At the end of Parshat Vayetze, Lavan sent Yaakov and his family on their
way to return home.

As Yaakov entered the Land of Israel, we see that he named the places
that he encountered along the way.

In Breisheet 32:1-2 we read:

Yaakov continued on his way- and angels of God encountered him. When he
saw them, Yaakov said, “This is God’s
own camp,” and he named the place Machanayim (two camps).”

In Parshat Vayishlach, After Yaakov
crossed the Yabok and fought with the angel, in Breisheet 32:30, “Yaakov named
the place Peniel (face of God), ‘for I have seen God face to face and yet my
life has been spared.’”

After Esav went home to Seir, Yaakov went to Sukkot (Breisheet 33:17):

Yaakov travelled to Sukkot and built himself a house (bayit), and for
his livestock he made sukkot (booths). He therefore named the place Sukkot.

We learn in the Talmud, Megilla 17a that Yaakov was in Sukkot for
eighteen months.

Rashi, as explained by the Maharsha points out that he was there for a
summer, a winter and another summer.

A house implies a winter home while a sukkah is a summer dwelling. The
plural “sukkot” suggests two seasons of shelter-dwelling while house in
the singular alludes to a single winter. Nothing is derived from the first mention
of Sukkot because that is the name of the town.

The places that Yaakov named appear
once again in the books of the prophets:

The location of Sukkot is outlined in
the book of Yehoshua as part of the tribe of Gad’s inheritance (13:24-28):

…All of the cities of Gilad, and
half the land of the children of Amon…and from Cheshbon to Ramat HaMitzpeh and
Vetonim and from Machanayim to the border of Dvir. And in the valley:…Sukkot
and Zaphon- the rest of the kingdom of Sichon, king of Cheshbon- the Jordan at
its border, to the shore of the Kineret Sea on the eastern side of the Jordan…

In Shoftim 8:4-9 the cities of
Sukkot and Peniel appear in the story of Gidon:

Gidon arrived at the Jordan and
crossed over, but the 300 men that were with him were weary from the chase. He
said to the people of Sukkot, “Please provide loaves of bread for the men following
me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of
Midian…”

The people of Sukkot refused to help
out so Gidon ascended to Peniel but they too refused to help.

In Melachim I 7:46, we see that the spot where King Shlomo made the
copper vessels for the Temple was in the Plain of Jordan between Sukkot and
Zarethan.

Do we know where Sukkot is located today?

According to archaeologist Yochanan Aharoni, Sukkot is associated with
Tel Dir Alla, located in the Biblical borders of the Land of Israel on the
eastern side of the Jordan (where Jordan is today) in the spot where Wadi Yabok
meets the Jordan River.

We have come a long way from the days of Gidon when the people of Sukkot
and Peniel refused to give his soldiers food. Today, everyone is reaching out
to make sure that the soldiers are fed properly.

As the weather has changed and we have moved in from our sukkot to our
homes, we must remember that our soldiers are still staying in makeshift homes
in order to protect us.

When one travels to the border of Gaza, they encounter a surprising
sight. The whole area is frozen in time back to October 7 and the sukkot have
still not been taken down.

May we quickly finish off the enemy and allow for the soldiers to return
to their warm homes. May we have strength to rebuild what was destroyed and
take down the sukkot that remind us of how much we have lost.

May the blessing that we say in the Hashkiveynu prayer each Friday night
be fulfilled: Blessed are you God who spreads the sukkah (shelter) of peace
upon us, upon all of Israel and upon Jerusalem.

After Yaakov separated from his brother, Esav and returned to the Land
of C’naan we read (Breisheet 33:18):

Yaakov came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the Land of
C’naan, when he came back from Padan Aram. He encamped before the city. He
bought the part of the field where he had spread his tent from the sons of
Chamor, father of Shechem, for one hundred kesitas.

Rashbam explains that Shalem was a city that belonged to Shechem, the
son of Chamor. After the incident with Dina, when Yaakov’s sons fought against
Shechem, the name of the city Shalem was changed to Shechem.

Why is Yaakov already buying land as soon as he returns to the Land of
C’naan?

