Rooted in Eretz Yisrael
בפסוק לאלה תחלק הארץ כו'
Regarding the verse, "To these shall the land be divided" (Bamidbar 26:53), and so forth.
The Sfas Emes opens with the verse describing how Eretz Yisrael was to be apportioned among Bnei Yisrael.
ואיתא שהי' עפ"י גורל וברוה"ק כו'
It is brought down that the division was made by means of a lottery and through ruach hakodesh (Divine inspiration), and so forth.
He notes the tradition that the land was divided both by lottery and through Divine inspiration, hinting that the division reflected something higher than chance.
והענין הוא דכתיב חבלים נפלו לי בנעימים אף נחלת שפרה עלי
The matter is as it is written, "The lots have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, my inheritance is beautiful to me" (Tehillim 16:6).
He brings Dovid HaMelech's words that his "lot" fell in pleasant places, connecting the idea of a Divinely assigned portion to the apportioning of the land.
כי מתנת א"י העיקר בשורש העליון שיש לכל בנ"י חלק בשורש א"י למעלה ולמטה
For the gift of Eretz Yisrael is fundamentally rooted in its supernal source, for every one of Bnei Yisrael has a portion in the root of Eretz Yisrael, both above and below.
His central point: the land was truly a gift rooted in a supernal source, since every Jew has a fixed portion in the spiritual root of Eretz Yisrael, mirrored both in the upper worlds and in the physical land below.
ולכן המנין שהי' קודם כניסתם לארץ ישראל להעמיד כל אחד על שורשו כמו שהי' המנין מקודם
Therefore the counting that took place before they entered Eretz Yisrael was meant to establish each individual upon his root, just as there had been a counting earlier.
The census taken before entering the land served to fix each person upon his spiritual root, just as the earlier counting had done.
והיינו תורה שבכתב ושבע"פ
And this refers to the Torah Shebichsav (the Written Torah) and the Torah Sheb'al Peh (the Oral Torah).
He identifies that spiritual root with the two Torahs, the Written and the Oral Torah.
ובב' אלו יש לכל בנ"י חלק כמ"ש שיבנה ביהמ"ק ותן חלקנו בתורתך
And in these two every one of Bnei Yisrael has a portion, as we say, "that the Beis HaMikdash be built" and "grant us our portion in Your Torah."
Every Jew has a share in both Torahs, which is why our tefillah asks both that the Beis HaMikdash be rebuilt and that we be given our portion in Torah.
ואיתא כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב דכ' ועמך כו' לעולם יירשו ארץ
And it is brought down that all of Bnei Yisrael have a portion in Olam Haba, as it is written, "And your people are all tzaddikim; they shall inherit the land forever" (Yeshayahu 60:21).
He cites the teaching that all of Bnei Yisrael have a share in Olam Haba, derived from the verse promising that the righteous people will inherit the land forever.
והגם דפי' ארץ כפשוטו בא"י
And although the plain meaning of "the land" refers literally to Eretz Yisrael,
He acknowledges that the simple meaning of "inherit the land" is the literal Eretz Yisrael.
מ"מ זה הוא הסימן שיש להם חלק לעוה"ב במה שזוכין בעוה"ז להתדבק בארץ ישראל שהוא השורש של נפשות בנ"י וכתוב ששם עלו שבטים כו' עדות לישראל שבעלייתן לביהמ"ק הי' עדות שיש להם דביקות בשורשם
nevertheless this is the sign that they have a portion in Olam Haba: through the fact that they merit in this world to cleave to Eretz Yisrael, which is the root of the souls of Bnei Yisrael, and it is written, "For there the tribes went up... a testimony for Yisrael" (Tehillim 122:4), for in their going up to the Beis HaMikdash there was testimony that they have dveikus with their root.
Yet he explains that cleaving to Eretz Yisrael in this world is itself the sign of one's portion in Olam Haba, because the land is the root of Jewish souls; going up to the Beis HaMikdash testified to that bond with one's root.
וזהו השם שמעיד עליהם ועל יחוסם עי"ז שיכולין לעלות לביהמ"ק
And this is the very thing that gives testimony concerning them and concerning their lineage, through their ability to go up to the Beis HaMikdash.
The very ascent to the Beis HaMikdash served as testimony about Bnei Yisrael and the authenticity of their lineage.
וזה הי' השיר שלוים מזמרים בביהמ"ק על ט"ו מעלות והמה הט"ו מעלות מיצ"מ עד ובנה לנו בית הבחירה והמה ט"ו בחי' ודרכים להתקשר עד השורש [וי"ל שהם בכח הג' אבות וי"ב שבטי עליון כנ"ל]:
And this was the song that the Leviim would sing in the Beis HaMikdash upon the fifteen steps, and these correspond to the fifteen "Songs of Ascents" from "out of the straits" (mei'tzar) until "and build for us the Chosen House," and these are fifteen aspects and pathways by which to bind oneself all the way up to the root [and one may suggest that they exist through the power of the three Avos and the twelve supernal Shevatim, as above].
He concludes that the Leviim's song on the fifteen steps corresponds to the fifteen Shir HaMaalos, fifteen pathways for binding oneself up to the supernal root, possibly empowered by the three Avos and twelve Shevatim.
Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the apportioning of Eretz Yisrael, done by both lottery and ruach hakodesh, reflects a deeper truth: every one of Bnei Yisrael has a fixed portion in the supernal root of the land, mirrored above and below. The census before entry, like the earlier counting, served to establish each person upon that root, which he identifies with the Written and Oral Torah in which every Jew shares. Cleaving to Eretz Yisrael in this world is the very sign of one's portion in Olam Haba, since the land is the root of the souls of Bnei Yisrael, and the ascent to the Beis HaMikdash testified to that dveikus and to the authenticity of their lineage. Finally, the Leviim's song on the fifteen steps corresponds to the fifteen Shir HaMaalos, fifteen pathways of ascent from the straits of galus up to the supernal root, empowered by the three Avos and twelve Shevatim.