In Parshas Mattos, read this week, the tribes of Reuven and Gad ask, due to their large flocks and the fertile ground east of the Jordan river, if they could settle there rather than within the Land of Israel itself. They said that they would build “enclosures for our cattle and cities for our children” [32:16], and then participate with the rest of the nation in claiming their inheritance, the Land of Israel.
Despite their good intentions, the Medrash (Breishis Rabbah, Bamidbar 22:8) claims that the tribes to the east of the Jordan were exiled first, because they had separated from the rest of Israel. But further, it records elsewhere (Vayikra Rabbah 4) that the tribes themselves regretted their choice: “It would have been better for us to receive a small portion in the Land of Israel, rather than one twice as large on the other side of the Jordan!” This was not only true for spiritual reasons, but even due to how fertile the land was in Israel proper. They thought they had a good calculation, but they did not know how suitable and blessed the land was.
The unique Jewish tie to Eretz Yisrael is precisely why “anti-Zionism” has become the new facade for hatred. “For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem” [Isaiah 2:3]. It remains, to Jews, our homeland, the place where we truly belong.