Ramban explains that Yaakov did not wish to be a transient lodger in the
city. Rather, he wanted his inaugural entrance into the Land to be into his own
property. Therefore, he encamped in the field and bought a place for the
purpose of taking possession of the Land.

According to Ibn Ezra, the Torah mentions that Yaakov bought land to
show us that the Land of Israel has great virtues and whoever has a portion of
it is considered to have a portion in the World to Come.

Just like Yaakov, people have different reasons for buying property in
Israel. Some buy for the material asset, some buy for the spiritual investment.
Others buy so that they will have a place of their own to remodel and turn into
a home while others buy in order to live without having to worry about their
landlord raising the rent or selling their home from under them.

May all those who want to acquire a piece of the Land of Israel have the
opportunity to do so!

Sponsored by Leah and Bernie
Weinberger in honor of the anniversary of their son Michael’s Bar Mitzvah,
Parshat Vayishlach, 28 years ago

Shechem
often gets a bad rap as it is the city where Dinah was raped and Yosef was
sold. However, before those two horrible occurrences, Shechem was the place
where Avraham and Yaakov arrived safely when they reached the Land of Israel.

In
Breisheet 12:6-7 we read about Avraham’s arrival:

Avram
passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at Elon Moreh. The
Canaanites were then in the land. God appeared to Avram and said, “I will
assign this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to God who had
appeared to him.

According to Rashi, Avram stopped in the city of Shechem in
order to pray on behalf of Ya’akov’s sons, anticipating the time when they
would come to fight against Shechem, the prince.
Rashi then explains that Elon Moreh is another name for
Shechem. God showed Avram Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval where Israel would take
upon themselves the oath to observe the Torah.

Radak explains: Rashi alludes to the fact that Avram saw
a prophetic vision of the rape of Dinah in that town, and how the sons of
Yaakov would avenge that deed. He therefore stopped there and offered a prayer
on behalf of the family of Yaakov, asking God to save them from the pursuit and
hatred of the Emorites who would try and avenge their compatriots. We know that
this prayer was answered from Breisheet 35:5 “the fear of God was on these cities…”

Radak continues: Avraham foresaw that the Jewish people at Mount Gerizim
and Mount Eval would confirm that the Torah was binding for them.  The word Elon is an allusion to the oath the
people would swear in that location not to violate those commandments. Avram
prayed there asking God to make the hearts of the people amenable at that time
to take upon themselves this oath

Ramban quotes the
famous saying from Midrash Tanchuma: “Everything that
occurred to our forefathers is a sign for the children.” The verses recounting
the journeys of our forefathers come to teach about the future…Avraham took possession
of this place (Shechem) at the very beginning, even before the land was given
to him. It was thus hinted to him that his children would conquer this place
first before they would merit it, and before the guilt of the dwellers of the
land was complete to warrant their exile from there. And therefore, it stated,
“and the Canaanite was then in the land.” And when the Holy One,
blessed be He, gave him the land by His word, then he traveled from there and
planted his tent between Beit El and the Ai, since it is the place that
Yehoshua conquered first….

When
Yaakov returned to the Land, Shechem was his first stop as well (Breisheet
33:18-20):

Yaakov
arrived “Shalem”, safe in the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan—having
come from Paddan Aram—and he encamped before the city. The parcel of land where
he pitched his tent he purchased from the children of Chamor, Shechem’s father,
for a hundred kesitahs. He set up an
altar there, and called it El-Elohe-Yisrael.

Rashi
explains the meaning of the word “Shalem”, safely,
literally, whole, perfect, unimpaired —Yaakov was unimpaired in body (health)
as he was cured of his lameness (after fighting the angel); whole in regard to
his possessions for he was not short of anything even though he had given Esav
a huge gift (for his remaining cattle soon bore other young); and perfect in
his knowledge of the Torah for he did not forget his Torah learning while he
was in Lavan’s house (Talmud, Shabbat 33b).

Even though the city of
Shechem may seem tainted to us due to the atrocities that later occurred there,
we must remember that Shechem was the spot where God showed Avraham, the first “oleh
chadash” (new immigrant) that he finally arrived at his destination and that
his offspring would eventually inherit the entire land. It is also the place
where Yaakov, the first “toshav chozer” (returning citizen) finally felt calm, complete
and truly at home again after being on the run from his brother. As well, it
was the spot where B’nai Yisrael as a nation took upon themselves the oath to
observe the Torah. 

