Bittul Transforms The Land

בפסוק והורשתם את הארץ פרש"י כשתירשו העכו"ם תתקיימו בה כו'

On the pasuk "You shall drive out [the inhabitants of] the land" (Bamidbar 33:53), Rashi explains: When you will have driven out the idolaters, you will endure in it, etc.

The pasuk commands Bnei Yisrael to drive out the inhabitants of the land, and Rashi teaches that only by clearing out the idolaters will Bnei Yisrael have lasting permanence in Eretz Yisrael.

כי הורשתם הוא לשון ירושה ולשון רשות ודלות כמ"ש רז"ל בעסוק עיני ה' אלקיך בה מראשית השנה כל שרשה בתחלתה כו'

For the word "v'horashtem" carries the meaning of inheritance (yerushah) and also the meaning of impoverishment and being brought low (rishus/dalus), as Chazal expounded on the pasuk "the eyes of Hashem your God are upon it [the land of Eretz Yisrael]" (Devarim 11:12) - from the beginning of the year, every one who is impoverished (rash) at its outset, etc.

The Sfas Emes draws on the double meaning of the root of "v'horashtem" - both inheriting and being made poor or lowly - to connect the conquest of the land with the avodah of making oneself small before Hashem.

כי כל דבר שצריך תולדה חדשה צריך להיות מקודם הביטול אליו ית'

For anything that requires a new bringing-forth must first be preceded by bittul to Him, may He be blessed.

Any genuinely new creation or fresh spiritual outcome must be preceded by bittul, the nullification of self before the Ribono shel Olam, since only an empty vessel can receive something truly new.

וזהו הכח הוא רק בישראל כמ"ש אתם המעט ממעיטין עצמכם וכשהיו בנ"י בארץ ביטלו עצמם ואת הארץ ואז נעשה נחלת ה' כי זהו ענין ארץ ישראל דלית לה מגרמה כלום

And this power exists only within Bnei Yisrael, as it says "you are the fewest" (Devarim 7:7) - you make yourselves few; and when Bnei Yisrael were in the land, they nullified themselves and the land as well, and then it became the inheritance of Hashem - for this is the very essence of Eretz Yisrael, that it has nothing of its own.

This capacity for self-nullification belongs uniquely to Bnei Yisrael, who make themselves few; when they entered Eretz Yisrael they nullified both themselves and the land before Hashem, and only then did it truly become His inheritance, for the land's essence is to possess nothing of its own.

ולכן כל שנשאר מן האומות לא הי' הביטול כראוי וז"ש לכם נתתי כו' לרשת אותה כנ"ל

Therefore, of whatever remained of the nations, the bittul was not as it should have been; and this is the meaning of "to you I have given [the land] to take possession of it" (per the above).

Wherever the surrounding nations remained, it was a sign that the proper bittul had not been fully accomplished there, which is why the pasuk stresses that the land is given specifically to Bnei Yisrael to take possession of it.

וזה העדות על בנ"י כמ"ש במדרש יכול הייתי לברוא לכם ארץ אחרת רק כח מעשיו כו' לתת להם נחלת גוים כו'

And this is the testimony upon Bnei Yisrael, as it says in the Midrash: I could have created another land for you, but [it was] the power of His deeds, etc., to give them the inheritance of nations, etc. (Tehillim 111:6).

The Midrash brings this as testimony to the greatness of Bnei Yisrael: Hashem could have created a separate land for them, yet He gave them the inheritance of the nations to show His power working through them.

פי' להודיע ולהראות כי נעשה ארץ ישראל נחלת ה' על ידי כניסת בנ"י לתוכה:

The explanation is: to make known and to demonstrate that Eretz Yisrael became the inheritance of Hashem through the entry of Bnei Yisrael into it.

This teaches that Eretz Yisrael attained its status as the inheritance of Hashem precisely through the entry of Bnei Yisrael, whose bittul transformed the land into His own portion.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on Rashi's comment to the pasuk "v'horashtem es ha'aretz," noting that the root of the word means both inheritance and being made poor or lowly. He explains that any new spiritual outcome must be preceded by bittul, the nullification of self before the Ribono shel Olam, a capacity that belongs uniquely to Bnei Yisrael, who make themselves few. When Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael they nullified both themselves and the land before Hashem, and only then did it become His inheritance, since the very essence of the land is to possess nothing of its own. Wherever the nations remained, the proper bittul had not been achieved. Thus Eretz Yisrael became the nachalah of Hashem precisely through the entry of Bnei Yisrael into it, a testimony to their greatness.