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

YITZCHAK -
Too Good for Anywhere Else

Yitzchak was faced by a famine in the same way as was his father Avraham, so he planned to follow in his father's footsteps and seek relief in nearby Egypt. A Divine command, however, prohibited him from leaving Eretz Yisrael. (Bereishet 26:2)

Why was Yitzchak prevented from leaving the Holy Land?

"You are an unblemished sacrifice" said Hashem in referring to Yitzchak's being bound upon the altar in preparation for being offered as a sacrifice, "and the lands outside of Eretz Yisrael are not worthy of you."

The commentaries explain that the flesh of an olah burnt offering - which was what Yitzchak was prepared to be - cannot be removed from the precincts of the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary of Yitzchak was Eretz Yisrael; therefore, he could not go outside its borders.