Why is Canaan so important to the Jews?

Answer 1

it is because they were promised to be able to live on the land, and live under King David's empire by GOD! To a religious person nothing can be more important!

Answer:

The Patriarchs and their family were in Israel (Canaan) for 220 years. The era from Joshua until the First Destruction (including the Judges and Kings) was 850 years. The Second Temple era was, according to traditional chronology, another 420 years (not 586), which included the Hasmonean dynasty. That's a total of 1490 years.

After the Second Destruction, there were thousands of Jews who remained in Israel (Judea; Palestine) throughout the Talmudic era and beyond (see for example the Talmud, Sanhedrin 17b). They were the majority of Palestine's population well into the fourth century, with records attesting to at least 43 Jewish communities, most of them in the Galilee and Jordan valley. After that, there were still Yeshivas in Israel with at least some thousands of community-members.

In the fifth century, the Jerusalem Talmud was completed in the yeshiva of Tiberias, by the disciples of Rabbi Johanan; and the Christians of Palestine declared Judaism to be a tolerated minority.

In the sixth century CE, Mar Zutra and his descendants served as head of the community and the Rabbinical academy in Tiberias.

In the seventh century, the Palestinian Jews joined the Persians in a battle to take Jerusalem from the local Byzantines, and enjoyed a brief autonomy, which the Byzantines under Heraclius officially recognized in 628. At the time of the Moslem conquest of Palestine in 638, the Jewish population in the land has been put at no less than 300,000; and a period of flourishing began. Caliph Umar encouraged Jews to resettle Jerusalem.

In the eighth century, there were 30 synagogues in Tiberias. A Jew named Abu Issa brought his forces in battle against the Caliph.

In the ninth century, the Jews of Palestine instituted their own Gaon (leading sage) in Tiberias and later in Jerusalem.

In the tenth century, we have the greatest of the Massoretes, Rabbis Aharon ben Asher and Ben Naphtali, flourishing in Tiberias.

Contemporary with Rashi (11th century), we have a Rabbi Abiathar and others, who lived in Israel (see for example Rashi commentary, Talmud Berakhot 62a), and large Jewish communities in Rafah and Ramle, Hebron, Acre, Caesaria, Jaffa, Ashkelon and Gaza.

In the 12th-13th centuries, the Palestinian Jews were harshly persecuted under the Christian Crusaders, yet many Jews continued to live in all the above-mentioned towns as well as Haifa, with Judah Halevi journeying to Palestine in 1141, Maimonides in 1165, and Nachmanides in 1286. In 1187, Saladdin invited more Jews to settle Palestine. In 1204, a group of Maghreb Jews arrived; and in 1211, 300 Rabbis arrived from France and England. In 1260, Rabbi Yechiel of Paris established a Talmud academy in Acre.

Since that time, the continual presence of Jewish communities in Palestine (Israel) is well-known and needs no reiteration.

A brief timeline of Israel and the Jews:

1) c.1950 BCE: Noah delegated what is now called Israel to the children of Shem (Rashi commentary to Genesis ch.12).

2) c. 1750 BCE: The neighboring Canaanites slowly take control of the land (ibid) which therefore becomes called Canaan.

3) 1737-1522 BCE: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob spread their teachings in the land. God promises this land to them and their descendants (Genesis ch.28).

4) 1272 BCE: The Israelites under Joshua, at God's command, enter the land (Joshua ch.3-4) which now becomes called the Land of Israel.

5) 422 BCE: The Babylonians destroy the First Temple, exiling the Jews.

6) 352 BCE: The Persians permit the Jews to rebuild the Temple. Many Jews settle in Israel, now called Judea, while others remain in Babylonia.

7) 68 CE: The Romans destroy the Second Temple. Most of the Jews in Judea slowly scatter afield, but some thousands remain. Judea is renamed Palestine by the Romans.

8) 1096-1270: the Crusades.

9) from 1492: after the Spaniards expell all Jews from Spain, some thousands move to Palestine.

10) c.1780-1880: The first wave of Aliyah, mostly religious Jews, who move from Europe to Israel (Palestine) in the thousands.

11) c.1880 onward: the large-scale Jewish return to Israel gets underway.

Answer 2

Because this was their intended homeland, given to them by G-d, promised to Abraham.

If we take physical location of places mention in The Bible than it iis not possible to get real message because all methological true story means Jesus = soul, Five fisherman = 5 senses, Judas=Desire, 12 disciples= 12 elements out of our body made from, mother marry= to be joyfull in condition to experience soul separation from body call self realization.

Answer 3

Israel (once called Canaan) is important to Jews because God promised it to Jacob (Genesis ch.28), the father of the Israelites, and his descendants. Jacob was renamed Israel by God (Genesis ch.35); and the Israelites lived in Israel during the era of the Patriarchs (220 years), during the era from Joshua until the First Destruction (850 years), during the Second Temple era (420 years) and afterwards. They remained a majority in the land for another 300 years after the Second Destruction; and a minority of Jews remained there throughout the ensuing centuries.
Israel had been the site of the First Temple, built by King Solomon; the dynasty of King David; the Second Temple, built by Ezra; and the Hasmonean Dynasty. It was where the Hebrew Prophets lived, and where the Mishna (Oral Torah) was codified. Also, many of the Torah's commands apply only in Israel.

Answer 4

The designation of "Canaan" is not important to the Jews. But the same land, referred to as Israel, is the Jewish homeland (Exodus ch.3 and many other passages).