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solemn oath that they will bury him in the Land
of Israel. Yosef – who will be the first of the
brothers to die - makes the same request, & Moshe
will take it upon himself to bring Yosef’s bones
to be buried in Shechem. So is burial in Israel a
great merit? While it certainly is for those who
live in Israel (or who die in Israel) it is a
different story for those who choose to live
outside Israel. The Gemara Yerushalmi records a
dispute between Rabi bar Kiri, who says that
burying non-residents in Israel defiles the Land
(as a corpse is the highest form of tuma,
impurity); while Rav Eliezer says it brings
atonement to all & "shortens" the journey to Olam
Haba (all souls must pass thru Israel on the
way). I would suggest that today, when Jewish
cemeteries around the world are constantly
vandalized & also in danger of being destroyed,
there is an added justification to burial in
Israel. BUT – living here is a much, much greater Mitzva!
Understanding the Shalom Zachor
Rabbi Avraham Rosenthal | Cheshvan 12 5780
Parshat Shemini
The Mishkan: Dedication, Anticipation, and Crisis
Rabbi Hillel Geffen | Nisan 5761
Forgetting a Day of Sefirat Ha'Omer
Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon | 5778
What Will the Neighbors Think?
The laws of Marit Ayim
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Thursday, 27 Cheshvan 5768
Daf Yomi Makkot Daf 11
R' Eli Stefansky | 21 Nisan 5785
Daf Yomi Makkot Daf 9
R' Eli Stefansky | 19 Nisan 5785
Daf Yomi Makkot Daf 12
R' Eli Stefansky | 22 Nisan 5785