In Parshat Vayishlach, after Yaakov
separates from Esav we read (Breisheet 33:18-20):

Yaakov arrived safely at the city of
Shechem, which is in the Land of C’naan, when he came from Padan Aram. He
encamped before the city. He bought the part of the field where he had spread
his tent, from the sons of Chamor, father of Shechem, for 100 kesitas. He set
up an altar there and called it “El Elohei Yisrael.”

In the Book of Yehoshua (24:32), we
come full circle when we read about Yosef’s burial in Shechem:

Yosef’s bones, which B’nai Yisrael
had brought from Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field
that Yaakov acquired from the children of Chamor, the father of Shechem, for
100 kesitas; and it became a heritage for the children of Yosef.

It is clear from these two sources
that our history in Shechem goes back to the TaNaCh.

Yosef’s tomb is located at the
eastern entrance of the valley that separates Har Grizim and Har Eval. It is 300
meters northwest of Yaakov’s Well, on the outskirts of the city of Nablus.

After Israel captured Nablus in
1967, Jews began to frequent the tomb. Unfortunately, over the years, there
have been many conflicts at the site.

Shulamit Aloni, minister of culture
and education in the Rabin government did not help matters when she promoted
the idea (falsely claimed by archeologists) that the site was only 200 years
old.  Palestinian spokesperson Hanan
Ashwari as well claimed that Judaism’s connection with the tomb was fabricated.

The site was viciously attacked on
two occasions:

In 1996, six Israeli soldiers were killed
at the tomb after Nablus was handed over to the PA as part of the Oslo Accords
(even though technically, Yosef’s tomb along with other religious sites was
still considered under Israeli control).

In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak
handed over Yosef’s tomb to the Palestinian Police. This was a humiliating
moment for Israel. Palestinians burned the tomb immediately after it was
evacuated. Madhat Yusef, a Druze Israel Border Policeman was killed. When Rabbi
Hillel Lieberman rushed to the tomb to check the damage, he too was killed.

Unfortunately the site is no longer
in Israeli hands. Jews can only visit with permission from the army.

In 2011, the Palestinian Authority Police
opened fire on three cars of worshippers after they were praying at Yosef’s
tomb. One man was killed, Ben Yosef Livnat, former culture minister, Limor
Livnat’s nephew. It seems that the visit was not coordinated by the authorities.
Former IDF Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz stated that they fired without
justification.

There have been more clashes, fires
and damage to the tomb ever since.

It is unfortunate that the Israeli
government does not see Yosef’s tomb as a priority even though it is clear from
the TaNaCh that it is one of our holy sites.

May we see the day when Yosef’s tomb
is properly cared for the way that Yosef’s bones were taken care of by B’nai
Yisrael.

I went out to dinner in Jerusalem
with friends from the United States and they were surprised to see filet mignon
on the menu. They said that they thought that it is not kosher and that they
never saw it at a kosher restaurant before.

Filet mignon is in fact kosher.
However, since the meat is close to the “Gid HaNashe”, the sinew in an animal’s
leg that the Torah forbids us to eat, a very skilled person is needed to
separate the forbidden parts in a process called nikur, tunneling. In the
United States, where kosher meat is readily available, most of the hind
portions are sold to non-Jews so that the kosher butchers don’t have to deal
with this intricate process of removing the “Gid HaNashe” so certain cuts are
not available.

The background of why we don’t eat
the “Gid HaNashe” comes from Parshat Vayishlach, Breisheet 25-32:

Yaakov fought with the angel prior
to his meeting with his brother Esav. When the angel realized that he could not
prevail over Yaakov, he struck Yaakov’s hip, dislocating his thighbone from the
hip- socket and leaving him with a limp. In consequence, Breisheet 32:33 states
“Therefore B’nei Yisrael must not eat the Gid HaNashe (displaced sinew) which
is on the spoon of the thigh, to this very day; because he struck the spoon of
Yaakov’s thigh, on the displaced sinew.”

The Talmud, Chulin 101b points out
that the mitzvah of Gid HaNashe was commanded in Vayishlach as part of the story
of Yaakov and the angel and was later commanded at Sinai as well.

