Thursday, June 02, 2005
Sparks From Israel
The Contract
As one travels through this vast and mysterious land one cannot help but notice how quickly topographies change and alter. In one moment one is in a desert with rocks and caves, then rolling hills with lush gardens and flowers. It is as if the whole world was folded up into a small little concentration of land and water.
Whatever country you originate from, from Canada to Africa, you will find a part of that land, right here in Israel. As individuals return to rebuild their small section, that concentrated area expands and is beautified not only here, but reflexively in a corner of the world somewhere. The world is rooted in the Land of Israel, and we are the gardeners.
A visitor remarked how she never saw such beautiful bouquets of flowers growing wildly. There is a sense of blessing and abundance that emanates from the places that we have returned to, as if there is another gardener adding to our own efforts.
One can understand the Midrash of Sarah whose body transformed from a dried up woman of 90 to a youthful young maiden when it was time for the prophecy to arrive. Today, we are the prophecy, and we are arriving each day. Sarah gave birth in her old age and today the Land of Israel has become young in its old age and is being reborn every day.
Just as the figs drop like honey from the sky and fruit trees bear three fruits for every seed one can see the people of Israel blessed with children running wildly through the streets and pregnant mothers wherever one turns.
Amid this backdrop I heard a friend of mine say that we must ‘give back’ some of these lands. How absurd this sounds. ‘Giving back’, implies that we took something that doesn’t belong to us. Who can return his inheritance? And to whom would he give it; to robbers and thieves?
If one reads the will and testament left to us by our father in heaven, he will see that the only stipulation in receiving this abundance is to enjoy it, appreciate it and honor it with its sabbaticals. There is of course an insanity clause, as in many contracts.
If for some reason we go mad and want to divorce ourselves from paradise, curse all of this wealth and run away from our responsibility to tend this garden, then the inheritance will be passed on to another child who will protect this inheritance from both robbers and the momentary madness of his brother.
In the end, the decree of the Creator will stand and be enforced upon all of us, in all of its severity and no one can escape it. The ultimate commandment will be administered despite ourselves: Thou shalt be blessed!!
How Do You Know You Are In Israel?
In the old country, they have couriers that come in courier uniforms, take your package and give you something to sign and then leave in a hurry. Here a man arrives casually dressed, calls me by my first name and asks me if there is music on the CD’s he is delivering for me. I told him ‘no, they are video clips, why do you ask?’ ‘I was going to listen to it in the car along the way’, he answered me. Only in Israel.
The Contract
As one travels through this vast and mysterious land one cannot help but notice how quickly topographies change and alter. In one moment one is in a desert with rocks and caves, then rolling hills with lush gardens and flowers. It is as if the whole world was folded up into a small little concentration of land and water.
Whatever country you originate from, from Canada to Africa, you will find a part of that land, right here in Israel. As individuals return to rebuild their small section, that concentrated area expands and is beautified not only here, but reflexively in a corner of the world somewhere. The world is rooted in the Land of Israel, and we are the gardeners.
A visitor remarked how she never saw such beautiful bouquets of flowers growing wildly. There is a sense of blessing and abundance that emanates from the places that we have returned to, as if there is another gardener adding to our own efforts.
One can understand the Midrash of Sarah whose body transformed from a dried up woman of 90 to a youthful young maiden when it was time for the prophecy to arrive. Today, we are the prophecy, and we are arriving each day. Sarah gave birth in her old age and today the Land of Israel has become young in its old age and is being reborn every day.
Just as the figs drop like honey from the sky and fruit trees bear three fruits for every seed one can see the people of Israel blessed with children running wildly through the streets and pregnant mothers wherever one turns.
Amid this backdrop I heard a friend of mine say that we must ‘give back’ some of these lands. How absurd this sounds. ‘Giving back’, implies that we took something that doesn’t belong to us. Who can return his inheritance? And to whom would he give it; to robbers and thieves?
If one reads the will and testament left to us by our father in heaven, he will see that the only stipulation in receiving this abundance is to enjoy it, appreciate it and honor it with its sabbaticals. There is of course an insanity clause, as in many contracts.
If for some reason we go mad and want to divorce ourselves from paradise, curse all of this wealth and run away from our responsibility to tend this garden, then the inheritance will be passed on to another child who will protect this inheritance from both robbers and the momentary madness of his brother.
In the end, the decree of the Creator will stand and be enforced upon all of us, in all of its severity and no one can escape it. The ultimate commandment will be administered despite ourselves: Thou shalt be blessed!!
How Do You Know You Are In Israel?
In the old country, they have couriers that come in courier uniforms, take your package and give you something to sign and then leave in a hurry. Here a man arrives casually dressed, calls me by my first name and asks me if there is music on the CD’s he is delivering for me. I told him ‘no, they are video clips, why do you ask?’ ‘I was going to listen to it in the car along the way’, he answered me. Only in Israel.
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