Land of Our Heritage

Why do many of the Commandments apply only in the Land of Israel? Many passages in the Torah begin “When you come to the Land…”, implying that those Commandments are applicable ony in the Land. This is particularly true for…

How was the State of Israel created? Palestine was part of the Turkish empire until World War 1, and was then given to the British as a protectorate. In 1947 the United Nations voted to partition it into two states,…

What is the extent of the Holy Land? The maximum extent of the Holy Land is from the Nile to the Euphrates and from the Mediterranean Sea to the desert; this was the land that G-d promised to Abraham (see…

How old is Jerusalem? Jerusalem (probably) is mentioned in the Egyptian “execration texts” and the Tel-el-Amarna letters; the latter date from 3500 years ago and the former from even earlier. Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem (Jerusalem) in Abraham’s time (3700+ years…

Is the Golan mentioned in the Bible? Golan (a city) is mentioned in the Torah (Deut. 4:43) as being in the region called Bashan. This region was formerly ruled by the Canaanite king Og; it was conquered by the Israelites…

What is the distance from Egypt to the Promised Land? It depends on where the boundaries of the Promised Land are; according to some views, its southern border is actually adjacent to Egypt, and in any case it’s very close…

By what names was Egypt known? The Hebrew name of the country is Mitzrayim (meaning something like “two domains”); the “dual” form of the word reflects the ancient division of the country into “upper” and “lower” parts. “Egypt” (Aigyptos) is…

What is meant by the “exile” of the Shechina? The idea that the Shechina (the Divine Presence) goes into exile with the Jewish people is found in the Talmud (Megillah 29a, in the name of R.Shimon b. Yochai). The “exile”…