“We have not taken a foreign land; we do not hold the property of others. Rather, the land is our ancestral inheritance taken from us lawlessly. When G-d gave us the strength, we reclaimed it” (Mac. 1:15:33-34).
This is how Shimon HaMaccabee responded over 2,150 years ago to Antiochus’s demand that the Maccabees cede territory in Eretz Yisrael. His words are an important expression of our relationship with the Land of Israel.
{Appreciating Our Return
This relationship is one of the Torah’s central points. Hashem’s first words to the first Jew directed him to move to Eretz Yisrael. After famine forced Avraham’s descendants to relocate to Egypt, the rest of the Torah describes our quest to return.
The Nevi’im depict our settlement and development of Eretz Yisrael as well as our seventy-year exile from it. Naturally, the exile raised many questions about our relationship with the Land. Did we have a genuine bond with it, or would our presence there be just a blip on history’s screen? Would we, like others before us, just come and go? Was there anything to our relationship with the Land beyond our having inhabited it for 800 years?
The Jewish people’s return from exile and the successful Maccabean fight for independence answered these questions. Our resilient return and renewed sovereignty reflected the eternal nature of our relationship with the Land. Many nations have resided in and then been exiled from countries worldwide, but no other has ever returned to its original land. We returned to this Land because it is genuinely and eternally ours.
As a descendant of those who returned, Shimon HaMaccabee fully appreciated the unique and eternal nature of our relationship with the Holy Land he fought and died defending. His actions and words ensured that, from then on, the land would be known as Judea or the Land of Israel; it was no longer referred to as Canaan or the Land of the Seven Nations.
This also held true during our second exile, though it has lasted much longer. Conquering empires tried to change the Land’s name and erase its association with us, but the name(s) stuck and persevered for almost two millennia. Even as we lived in exile, people continued associating the Land with us. Our return from the first exile and struggle for independence concretized our relationship with the Land—the Land of Israel.
After the long and arduous road of the second exile, we are back in Eretz Yisrael for the third time. And, this time, our return was even more miraculous. We returned against all odds from over one hundred countries across the Earth’s four corners and successfully founded and developed a strong and prosperous state. The Land has responded in kind. After lying dormant for two thousand years, unwilling to support any other inhabitant, the Land awoke to welcome back and assist us—its true residents.
{Antiochus’ Heirs
Like Antiochus, many continue to deny our relationship with our Land. This denial has intensified since the blossoming of our state and even more so since October 7th. We are witnessing and experiencing virulent hatred towards and categorical delegitimization and demonization of Israelis, Zionists, and Jews around the world. This reality requires us to better understand and appreciate our rights. Doing so enables us to defend ourselves and our rights to the land.
{Shimon’s Rebuff
Let’s begin by taking a closer look at Shimon’s words.
Shimon called the land “nachalat avoteinu (our ancestral inheritance).” Though we were exiled and our Land was taken from us—first by the Babylonians and then again by the Romans—it remains ours because it is our inheritance.
Hashem described the Land this way to the Jewish people while they were still enslaved in Egypt: “V’natati lachem morasha—I have given the land to you as an inheritance” (Sh. 6:5). Even before arriving in Israel, the Jewish people already owned the Land. This is why the Land was eventually apportioned not only to those alive at that time of entry but also to those who received the promise in Mitzrayim (B”B 117).
{Taken Lawlessly
Tosafot (ibid. 44b) explain that, even in exile, all Jews own a portion of the Land of Israel. Even though the Land was physically taken from us, “land cannot be stolen” (Suk. 30). Rav Nachshon Gaon (Maharam 536) adds that it remains ours because, as we saw before, it continues to be associated with us.
{When G-d Gives Us Strength
Ultimately, what makes the land ours is Divine destiny. Shimon hinted at this by emphasizing that the retaking of the Land was not the result of situational strength or political opportunity but, rather, G-d’s Hand.
Rashi emphasizes the importance of this Divine destiny in his first comment on the Torah:
Rebbe Yitzchak explained: Why did the Torah begin with Bereishit and not with the first commandment (Ha’chodesh ha’zeh la’chem)? Because of the verse, “He explained the basis of His actions to His people to give them the Land inhabited by others” (Teh. 111).
If other nations accuse the Jews of being thieves for taking the Land… they should respond by explaining that all the land belongs to G-d. He created it all and gives it to whomever He sees as deserving. Just as He once gave it to them, He now took it from them and gave it to us.
Though most Jews lived far from Israel while Muslims and Christians vied for its control, Rashi was able to foresee a time—our time—when Jews would return to Israel and be accused of thievery. He explains that the Torah begins with the Creation narrative to rebuff these attacks. We are here by the grace of G-d; our mandate comes from Him.
Despite Rashi’s anticipation and response to these accusations centuries before they were conceived, the world does not accept his response. So, what value does it have? Did Rashi think his comment would convince the United Nations?
Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook explained that Rashi addresses us, not other nations. His intention was not to convince others but to reinforce our conviction. Rashi implied this with the pasuk he quotes as a proof text: “The basis of His deeds, He tells His people.” Though we may be unable to convince others of our Divinely destined rights, our recognition should bolster our confidence and embolden us in the face of those seeking to delegitimize us.
{The Renewed Challenges: The Charvot Barzel War
David Ben Gurion saw the Tanach as our mandate to the land of Israel. He understood that UN resolutions and international support come and go; they reflect and are, therefore, susceptible to passing winds. He recognized G-d’s Will, as expressed in the eternal Book of Books, as the basis of our rights and claims.
As the State of Israel achieved more international recognition, including peace deals with Arab neighbors, many Israelis saw this recognition as the basis of our rights to the Land. They no longer felt a need to rely upon the Bible as the basis of their rights and, thus, of their identity.
The past year has thus been a particularly rude awakening. The UN, once the body that sanctioned the founding of our state, is now doing everything it can to undermine it. UN bodies, foreign governments, and liberal movements around the world denounce and demonize Israel and sympathize with the barbaric terrorists who attack us. All this is part of a broader reconsideration of our right to our land.
Those who relied on international recognition are surprised, befuddled, and frustrated. We, who rely on the Torah, know both to expect these attacks and how to respond to them. Our rights are no less than Divine—Hashem created the world and gave us this Land. He reminded us of His gift by facilitating our miraculous return and revival and the Land’s rejuvenation after two thousand years of dormancy.
{The Right Context
Though these are challenging times for Am Yisrael, the challenges are merely a reformulation of those we successfully rebuffed in the past. Shimon HaMaccabee’s words remind us that this is not the first time our rights have been challenged and help us formulate a response.
Our relationship with the Land of Israel has brought us back three times; it is truly our home. This knowledge should give us the strength to face all those who challenge our relationship with our Divinely ordained motherland.
May Chanukah and Shimon’s words renew our strength to fight for our beloved land. n
Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA.
His new book, Essentials of Judaism, can be purchased at rabbireuventaragin.com.
