This Shabbos all of Israel is united and finishes Sefer Bamidbar. It is not coincidental that we read Matos and Masei, which highlight Eretz Yisrael, in the period of the three weeks, and especially as we celebrate Rosh Chodesh Av this Friday. According to the Ramban, Parshas Masei contains the biblical mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisrael, imploring all Jews to come up with a good reason why they are not yet living in Eretz Yisrael, as found in Bamidbar (33:53) "you shall possess the Land and you shall settle it in."
In Chapter 35, the Torah gives us in detail the laws of the accidental murderer who is to go to an ir miklat, and that of the intentional murderer who is to be executed. This is spelled out most succinctly. Then (35:31-32) the Torah warns that an accidental murderer is not to be given the opportunity to pay a ransom instead of going to a city of refuge, and likewise a murderer is not to be given the opportunity to pay a ransom, build a hospital or benefit society instead of the death penalty.
The Torah then (35:33-34) adds, "Do not bring guilt on the land, in which you are living because bloodshed is that which brings guilt upon the land, and the land will not be forgiven for the blood that is shed in it except through the blood of the person who shed it." Finally, the next verse reads, "do not defile the land in which you dwell in the midst of which I dwell, because I Hashem dwell among the children of Israel." Given there are no extra words in the Torah, at first glance the last two verses seem superfluous. Murder is forbidden universally, regardless of where the act is committed. Why does the Torah mention the word "land" four times even though this is certainly not a mitzvah dependent on the land of Israel?
The Ramban answers this question (v.33) by stating that while murder is indeed universally prohibited, the Torah is teaching that it is especially so in the land where G-d's Shechinah is present. The land of Israel, more than any other geographic location, cannot tolerate murder. The land itself is especially sensitive. Similarly, we find at the end of Parshas Acharei Mos, where the Torah clearly warns the Jewish people against repeating the sins of immorality of the nations that lived in the land before them, lest they too be evicted from the land.
Morality is a norm that is to be practiced in every society. Yet, there too in Vayikra (18:27-28), the Torah highlights the offense and effect of immorality upon the land of Israel. The land of Israel has character and personality and due to its higher level of sanctity, simply cannot tolerate both immorality and murder.
We pray that Tisha B'Av will speedily become a holiday as prophesized by the Zechariah (8:19), that the fast of the fifth month will be to the House of Judah for joy and for gladness and for a happy festival. In the event that we are not privileged for this yet, we will read on the night of Tisha B'Av the book of Eicha, written by the Yirmiyahu. In Chapter 1, verse 4, the Yirmiyahu relates "the roads of Zion are mourning for lack of festival pilgrims." One can argue that this is a poetic continuation of the prior verse which describes that "Judah has gone into exile because of suffering and great servitude."
However, I would like to understand this verse literally in keeping with our above teachings, that the land and roads of Israel are literally mourning in the absence of the multitudes that came to celebrate the three pilgrim festivals annually. Similarly, on the Shabbos following Tisha B'Av, we read from Yishayahu (40:2) "Dabru al lev Yerushalyim - speak consolingly to the heart of Jerusalem" is not only to be understood as a message of consolation for the Jewish people after their lengthy exile, but also the holy city that housed two Batei Mikdash and will house the third is to be comforted. Additionally, Yirmiyahu (30:17) proclaimed "Tzion he, doresh ein la - She is Zion, no one cares about her," and based upon the above the Talmud teaches we are to care and literally feel the anguish, suffering and neglect of the Holy City.
Rav Eliyahu Lopian zt"l had a condition that necessitated him to expectorate. When he came to Eretz Yisrael, he refused to spit on the ground. The land itself is holy and has feelings. This may be substantiated by the Gemara (Kesubos 112b) that Rav Chiya bar Gamda rolled in the dust of Eretz Yisrael, to fulfill that which is found in Psalms (112:15) "for your servants have cherished our stones and favored her dust." Interestingly, this verse is the source of the custom among some to place some soil from Eretz Yisrael upon the dead who are buried in the Diaspora. Similarly, the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 5:10) teaches that great sages would kiss the borders of Eretz Yisrael, kiss its stones and roll in its dust.
The Gemara (Megillah 29a) teaches that the synagogues and study halls in Bavel are destined to be established in Eretz Yisrael in the Messianic age. The Maharsha in his commentary on this Gemara writes that the land of Israel in its entirety has a Kedusha - a holiness similar to a Beis HaKenesis. Based upon the above, the Vilna Gaon at the end of his prayers would walk an additional four cubits in his synagogue in Vilna, fulfilling to the best of his ability the rabbinic dictum to walk four cubits in the land of Israel.
The message that emerges from the above may be found most succinctly in the Gemara (Kesubos 75a), where R. Meysha explains the verse (Tehillim 87:5) "and to Zion it shall be said ish v'ish yulad bah - this man and this man was born in her." He explains this phrase to mean that both one who is born in Tzion and one who yearns to see Tzion are considered its sons. Rashi explains the above verse to refer to the future time when the nations of the world will bring them back to Zion, saying about "each Jew this one is a son of Tzion, he was born there, let us bring him back to her."
The first lesson is that we must consider ourselves sons of Tzion. This is demonstrated by our longing to be there and our endeavoring to enhance and improve the process of settling the land. Not only are we to attempt to go to recharge our batteries and to connect firsthand with the land of constant miracles, but in our prioritization of our tzedaka allotments, yeshivas in Eretz Yisrael should be one of our priorities, allowing us to literally participate in the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisrael. Finally, let's not forget the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael. The Bach (Orach Chaim 208) teaches that the land itself has kedusha, thus the trees that bear fruit have kedusha. When we imbibe the fruit of Eretz Yisrael, we are ingesting kedusha and become uplifted spiritually.