ant land" (a coveted land) (Jer. iii. 19). Why is
it called a coveted land? Because the Temple was in it. Another reason
why it was so called is, because the fathers of the world have coveted
it. Rabbi Shimon ben Levi says, "Because they (who are buried) there
will be the first to be raised in the days of the Messiah."

_Shemoth Rabbah_, chap. 32.

"When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised
thee" (Deut. xii. 20). Rabbi Yitzchak said, "This scroll no man knows
how long and how broad it is, but when unrolled it speaks for itself,
and shows how large it is. It is so with the land of Israel, which, for
the most part, consists of hills and mountains; but when the Holy
One--blessed be He!--shall level it, as it is said (Isa. xl. 4), 'Every
valley shall be raised and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth,'
then shall that land speak, as it were, for herself, and its extent
stand revealed."

_Devarim Rabbah_, chap. 4.

Blessed are they who dwell in the land of Israel, for they have no sin,
no iniquity, either in their lives or in their deaths.

_Midrash Shochar Tov on Ps. lxxxv._

"Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith" (Prov. xvii. 1). This,
saith Rabbi, means the land of Israel, for even if a man have nothing
but bread and salt to eat, yet if he dwells in the land of Israel he is
sure that he is a son of the world to come. "Than a house full of
sacrifices with strife." This means the outside of the land, which is
full of robbery and violence. Rabbi Y---- says, "He who walks but an
hour in the land of Israel, and then dies within it may feel assured
that he is a son of the world to come; for it is written (Deut. xxxii.
43), 'And his earth shall atone for his people.'"

_Midrash Mishle._

See also the Talmud, Kethuboth, fol. 111, col. 1. Dr. Benisch
renders "and make expiation for His ground and His people." The
Targums of Jonathan and the Yerushalmi have, "He will make
atonement for His land and for His people;" and Onkelos puts it
thus, "He will show mercy unto His land and His people." Our
rendering, however, is in accordance with the sense given to it
in the Talmud. There are Jews who travel about the world with
bags of earth from the Holy Land, which they sell in small
quantities for high prices to such as can afford it, and believe
in its virtue as a protection again