[First posted at The Times of Israel: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dvarim-home-protection/]

Ibn Ezra Deuteronomy: Dvarim

Home Protection

“Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.”  -Charles Dickens

Most people have a visceral connection, not necessarily to the physical construct, but rather to the emotional reality that they call home. It may be good, it may be bad, (it is rarely indifferent), but it is clearly emotional.

And whenever that home is threatened, in whatever form, the reaction is often instinctive, unthinking, responding from our guts and hearts.

The Bible recounts how after the sin of the spies and the punishment of wandering, a feisty group of men arose that defied the edict and ventured to conquer Canaan. Moses uses unusually flowery language in describing the result of the ill-planned attack: “And they chased you like bees.” –Deuteronomy 1:44

Ibn Ezra explains that the moment someone attempts to harm a bee’s home they will immediately attack and sting the aggressor. They have a natural, healthy, correct response to a threat to their family’s dwelling.

May our homes ever remain safe from all harm and threats.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To those expelled from Gush Katif on the eighth anniversary of that crime. May they continue to rebuild their homes and lives.