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ארץ ישראל The Land of Israel

After Man’s sin he is told that the ground will be cursed for his sake. The earth will only flourish in response to his living up to a higher ideal.

Here, the Torah shows us the first moment that the flourishing of the earth is not dependent on natural causes such as sunshine and rain, but on the moral standing of Man, to the degree that Man lives by God’s laws.

The giving of the Torah was to teach Man the path to come back to his original level.

ארץ ישראל was to be a returning to a form of paradise, to be lived on this earth.

The path for Man to return to paradise is the way of life detailed in the Torah.

This is explicit  in פרשת בחקתי where the Torah tells us that particularly in ארץ ישראל, our behavior, either good or bad, will be reflected in the land’s flourishing or the opposite.

Beraishis 3:17, Pages 86-87

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RSRH mentions this same idea in Beraishis 2:8

Beraishis 14C – Avraham is Taught that Thriving in The Land of Israel is Dependent on Submitting to God’s Torah

 

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Beraishis 3I – ארץ ישראל A Small Model of Paradise on Earth

After Man’s sin he is told that the ground will be cursed for his sake, The earth will only flourish in response to his living up to a higher ideal.

Here, the Torah shows us the first moment that the flourishing of the earth is not dependent on natural causes such as sunshine and rain, but on the moral standing of Man, to the degree that Man lives by God’s laws.

The giving of the Torah was to teach Man the path to come back to his original level.

ארץ ישראל was to be a returning to a form of paradise, to be lived on this earth.

The path for Man to return to paradise is the way of life detailed in the Torah.

This is explicit  in פרשת בחקתי where the Torah tells us that particularly in ארץ ישראל, our behavior, either good or bad, will be reflected in the land’s flourishing or the opposite.

Beraishis 3:17, Pages 86-87

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Beraishis 2G Garden of Eden – Paradise on Earth

גן means guarded place. A place enclosed for the needs of humans. עדן means pleasure, usually meaning fulfilling all one’s material needs.

The Garden of Eden is a real location of earth. (It’s exact location is described in verses 10-14.) It was a designated place, prepared to provide Man with all of his material needs met in response to his work.

Man was created outside The Garden of Eden and was placed into the garden. The garden is prepared for him, awaiting his arrival, ready to meet his every need. But there is no guarantee that he will remain in this garden. The condition for remaining in the garden is to live by God’s laws, making use of the garden as God sees fit.

Man’s is destined to live in the Garden of Eden – life on earth where all of his needs are met. The world around him will flourish and his efforts will succeed when he lives by God’s rules. This is the ultimate destiny for all of mankind. Man grows towards that end in the course of history.

Later in history, the Land of Israel was to be another Garden of Eden on a smaller scale, given to the Jewish people, on condition that they live by God’s laws. In response, the land and all their lives would flourish. This would serve as an example for all of mankind of what they should strive for.

Beraishis 2:8, Page 57

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