‘I am the L-rd your G-d that took you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, to be to you G-d’. On the last part of this verse Rashi comments ‘that all who live in the Land of Israel I will be to them G-d, and whoever leaves it is like a worshipper of idols’. One may ask why this verse and this comment is situated where it is. It comes at the end of a paragraph prohibiting the taking of interest. It would have seemed to make more sense to have connected G-d’s gift of the Land with the proceeding paragraph, that concludes the laws of the sabbatical year and the redemption of property, issues connected with the Land. Yet in situating this verse here the Torah is making a profound comment on the nature of Judaism, and also the nature of the prohibition against interest. For many people it is enough for a Jew to be an ethical monotheist. It is sufficient to believe in G-d and pursue social justice. The Torah, in this verse, explains to us that this is not the purpose of Judaism. If it were, we would have no need for the prohibition of interest or a need for a special land. To lend money on interest is not necessarily immoral. If you would, at least a few years ago, have given someone a rate of one percent, they would have been grateful indeed and it would have been seen as charity. Yet it still would have been forbidden. For this reason the laws of interest in Jewish law books are found in not in the section dealing with monetary matters but in the section dealing with ritual law, like kashrut. It is not only about social justice but the higher calling of Jews, to be holy. That is why our verse, singling out the Land of Israel, is situated here. Just like in the example of the laws of interest, Jews are called on to rise above the simple dictates of social justice, so too with the whole of Judaism. Jewish life is not merely ethical monotheism that can be lived anywhere, but an endeavour to bring G-d down to earth by living a life of holiness, a mission that can only be fully carried out in G-d’s holy land. Therefore someone who leaves Israel is like one who serves idols or ’other gods’. He is, as it were, abandoning the special mission of the Jewish people, in order to join with everyone else in pursuing a general ethical spirituality. But that is not his role in life. For everyone else in may be enough to be a good person, from Jews G-d demands more.

ALIYAH BY ALIYAH SYNOPSIS

Rishon	The laws of the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee.
Sheni	The reward for keeping Shemitah.. Return of land in the Jubilee.
Shelishi	Laws of houses in cities. Prohibition of interest.
Revi’i	Laws of slavery. The reward for keeping the mitzvot.
Chamishi	The punishment for disobeying the Torah.
Shishi	Valuations of donations to the Sanctuary.
Shevi’i	Redemption of vows and bans.
Haftorah	Jeremiah: 16;19-17;14:  The sins of Israel.

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On Yom Yerushalayim one should have a festive meal to celebrate the miracles that occurred during the Six Day War.