Receiving Gifts In Time

במדרש ומקנה רב ג' מתנות כו' בזמן שהם מתנת שמים כו' דכתיב הכל עשה יפה בעתו

In the Midrash: "And they had abundant livestock" — there are three precious gifts, and so on, only when they come as a gift from Heaven, and so on, as it is written, "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Koheles 3:11).

The Midrash teaches that wealth and possessions are praiseworthy only when received as a gift from Hashem, granted at the right moment, in line with the verse that everything is beautiful in its proper time.

ובאמת כל המעשים ממש שאדם עושה הכל מוכן הוא לו

In truth, every single deed that a person does is already prepared and readied for him.

Everything a person is destined to do or receive is already prepared and waiting for him from Above.

אבל לכוון לעשותו בשעה הראוי' הוא עיקר העבודה

But to direct oneself to perform it at the fitting hour — that is the essence of the avodah.

The real avodah is not in the deed itself, which is already set out for him, but in aligning oneself to carry it out at the precise time that Hashem has designated.

וז"ש בזמן שהם מתנת שמים

And this is the meaning of "when they come as a gift from Heaven."

This is why the Midrash stresses that possessions are a true gift specifically "when they come as a gift from Heaven" — meaning at their appointed time.

ובודאי חלק זה הי' מוכן לבני גד ובני ראובן אבל הי' בא להם אחר חלוקת הארץ ואז הי' טוב להם

And surely this portion was prepared for the Bnei Gad and the Bnei Reuven, but it was meant to come to them only after the division of the Land — and at that point it would have been good for them.

The land of Gilad was indeed destined for the Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven, but its proper time was after the rest of Bnei Yisrael had received their portions in Eretz Yisrael.

ומרע"ה התנה עמהם שאחר שיעברו חלוצים יקחו את חלקם וע"י שהקדימו לשאול חלקם נענשו לבסוף כמ"ש במ"א באורך:

And Moshe Rabbeinu made a condition with them, that only after they would cross over armed for battle would they take their portion; and because they hurried to ask for their portion ahead of time, they were ultimately punished, as is explained at length elsewhere.

Moshe Rabbeinu conditioned their early acquisition on their crossing over to fight alongside their brothers; yet because they grasped at their portion before its time, they were eventually punished, as discussed elsewhere.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the wealth and portion a person receives is already prepared for him from Above, and the true avodah lies in receiving it at the fitting time that Hashem has set. Drawing on the Midrash that possessions are a genuine gift only "when they come as a gift from Heaven," he applies this to the request of the Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven for the land of Gilad. That portion was indeed destined for them, but its proper time was only after the division of Eretz Yisrael among all of Bnei Yisrael. Because they hurried to claim it ahead of its appointed moment, they were ultimately punished, teaching that grabbing even one's own destined portion before its time turns a blessing into a stumbling.