Jewish Task Force (JTF.ORG): What The Bible Really Says About Surrendering Jewish Land

"On that day, G-d made with Abram a covenant saying, 'To your seed, I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates." (Genesis 15:18)

Since the Bible clearly defines the southwestern boundary of the Land of Israel as the "river of Egypt," the Gaza District is indisputably an integral part of the Jewish homeland.

The Gaza District is indisputably an integral part of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) - The Nile, which the majority of Talmudic sages regard as the western border of Israel, is indicated on the map by the red square. But even if, as a minority of Talmudic sages believe, the western border is Wadi El Arish, indicated by the purple square, there is no doubt that the entire Gaza District is part and parcel of the Jewish homeland. (As a further aid to understanding this issue, click on the image of the map or here for a much larger version which clearly and attractively shows the route of the Exodus and other features of the Jewish Sinai.)

The Torah (the first five books of the Jewish Bible) and the rest of the Tanach (Bible) repeatedly emphasize that Israel's southwestern boundary is the "river of Egypt." (See Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:4; and Isaiah 27:12.)

What is the "river of Egypt"?

There is a machloket (dispute) among Talmudic sages about the definition of the "river of Egypt."

There are two different schools of thought:

1. Most Talmudic sources - such as Rashi, Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel and HaRav Yehuda Halevi translate "river of Egypt" as the Nile River. In his commentary on [last week's parasha] (Torah portion), Parashat Masei, Rashi says that the Nile River and the "river of Egypt" are one and the same (Bamidbar 34:5). HaRav Halevi (in the Kuzari) makes the same determination.

2. A minority of Talmudic sources - such as Rambam (in Hilchot Shabbat) and HaRav Saadya Gaon - contends that the "river of Egypt" is Wadi El Arish in the Sinai.

If the majority of Talmudic sages is correct - in claiming that the "river of Egypt" is the Nile - then the Land of Israel includes not only the Gaza District, and not only the vast Sinai, but all territory going far beyond the Sinai up to the Nile River. Again, this is the majority opinion of the Talmudic scholars whom all Torah-true Jews are required to follow.

But even if the minority opinion in the Talmud is correct - in claiming that the "river of Egypt" is Wadi El Arish - then the Land of Israel still includes the entire Gaza District and roughly one-third of the Sinai.

Either way, there is absolutely no dispute that the Gaza District is an inseparable part of the eternal, G-d-given Land of Israel, and it is completely forbidden to even consider surrendering a single inch of this sacred Jewish soil under any circumstances whatsoever.

All self-hating Jews - including those who claim to be "religious" - who deliberately distort the clear teachings of Torah Judaism are liars, frauds and traitors to the Jewish people.

Jewish Task Force (JTF.ORG): What The Bible Really Says About Surrendering Jewish Land