Keeping the Law 19 February 2026, 2 Adar 5786.
The Law must be kept!
The Land of Israel and Keeping the Torah.
When the Israelites came out of Egypt they crossed the Wilderness and came to the Jordan River.
They were told that keeping the Torah would be necessary to ensure their continued possession of the Land.
Deuteronomy (TCB) 11:
31 FOR YOU ARE CROSSING THE JORDAN, TO COME TO POSSESS THE LAND WHICH THE LORD, YOUR GOD, IS GIVING YOU, AND YOU SHALL POSSESS IT AND DWELL IN IT.
32 AND YOU SHALL KEEP TO PERFORM ALL THE STATUTES AND ORDINANCES THAT I AM SETTING BEFORE YOU TODAY.
The Midrash (Sifrei, Devorim) comments: "Dwelling in the Land of Israel is equal to all the commandments of the Torah."
The Land of Israel was promised to the Israelite Nation.
Leviticus (TCB) 23:
38 I AM THE LORD, YOUR GOD, WHO TOOK YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, TO GIVE YOU THE LAND OF CANAAN, TO BE A GOD TO YOU.
From this verse the Sages deduced, Every Israelite who dwells in the Land of Israel receives upon himself the Yoke of Heaven. Anyone who goes outside the Land is as if he worships idols. So too, we find that David said, CURSED BE THEY BEFORE THE LORD; FOR THEY HAVE DRIVEN ME OUT THIS DAY FROM ABIDING IN THE INHERITANCE OF THE LORD, SAYING, GO, SERVE OTHER GODS [1-Samuel 26:19]. Can we imagine David serving other gods? Rather [since David was being forced to leave the land of Israel] David expounded and said that whosoever dwells in the Land of Israel accepts upon himself the Rule of Heaven, and anyone who leaves the Land of Israel is as if they worshipped foreign gods (Midrash Sifrei, Devorim).
Deuteronomy 11:8 THEREFORE SHALL YOU KEEP ALL THE COMMANDMENTS WHICH I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY, THAT YOU MAY BE STRONG, AND GO IN AND POSSESS THE LAND, WHITHER YOU GO TO POSSESS IT;
11:9 AND THAT YE MAY PROLONG YOUR DAYS IN THE LAND, WHICH THE LORD SWARE UNTO YOUR FATHERS TO GIVE UNTO THEM AND TO THEIR SEED, A LAND THAT FLOWS WITH MILK AND HONEY.
11:12 A LAND WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD CARES FOR: THE EYES OF THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALWAYS UPON IT, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE YEAR.
Leviticus (TCB) 18:
28 AND LET THE LAND NOT VOMIT YOU OUT FOR HAVING DEFILED IT, AS IT VOMITED OUT THE NATION THAT PRECEDED YOU.
This point is mentioned in Sifrei (Devorim):
The Land of Egypt remains the Land of Egypt whether or not its inhabitants do the will of the Almighty. The Land of Israel is different. If you do the will of the Almighty you have the land of Canaan [i.e. of Israel] but if not you will be exiled from it. This is spoken of in the verse, AND LET THE LAND NOT VOMIT YOU OUT FOR HAVING DEFILED IT [Leviticus 18:28].
Leviticus (TCB) 20:
22 AND YOU SHALL OBSERVE ALL MY STATUTES AND ALL MY ORDINANCES, AND FULFILL THEM, THEN THE LAND, TO WHICH I AM BRINGING YOU TO DWELL THEREIN, WILL NOT VOMIT YOU OUT.
Each and Every Israelites Tribes received its own portion in the Land. The portion for each Tribe was suited to the Indiviual Tribal Character of the Tribe, cf.
Numbers (TCB) 26:
54 TO THE LARGE [TRIBE] YOU SHALL GIVE A LARGER INHERITANCE AND TO A SMALLER TRIBE YOU SHALL GIVE A SMALLER INHERITANCE, EACH PERSON SHALL BE GIVEN AN INHERITANCE ACCORDING TO HIS NUMBER.
ACCORDING TO HIS NUMBER.. In Hebrew "pekudav" which can also connote "according to his needs".
"ACCORDING TO HIS NEEDS": Midrash Sifrei, Bamidbar: From this we learn that the Land of Israel was only divided to each and every Tribe according to the nature of the Tribe, by the voice of the Almighty. The Land of Israel was only divided through Divine Inspiration as directed by the Almighty.
God HIMSELF decided therefore where in the Land of Israel each Tribe should dwell to enable it to develop its unique potential to the maximum possible, for its own good and for the good of the People of Israel and the Entire World.
