Category:

Nature

What Continent Is Israel a Part Of? Europe? Asia? Africa?

by Wise Old Sage September 15, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

It is impossible to comprehend the special, sanctified quality of the Land of Israel and to express ones love for it merely through finite, human understanding.
– Rav Kook, Orot Eretz Yisrael, Chap 1

The Land of Israel is a land of paradoxes. Questions that arise about Israel include: What is so special about it? Why has it been in the the focus of attention all over the world…for millennia?

And even the question of where Israel is located — which should be easy enough to answer — is complicated. So today we’re going to look at the issue of what continent Israel is a part of and see whether Israel can fit neatly into a box or not. Spoiler alert – not.

Is Israel in Europe or Asia or Africa?

The question of, which continent is Israel a part of is a great question and the answer is, it depends. In some respects it may be considered part of all three.

And according to Jewish tradition, it may even be considered a unique place all its own.

Israel as part of Asia

One of the most memorable stories of people who befriended and saved Jews during the Holocaust comes from Japan and underlines Israel’s ancient kinship with Asia. A number of Jews — who were predominantly from a city called Mir (famous for the Mir yeshiva) — had fled the Nazis via Russia and ended up all the way in Japan. When this big group of Jews got to Japan, the Japanese didn’t know what to do with them. A meeting was arranged, and three emisarries from the Jewish group were brought to see some of the Japanese officials who immediately began interrogating them, “Why do the Germans hate you so much,” they asked.

At the time, Japan and Nazi Germany were allies and the Japanese had been exposed to Mein Kamph and other anti-Semitic propaganda, which they may have been inclined to believe considering they probably hadn’t met many Jews. The downtrodden Jews had very little bargaining power with the Japanese officials. And anyway, why should the Japanese trust the Jews more than they trust their own allies, the Nazis? What could the Jews say? Still, the Amshinover Rebbe, Rabbi Shimon Kalish, spoke up and told the Japanese officer, “the reason the Germans hate us so much is because we’re Asian.”

The Japanese officials recognized the truth to that answer and it hit the mark. After the initial shock, the officer warmed up to them and even helped the remnants of the Jewish Mir community survive the war.

Geographically, the Land of Israel really is part of the Asian continent, as is the rest of the Middle East. So the answer was correct, Jews, with their ancient roots in Israel, are, in a sense, Asians.

But could the land of Israel also be considered a piece of Africa?

Israel as part of Africa

Let’s not forget that the Nation of Israel was born in Africa, Egypt to be exact, and walked its way to Israel. And, of the Jews living in Israel today, about 15% of them fare from African countries including Morrocco, Algeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

But is the Land of Israel actually part of the African continent in any way?

The answer is, yes! On a tectonic level, most of the Land of Israel is a part of the massive African tectonic plate. Meaning, if Africa were to be detatched from all other lands on a techtonic level, Israel would be included.

Most of the Land of Israel is located on the African tectonic plate. The gray lines represent the demarcation lines between tectonic plates.

According to one mainstream scientific hypothesis, Israel’s tectonic attachment to Africa can even be seen by the naked eye. As explained in Wikipedia, the low elevation of the Dead Sea is because “the Dead Sea lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa.” In other words, the wonders of the Dead Sea are a result of it being on the ridge between the African tectonic plate and the Arabian tectonic plate – most of Israel being on the African side.

For anyone who has never experienced the wonders of the Dead Sea, its surface is 1,412 ft below sea level – the lowest place on Earth. And, since it is so salty, you can literally float on top of the surface of the water.

With an elevation of approximately 1,412 ft below sea level, Israel’s Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth

So, while Israel is part of Asia on a surface level, below the surface, Israel is more connected to Africa than any other landmass.

But what about Europe?

Israel as part of Europe

Although the Land of Israel is geographically part of Asia on the surface, and is part of Africa on a sub-surface tectonic level, could Israel be considered part of Europe too on some level? The answer is, not really but kind of.

Ever since the Crusades, European nations have taken steps to adopt the Land of Israel as one of their own. And in modern sports, pop culture, and politics, Israel is often considered part of Europe.

In pop culture, the State of Israel is an active member of the Eurovision song contest and has even won it 4 times.

In sports, The State of Israel is considered a European country as shown by its membership in the European Olympic Committees, the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) as well as many other European sports organizations.

