By KabbalahCast staff writers
“Why is Israel always in the news?” This is a question that gets many people thinking. A country which is 19 times smaller than California seems to always be in the limelight. Out of all places on our wonderful green earth one dot continuously gets a barrage of media coverage. Why?
Israel’s ubiquity apparently is nothing new. Ever since the Jewish people captured the land from the Canaanites over 3000 years ago as recorded in the bible, the holy land has been a center of attraction to many nation and creeds. Blood has been spilled, nations have waged war and many people have died over this small area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.
What’s the mystery behind this tiny country?
To make sense out of this senseless issue lets probe to the soul of the matter. “A land that…the eyes of GD are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to year’s end (Deut. 11:12)”, these are the words Moses uses to describe the land of Israel.
According to the Jewish Mystics, Israel is a place where Gd’s presence is always felt. There is holy energy palpable in Israel which is not sensible in other lands. This brought the Talmudic sages to declare “The air of the Land of Israel makes a person wise (Bava Basra 158b).” Indeed, in most languages Israel is referred as simply “the Holy Land”.
This explanation of Israel being a holy land may put things in perspective. However, it just opens the door for further questioning. Why is this so? Why was this land injected with divinity?
The world we live consists of two elements: body and soul, form and function, physical and spiritual. To use ourselves as an example; our body is our physical element, however our psyche, personality and characteristics are a product of our soul. To the naked eye only our body is visible, however, denying one’s soul is denying one’s own existence.
The same is true with the world at large. Every matter has a spiritual force which brings it into existence. Throughout a person’s life, one must make it his or her task to see the divine within this very mundane world and endeavor to live up to one’s spiritual calling.
At some point, do these two elements of spiritual and physical ever meet up in a revealed fashion? The answer is yes. And that is the Land of Israel.
In order that we should not be completely left in a spiritual darkness, amidst a very materialistic world, Gd left a prominent opening to the divine; a place where spirituality can be felt and holiness grasped. Israel is a land where the soul of the world is not entirely concealed. The Holy Land serves as a spiritual oasis, enabling those who seek GDliness to rejuvenate and come up for fresh air.
Nations and creeds on a conscious or subconscious level whirl around the spiritual epicenter of the world. Then as now, Israel being the spiritual hub of the world continues to dominate the news and enjoys world focus.
