God said to Moses, "Go up to this mountain of
Avarim and see the Land that I have given to the Children of
Israel. You shall see it."
(Numbers 27:12)
And the streets of the city will be filled with boys
and girls playing. (Zekhariah 8:5)
God said to Abram, "Go for yourself from your
land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that you
will come to see." (Genesis 12:1)
Why is "see" repeated twice? At first glance, Moses saw the Dead Sea and desert. Then, he saw the future of his people in their land.
Moses could see children playing in the Land of Israel.
We photographed our grandchildren and great-grandson
realizing Zekhariah’s vision.
Rabbi Kook's metaphor for Israel's rebirth after its long
exile is a child awakening from a coma asking to play with her doll.
The Jewish people's story begins by linking kinesthetic and
visual senses. Abram sees the land in a new light by walking away from his
past.
On receiving the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells of the
Israelites' synesthetic experience: All
the people saw the sounds. (Exodus 20:15)
Passive hearing is transformed into internalized visions of
the script for creating a better world.
The Torah formula for transforming sight into insight is: May God expand Yefet, but he will dwell in the
tents of Shem. (Genesis 9:27)
The name of Noah's son Yefet is related to visual beauty. Yefet's son is Yavan (Greece).
Beauty in ancient Greece is seen in the elegance of outward
form. Israel descends from Shem, related
to shemiyah (hearing).
Torah beauty is tiferet the innermost emanation of
divine light that integrates our intentions, thoughts and feelings through
creative action.