ושמרת את מצות ה' אלקיך ... כי ה' אלקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה (ח-ו,ז)
What does the Land of Israel mean to the Jewish People? Chazal tell us: "לא נתנה א"י לישראל אלא ע"י יסורים" - “The Land was not given to Yisroel, only with infliction.” (ברכות ה.) It takes toil, effort and strenuous labor in order to create a homeland for the people built on Torah and mitzvos. But it also requires suffering and tribulation in order to demonstrate that life is not about the pursuit of worldly pleasures.
The Bohusher Rebbe, R’ Yisroel Friedman ZT”L, was very active in helping the Yishuv in Eretz Yisroel to get on its feet. The Rebbe was once approached by a group of secular Zionists who wanted to enlist him in their group. They explained to him that the Jewish People needed their own homeland where they would be safe from outside disturbances. “But why have you selected Israel as your land?” the Rebbe asked them. The group was rather surprised by the Rebbe's question.
In unison, they answered him, “Eretz Yisroel is our land; it belongs to the Jewish People.”
“Do you have any documents proving that it is your land?” the Rebbe asked them. The group just stood there not knowing what to answer. They didn't have any documents whatsoever.
“Let me show you the document,” the Rebbe told them, and opened up a chumash. “This is our document,” he said. “Here it is written that Hashem has given Eretz Yisroel to the Yidden. But, there were conditions under which the deal was made. It says here that the Jews must keep the Torah and Mitzvos. If you keep these conditions, then you have a rightful claim to the land and I will gladly help you to achieve your goal. If not, you have no claim!”
את ה' אלקיך תירא אתו תעבד ובו תדבק ובשמו תשבע וגו' (י-כ)
The famous gemara (בבא קמא מא.) recounts how Shimon Hamsoni would interpret and elaborate on each time in the Torah that the word "את" is mentioned. But when he reached the posuk "את ה' אלקיך תירא" - “And Hashem, your G-d, you shall fear,” he abruptly stopped, thinking that nothing could possibly be included in the commandment to fear Hashem. Until Rabi Akiva came along and made the following observation: "את ה' אלקיך תירא" - this includes the mitzvah to fear and respect Torah scholars!
The holy Ariza”l, R’ Yitzchok Luria ZT”L, notes that when the Jews suffered the horrific loss of the עשרה הרוגי מלכות - Ten martyred sages, of which Rabi Akiva was one of them and suffered arguably the most torturous death of all, it was in atonement for the sale of Yosef Hatzaddik at the hands of his brothers. But in addition to that, the ten martyred sages were also גלגולים - they were literally the “soul reincarnates” of the ten brothers who perpetrated the dastardly deal to sell their brother. For this reason, Rabi Akiva, who was the reincarnate of Shimon, endured the worst torture and painful death, since it was Shimon who encouraged and cajoled the brothers to kill Yosef by saying “Let us go and kill him.”
Later, when Yosef was the ruler of Egypt and the brothers came before him, he incarcerated Shimon for three days. Upon his release, the posuk states, "ויוצא עליהם את שמעון" (מקץ מג-כג) - “He released to them Shimon.” The word "את" has a dual meaning: Shimon’s גלגול, Rabi Akiva, was able to interpret the elusive "את" in "את ה' אלקיך תירא" and thus, Yosef released the "את שמעון" - the interpretation of "את" by Shimon, through Rabi Akiva! (Megaleh Amukos)
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