The Torah portion of Lech Lecha includes many Divine assurances to Avraham Avinu that his children will inherit the Land of Israel. Here are some of the verses about this:
- “I will give this land to your offspring,”
- “For I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever,”
- “Rise up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you,”
- “To your offspring I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,”
Towards the end of the portion, there is a verse that ties the inheritance of the land in with the mitzvah of Brit Milah (circumcision). As it says,
“I will establish My Brit (covenant) between Me and you and your offspring to come as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be G-d to you and to your offspring to come. I have given the land of your sojourns to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their G-d.”
“And on the Covenant Which You Have Sealed in Our Flesh”
Based on these verses, the Talmud says that one must mention the Brit in the second blessing of the Grace after Meals since it is only in the merit of the Brit that we acquire the holy land. This is why we say וְעַל בְרִיתְְ֒ךָ שֶׁחָתַַֽמְתָ בִבְשָר ַֽנוּ – “And on Your covenant which You sealed in our flesh” in the second blessing of the Grace after Meals when we thank G-d for the Land of Israel. In fact, if one skipped these words, he has not fulfilled his obligation and must repeat the Grace after Meals.
Brit and the Land of Israel, What’s the Connection?
The commentaries offer several explanations as to why this mitzvah makes the Jewish People deserving of the Holy Land:
The Shelah HaKadosh explains that the 70 nations of the world all live in the parts of the world that receive their Divine sustenance through the constellations (mazalot) and the 70 sarim (angelic forces) that are their guardian angels. The Jewish people who are devoted to G-d, however, inherit the Land of Israel over which there is no guardian angel but rather G-d Himself sustains the land. As such, in order to merit this land, the Jewish people must be free of any impurity and be in the image of G-d (who has no impurity).
The foreskin, which represents impurity, is the hallmark of the nations of Edom (Eisav) and Amalek which surround Israel. As such, Israel is like a rose among the thorns and must be free of this impurity.
Brit, the Reason for Yishmael’s Temporary Foothold
The descendants of Yishmael occupied the land when the Jews were exiled from it. They merited this because they performed the mitzvah of circumcision. During all that time, however, they never managed to build it up as a country. This is because they do not perform the second part of the circumcision – the priah – which is an essential part of the Brit Milah for the Jewish People. This is why Yishmael was called pereh adam (a wild man) – which can be translated as “a branch of a man.” (The word pereh can mean “a branch”.) This means that Yishmael (and his descendants) is not considered a full (spiritual) man since he does not have the priah.
Mass Brit before Joshua’s Conquering the Land
Before the Jewish people conquered the land from the Canaanites, there was a mass circumcision event that took place as described in the fifth chapter of the Book of Joshua. The scale of the event was so great that the foreskins were piled up so that they formed a small hill.
According to the Midrash, Joshua told the people, “Do you think you will enter the land uncircumcised? G-d has already told Avraham Avinu, ‘I will give to you and to your children after you... the Land of Canaan’ in the merit of ‘And you must guard My Brit.’”
The Key to Victory Despite the Danger
Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat Chevron, questions the wording of the verse, “At that time G-d said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives and proceed with a second circumcision of the Israelites.’” Why does the verse say “at that time”? What other time would it be referring to?
He explains by pointing out that when the people of Shechem circumcised themselves, they were so weak that the entire city was wiped out by Shimon and Levi who were young teenagers at the time. As such, it would seem that the Jewish people circumcising themselves on the banks of the Jordan river when they were already in the Land of Canaan surrounded by enemies who were aware of their presence, were placing themselves at great risk. A mass event of that scale would surely become known to those enemies who could have attacked them in their weakened state. Despite this danger, the Jewish people went ahead and did the circumcision “at that time.” This is because they recognized that victory in battle is granted from Above, and the main way to achieve it is by being worthy in G-d’s eyes. This is similar to how Esther prepared for her audience with King Achashverosh by fasting despite the fact that this weakened her physically and lessened her beauty. She did it because it strengthened her spiritually.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
The prophet Zechariah said, גַם אַתְ בְדַם בְרִית ךְ שִלַחְתִי אֲסִירַיִךְ מִבוֹר א ין מַיִם בו ֹ - “You, for your part, have released Your prisoners from the pit with no water for the sake of the blood of Your covenant.”
The Ramban explains the meaning of this prophecy. At the end of the era of exile, G-d will release the Jewish People (who are considered prisoners during their state of exile) even if they will not have the merit of fulfilling the Torah properly. (Water refers to Torah so “a pit without water” refers to a situation that is lacking in Torah.) This redemption will take place in the merit of the mitzvah of Brit Milah which the Jewish people continue to fulfill during the exile despite their deficiencies in some other areas.
May the merit of the mitzvah of Brit Milah bring about the immediate release of the prisoners and the end of the exile!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, and may we merit a Swift and Decisive Victory in the Holy Land!
Copyright 2023 by Rabbi Aryeh Citron
