, 1034; Eum. 40, 167; Strabo, etc.).
Two sparks issued from between the two cherubim and destroyed the
serpents and scorpions and burned the thorns in the wilderness. The
smoke thereof, rising and spreading, perfumed the world, so that the
nations said (Cant. iii. 6), "Who is this that cometh out of the
wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed," etc.
_Ibid., Vayakhel._
Better to lodge in the wilderness of the land of Israel than dwell in
the palaces outside of it.
_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 39.
"And give thee a pleasant 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.
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