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Toward the beginning of our weekly Torah portion (Eikev), the text tells us about the natural resources available in the land of Israel. It describes Israel as (Deut. 8:9), “a land in which you eat bread without poverty, in which nothing is lacking for you, a land whose rocks [contain] iron and from whose mountains you can extract copper.” This sounds fairly rich and productive. It almost sounds as if all you have to do is set your boots down on this land, get to work extracting the minerals, and you will lead a life of plenty. Of course, this is not the case; few are the people who have access to those minerals and they (together with the government) are the ones who profit from them. It is not you or I who will make money from the rocks and mountains of Israel. But, an interesting interpretation of this verse, coming from R’ Menachem Mendel of Rimanov (in his sefer, the Ilana d’Chaya), offers us hope…
The word used in the Torah text for “poverty” is miskenut. Even today in modern Hebrew, we refer to a person who arouses our sympathy as a misken. The Ilana deChaya, however offers a novel interpretation, based upon the word sochen, or “nurse.” A sochen, or sochenet (female nurse), is one who provides warmth and caring (so it is used in reference to King David when he was old and Avigail was brought to him as a wife and sochenet, to “warm” him). Based upon this alternative meaning, the Ilana deChaya offers the following interpretation…
“The Torah tells us that bread – meaning our livelihood – does not arrive because we toil in business to the point of sweating and overheating. Rather, our livelihood arrives for the reason that in the land of Israel, ‘nothing is lackingŒ [Translating more strictly], “All is not lacking for you” – and “all” alludes to the tzadik, or “righteous person,” who is the conduit for all blessings, both physical and spiritual. Therefore, the Ilana deChaya interprets our verse as follows, “a land in which you eat bread without over-extending yourself in labor (overheating), a land which is not lacking a righteous man for you, a land whose rocksŔ
So, there we have it – in the land of Israel, it is not hard work to the point of overheating and exhaustion that makes the difference – it is the spiritual connection that matters. Many are the times that idealistic olim, or new immigrants to Israel, hold down two or more menial jobs for a year or more, only to become dejected and disappointed because even with the hard physical labor of two jobs, they cannot make ends meet. Here, things work on the different plane – it is those who develop and maintain the connection with the One above who “make it” and survive, staying in the land of Israel. So, “yes” to work and “yes” to making an independent living and standing on one’s own two feet, in Israel as well as everywhere else. But, “yes,” as well to the development of our spiritual connection, our connection with the One above and His servants below, the righteous who serve as a conduit for Godliness to all of us, helping to make our lives complete both physically and spiritually.