Is our land really worth dying for?

Many years ago I had the privilege of sharing the land of Israel with a Birthright group for ten days. One afternoon, when we visited Emek Habacha, the valley of tears, I shared with them one of the most powerful stories I know, that of Avigdor Kahalani and the 77th battalion who, with 25 tanks, stopped the might of the Syrian army in the Yom Kippur war. For 24 critical hours, this battalion held off hundreds of Syrian Tanks in the Golan Heights, until the reserves began to arrive. Many of those soldiers never came back down off those mountains; but with their heroism and selfless sacrifice, they saved the State of Israel.

After we had finished experiencing the intensity of that valley, one of the students approached me with a difficult question.

“I’m having a really hard time relating to this story, because I cannot imagine any piece of land I would be willing to die for. Is it worth it? Is any piece of land really worth it?”

It’s a good question, which seems to be at the forefront of our thoughts yet again, as we seem to be paying such a terrible price for our desire to settle this ancient land. Is it worth it? Is any piece of land really worth it?

This week, in the portion of Chayei Sarah, the Torah introduces us to the concept of sacred space, as Avraham seeks the appropriate burial plot for his beloved wife Sarah. Indeed, the first portion of land any Jew ever owned in Israel is Avraham’s purchase of the Machpelah cave in Hebron, as a burial plot for Sarah. Legend has it that this was the burial site of Adam and Eve; Ultimately, Yitzchak and Rivkah, along with Yaakov and Leah, will be buried there as well.

Why does our permanent and tangible connection with the land of Israel begin as the purchase of a burial plot? Why, for thousands of years, did so many Jews who were never able to actually live in the land of Israel yearn to be buried here, or at least to include some earth from Israel in their burial? Why is our love of this land so associated with death?