A Land that Sparkles with Wisdom

In his classic “Seder HaYom,” or “Order of the Day” that describes the daily duties of a Breslever Chassid, Rabbi Yitzchak Breiter of saintly memory concludes with an emphasis of the importance of the Land of Israel in a Breslever’s life. He writes, “(A Breslever Chassid) shall yearn for, pray for, and strive to settle in the Land of Israel. At any rate, he should at least walk four amot (approximately 2 meters) therein, and as such he shall merit patience and to climb from one spiritual level to the next, and to invoke holiness upon himself. This is the main victory of holiness for a person in this world.”

 

“The main victory of holiness” is no small superlative. When we consider the forces of evil and heresy that bombard a believer every minute of the day, we could easily lose heart. But, our magnificent Rebbe Nachman chastised us lovingly and said, “What are you worried about when I’m walking in front of you!” So, it’s easy to understand why Rebbe Nachman wants us in the Land of Israel, for here, we assure both our personal victory of holiness and our collective triumph over the forces of evil and heresy.

 

The Gemarra cites three things that are most difficult to obtain, and that come only by way of tribulations: Torah, the World to Come, and the Land of Israel. We’re certain that most of our beloved brothers and sisters abroad would love to be here, but each of them has his or her set of personal circumstances and obstacles that stand in the way of fulfilling the mitzvah of settling in the Land of Israel. But, Hashem does us a favor: If we long to do a mitzvah – even though we haven’t yet had the privilege of performing that mitzvah – Hashem gives us credit as if we’ve actually performed that mitzvah.

 

We here at Breslev Israel want to help our cherished friends and readers to fulfill the “Seder HaYom” obligation of yearning for the Land of Israel. That’s why we’ll be presenting with Hashem’s loving grace articles, photos, and film clips periodically here at Breslev Israel and BreslovWorld that exhibit the special attributes of the Land of Israel. Rebbe Nachman says explicitly that the Land of Israel is the place to attain emuna (Likutei Moharan I, Torah 7 and 155), holiness (ibid, Torah 234), and a higher level of intellect and understanding (Likutei Moharan II, Torah 71). The Gemarra (tractate Bava Batra 158b) itself says that the atmosphere of the Land of Israel makes a person smarter.

With the above in mind, let’s remind ourselves of Rabbenu Nachman’s important instruction to us in the very beginning of Likutei Moharan (I, Torah 1): We must search for the wisdom within every creation, and to connect ourselves with the (Divine) wisdom that’s within that particular creation, for that wisdom will enlighten us and show us how we may get closer to Hashem.

The creations of the Land of Israel – mineral, plant, animal, and man – are sources of enhanced wisdom, teaching us quite a bit about our Creator, ourselves, and our souls. The land itself breathes and sparkles with Divine wisdom. Therefore, from time to time during the course of our travels around our beloved and holy homeland, we hope to share with you mini video lessons of the marvelous things we can see and learn all over the Land of Israel. All we have to do is to open our eyes. 

 

 

Click on the large play button on the left side, and the film will begin in a few seconds, depending on the speed of your connection.

                                                                                
We’re happy to present our first lesson today, filmed up in the Carmel Mountains overlooking the Mediterranean coast south of Haifa. Let’s see how much we can learn from a baby pine tree growing in a rejuvenating forest after a devastating forest fire several years ago. We’ll be able to see ourselves within that tenacious young tree. We hope you enjoy it.