Linguists note that the meaning of the phrase “promised land” depends on the context used. This expression has already become an aphorism, which is interpreted as the fulfillment of an important promise, a long-awaited reward or a dream come true. But at the same time, theologians are sure that we are talking about some place where an earthly Eden exists.
What is the Promised Land?
Not only linguists, but also experienced travelers have been trying to figure out what the Promised Land means for centuries. Since this aphorism has both historical and religious origins, several formulations have emerged to explain its meaning. The Promised Land is:
- Paradise on Earth, created for true believers by the Lord.
- The embodiment of the dream of a paradise, people often dreamed about it during difficult life trials.
- Part of the Old Testament, interpreted as a contract between man and God, when He promised the Jews that they would find such a land.
What is the promised heaven
Based on the information that can be found in the Bible, the promised heaven is the habitat of God and his family, invisible to the simple human eye. At the same time, this is a space in the Universe promised only to the chosen ones who will be able to prove their loyalty to the Lord during their earthly existence.
The concept itself has been to some extent distorted by numerous philosophical interpretations, which lead the opinion of mankind to the realization that our nature, after the physical end of our earthly journey, continues to exist, that is, continues to live. However, based on the interpretation of the Bible, it is possible to move to a higher, spiritual sphere of existence only after returning to life, resurrection. At rebirth, people who have managed to earn their promised life in heaven are given a new, invisible body, similar to the one possessed by angels.
Origin of the concept
In Jewish practice, the promised heaven is the extreme form of the entire universe, characterized by balancing at the moment when the most elementary point of creation reaches the same state of being as the most perfect. An absolute change in all characteristics of matter and the human being, and complete reunification with the Almighty.
In the Gospel texts, the word “heaven” is synonymous with the name of God. This is something infinite, the highest order in the Universe. Accordingly, the heavenly palaces are that promised place next to the Lord, in which human souls who have completed their earthly journey find peace and tranquility.
The meaning of phraseology
The phraseology “promised heaven”, as a rule, is explained as a perfect place promised to a person from above. Where he strives and where he will be in a state of constant communication with the Creator. To get there means to find that peace and tranquility that all believers strive for during life, to know the truth.
Promised Land in Judaism
Where is the Promised Land? Judaism gives its answer to this question. When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery, they lived for four decades until a generation matured that had not experienced the past yoke. Then the prophet decided to lead the people to look for the Promised Land, where everyone would find happiness. The wanderings lasted for a long time, but Moses was never able to set foot on the land that he had been looking for for many years. The Promised Land is located on the territory of modern Israel, where the Lord led the wandering Jews. In the Bible this country is called Palestine.
Why is Israel called the Promised Land?
The discovery of the Promised Land played a special role for the Jews; it is believed that only there can the Jewish people unite, which the Lord scattered to different countries for disobedience. This place is recognized as “Eretz Israel” - the land of Israel, the Gaza Strip and some areas of Palestine. The history of the Promised Land is very complex; this phrase has several explanations in Judaic studies:
- The gift of the Lord to all generations of Israel.
- The name of the ancient kingdom of Israel.
- By definition of the Pentateuch, the area between the Jordan and the North Sea.
Other phraseological units
Eye and eye
Someone or something needs careful supervision and vigilant surveillance.
Foundation stone
An element of the whole that lies at the base, foundation, support, basis.
Filka's certificate
A document that has no force, poorly written, and sometimes illiterately written.
The cat cried
Something very little or not at all.
All phraseological units
Promised Land from the Bible
The Old Testament, called God's covenant with the Jews, specified conditions that both parties had to meet in order to find the promised place. The biblical Promised Land is a rich area promised by the Almighty, where complete abundance reigns. The main conditions that the Jews had to observe while they were on the road:
- Do not worship the gods of the pagans.
- Do not doubt the truth of your path.
The new land promised a happy and comfortable life if the terms of the Covenant were observed forever. In return, the Lord promises to protect the Jews and protect them from troubles and trials. If representatives of a nation violated the treaty, they were subject to punishment from the Almighty. The Promised Land was first named in the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, where the disciple of Christ describes a place where universal happiness reigns and the fulfillment of cherished desires. In this meaning, this phrase was later used as an aphorism, and has survived to this day.
Why didn't Moses enter the Promised Land?
The only one who could not enter the Promised Land was the prophet Moses, who led the Jews in search of this place. Theologians and philosophers explain God's disfavor with the Jewish leader for several reasons:
- By giving water to the people in Kadesh, Moses committed a huge sin by attributing this miracle to himself and not to God.
- The Prophet showed distrust of the Lord when he accused the people of lack of faith, thereby devaluing the lesson that the Almighty wanted to teach.
- With a second blow to the rock, the leader of the Jews erased the symbol of a single sacrifice in the future - the sacrifice of Christ.
- Moses showed human weakness, justifying the indignation of the Jews who were tired of the transition, and the Lord eliminated his error by forbidding him to enter the Promised Land.
