Everybody knows that the state of Israel and the land of Israel are important to Jewish people all around the world – not only to Israeli citizens.
But why is this area in the Middle East, known as Israel, so important to Jewish people? When did the connection between Jewish people and Israel begin? How did it all start?
Well, the connection between Jewish people and Israel goes back. Wayyyy back.
How much back, you ask? Well, all the way back to around 2000 BC!
According to the Book of Genesis, the holy land was first promised by God to the descendants of Abram. (The Book of Genesis is the first book of both the Hebrew Bible – the Torah – and the Christian Old Testament)
God promised Abram’s descendants a vast area – all the land between the river (or wadi) of Egypt to the West to the Euphrates river in modern day Iraq to the East.
During these times, the Jewish people were not yet called Jews, but Israelites.
Hold up, who was Abram?
In Judaism, Abram (known also as Abraham) is the founding father of the covenant of the pieces, the special relationship between the Israelites and God. The covenant of the pieces is the source of the Berith (circumcision) ceremony, practiced by Jewish people to this day.
Abram was born around 1813 BC, and died around 1644 BC, when he was 169 years old.
You can say that both the Jewish history and the Jewish connection to Israel basically begins with Abram, around theses years.
So we see that the Jewish connection to Israel, that special bond between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, started over 4000 years ago. And like any relationship, it had its ups and downs.
In the following posts we will cover the rich history connecting the Jewish people to Israel. We will have it all – victories and defeats, kingdoms and superpowers, slavery and freedom, wars and rebellions, exile and an amazing comeback.
By the end of the journey, you will receive the answers as to why Israel is so important to Jewish people, learn about the history of the Holy Land, understand the Jewish connection to Israel and most importantly – have fun doing so.
So let’s continue onward with the journey, as destiny awaits in Chapter Two – Israelites in Egypt!