Eretz Yisrael Spiritual Root

בפסוק זאת הארץ אשר תפול לכם כו' במד' לכם היא ראוי'

Regarding the verse "This is the land that shall fall to you" (Bamidbar 34:2), the Midrash comments on the word "to you" — "it is fitting for you."

The Sfas Emes opens with a verse about the land "falling" to Bnei Yisrael, and notes the Midrash's reading of "to you" as meaning the land is uniquely fitting for them.

דאיתא במד' מטות ג' מתנות זכה בא' זכה בכולן כו' בזמן שהן מתנת שמים ובאים בכח התורה דכ' שבתי וראה תחת השמש כו' לא לקלים המרוץ כו'

For the Midrash on Parashas Mattos teaches that there are three gifts, and whoever merits one merits them all — this is when they are gifts from Heaven and come through the power of the Torah, as it is written, "I returned and saw under the sun... the race is not to the swift" (Koheles 9:11).

He cites a Midrash that the three gifts (Torah, Eretz Yisrael, Olam Haba) come together only when they are true gifts from Heaven granted through the Torah, not earned by natural human striving.

פי' העשירות והגבורה מצד הטבע אין בו תועלת

The explanation is that wealth and strength that come merely by way of nature hold no true benefit.

Wealth and power gained purely through natural means carry no real spiritual value.

רק אם הוא בכח השורש שלמעלה מן השמש מתנת שמים ובאין בכח התורה כי בכל דבר יש חלק לתורה ואז יש לו קיום

It is only when they derive from the power of the root that is above the sun — a gift from Heaven that comes through the power of the Torah, for in every matter there is a portion belonging to the Torah — that they have lasting endurance.

Such blessings endure only when they flow from their spiritual root above nature, as a gift from Heaven through the Torah, since every thing contains a portion of Torah that gives it permanence.

וז"ש אל יתהלל כו' כי אם בזאת כו' השכל וידוע אותי

This is the meaning of "Let one not glory... but rather in this... understanding and knowing Me" (Yirmiyahu 9:22-23).

This is why the navi says one should glory not in wealth or strength but in knowing Hashem — true worth lies in connection to Him.

פי' אם במתנה יש ג"כ התקשרות ודביקות בשורש

The explanation is that if it is a gift, there is also a binding connection and dveikus to the root.

When something is received as a genuine gift, it carries with it an attachment and dveikus to its spiritual source.

וזה הי' מתנת ארץ ישראל שהבטיח להם הכתוב זאת הארץ אשר תפול

And this was the nature of the gift of Eretz Yisrael, which the verse assured them — "This is the land that shall fall to you."

Eretz Yisrael was precisely this kind of gift, which the Torah promised would "fall" to Bnei Yisrael as their fitting portion.

פי' שכמו שנכנסו למטה לא"י כך נתדבקו בשורש א"י למעלה כ"א במקומו כמ"ש המד' לכם הוא ראוי'

The explanation is that just as Bnei Yisrael entered the physical Eretz Yisrael below, so too they became bound to the root of Eretz Yisrael above, each one in his particular place, as the Midrash says, "it is fitting for you."

Just as they physically entered the land below, each person became spiritually bound to his designated place in the root of Eretz Yisrael above.

ולזה היו הגורלות שהראו משמים לכל אחד חלק המיוחד לו והי' מתנה למעלה ולמטה

For this reason there were the lots, which revealed from Heaven to each individual the portion uniquely designated for him, and it was a gift both above and below.

The lots that divided the land were Heaven's way of showing each person his uniquely fitting portion, making the inheritance a gift on both the physical and spiritual planes.

וכן מבקשים שתעלנו לארצנו ותטענו בגבולנו פי' חלק השורש שלמעלה

And so too we ask, "that You bring us up to our land and plant us within our borders" — meaning the portion of the root that is above.

Our tefillah to be brought up and planted in our borders refers to this higher, root portion of the land.

ובאמת כשבאו בנ"י לא"י נתחדשה הארץ וירדה קדושה לא"י כאשר עתה בעונותינו יצאה הקדושה מא"י

And in truth, when Bnei Yisrael came to Eretz Yisrael the land was renewed and kedushah descended into Eretz Yisrael, just as now, because of our sins, the kedushah has departed from Eretz Yisrael.

When Bnei Yisrael first entered, kedushah descended and renewed the land — the reverse of our present galus, when our sins have caused that kedushah to depart.

וע"ז אנו מתאוננים ערי קדשך היו מדבר שפנה הודה זיוה הדרה של א"י ובעת שנכנסו אבותינו לא"י ירדה הארת הקדושה לא"י

Over this we lament, "Your holy cities have become a wilderness" — for the splendor, radiance, and glory of Eretz Yisrael have turned away; and at the time our forefathers entered Eretz Yisrael, the illumination of kedushah descended into Eretz Yisrael.

We mourn this departure in the words about the holy cities becoming a wilderness, recalling that the land's radiance came down precisely when our forefathers entered it.

ובזמן ההוא נמשך הקדושה גם לעבר הירדן

And at that time the kedushah was drawn down even to the far side of the Yarden.

At that time of entry, the descending kedushah extended even across the Yarden to the eastern territory.

וז"ש במד' הנ"ל שע"י שחטפו להם נחלתן נק' נחלה מבוהלת כו' ע"ש

This is the meaning of that same Midrash, that because they seized their inheritance for themselves it is called "an inheritance grasped in haste" — see there.

This explains the Midrash that the tribes who hastily grabbed their land east of the Yarden received an "inheritance grasped in haste."

והיינו שכ"ז שלא נתקדשה הארץ לא הי' מקום להקדים עבר הירדן וז"ש שעשו מטפל עיקר ע"ש

Namely, that as long as the land had not yet been sanctified, there was no place to give precedence to the far side of the Yarden; and this is the meaning that they made the secondary into the primary — see there.

Since the land's kedushah had not yet been established, it was premature to settle the far side first — they wrongly treated the secondary territory as primary.

ולא הי' אז עדיין הזמן להיות נחלת ה' עד שניתן ארץ ישראל לכל השבטים כנ"ל:

And the time had not yet come for it to be "the inheritance of Hashem," until Eretz Yisrael was given to all the tribes, as explained above.

The eastern land could not truly become "the inheritance of Hashem" until the main Eretz Yisrael had first been given to all the tribes.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that gifts such as wealth, strength, and Eretz Yisrael have lasting value only when they flow from their spiritual root above nature — as gifts from Heaven granted through the power of the Torah. Just as Bnei Yisrael physically entered the land, each person became bound to his uniquely fitting portion in the root of Eretz Yisrael above, the lots revealing from Heaven the place designated for him. When they entered, kedushah descended and renewed the land, the very opposite of our galus in which our sins have driven that kedushah away. On this basis he explains why the tribes who hurried to take their portion across the Yarden received an "inheritance grasped in haste": until the main Eretz Yisrael was sanctified and given to all the tribes, the eastern side could not yet become the true inheritance of Hashem, and treating it as primary inverted the proper order.