Politically, most of the politicians who have served as Israel’s prime ministers were born in Europe, the Israeli government is a western-style democracy, and, although Israel is only an associated member of the European Union and not a full member, some European leaders have expressed strong desire to have the State of Israel join. In 2010, then Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi said, “My greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union.”

So is Israel part of Europe? Not really, but in many cases the State of Israel is categorized as a European nation.

What about Israel being part of the USA?

Ha ha. No.

Israel as a land all its own

There is a passed-down Jewish tradition that says “The Land of Israel is higher than all the other lands” (Sanhedrin 77a). Being as Israel has only one mountain that is barely tall enough for skiing, and it even includes within it the lowest place on Earth, as mentioned above, it seems that the height referred to in this teaching is not physical elevation. Rather, it’s talking on a spiritual plane about the Land’s uniqueness that, according to tradition, is higher than any other land in the physical plane of existence – it’s the Holy Land.

When one considers the specialness of the Land of Israel — whether on the physical plane or on the spiritual plane — it almost makes sense that it’s so difficult to fit the small landmass into a neatly categorized box. The Torah refers to it as the “land flowing with milk and honey” and “a land that is lovely,” and the Jewish blessing said after eating a meal refers to it as a “lovely, good, and vast land.”

One thing is for sure, in a land that is only slightly larger than New Jersey (8,630 vs. 7,354 sq. miles), paradoxes abound and there is much more than meets the eye.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about the Land of Israel? Let us know in a comment below.

September 15, 2021

Character Nature

Evaporate Your Self

by Wise Old Sage August 29, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

“Every day when the sun shines its light upon the dew, the dew goes against it’s own nature. Because its nature is to fall from above to below, but when the sun shines upon it, the dew rises up.”
– Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim, Orach L’Haim, Section 35

It’s no secret that people aren’t perfect. We have secrets we’re afraid to address. And at certain times, in certain situations, we can’t help but fall to pieces. Similar to the way water falls, once the force of gravity takes effect, it’s quite literally all downhill from there. Liquids are heavier than the air so they fall. That’s what they do. And similar to the way raindrops fall without being able to pull themselves back up again, people’s bad habits are sometimes heavier than their own ability to overcome them.

At least, that is how it works when we’re operating in “liquid form.”

We tend to just do what comes naturally to us, both for good and for not good. Habits are like falling rain, they just keep moving in the same direction as they started until a gust of wind blows them off course. The hyperbolic wind here doesn’t end up doing much good because anyway the rain still ends up falling.

So what is one to do when they are stuck in a habit that they can’t get out of? They’ve fallen, hit the ground and have no way to uplift themselves in their current state.

Upliftment Through Evaporation

Whatever decisions and bad habits got you to the point where you fell down as low as you did are not going to get you back up again. But the good news is that there is a way because, although you fell down like rain, you don’t have to stay in liquid form. You can shift. You can evaporate.

The secret is to let go. Let go of the need to feel the pain so deeply, let go of being the person you think you are supposed to be and let go of the mistakes borne by generations of people before you. Here are 4 simple steps for breaking free of bad habits.

What can you do to evaporate your entire existence, rise up even higher than you were in the first place, and truly live?

August 29, 2021

Nature Quotes Relationships

Cultivating Closeness With Healthy Boundaries

by Wise Old Sage August 28, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

“It is but a mere hairsbredth that separates one raindrop from another.”
– Talmud, Taanit, 9b

As the pandemic has taught us, maintaining a safe distance can be a way of showing that we care about others.

Social distancing and other types of healthy boundaries can keep us, and others, safe. We know this scientifically and we know this logically. The closer people get to one another, the more vulnerable they can become to each other in both positive and negative ways.

Sometimes closeness and vulnerability are healthy, and sometimes not: “There is a time for embracing, and a time to refrain from embracing” (Kohelet 3:5). There are times and situations that are appropriate to refrain from moving into another’s personal space and that’s a beautiful thing about healthy relationships – when there is respect for boundaries it creates the space necessary to cultivate nurturing and closeness.

Self-restraint and seperation

When someone forces themselves into the space of another person, it can be traumatic. What’s worse is that it makes the victim feel powerless and angry because something has been taken from them.

This is true no matter how severe, or seemingly trivial, the violation. Whether the breach was done with money, property, words, violence, or touch.