See:
"The Land of Israel"
by
Rabbi Yehonatan Davidiy
http://www.britam.org/Yehonatan.html
Within the Land itself there are different levels of holiness and varying regions that influence their inhabitants in different ways. For this reason the Almighty made each of the Tribal Inheritances to be specifically compatible to the Tribal Characteristics of the Tribe that would possess it.
The Almighty gave the Land to the Israelites.
Dwelling in the Land was contingent on not worshipping idols.
The Lost Ten Tribes practiced idolatry so they were exiled. After being exiled they moved further way and lost awareness of their ancestry.
Their descendants went to parts of Western Europe. After that they helped populate Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, and South Africa.
Meanwhile the Jews also offended and were exiled to Babylon.
From Babylon the Jews returned and under the guidance the religion of Judaism emerged.
Anyone who accepts Judaism is considered a Jew.
Mordecai in the Book of Esther was from the Tribe of Benjamin yet the Bible refers to him as "Mordecai the Jew."
Esther (TCB) 2:
5 THERE WAS A JUDEAN MAN IN SHUSHAN THE CAPITAL, WHOSE NAME WAS MORDECAI THE SON OF JAIR THE SON OF SHIMEI THE SON OF KISH, A BENJAMITE,
A JUDEAN MAN. - In Hebrew "Ish Yehudi" i.e. a Jewish man.
Ideally, all Jews should keep the Torah.
All Jews should live in the Land of Israel.
The Conquest of the Land of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates is a Divine Commandment BUT
the area El Arish (Gaza) to the Jordan River and including the Golan should be given priority.
The Midrash says that there exist different levels of Holiness in this world. The Land of Israel is the most holy of all the lands (Sifrei Zuta, ch5).
Every prayer that is prayed to the Almighty is considered as if it passes through the Land of Israel, then through Jerusalem, and then to the Temple and from there to the Almighty.
"AND PRAY UNTO THEE TOWARD THEIR LAND, WHICH THOU GAVEST UNTO THEIR FATHERS, THE CITY WHICH THOU HAST CHOSEN, AND THE HOUSE WHICH I HAVE BUILT FOR THY NAME [1-Kings 8:48]. Connection to the Almighty passes through the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, HOW AWESOME IS THIS PLACE! THIS IS NONE OTHER BUT THE HOUSE OF GOD, AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN [Genesis 28:17].
The People of Israel can fulfill their task only by cleaving to the Almighty and to HIS commandments. And only in the Land of Israel. Only in the Land of Israel can the People of Israel complete their mission and bring Redemption to the whole world. Rabbi Kook explains that, "Authentic Israelite Creativity, in conceptuality as well as in meeting the demands of life and work, is impossible for Israelites to achieve unless they are in the Land of Israel" ("Orot", 11,3).
Only in the Land of Israel does the phenomenon of Prophecy appear. A basic condition for living in the Land of Israel is to life in an uplifting manner through keeping the commandments.
Deuteronomy (TCB) 11:
8 THEREFORE] KEEP ALL THE COMMANDMENTS THAT I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY, IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY BE STRONG AND COME AND POSSESS THE LAND TO WHICH YOU ARE CROSSING, TO POSSESS IT,
9 AND IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY PROLONG YOUR DAYS ON THE LAND THAT THE LORD SWORE TO YOUR FOREFATHERS TO GIVE TO THEM AND TO THEIR SEED A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY.
10 FOR THE LAND TO WHICH YOU ARE COMING TO POSSESS IS NOT LIKE THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF WHICH YOU CAME, WHERE YOU SOWED YOUR SEED AND WHICH YOU WATERED BY FOOT, LIKE A VEGETABLE GARDEN.
11 BUT THE LAND, TO WHICH YOU PASS TO POSSESS, IS A LAND OF MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS AND ABSORBS WATER FROM THE RAINS OF HEAVEN,
12 A LAND THE LORD, YOUR GOD, LOOKS AFTER; THE EYES OF LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALWAYS UPON IT, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO THE END OF THE YEAR.
13 AND IT WILL BE, IF YOU HEARKEN TO MY COMMANDMENTS THAT I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY TO LOVE THE LORD, YOUR GOD, AND TO SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,
14 I WILL GIVE THE RAIN OF YOUR LAND AT ITS TIME, THE EARLY RAIN AND THE LATTER RAIN, AND YOU WILL GATHER IN YOUR GRAIN, YOUR WINE, AND YOUR OIL.
15 AND I WILL GIVE GRASS IN YOUR FIELD FOR YOUR LIVESTOCK, AND YOU WILL EAT AND BE SATED.
16 BEWARE, LEST YOUR HEART BE MISLED, AND YOU TURN AWAY AND WORSHIP STRANGE GODS AND PROSTRATE YOURSELVES BEFORE THEM.
17 AND THE WRATH OF THE LORD WILL BE KINDLED AGAINST YOU, AND HE WILL CLOSE OFF THE HEAVENS, AND THERE WILL BE NO RAIN, AND THE GROUND WILL NOT GIVE ITS PRODUCE, AND YOU WILL PERISH QUICKLY FROM UPON THE GOOD LAND THAT THE LORD GIVES YOU.
