rebbe advise his chasid to "make eretz yisrael here" if he was not on the tzaddik level and it would be necessary to live in Israel to have the extra kedusha? If we truly arent capable of creating a mental locus thats in an eretz yisrael mode then would there be a chiyuv to move to Israel? How can we make eretz yisrael here? Thanks so much Rabbi.

Kol Tuv,

Amanda

[Rabbi Hershel Reichman]

Shalom Amanda,

Your questions are very good.  As far as the statement of the Baal Shem Tov, I understand it to mean that it is true whenever a person mentally connects to another place, that he is spiritually there.  Thus, tzaddikkim who connect mentally all the tme to Eretz Yisrael would be there all the time, and reglar people would be there only at the times that they mentally connect to Eretz Yisrael.

Thus, it is true that Tzaddikim can have a mental locus in Eretz Yisrael all the time, like Yaakov Avinu or Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, and regular people (beinonim vis.Tanya).  can do this sometimes, but not all the time.  I imagine that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was talking to a Chassid who he thought could concentrate on Eretz Yisrael a great deal of the time and was presumably involved in very important mitzvos in chutz la'aretz, which in the Rebbe's view were greater than the personal mitzva of living in Eretz Yisrael (during those times that he was not mentally connected to Eretz Yisrael).  The Rebbe told him to maximize his concentration on Eretz Yisrael to justify his not going to Eretz Yisrael

Therefore, the challenge for those of us who are living outside of Israel is
1) do the mitzvos we do in chutz la'aretz justify our not doing the mitzva of living in Israel, and
2) can we maximize our mental connection to Eretz Yisrael as much as possible?

I would like to make clear that point number one is a Halachic point, and point number two is a machshava/chaddidus point.  Living outside of Eretz Yisrael has to be justified Halachically and philosophically.  Of course, this question as it relate practically to one's life should be directed t your personal posek and spiritual mentor.

Shalom U'vracha,

Rabbi Hershel Reichman

[Rabbi Hershel Reichman]

Shalom Fraidi,

I think that Chassidus would probably say that Hakadosh Baruch Hu always puts a person in a situation where the option of Kedusha is balanced by an equal option of tum'ah, so that in Eretz Yisrael where the option of kedusha is a more compelling option than in Chuz La'aretz, so too in contrast the option for tuma in Eretz Yisrael is also more attractive and compelling than in Chutz La'aretz.  The choices in Eretz Yisrael are thus more stark and dramatic.  One can literally leap to the highest heights of Kedusha, or G-d forbid fall into the worst depths of tuma.  Chssidic literature states that this awesome chasm between good and evil which is in Eretz Yisrael is the fundamental reason why the meraglim were so adamantly against the Jewish people enterting Eretz Yisrael at that time, since they felt that the evil option woud be too verwhelming for the slave generation which had just left the tum'a of mitzrayim.

However, the Torah says that they were wrong, and that they should have had more faith in the fundemantal kedusha of the Jew, who even though on the surface seems ignorant and weak in his sprituallity and committment, yet neverthelass in his deepest recesses is at the highest level of connection to Hashem.  We must be optimistic regarding the innate capacity of the Jew to make the right choice.  However, unfortunately too many Jews who have lived in Eretz Yisrael have fallen prey to the wicked temptations and as a result our nation has been exiled twice from the holy land and today we are in a very grave struggle to keep it under Jewish control.  As we witness all too often very tragic failures in Eretz Yisrael, we must strengthen our commitment to Hashem and His Torah, especially in Eretz Yisrael, so that the incredible lessons of Eretz Yisrael will be the gift from Hashem to His Holy nation, Israel.

Kol Tuv,

Rabbi Hershel Reichman