The nation itself understood that they might have to move over. They knew that they'd been idolatrous for a long time and that G-d had a claim against them. War was permitted because anything else would have been a denial of Divine authority.
This message fits with what we found in Rashi's comment on the first pasuk. So, I think we have to remember. There are always difficult times. We, baruch Hashem, live in a time that is a lot less difficult than many other times that the Jewish people have had in their history, and we should be grateful for it. But just because we live in times that are less difficult doesn't mean that we don't have obligations.
People that learn Torah understand that the foothold that we have in Eretz Yisrael, the attempts to maintain that foothold, and to strengthen our connection to the promise that Hakadosh Baruch Hu makes to us depends very much on our awareness of where the righteousness of our position comes from.
We're not right simply because we're here. We're right because this is what the Torah wants us to be doing. We need to have that awareness. We need to remember what Rashi said and to remember Yehoshua bin Nun.
I thank you all for being here and for greeting me this morning. Everyone should eat some cake. I'm trying not to eat cake. You know, when you get out of a difficult situation you try to act responsibly for at least a week. So I still have a couple of days left. All the best. Let's get back to the Bet Medrash.
To get further issues of "Conversations with Rabbi Brovender" please write to David Rozenson at alumni@yhol.org.il
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