Love And Fear In Entering
ועתה ישראל כו' כי דור המדבר היו בבחי' אהבת ה' וכשנכנסין לא"י הזהיר להם על היראה
"And now, Bnei Yisrael" (Devarim 10:12) — for the generation of the wilderness stood on the level of ahavas Hashem, the love of Hashem, and when they were about to enter Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu warned them concerning yiras Shamayim, the fear of Heaven.
The wilderness generation lived on the level of loving Hashem, so as they prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu specifically cautioned them about yiras Shamayim — the dimension they would now need.
דבמדבר הי' להם כמה יסורים כמ"ש ויענך
For in the wilderness they endured many afflictions, as it is written, "And He afflicted you" (Devarim 8:3).
The pasuk reminds us that their years in the wilderness were filled with suffering, described as Hashem having afflicted them.
למען ענותך לנסותך
"In order to afflict you, to test you" (Devarim 8:2).
That affliction had a purpose: it came in order to test Bnei Yisrael.
וכ' להטיבך באחריתך
And it is written, "to do you good in your end" (Devarim 8:16).
Yet the same Torah states that this entire process was ultimately for their good in the end.
דיש נסיון בעוני ובעושר
For there is a test in poverty and a test in wealth.
There are two distinct nisyonos a person can face: the trial of being poor and the trial of being wealthy.
ואיתא המקיים התורה מעוני סופו לקיימה מעושר כי נסיון העשירות קשה מנסיון עניות
And it is brought down that one who upholds the Torah out of poverty will in the end uphold it out of wealth, for the test of wealth is harder than the test of poverty.
Chazal teach that whoever keeps the Torah while poor will eventually keep it while wealthy, because withstanding wealth is the harder of the two tests.
וכפי מה שעמדו בנ"י במדבר בנסיון העניות וזה בכח אהבת ה' לקבל כל היסורין מאהבה
And according to the measure in which Bnei Yisrael withstood the test of poverty in the wilderness — and this was through the power of ahavas Hashem, to accept all the afflictions out of love —
However well Bnei Yisrael passed the test of poverty in the wilderness, it was the strength of their love for Hashem that enabled them to accept all the hardships willingly.
כן זכו אח"כ לקיימה מעושר בא"י
so too did they afterward merit to uphold the Torah out of wealth in Eretz Yisrael.
That very merit of withstanding poverty out of love earned them the ability to later keep the Torah amid the wealth of Eretz Yisrael.
ולפי שראה מרע"ה כי לא קיימו בשלימות נסיון העוני שהרהרו אחריו כמה פעמים ידע מזה שבא"י בוודאי לא יעמדו בשלימות בנסיון העשירות
And since Moshe Rabbeinu saw that they had not withstood the test of poverty in completeness, for they had complained against him several times, he knew from this that in Eretz Yisrael they would certainly not stand in completeness in the test of wealth.
Because Moshe Rabbeinu observed that they had not passed the poverty test perfectly — having complained against him repeatedly — he understood they would surely fall short in the still harder test of wealth in the Land.
ונסיון העשירות היא בחי' יראת ה' שלא לבעוט מתוך העושר
And the test of wealth is the aspect of yiras Hashem, the fear of Hashem — not to kick and rebel out of the abundance of wealth.
The test of wealth belongs to the realm of yiras Hashem: the challenge of not casting off the yoke and rebelling because of one's prosperity.
[וי"ל עוד שזהו ב' פרשיות שמע והי' א"ש
[And it may further be said that this corresponds to the two parshiyos: "Shema" and "Vehayah im shamoa."
The Sfas Emes adds that these two avodos map onto the first two parshiyos of Shema.
שמע ואהבת כו' בכל מאודך בחי' דור המדבר
"Shema... and you shall love... with all your might" (Devarim 6:5) — the aspect of the generation of the wilderness.
"Shema" with its call to love Hashem with all your might reflects the avodah of love that characterized the wilderness generation.
והי' א"ש השמרו לכם בחי' באי הארץ כנ"ל]:
"Vehayah im shamoa" — "Guard yourselves" (Devarim 11:16) — the aspect of those entering the Land, as explained above.]
"Vehayah im shamoa," with its warning to guard yourselves, reflects the avodah of fear needed by those entering Eretz Yisrael.
Summary: The Sfas Emes contrasts two avodos: the love of Hashem that defined the generation of the wilderness, and the fear of Hashem that Moshe Rabbeinu demanded of those about to enter Eretz Yisrael. In the wilderness Bnei Yisrael faced the test of poverty, which they withstood through their love of Hashem, accepting every affliction out of ahavah; entry into the Land would bring the harder test of wealth, which belongs to the realm of yiras Shamayim. Since Chazal teach that withstanding wealth is more difficult than withstanding poverty, and since Moshe Rabbeinu saw that they had already faltered under poverty by complaining, he warned them with extra force about the fear of Heaven they would need amid prosperity — lest they rebel out of their abundance. The Sfas Emes concludes by aligning these two avodos with the first two parshiyos of Shema: "Shema," with its command to love Hashem with all one's might, mirrors the wilderness generation, while "Vehayah im shamoa," with its warning to guard oneself, mirrors those entering the Land.