In Israel, there is a small market
for non-kosher meat so the hind portions are not sold to non-Jews. The entire
animal is koshered and the “Gid HaNashe” is removed. Therefore, filet mignion
is available in Israel, another good reason to come to Israel (unless you are a
vegetarian or you have just become one after reading this article. In that case,
we have some great fruits and vegetables here as well).

Breisheet Chapter 34 begins with the
story of the rape of Dinah: “Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to
Yaakov, went out, to see the local girls. She was seen by Shechem, son of Chamor,
the Chivi, who was the prince of the land. He took her and lay with her and
afflicted her (vaye’aneha).”

Ramban explains that all forced
sexual connection is called “affliction”, “inui”. Scripture emphasizes that
Dinah was forced and did not consent to the prince of the country.

As the story unfolds, we do not hear
from Dinah at all, not after the rape and not when she is taken captive. From
what we see from the text, she is completely silent when Shechem tries to convince
her brothers to let him marry her. We also don’t hear from her after she is
rescued.

Yaakov is silent as well.

In Breisheet 34:5 we read: “Yaakov
heard that he (Shechem) had defiled his daughter, Dinah, while his sons were
with the livestock in the fields. Yaakov remained silent until they returned.”

Yaakov let his sons do all of the
talking and negotiating with Shechem’s family and he only speaks up at the end
of the chapter (sentence 30) about Shimon and Levi’s violence, not about the
rape: “Yaakov said to Shimon and Levi, ‘You have made trouble for me, to make
me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the C’naani and Prizi. Since
I am few in number, they will gather and attack me. I and my family will be
destroyed.’”

We know that Shimon and Levi’s
behavior (killing the men on the third day after they had been circumcised)
continued to bother Yaakov. On his death bed (Breisheet 49:7) Yakov said
“Cursed be their (Shimon and Levi’s) anger for it is powerful and their fury
for it is cruel.”

Why didn’t Yaakov speak up about the
rape? Why did he let things get out of hand before intervening? Why don’t we
hear from Dinah?

We don’t have answers to any of
those questions and unfortunately some things still have not changed.

Through the recent #MeToo campaign,
many women who were afraid to speak out about the abuse that they went through are
finally opening up about what happened.

Unfortunately, Dinah was never able
to express herself and tell her own story about what really went on and the
anguish that she suffered.

May the statements of the women who
have courageously spoken up so far help promote awareness of abuse and help
deter all forms of misconduct in the future.

In memory of Dorothy and Harry DuBrow on their yahrzeits

In Parshat Vayishlach, Esav seems overly excited about being reunited
with his brother Yaakov who he has not seen for twenty years. This is
surprising since they did not part on good terms. In Parshat Toldot, after
Yitzchak blessed Yaakov (Breisheet 27:41) “Esav
hated Yaakov because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esav
said in his heart, ‘The mourning days for my father are approaching. I will
then kill my brother, Yaakov.’”

We read how excited Esav is to see
Yaakov in Breisheet 33:4, “Esav ran to meet him. He hugged him and fell on his
neck and kissed him. They both wept.”

Many of the words used here to
describe Esav’s behavior remind us of other emotional family reunions in the
Torah. Nehama Leibowitz brings Benno Jacob’s list of similar meetings in the
Torah:

Yaakov and Rachel: (Breishet 29:11) “And
Yaakov kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept.”

Yosef and Binyamin: (Breisheet
45:14) “And he (Yosef) fell on the neck of Binyamin, his brother and wept and
Binyamin wept upon his neck.”

Yaakov and Yosef: (Breisheet 46:29) “And
Yosef harnessed his chariot, and went up to greet his father, Yisrael in Goshen.
When he appeared before him, he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck for a
long time.”

Moshe and Aharon: (Shmot 4:27) “God
said to Aharon, ‘Go meet Moshe in the desert.’ He (Aharon) went and met him at
the mountain of God and he kissed him.”

Benno Jacob explains that the
description of Esav’s running, embracing, falling, kissing and weeping is
suspect. Yaakov can see through Esav. He does not believe that Esav is genuine
and parts ways with him.

In all of the other cases, which
were sincere reunions, one, two or three of the verbs were used. In Esav’s case
all five were used!

