What Makes The Land Holy?




Parashah Overview




  • Moses reiterates that the Land of Israel was allocated to the Israelite tribes. (3:12–20)

  • God refuses to allow Moses to enter the Promised Land. (3:23–28)

Focal Point


Your Guide

Why does the text call the descendants of Esau “kinsmen” to the Israelites? (Compare to Genesis 25, 27, 32, and 33; Numbers 20:14; Malachi 1:2–4.)

Scholars say that the descendants of Esau are also called the people of Edom. Furthermore, Se-ir is often synonymous in the Bible with Edom. Why does God caution Israel that the people of Se-ir will be afraid of them but they must not provoke them? (See Exodus 15:14–16; Numbers 22:3–4.)

Why is there such a strong emphasis on the Israelites’ possessing land? Why is this an important component of our religion?

By the Way…

You shall faithfully observe all My laws and all My regulations, lest the land to which I bring you to settle in spews you out. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. For it is because they did all these things that I abhorred them and said to you: You shall possess their land, for I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey (Leviticus 20:22–24).

When Adonai your God brings you to the land that you are about to invade and occupy, Adonai dislodges many nations before you–the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations much larger than you–and Adonai your God delivers them to you and you defeat them, you must doom them to destruction: Grant them no terms and give them no quarter (Deuteronomy 7:1–2).





Your Guide

According to Leviticus 20:22–24 and Deuteronomy 7:1–2, above, why did God give the Israelites the territory of other nations?

What is the difference between the command in Deuteronomy 7:1–2 and that in Deuteronomy 2:2–7 in this week’s parashah?

What are the differences among the views expressed by Zvi Yehuda Kook, Nehama Leibowitz, and A. J. Heschel?

How do you think Rabbi Heschel would have interpreted Leviticus 20:22–24 or Deuteronomy 7:1–2? What was his vision for Israel?

What kind of Jewish state did the founders of Israel envision?

D’var Torah



Our focal passage illustrates God’s desire for integrity and peace among peoples. Israel was given a land to build and to make holy, but it is only to be considered so when God’s presence lies therein. Rabbi Jonathan Magonet argues, "It is God’s presence that ensures the holiness of the land, not any special nature of the land itself. Indeed, God cannot be present in the land, so to speak, when it is polluted by the actions of the nations that preceded Israel–or by those of Israel itself" ("Covenant and Holiness: Help or Hindrance in Seeking a Reform Theology of the State of Israel" in Journal of Reform Zionism, vol. 1).

This parashah reminds us that no matter what the original boundaries of Eretz Yisrael were (and there were variations), Israel needed–needs–to be righteous and just; and her neighbors, despite their conflicts with Israel, were–are–entitled to their own land.

The beauty and challenge of Reform Zionism is to continue to build Eretz Yisrael–not necessarily its roads and highways as in yesteryear but its promise for peace and its democracy–in partnership with Israel’s citizens. It is our understanding of k’dushah (sacredness) that drives us to implement our conviction of hope for the City of Peace, Y’rushalayim.


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Fred Greene is the rabbi at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell, Georgia. He was previously the rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