But when people respect the space of others by getting close only if, or when, appropriate, it creates an environment of growth. This can be seen in the natural world, too.

Raindrops and healthy space

“Nothing separates one raindrop from another raindrop but a hairsbreadth [of space]” (Talmud, Taanit, 9b).

In nature, the rain that comes showering from the sky in small packaged droplets is necessary for humanity to exist. Jewish prayer praises The Creator for the delicate way rain comes down calling it the “mightiness of rain” (גבורות גשמים) because it takes attention to detail and self-restraint to create the infrastructure for something as meticulously delicate as raindrops that don’t crash into one another.

But rain can also fall in ways that are destructive.

Floodwaters – violation of space

Since the natural world mirrors the spiritual world, during the time of Noah, when humanity began to fall in a magnitude that caused severe damage, so did the rain. The water in the natural just behaved similarly to human society.

According to the Kli Yakar, it was the invasion of others’ space that was the root cause of the famous Flood. People had become severely disrespectful of personal boundaries ‒ stealing, idolatry, and inconsiderate sexual behavior were considered ethical. It had become socially acceptable to steal in quantities small enough that the courts wouldn’t convict for ‒ just a few penny’s worth at a time. It became “ethical” to steal a nickel, a touch, a taste, a parking space, a pen from the office, hotel towels…

Society had become so disrespectful of space, and so intrusive, that people began to give up on the idea of healthy boundaries, so to speak. The Flood was just a natural, albeit tragic, result.

The light at the end of the rainbow

So far this post has mentioned a lot of sad stuff. So what’s the light at the end of the rainbow? Simply speaking, we can always learn to improve and get better. And the beautiful thing about that is, if you are reading this, that there is space in each of our lives to learn and grow through performing acts of lovingkindness, prayer, and tshuva.

The ideas presented above are based primarily on the Orach L’Haim chap 35 that explains that “all wise people should learn from the rain” and dedicate themselves to respecting the boundaries that have been Divinely given them.

August 28, 2021

Mindset Nature

How Pondering the Rain Fosters Spiritual Awareness

by Wise Old Sage July 3, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

At the very end of his life, Moses compares knowledge to rain, saying that his teachings “will drip like rain.”

Raindrops can be a lot of things to a lot of people.

Everyone Experiences Rain Through Their Own Lens

To some, who understand the nuances of rain, they can appreciate it’s power and potential. A farmer can appreciate the different types of rain and how they affect the sustenance of himself and others.

A climatologist will look at the rain and see a rich, scientific wonder.

Children and good, simple people look at the rain with wide-eyed wonder and appreciation.

And for the people who are caught up in the struggles of life, with too much on their minds, many find the rain to be nothing more than a nuisance. Unfortunately, many of the best of us experience this stressful phenomenon where even the wonders of nature get left outside of our present awareness.

But, once in a while, we can’t help but notice it. The rain comes down and compels us to put on the brakes—whether literally or figuratively—giving us the opportunity to step outside of our temporal slumber and look, again, with wonder, at the impressive beauty that surrounds us. To some, the falling rain can be a wake-up call.

Everyone Experiences Spirituality Through Their Own Lens

Teachings of a spiritual nature can be a lot of things to a lot of people, not unlike rain.

Some of us casually embrace it without putting much thought or effort into it. Hoping it will pay off for us at some point, in some way.

Others study and ponder the teachings of sages, learning to interpret the spiritual nature of the world around them. Seeing through lenses of spirituality.

And others are scared off by it. Because it can be scary to look into realms that can’t be measured, labeled or standardized.

To others, it can be painful. A reminder that the physical dimension is only temporary – which is painful to think about for anyone who has invested so much of themselves in this world.

But, much like rain, reminders of spirituality come dropping in on us every so often.

Cultivating Awareness of the Spirit

Just like the rain is a reminder of there being more to life than what we see, so too are the hints of spirituality that keep trickling onto each person’s consciousness. Sometimes the hints are pleasant and at other times, they can be uncomfortable or even tragic.

Spiritual reminders are always present, sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly. The individual’s choice is whether to ponder and seek good guidance about them.

But one thing is for sure, once one pursues spiritual understanding from good sources, it can be like a refreshing shower. And, as the old adage says, when it rains…it pours.

“My teachings will drop like rain.” “יערוף כמטר לקחי” Devarim/Deuteronomy (32, 2)

July 3, 2021