The Jewish People’s RightTo Israel

The Scriptures

Genesis 12:1“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”

Genesis 12:7“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

The Scriptures

Genesis 13:14-15,17“The LORD said to Abram…”Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever…Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

The Scriptures

Genesis 15:18-20“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hitties, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

The Scriptures

Genesis 17:8“The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

The Scriptures

Genesis 26:2-6“The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “…live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while and I will be with you and I will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father “Abraham…I will give your descendants all these lands…”

The ScripturesGenesis 28:4(Isaac’s final words to Jacob)“May he (the LORD) give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land…the land God gave to Abraham.”

Genesis 28:13“…I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.”“

The Scriptures

Genesis 48:3-4“Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, “I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.”

The Scriptures

Genesis 50:24“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But “God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

The Scriptures

Joshua 1:2-4“…get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot…Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates – all the Hittite country – to the Great Sea on the west.”

The Scriptures

Psalm 122:1,6“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem….Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper that love thee.”

The Scriptures

Psalm 137:1,5“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion…If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill…if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”

The Scriptures

Isaiah 2:3“…He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The Law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 4:3,5“Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy,…Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion…a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;….”

The Scriptures

Jeremiah 29:10“This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.”

The Scriptures

Ezekiel 36:6,8,24,28“Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel,…But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit fro my people Israel, for they will soon come home….For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land…You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.”

The Scriptures

Joel 3:20-21“Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Their guilt, which I have not pardoned I will pardon. The LORD dwells in Zion!”

Zephaniah 3:20“At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the LORD”

The Scriptures

II Chronicles 36:23“This is what Cyrus king of Persian says: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you – may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.”

Aggadoth

Said Rav Yose bar Halafta to his son Rav Yishmael: If you wish to see the Divine Presence in this world--involve yourself in Torah in the Land of Israel

The air of the Land of Israel makes one wise. [Baba Batra 150:8]

Aggadoth

Rabbi Levi said: All blessings, consolations and bounties which the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings upon Israel, emanate from Zion. Torah from Zion, as it says: "For out of Zion the Torah shall go forth" (Isaiah 2:3). Blessing from Zion, as it says: "The Lord bless thee out of Zion" (Psalms 134:3). Revelation from Zion, as it says: "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, G-d appeared" (Ps. 50:2).

Aggadoth

Support from Zion, as it says:"Send forth thy help from the sanctuary, and support thee out of Zion" (Ps. 20:3). Life from Zion, as it says: "Like the dew of Hermon, that comes down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forever" (Ps. 133:3). Greatness from Zion, as it says: "The Lord is great in Zion" (Ps. 99:2). Salvation from Zion, as it says: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!"(Ps. 14:7).

Prayers

In prayer the Jewish people are instructed to face toward Jerusalem.

In the morning service, we say, "Bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth and lead us upright to our land."

Prayers

In the “Amidah” also called the “Shemoneh Esrei,” the “Eighteen Benedictions” we find, “And to Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion, and may You rest within it, as You have spoken. May You rebuild it soon in our days as an eternal structure, and may you speedily establish the throne of David within it. Blessed are You, O Lord, the Builder of Jerusalem.”

Prayers

The prayer after reading the Haftorah says,“Have mercy on Zion for it is the source of our life; to the one who is deeply humiliated bring salvation speedily, in our days. Blessed are You, O Lord Who gladdens Zion through her children.”

Customs

Rabbi Joshua offered words of moderation to his disciples: “…When a man plasters his house, he leaves a small space [unplastered]; when a man makes preparations for a festive meal, he leaves something out; when a woman adorns herself with all her jewelry, she leaves something off, as it is said: "If I forget thee, Jerusalem...may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth..."

Customs

Three Fast Daysl0th of Teveth (December-January), laying siege to Jerusalem,

The 17th of Tammuz (June-July) commemorates the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem

The 9th of Av (July-August) the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the Second Temple in 70 CE.

Customs

The bridegroom breaks a glass at the conclusion of the wedding ceremony

The Passover Seder ends with, “L’Shannah Habaah Byirushalaiyim,” “Next Year In Jerusalem”

Yearnings in PoetryJudah HaLevi (1085-1141) “My Heart Is In The East”

My heart is in the East, and I am at the ends of the West;How can I taste what I eat and how could it be pleasing to me?How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yetZion lies beneath the fetter of Edom, and I am in the chains of Arabia?It would be easy for me to leave all the bounty of Spain –As it is precious for me to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.

Yearnings in Poetry

Judah HaLevi “Zion Thou Are Anxious of News of Thy Captives”Zion, thou art doubtless anxious for news of thy captives;They ask after thee, they who are the remainder of thy flockFrom West and East and North and South, from near and far; bring peace from every side

Yearnings in Poetry

And peace is the desire of the captive, who giveth his tears, Like the dew on the Hermon and yearns for the day they will fall on tiny hillsI am a mourner who weeps for your poverty and when I dream of the return I am the accompaniment to thy songs

Yearnings in Poetry

Haim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934)“To The Bird”Greetings on your return, lovely bird,to my window from warmer climes—how my soul longed to hear your voice,in the winter when you left my dwelling.

Yearnings in Poetry

Do you bring greetings from my fellows in Zion,from my brothers near and far?O happy ones! Surely they must knowthat I suffer, oh, how I suffer in pain.

Do they know how great are my enemies here,how many rise up against me?Sing to me, my bird, of the wonders of that landwhere springtime ever dwells.

Brith Hadashah

Matthew 23:37-39“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Behold, your house is sleft to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Brith Hadashah

Romans 11:26-27“…so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn all ungodliness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Brith Hadashah

Revelation 21:1-22:5These verses describe:1. The descent of the New Jerusalem (21:1-8)2. The beauty of the New Jerusalem (21:9-27)3. The joys of the New Jerusalem (22:1-5)