By: Jisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
The Book of Bamidbar (Numbers) concludes with a powerful warning:
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you… they will be a source of distress to you in the land in which you dwell.”
(Bamidbar 33:55)
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh zt”l explains this verse as follows:
“If you do not drive them out”
— meaning: If you attempt to divide the Land and leave a portion of it in the hands of the nations, hoping that peace will then prevail, you will not find peace. On the contrary —
“They will be a source of distress to you”
— they will not be satisfied with what you have given them; instead, they will eventually demand even the portion that remains in your possession.
They will attempt to push you out of the inheritance that is still in your hands.
The Torah warns us clearly and in advance:
“Land for Peace”
is a dangerous illusion.
Even if they are not prophets, they are certainly the children of prophets.
May we take the teaching of the
Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh zt”l
to heart:
The Land of Israel is not an object that can simply be divided — it is the soul mate of the Jewish People.
May we fall in love with Eretz Yisrael —
with our entire heart and soul —
and may we remove those who seek to conquer it through strength, spirit, and faith.
