No One Will Covet Your Land While You Go Up

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 34:13

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"For I will drive out nations before you... and no one shall covet your land" (Exodus 34:24). The Torah speaks against the evil inclination, so that Israel should not say: How can we leave our land and our houses and our fields and our vineyards and go up for the festival? Perhaps others will come and settle in our places. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them assurance: "No one shall covet your land" when you go up to appear before Me. And not only that, but no one of the harmful creatures is given permission to harm you. There was an incident concerning one man who left his grain heap and came back and found lions surrounding it. And there was an incident concerning one man who left his chicken coop and came back and found wildcats torn open before them, fulfilling "No one shall covet your land."

Themes

Holy LandPilgrimageProvidence

Continue Reading

Keter Shem TovJacob's Place Holds the Sparks of the LandJacob lay down in one place, and the whole land came under him. Keter Shem Tov 1:8:1 takes the Talmudic image of God folding the Land of Israel beneath Jacob atYalkut Shimoni on NachZebulun's Complaint and the Hidden Treasures of the SandWhen the land was divided, Zebulun looked at his inheritance and was not pleased. His brothers received fields and vineyards, fertile ground that paid out in grYalkut Shimoni on TorahWhy God Waited While the Canaanites Repaired the LandThe sages pushed once more on why God avoided the short road, and this time the answer turned on what the enemy did when they heard Israel was coming. Word reac2 EnochThe Fall of Helel ben ShacharOne figure looms large in this discussion: Satanael. In the ancient text of 2 Enoch, this was the name of the highest angel, and the story surrounding him is… c4 EzraAdam's Body Formed By An AngelThe familiar picture has God directly shaping him from dust, but some fascinating traditions tell a slightly different story, involving heavenly helpers. The stTestament of SolomonAn Evil DemonessTestament of Solomon turns to An Evil Demoness. Onoskelis wasn't your garden-variety demon. Imagine this: the torso of a beautiful woman, but instead of legs, s