Uziyahu Sharbaf
Four kingdoms are opposed to holiness: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Edom.
Each of these kingdoms had a special feature, through which it tried to fight against the sanctity of Israel: the kingdom of Babylon was based on honor; the Persian kingdom was based on materialism, Greece on wisdom, and Edom on corruption.
The Persian kingdom was very materialistic (so it is compared to a bear in the Book of Daniel). This is how they fought against Israel, and this is how a ten thousand silver shekel offer by Haman to carry out his evil plan comes into the plot. The decree was on the Jews′ physical existence: to destroy and kill them, G-d forbid.
In the Land of Israel it is revealed that materialism has kedusha within; there are ten kedushos in the Land of Israel corresponding to the Ten Commandments; teaching us that the sanctity of the land of Israel "corrects" the physical impurity encouraged by the Persian kingdom.
Indeed, in exile, there was a need to disconnect from the natural reality and be connected to the spiritual reality above nature, but in Israel, where nature is sacred, it is possible to have a large and healthy soul - Toras Eretz Yisroel – in a strong and healthy body: the land of Israel.
The inner essence of the Land of Israel is sacred, so there are special mitzvos relevant only in Eretz Yisroel. The sanctity of the Land of Israel is not dependent on the commandments, on the contrary: we got these mitzvos because of the holiness of the Land, and by observance of these mitzvos we discover the sanctity of Eretz Israel.
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