The Long and winding road

For all that we cherish the land of Israel, the seminal event in Jewish History happened outside of Israel.  We would have expected the greatest event in Jewish history to take place where many other events took place- the Temple mount. That is where Abraham sought to sacrifice Yitzak, where Yakov dreamt of his ladder (according to some), and it is where G-d’s presence would rest for over four hundred years during the first temple period.  But, the Torah was not given there. Why? 

                It says that when Jews left Egypt, G-d circled the Jews around towards ‘the way of the desert of the Sea of Reeds’. He didn’t want the Jews to go straight to the land of holiness.  What was the value of taking an extended journey?

                On a simple level, to make Aliya should not be as easy as perusing an El Al website for a ½ and hour and buying a ticket.  To go to a place of holiness requires preparation.  So first, we had to gain mastery over our bodies by virtue of toiling along a circuitous route.  Then, we had to fortify our emotions in a desert to gain will power- there is little that is more deflating than being in the middle of nowhere.  And finally, we had to sharpen our intellectual resolve to see beyond the finite world- we needed to understand the miraculous and experience a split sea. 

                But a different way of looking at it is that we couldn’t go straight to Israel because we needed to make a crucial pit stop on our way to get the instruction manual for success in life.  When it says that G-d took us around towards ‘the way’, it is a direct reference to the Torah.  And that couldn’t be given in the holy of holies of Jerusalem for that is the ultimate destination- to reach transcendence.  Torah is the map on how to get there and you only purchase a map while you are on the journey, not when you have already arrived.