Chief Rabbi of Tzfat Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu addressed the question of whether the Oslo Accords are “in accordance with halakha,” or Jewish law.
In a Twitter video posted on Tuesday as part of a daily series addressing questions in halakha, Rabbi Eliyahu said, “The Torah speaks about the land of Israel hundreds of times. Out of those, dozens of times speak of the covenant that G-d made about the land. A covenant and a promise.”
“Dozens of other times, the Torah speaks of the exalted status of the land of Israel, and there are 87 times - I counted - in which the Torah speaks about ‘inheriting the land,’ which means conquering the land. Thus G-d makes a covenant with Abraham in the ‘Covenant between the Parts,’ that he will give him the land to ‘inherit,’ meaning to ‘conquer,’” the rabbi adds.
“This is what all the Torah commentators say, and regarding the World to Come it is also written, ‘G-d will bring you to the land that your forefathers inherited, and you shall inherit it - Just as they conquered, so you shall conquer and rule over it.’ Because rule over the land of Israel is Torah law, a positive mitzvah (Divine commandment) according to [Torah commentator] Ramban - to conquer the land - and [Torah commentator] Rashi says this, too. And it is understood from the simple reading of the text.”
“There is no subject that the Torah repeats so many times like this one, due to its great importance,” Rabbi Eliyahu notes. “Why is it important? Because in our day there are those who think it is a political issue, whether the Palestinians will control the land of Israel or the Jewish people. But it’s halakha. The Ramban says, ‘Why does the Torah define the borders of the land of Israel? To tell you, in these borders - only you shall rule.’ This is the mitzvah of inheriting the land.”
“How can one ignore this? I don’t understand,” Rabbi Eliyahu emphasizes. “I address these things to the secular public to whom the tradition is dear, but mainly to the religious public. How can you keep every mitzvah that the Torah mentions only once, but throw aside this mitzvah that is brought up so much and is so dear to G-d. This subject must be remedied. Learn what is written in the Torah, see what G-d wants, and do it.”
