Parshas Vayeitzei begins with Yaakov traveling from Be’er Sheva to Charan. Along the way, he stopped and spent the night at Har HaMoriah. When he woke up in the morning, he noted the tremendous kedusha [holiness] of the place and expressed his surprise that he had not sensed it earlier. Rav Yisrael Reisman notes that this is not the only time we find the unique sanctity of Eretz Yisrael concealed.
When the Jewish people came to Eretz Yisrael, they did not yet know which mountain would one day serve as the location of the Beis HaMikdash. The Torah stresses (Devarim 12:11) that korbanos must be brought to the place that Hashem will choose, but its location is not spelled out and remained a mystery for centuries.
Similarly, when Avraham set out for the Akeidah, Hashem vaguely instructed him (Bereishis 22:2) to bring Yitzchak as an offering on “a mountain that I will tell you,” which turned out to be Har HaMoriah. Rashi also writes (12:1) that when Hashem commanded Avraham to leave Charan and travel “to the land I will show you,” He intentionally did not specify the destination (Eretz Yisrael) to increase Avraham’s reward for making the journey. Why was its location repeatedly kept such a secret?
Rav Reisman explains that when something is spelled out immediately, we take it for granted. If there is an element of mystery that gets gradually revealed, we cherish it more. Because Hashem wants us to appreciate and treasure Eretz Yisrael, He specifically kept its location and those of its holiest parts a secret to increase our yearning for them.
Although we are blessed to have relatively easy access to Yerushalayim today, it has sadly come at the expense of the longing for it that Jews have naturally felt throughout this lengthy exile. We take for granted our ability to daven at the Kosel, a place that Yaakov was astonished to discover that he had overlooked. Let us strive to restore our appreciation of its kedusha and echo Yaakov’s words: מה נורא המקום הזה – How awesome is this place.
