Parasha Thoughts
By Rabbi Shemuel Akhamzadeh
יְצַ֨ו יְהוָ֤ה ×ִתְּךָ֙ ×ֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֔ה בַּ×ֲסָמֶ֕יךָ וּבְכֹ֖ל מִשְ×לַ֣ח יָדֶ֑ךָ וּבֵ֣רַכְךָ֔
בָּ×ָ֕רֶץ ×ֲשֶ×ר־יְהוָ֥ה ×ֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ × Ö¹×ªÖµÖ¥×Ÿ לָֽךְ׃
The LORD will ordain blessings for you upon your barns and upon all your undertakings: He will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Devarim 28:8
As we are approaching the Yamim Noraim and soon to follow the chag Sukkoth, a question that is frequently asked is, “Why in the land of Israel do we celebrate only one day of Yom Tov while in the diaspora two days of Yom Tov are celebrated?†The simple answer given to this question according to the sages is that since originally the (beginning of the) Jewish months were set according to the testimony of witnesses who sighted the moon, and since technically there was not enough time (before the upcoming holidays) to communicate the news to those living outside of Israel, the Jews outside of the land were instructed to celebrate two days of Yom Tov.
However, Ben Ish Chai gives another reasoning for this discrepancy based on Kabbalah. He explains that the land of Israel imbues a greater spiritual sensitivity in Jews so they are able to achieve in one day what the Jews in the diaspora will achieve in two days. As seen in the blessing in the above verse, Hashem grants an extra beracha to the Jews because of the land of Israel.
May we all merit to settle the land of Israel and partake in the special kedusha of the land.
Shabbat Shalom