The Ramban's Astonishing Prophecy: Why the Land of Israel Remained Desolate for Centuries

In Parashat Va'etchanan, we read Moses' warning about the future exile of the Jewish people: "When you have lived in the land for a long time... you will surely perish quickly from the land..." (Deuteronomy 4:25–26)

Throughout the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses repeatedly speaks about the terrible exile that would befall the Jewish people. Yet toward the end of the book, he describes something that appears even more devastating:

"The later generation — your children who rise after you, and the foreigner who comes from a distant land — will see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it. Its entire land will be sulfur, salt, and burning; it will not be sown, nor will it produce, nor will any grass grow upon it, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah... Then all the nations will ask, 'Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?' And they will answer, 'Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt.'" (Deuteronomy 29:21–24)

Not only would the Jewish people be exiled from their homeland, but the land itself would become desolate like Sodom and Gomorrah, covered in sulfur and salt, incapable of producing crops or even grass.

The Ramban Saw a Promise, Not Just a Curse

Remarkably, the Ramban (Nachmanides), who visited the Land of Israel about 750 years ago, saw these verses not merely as a curse but as a message of hope.

He writes: "This is good news proclaimed throughout all the exiles — that our land will not accept our enemies. This is also a great proof and promise to us, for nowhere in the inhabited world is there a land that is naturally fertile and spacious, yet remains as desolate as ours. Ever since we left it, no nation or language has successfully settled it. Although many have tried, none have succeeded."

Certainly, the Ramban was saddened by the destruction and emptiness he witnessed upon arriving in the Holy Land. Yet beyond the devastation, he recognized something extraordinary: the land was waiting for its rightful people.

Had the Land of Israel fully embraced its conquerors and become densely populated under foreign rule, the Jewish people's return would have been virtually impossible.

A Land Desired by the Nations

The Land of Israel has always been one of the most sought-after regions in the world. It is sacred to both Christians and Muslims, making it the focus of countless wars over the centuries.

Strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and bordered by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, it has attracted one empire after another.

The Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Muslim caliphates, Mamluks, Persians once again, Mongols, Circassians, the Ottoman Empire, Napoleon's forces, and later the British all sought control of the land. Alongside them were local Bedouin tribes, who also competed for its resources.

Yet despite centuries of conquest, none of these powers succeeded in permanently settling or transforming the land into the thriving center one might have expected.

A Land Waiting for Its People

Had even one of these empires successfully established a large, permanent population, the dream of Jewish return would have been extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. No Jewish state could realistically have been established in a heavily populated land already claimed by another nation.

Yet history unfolded differently. Every empire eventually disappeared. Their rule ended, and none left behind a lasting national population that permanently transformed the land.

To many, this remarkable historical pattern reflects the fulfillment of the Torah's prophecy.

Travelers Who Witnessed the Prophecy

Numerous travelers who visited the Land of Israel over the centuries documented its unusual desolation.

When Mark Twain visited in 1867, he wrote: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. A curse seems to have withered her fields and bound her energies... Can the curse of Heaven rest upon a land? Palestine no longer belongs to the ordinary world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition — it is a land of dreams."

In 1868, the English scholar John MacGregor, who documented his journey in Rob Roy on the Jordan, described traveling for dozens of kilometers without encountering another human being.

Around 1882, archaeologist Charles Warren wrote in Underground Jerusalem: "The land, once flowing with milk and honey, still lies desolate... Few will deny that the Land of Israel remains under the grip of a curse."

In 1888, the English scholar Sir J. William Dawson observed: "To this day no nation has succeeded in establishing itself as a nation in Palestine. No national unity or national spirit has taken root there. The mixed tribes who dwell there possess it only as temporary tenants, seemingly waiting for those who hold the rightful and permanent claim to the land."

Still Waiting for the Final Redemption

For centuries, the Land of Israel remained remarkably empty compared to its natural potential, despite the ambitions of countless empires.

From the perspective of the Ramban, this was never merely a tragedy. It was also a promise, that the land had not forgotten its people.

The Land of Israel ultimately yielded its strength once again to the Jewish nation, while the Jewish people continue to await the complete redemption, the coming of the Messiah, and the day when all of Israel returns wholeheartedly to God.