ארץ אשר תמיד עיני ה' אלקיך בה מראשית השנה ועד אחרית שנה וגו' (יא-יב)
מידה: עיני ה'
The Gemara (כתובות קי:) makes a very drastic statement: "כל הדר בחוץ לארץ דומה כמי שאין לו אלוק" - “One who lives outside of the Land of Israel is as if he does not have a G-d.” Some of our relatives in America would be very offended by this! What does it mean? An American is an Apikores?! The answer is no, of course. Yet, although Hashem is everywhere, His hashgachah and closeness is greater in Eretz Yisroel. “The Land that the Eyes of Hashem are constantly on it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” Hashem Himself oversees the activities of Eretz Yisroel - personally, so to speak - whereas He appoints angels to oversee the other lands of the world.
I heard a very different explanation. In חוץ לארץ, if one wants to get a job, he sends in his resume, and based on qualifications and an interview, he may or may not receive a job. Inside our dear and holy land, as we are all very aware, things do not work this way. The magic word here is PROTEKTZIA. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know; in other words, knowing that Hashem is running the show! In חוץ לארץ, it is as if one does not have a G-d, because one can easily fall into the trap of believing that he has earned his keep due to his experience or qualifications, thereby leaving Hashem out of the picture. In Eretz Yisrael this rarely happens. One cannot but marvel at the hashgachah pratis at every turn. (My sister-in-law’s grandmother’s best friends’ daughter opened a new school ...!) In Eretz Yisroel the Yad Hashem is so obvious that we feel His hashgachah constantly. One who lives in Eretz Yisroel truly feels the “eyes of Hashem” upon him always.
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