We can learn from here that it is
best to be upfront and honest. Someone who puts on an act will be regarded as
suspect. There is no reason to lay it on so thick!

 Commemorating the yahrzeit’s of Dorothy and Harry Dubrow z”l

In Breisheet 25:27, Yaakov is
described as “ish tam yoshev ohalim”, “a plain man dwelling in tents”. Rashi
comments that “dwelling in tents” refers to Yaakov being a scholar who studied
in the tents (yeshivot) of Shem and Ever. Radak and Rav Saadiah Gaon also
interpret the phrase to mean scholar.

There is also another
interpretation. According to Chizkuni, Ibn Ezra, Rashbam and Bechor Shor the plain
meaning of the text is that Yaakov tended his father’s sheep. This makes sense
since as soon as he got to Lavan’s house, Yaakov began to work for him, taking
care of his sheep as an experienced shepherd.

In Breisheet 29:15 “Lavan said to
Yaakov, ‘Just because you are my relative, must you work for me without pay?
Tell me what I should pay you.’”

Ramban explains that the
unidentified “work” here means the tending of the sheep, for this is what was
needed and this was the subject of their conversation.

Yaakov worked as a shepherd for
seven years in order to marry Rachel but instead Lavan gave him Leah, so he had
to work another seven years for Rachel. After the fourteen years, he continued
working for Lavan for six more years without compensation. When enough was
enough, Yaakov said that as compensation, he would keep any new flock born
spotted and speckled as well as any new dark brown sheep. Lavan agreed to this.
With God’s help, Yaakov figured out a way for the sheep to reproduce spotted
and speckled and he became prosperous. Lavan was not happy and tried to change
the terms of the agreement again until Yaakov had enough and decided to take
his family and go back home (based on a dream where the angel of God told him
that it was time to return to the land of his birth, the Land of Cnaan).

After Yaakov tried to sneak away
with his family and was caught by Lavan, they finally made peace and with Lavan’s
blessing, Yaakov took his wives, children and flocks back to the Land of Cnaan.

In Parshat Vayishlach, which took
place about 3000 years ago,  Yaakov
prepared a peace offering gift for Esav (who was preparing to kill him the last
time that they met) which included 200 female goats, twenty male goats, 200
ewes and twenty rams.

Yaakov’s flocks and their
descendents remained in Israel for 1000 years until the destruction of the Beit
HaMikdash where they went into exile along with the Jewish people and did not
return.

This past week, the flocks began to come
back. An organization called Friends of Jacob’s Sheep began to bring 119 spotted
and speckled sheep to Israel from Canada.

Once all of the sheep have arrived
and settled, visitors will be able to see the sheep and get a glimpse into the
life of Yaakov and his flocks.

Commemorating the
Yahrzeit of Harry V. (Tzvi) DuBrow

In Parshat Vayishlach, when Yaaakov heard that Esav was
approaching him with four hundred men (Breisheet 32:8-9) “Yaakov was frightened
and distressed. He divided the people that were with him along with the sheep,
cattle and camels into two camps. He said ‘If Esav comes to one camp and
attacks it, the remaining camp will survive.’”

God already promised Yaakov that he had nothing to worry
about so why was he distressed and afraid?

According to Rashi Yaakov feared that he may be killed and
he was distressed that he might kill others.

Those who are living in Israel during these difficult times
understand where Yaakov was coming from when he was afraid. When you have male
and female terrorists as young as eleven years old attempting to stab innocent
people with knives and scissors on the street, on the train or on a bus, the
situation can be frightening. When you have drivers purposely trying to run
over innocent people who are waiting at a bus stop it is not a surprise that
people worry every time they need to take a bus. When rocks as big as cinder
blocks are thrown at cars for no reason other than the fact that the kids
throwing the rocks want to see Israelis dead it can make people nervous to
drive on certain roads.

The Israeli soldiers, police and others who carry a weapon
also understand where Yaakov was coming from when he was distressed. Israeli
security personnel and those who carry weapons don’t want to have to use them.
They are distressed about the fact that if a terrorist approaches them they may
have to kill them. However, they know that Jewish law teaches us self defense, if
someone comes to kill you, you need to kill them first.