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Origin of phraseology
What is the meaning of the expression “promised land”, which is still found in written and spoken language? Sacred Jewish texts claim that God promised the prophet Moses to help him save the Jews languishing in Egyptian captivity. He undertook to show the Jewish people the way to where abundance and prosperity awaited them, where honey and milk flowed instead of rivers.
“The Promised Land” (the meaning of the phraseological unit is revealed below) is not at all a divine gift to the Jews, as one might think. Rather, it became the subject of an agreement that was made between the descendants of Abraham and the Creator. The Jewish people had to strictly follow the commandments of God, abandon the worship of pagan deities, and lead a righteous life. For this, the Jews received a promised reward in the form of a fertile, resource-rich land, where peace and prosperity awaited them.
Palestine or not?
It is traditionally believed that the land where Jews can find happiness means Palestine. However, some researchers are convinced that we are not talking about a specific place on the map of our planet. They believe that what was meant was the possibility of heavenly life anywhere on the globe, provided that the divine commandments are followed.
What other versions are there about what the “promised land” is? There are also supporters of the theory that the expedition of Christopher Columbus was organized by Jews, and they also acted as sponsors. For representatives of this people, according to legend, this was another attempt to find a new land where they could hide from oppression.
The promised land: Jews are safer living in Russia than in the USA
Russia is recognized as a safer country for Jews than the United States and Western European countries. This follows from the annual report of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), which Izvestia reviewed. On the sidelines of a conference in Tel Aviv dedicated to the fight against anti-Semitism, EJC President Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor noted that the second attack in six months on parishioners of American synagogues, as well as a scandalous cartoon in the New York Times ridiculing Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but in fact hurt the entire Jewish nation, they say that in the States anti-Semitism is gaining strength and is gradually becoming the norm - just like in the 1930s.
The Habit of Hating: Why Jews Continue to Be Persecuted
According to the Cantor Center, the number of incidents of anti-Semitism increased by 13% over the year.
We live without feeling the country beneath us
As Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor noted, in 2021 the situation with anti-Semitism in the world reached a critical level - the most murders of Jews were committed on the basis of racial hatred in a year (13 cases) over the past 10 years. At the same time, the murder of 11 parishioners of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October last year is listed as one case in statistics. The greatest increase in intolerance towards Jews is shown by countries previously considered the safest - France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the USA.
In the United States, the number of attacks on Jews has reached a peak of 101 physical incidents in one year. This is more than all mainland European countries combined. The UK is in second place with 66 cases. In Russia there are four cases per year. Of these, two are related to incidents at the World Cup - then fans of the Moroccan and Tunisian national teams attacked Israeli fans for displaying the Israeli flag.
The EJC report emphasizes that Eastern European countries, including the Russian Federation, have generally proven to be more tolerant towards local Jews. As Shmuel Barnai, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an expert on the countries of the former USSR, explained to Izvestia, the security situation for national and religious minorities in the Russian Federation is now much better than in some Western countries.
— East of the German border and all the way to Vladivostok, the situation, to my great surprise, is much better than in the USA or France. I said “surprisingly” because I take into account the historical background - previously the Pale of Settlement passed through these territories, there were pogroms, etc. Yes, there is anti-Semitism in these states, there are incidents, but unlike the United States or Western European countries, not a single major attack on a Jew or murder has been registered in Russia, the expert emphasized. - Shootings in synagogues in Pittsburgh, San Diego, attacks on a kosher restaurant in Berlin - these are massacres, anti-Semitism in its complete form. In Russia, in this regard, Jews live much safer.
Always right: being a Jew in Germany is becoming dangerous again
Local right-wingers and immigrants agree on anti-Semitism
According to Dina Porat, director of the Cantor Center for Countering Anti-Semitism, not all of Eastern Europe is calm. Ukraine's actions, such as praising Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera, Nazi collaborators responsible for the murder of the Jewish population during World War II, have caused widespread protest in Israel and among the Jewish community around the world. Nevertheless, a much more alarming situation is developing in the West, the expert noted.
“American and European Jews, for the sake of personal safety, have become less likely, and some have even stopped wearing a kippah or the Star of David,” said Dina Porat. — Jews are increasingly admitting that they no longer feel their countries are safe. They are losing their sense of homeland and are increasingly thinking about migrating to Israel.
"Judenfrei" as a reason for pride
Among European countries, France and Italy lead the sad ranking, where the increase in anti-Jewish sentiment over the past year was 74 and 60%, respectively.
The greatest resonance was caused by the murder last March in Paris of 85-year-old Mireille Knoll, a Jewish Holocaust survivor (in 1942 she miraculously managed to escape from a raid during Operation Vel d'Hiv - then the French authorities rounded up 13 thousand Jews to Paris Velodrome, and then deported to concentration camps in France and Poland). The killers stabbed her 11 times in cold blood and set the house on fire. Motivating his action, one of the criminals, a 27-year-old native of Algeria, admitted: he killed the woman only because she was Jewish.
