People of The Land #3

PEOPLE OF THE LAND
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

The Ohrnet feature "Love of the Land," which brought so much enlightenment and enjoyment to so many thousands of subscribers and surfers during the past three years, is being renewed in a different format and with a new subtitle: People of the Land. People of the Land will present brief sketches of people mentioned in Tanach, Talmud and Midrashim as having a special relationship with Eretz Yisrael. An effort will be made to present them in chronological order.

Those who wish to enjoy the wealth of material which appeared in previous "Love of the Land" features can do so on our website, www.ohr.edu.

NOACH - THE PERPETUAL ALTAR

When Noach finally emerged from the ark following the Deluge he built an altar to Hashem and offered sacrificed upon it from some of the animals he had been told to offer refuge from the flood waters.

He did not actually construct this altar, say our Sages, but rather decided upon an existing altar as the one most suited for his post-deluvian offering. This was the "great altar in Yerushalayim" upon which Adam had brought a sacrifice and upon which his sons, Cain and Hevel, brought their offerings.

This great altar was also the scene of history's greatest sacrificial gesture, that of Avraham binding his beloved son Yitzchak as an offering. All this was done on Mount Moriah where eventually the Beit Hamikdash would be built and the descendants of Adam, Noach, Avraham and Yitzchak would offer their sacrifices upon an altar that they built.

Love of the Land Archives

Written by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
HTML Design: Binyamin Rosenstock

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