English Translation
“I am a stranger in the land”
When [the Gaon Rabbi Shabtai Yagel, of blessed righteous memory] first visited the Land of Israel in 1929, he was distressed to see how the new settlement was developing, with most of it taking on an appearance devoid of holiness and Torah. When he was honored to speak publicly at a gathering in Tel Aviv, he mentioned the allegory of the Malbim who, upon arriving in Germany, was shocked to see how many Jews had cast off the yoke [of Torah], until he cited the verse “I am a stranger in the land; do not hide Your commandments from me,” adding this explanation: A parable of two people from the same town who were estranged from each other, but when they were displaced to distant lands and met as foreigners, they became friends due to their shared origin and situation. Similarly, King David says: I am a “stranger” in the land, and “Anochi” (“I am the Lord your God”) is also a stranger in the land, [as] the Divine Presence is in exile, therefore we have a special reason to become friends, and so I ask that You reveal to me Your mysteries and “do not hide Your commandments from me”…
Rabbi Aharon Sorsky [may he live a good and long life], “Spreaders of Torah and Ethics” (Brooklyn 1977) Vol. 3, p. 127
Original Hebrew Version
גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ
כְּשֶׁבִּקֵּר [הַגָּאוֹן רַבִּי שַׁבְּתַי יָגֵל זַצַ”ל] פַּעַם רִאשׁוֹנָה בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, בִּשְׁנַת תרפ”ט, הִצְטַעֵר לִרְאוֹת אֵיךְ מִתְרַקֵּם פֹּה הַיִּשּׁוּב הֶחָדָשׁ, כְּשֶׁמַּרְבִּיתוֹ לוֹבֵשׁ צִבְיוֹן מְעֻרְטָל מִקְּדֻשָּׁה וְתוֹרָה. כְּשֶׁנִּתְכַּבֵּד לִדְרֹשׁ בָּרַבִּים, בַּאֲסֵפָה בְּתֵל-אָבִיב, הִזְכִּיר מְלִיצַת הַמַּלְבִּי”ם שֶׁהִגִּיעַ לְגֶרְמַנְיָה וְנִדְהַם לִרְאוֹת מַה רַבּוּ פּוֹרְקֵי-הָעֹל מִזֶּרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד שֶׁקָּרָא הַפָּסוּק “גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ אַל תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי מִצְוֹתֶיךָ”, בְּתוֹסֶפֶת הֶסְבֵּר: מָשָׁל לִשְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים, יוֹצְאֵי עִיר אַחַת, שֶׁהָיוּ כְּמִתְנַכְּרִים אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ, אֲבָל כְּשֶׁנִּטַלְטְלוּ לְמֶרְחַקִּים וְנִפְגְּשׁוּ בַּנֵּכָר נַעֲשׂוּ יְדִידִים בְּשֶׁל הַמּוֹצָא וְהַמַּצָּב הַמְּשֻׁתָּף שֶׁלָּהֶם. כָּךְ גַּם אוֹמֵר דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ: אֲנִי “גֵּר” בָּאָרֶץ, וְגַם “אָנֹכִי” (“אָנֹכִי ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ”) גֵּר בָּאָרֶץ, שְׁכִינְתָּא בְּגָלוּתָא, אִם־כֵּן יֵשׁ לָנוּ סִבָּה מְיֻחֶדֶת לְהִתְיַדֵּד וְלָכֵן אֲבַקֵּשׁ שֶׁתְּגַלֶּה לִי
מִסְתּוֹרִין שֶׁלְּךָ וְ”אַל תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי מִצְוֹתֶיךָ”…
הָרַב אַהֲרֹן סוֹרְסְקִי שְׁלִיטָ”א “מַרְבִּיצֵי תּוֹרָה וּמוּסָר” (בְּרוּקְלִין תשל”ז) ח”ג, ע’ קכ”ז
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