“Crystal” pure hatred: what led to the “night of broken windows”
80 years ago, Europe was shaken by the Nazi pogrom against Jews.
In neighboring Germany, the increase in anti-Jewish sentiment was 10%, but in terms of the total number of anti-Semitic manifestations, the country leads the EU - 1,646 cases in one year. The number of threats from neo-Nazis has increased, moving from hateful rhetoric on the Internet to real actions - last year, amid riots in Chemnitz, a group of radicals attacked a local kosher restaurant, smashing a window and threatening customers.
The case of the residents of Babenhausen, a small town in western Germany, is noteworthy. Residents were so proud of the status of “Judenfrei” - “free of Jews” - received back in 1942 that in 1997 they forced the only Jewish Merin family to leave the city. Soon the house where the Jews lived was burned. Since 1997, Babenhausen again began to bear the de facto status of “Judenfrei”.
Speaking about why anti-Semitism is reviving in European countries, it is worth paying attention to migrants, says Tel Aviv University professor and Arabist Esther Webman. In her opinion, there is a certain correlation between the influx of refugees from Muslim countries and the growth of anti-Semitism in the EU. However, it is impossible to say that the problem is caused solely by the migration crisis.
“Despite the fact that a certain percentage of crimes were actually committed by people from Muslim countries, not only refugees of the first wave, but also migrants of the second and third generations who had already settled, intolerance towards Jews and Israel is also growing among native Europeans,” the expert believes.
Visegrad scandal: Israel and Poland quarreled again over the Holocaust
Amid serious disagreements, Warsaw pulled out of the Jerusalem summit
However, migration has definitely had an impact on the overall situation, this cannot be denied. Esther Webman recalled a sad incident in Hannover in 2010. At a summer festival of multiculturalism, where children's groups from the Afghan, Turkish, Arab and other communities were scheduled to perform, organizer Hayo Arnds took the stage to announce the next performance of the dance group "Haverim" from the Jewish community. And then the children from the front rows began chanting: “Jews away,” and throwing stones at the stage. The dance group urgently had to be evacuated to a safe place.
“What’s frightening is that anti-Semitism is instilled in childhood, children are taught to hate, even though they don’t even go to school yet,” the professor stated with alarm.
But a similar situation in Europe already happened in the 30s of the last century, and European countries remember well how it ended. Or not very good.
Examples
Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich (1823 – 1886)
"The Thunderstorm" (1859), act 1, scene 3:
“Feklusha. Blah-alepie, honey, blah-alepie! Wonderful beauty! What can I say! in the promised land ! And the merchants are all pious people, adorned with many virtues! Generosity and many donations! I’m so pleased, so, mother, completely satisfied! For our failure to leave them even more bounties, and especially to the Kabanovs’ house.”
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich (1860 – 1904)
"Tumbleweed" (1887):
“He dreamed out loud about a teaching position, like a promised land
«.
Letter to A. N. PLESCHEYEV June 12, 1888, Sumy:
“The ladies could hardly restrain themselves from tears, and I mentally made a vow to heaven that next year I will try to take you to the promised land.”
Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Evgrafovich (1826 – 1889)
“Poshekhon Antiquity” (1888), ch. 4:
“And two minutes later, the dunces and the hateful already see through the window how Grisha, jumping on one leg, hurries after his mother through the red courtyard to the promised land .”
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 – 1910)
“War and Peace” (1863 - 1869), Volume 4, Part II, XIX (about the French in 1812):
“When a person is in motion, he always comes up with a goal for this movement. In order to walk a thousand miles, a person needs to think that there is something good beyond these thousand miles. You need an idea of the promised land in order to have the strength to move.
The promised land during the French advance was Moscow; during the retreat it was the homeland. But the homeland was too far away, and for a person walking a thousand miles, he certainly needs to say to himself, forgetting about the final goal: “Today I will come forty miles to a place of rest and lodging for the night,” and on the first journey this place of rest obscures the final goal and concentrates on yourself all the desires and hopes. Those aspirations that are expressed in an individual always increase in a crowd. For the French, who went back along the old Smolensk road, the final goal of their homeland was too distant, and the nearest goal, the one to which all desires and hopes strove, in huge proportions intensifying in the crowd, was Smolensk. Not because people knew that there was a lot of provisions and fresh troops in Smolensk, not because they were told this (on the contrary, the highest ranks of the army and Napoleon himself knew that there was little food there), but because this alone could give them the strength to move and endure real hardships. They, both those who knew and those who did not know, equally deceiving themselves as to the promised land , strove for Smolensk.”
Herzen Alexander Ivanovich (1812 – 1870)
“Frigate “Pallada”” (1855 – 1857), part 2, ch. 3:
“Manila! Manila! here is our dream, our promised land , where our intense desires strive. This is the same Spain, with monks, lords, veils, duennas, bullfights, and, in addition, tropical Spain!”