Yaakov was afraid and distressed but he didn’t just worry.
He was proactive. He divided the group in half to make sure that at least some,
if not all of his family would be saved. He offered gifts to Esav, prayed and
prepared for war.

Israel
is concerned about the current situation just as Yaakov was. Just as Yaakov was
proactive, so are we. Security has been tightened and many attacks have been
thwarted. Israelis are still going on with their daily routines, just with a
little more caution. Just as Yaakov prayed, we are praying for peace and for a
full recovery for those who have been injured. And Israel has a strong army which is
prepared for war if the need arises.

May we have peace in the State of Israel & throughout the world!

The handmaids were Bilha and Zilpa.

The first time that we hear of Zilpa is in Breisheet 29:24,
when Leah marries Yaakov: “Lavan gave Zilpa his servant to her, to Leah, his
daughter as a handmaid.”

Bilha is mentioned in Breisheet 29:29, when Rachel and Yaakov
finally get married: “To his daughter Rachel, Lavan gave his servant Bilha to
be her handmaid.”

When Rachel had difficulty getting pregnant, she gave Bilha
to Yaakov (Breisheet 30:3-4): “She (Rachel) said: Here is my handmaid Bilha,
consummate a marriage with her. Let her give birth upon my knees and I too will
have a son through her. She gave him Bilha, her handmaid as a wife and Yaakov
consummated the marriage with her.”

Bilha gave birth to two children and Rachel named them Dan
and Naftali. The children of Rachel’s handmaid were considered as if they were
Rachel’s own children.

After having four children, Leah gave her handmaid to Yaakov
as well in Breisheet 30:9-10: “Leah realized that she was no longer bearing
children. She therefore took Zilpa her handmaid and gave her to Yaakov as a
wife.”

Zilpa gave birth to two sons and Leah named them Gad and
Asher.

Lekach Tov points out that Yaakov did not just take Bilha
and Zilpa as concubines. It is very clear from the text that he married them.

Chizkuni adds that they were married with a Ketuba (marriage
contract) and Kidushin (full marriage ceremony). All twelve tribes were
therefore children of Yaakov’s wives (not children of concubines).

At the time that Yaakov and his family were parting from
Lavan (Breisheet 31:43), “Lavan said to Yaakov: The daughters are my daughters
(HaBanot Bnotai), the sons are my sons and these flocks are my flocks. All that
you see is mine. What can I do this day for these my daughters (vili’vnotai),
or for their children whom they have born?”

According to Midrash Raba 74:14, all four of Yaakov’s wives
were Lavan’s daughters. When he mentions daughters (bnotai) the first time he
is referring to Rachel and Leah, daughters of his wife and when he says
daughters (vnotai) the second time he is referring to Bilha and Zilpa,
daughters of his concubine.

This idea is further reinforced in Breisheet 31:50, when Lavan
told Yaakov not to marry other wives “in addition to my daughters.”

If all four women were Yaakov’s wives, then why did he
decide to put Bilha and Zilpa and their children first (what seemed to be the
most dangerous spot) when greeting Esav?

Midrash HaBiur which is quoted in Torah Shlema explains that
Yaakov knew that if Esav was going to hurt anyone it would be Rachel and Yosef
and therefore he kept them hidden in the back. It was not because his other
wives and children were inferior.

Bilha and Zilpa were the mothers of Dan, Naftali, Gad and
Asher. Should they count as our Matriarchs?

The Midrash in Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) Raba 6:4:2
teaches: The number six corresponds to the six Imahot (Matriarchs): Sara,
Rivka, Rachel, Leah, Bilha and Zilpa.

However, the Gemara in Brachot 16b states: We do not call
anyone Matriarchs of the Jews except for four individuals who according to
Rashi are Sara, Rivka, Rachel and Leah.

Rav Hai Gaon explains that only these four women were worthy
of the title “Imenu”, “Our Mother.”

Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov were the only ones who had the
title of “Avinu”, “Our Father.” That does not mean that the Twelve Tribes were
not important, it just means that they do not receive the same level of honor.
So too, just because Bilha and Zilpa were not described as “Matriarchs” in the
Talmud doesn’t mean that they did not make a huge contribution to the birth of
the Jewish nation.