We didn’t arrive in the Land to withdraw from its challenges. We came here to rise to them and find the good, the just, and the moral in a reality whose navigation requires dedication, perseverance, and much Emunah.
According to Chazal, the term sefer ha’yashar, “the book of the just” (Yehoshua 10:13), refers to the book of Bereishis that records the just deeds of the Avos (Avodah Zarah 25a). But whose deeds does this contrast with? Who was not yashar, while the Avos were?
According to Rashi, the contrast is with the generations that preceded the Avos, beginning with Adam Harishon. On the Pasuk, “This only have I found: G-d created mankind upright, but they have sought out many reckonings” (Kohelet 7:29), Rashi explains that Hashem created Adam upright, yet he (and Chava) sought out schemes of sinfulness. This deterioration continued until the Avos, beginning with Avraham, who restored the human condition to its original rectitude.
Yet, there remains a tremendous difference between Adam prior to his sin and the Avos. Rather than the messy amalgam of good and evil that earthly reality presents us, Adam’s pre-sin world was one of simple goodness. He could live an existence of shameless innocence and enjoy relationships – with Hashem and with others – that knew no suspicion.
This was not the case for the Avos. Avraham had to depart from the truth in order to protect Sarah. Rivka orchestrated an act of deception to ensure Yaakov received his father’s blessings, and Yaakov’s life was replete with the trials and tribulations of harsh circumstances and relationships filled with suspicion and intrigue. These were also the lot of Yosef, the final member of Avraham’s family to beget tribes, whose death and burial close the book of Bereishis.
Remarkably, the Rambam mentions that even today, a person can choose to withdraw from the ways of the world and “proceed justly as G-d made him, removing from his neck the yoke of the many reckonings that people seek” (Mishnah Torah, Shemittah & Yovel 13:13). This, however, was not the way of the Avos; nor does it characterize our lives. In a post-sin world, our task is to seek out the just, the good, and the moral in a world where these commodities are anything but obvious.
In the book of Shemos we receive the Torah, and with it Divine instruction on navigating our complex environment. But the message of Bereishis is not forgotten. Bereishis lays out the journey: returning to Eden by means of a convoluted path traversed though harsh terrain. Shemos provides us with the means to make it.
Where lies the terrain via which we return to Eden? The answer, of course, is Eretz Yisrael. Unlike Adam, who could irrigate and drink all he wanted from the rivers of Eden, life upon the Land is always precarious. We depend on rain from the Heavens, both physically and metaphorically. It isn’t always easy, but here, on the Land, we are able to live with Hashem, treading the path of destiny.
As Olim who arrived here by conscious choice, we certainly know the privilege of living on the Land. We heard Hashem’s calling His people back, and though we had good excuses, we chose to heed it. Many of us also embody the Chasam Sofer’s principle (Sukkah 36a) whereby working in the Land represents an elevated ideal.
Things can be tough, but we didn’t arrive in the Land to withdraw from its challenges. We came here to rise to them and find the good, the just, and the moral in a reality whose navigation in many areas – schools, Torah study, work, housing, bureaucracy, and much besides – requires dedication, perseverance, and much Emunah.
Thus we continue to chart the upright course of the Avos toward an ever-nearing destiny. To follow in their footsteps, here on the very Land they were promised, is an unfathomable zechus. We thank Hashem for it daily.