18 AND YOU SHALL SET THESE WORDS OF MINE UPON YOUR HEART AND UPON YOUR SOUL, AND BIND THEM FOR A SIGN UPON YOUR HAND AND THEY SHALL BE FOR ORNAMENTS BETWEEN YOUR EYES.
19 AND YOU SHALL TEACH THEM TO YOUR SONS TO SPEAK WITH THEM, WHEN YOU SIT IN YOUR HOUSE AND WHEN YOU WALK ON THE WAY AND WHEN YOU LIE DOWN AND WHEN YOU RISE.
20 AND YOU SHALL INSCRIBE THEM UPON THE DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HOUSE AND UPON YOUR GATES,
21 IN ORDER THAT YOUR DAYS MAY INCREASE AND THE DAYS OF YOUR CHILDREN, ON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD SWORE TO YOUR FOREFATHERS TO GIVE THEM, AS THE DAYS OF HEAVEN ABOVE THE EARTH.
22 FOR IF YOU KEEP ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS WHICH I COMMAND YOU TO DO THEM, TO LOVE THE LORD, YOUR GOD, TO WALK IN ALL HIS WAYS, AND TO CLEAVE TO HIM,
23 THEN THE LORD WILL DRIVE OUT ALL THESE NATIONS FROM BEFORE YOU, AND YOU WILL POSSESS NATIONS GREATER AND STRONGER THAN YOU.
24 EVERY PLACE UPON WHICH THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET WILL TREAD, WILL BE YOURS: FROM THE DESERT AND THE LEBANON, FROM THE RIVER, THE EUPHRATES RIVER, AND UNTIL THE WESTERN SEA, WILL BE YOUR BOUNDARY.
25 NO MAN WILL STAND UP BEFORE YOU; THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL CAST THE FEAR OF YOU AND THE DREAD OF YOU ON ALL THE LAND UPON WHICH YOU TREAD, AS HE SPOKE TO YOU.
26 BEHOLD, I SET BEFORE YOU TODAY A BLESSING AND A CURSE.
27 THE BLESSING, THAT YOU WILL HEED THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHICH I COMMAND YOU TODAY;
28 AND THE CURSE, IF YOU WILL NOT HEED THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, BUT TURN AWAY FROM THE WAY I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY, TO FOLLOW OTHER GODS, WHICH YOU DID NOT KNOW.
29 AND IT WILL BE, WHEN THE LORD, YOUR GOD, WILL BRING YOU TO THE LAND TO WHICH YOU COME, TO POSSESS IT, THAT YOU SHALL PLACE THOSE BLESSING UPON MOUNT GERIZIM, AND THOSE CURSING UPON MOUNT EBAL.
30 ARE THEY NOT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN, WAY BEYOND, IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SUNSET, IN THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES, WHO DWELL IN THE PLAIN, OPPOSITE GILGAL, NEAR THE PLAINS OF MOREH?
31 FOR YOU ARE CROSSING THE JORDAN, TO COME TO POSSESS THE LAND WHICH THE LORD, YOUR GOD, IS GIVING YOU, AND YOU SHALL POSSESS IT AND DWELL IN IT.
32 AND YOU SHALL KEEP TO PERFORM ALL THE STATUTES AND ORDINANCES THAT I AM SETTING BEFORE YOU TODAY.
Zechariah (TCB) 2:
14 SING AND REJOICE, O DAUGHTER OF ZION, FOR, BEHOLD! I WILL COME AND DWELL IN YOUR MIDST, SAYS THE LORD.
15 AND MANY NATIONS SHALL JOIN THE LORD ON THAT DAY, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE; AND I WILL DWELL IN YOUR MIDST AND YOU SHALL KNOW THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS SENT ME TO YOU.
16 AND THE LORD SHALL INHERIT JUDAH AS HIS SHARE ON THE HOLY LAND, AND HE SHALL AGAIN CHOOSE JERUSALEM.
17 SILENCE ALL FLESH FROM BEFORE THE LORD, FOR HE IS AROUSED OUT OF HIS HOLY HABITATION.
In other words the Law must be Kept.
The LTTs did not keep the Law therefore they were expelled from the Land.
The LTTs cannot return since they do not know the law and may be no longer obligated by it
BUT in the future they will be.
Judah is preparing the way for them.
Prophecy describes how the LTTs departed from the right path prior to their exile.