Receiving Eretz Yisrael as Gift

במדרש עשרה לשונות של תפלה כו' ומכולם לא נתפלל משה רק בתחנונים

In the Midrash it is taught that there are ten expressions of tefillah, and yet of all of them Moshe Rabbeinu davened only with 'tachanunim' — supplications, the language of beseeching an undeserved gift.

Chazal list ten words the Torah uses for prayer, yet Moshe chose the lowliest — pure supplication that claims no merit, asking only as an undeserved favor.

וברש"י אע"פ שיש להם לצדיקים לתלות במעש"ט כו'

And Rashi explains that even though tzaddikim have grounds to lean upon their good deeds, Moshe nevertheless asked only as a free gift.

Even though righteous people could legitimately point to their good deeds as grounds for their request, Moshe deliberately set that aside and asked only for a free gift.

הענין הוא כי ענין א"י היא בחי' תפלה כמ"ש מענין דוד המע"ה דלית לי' מגרמי' כלום

The matter is this: Eretz Yisrael is itself an aspect of tefillah, as we find concerning Dovid HaMelech, who said of himself that he has nothing of his own.

Eretz Yisrael corresponds to the avodah of tefillah, which is the posture of one who recognizes he possesses nothing on his own, like Dovid HaMelech.

ולכן א"י במתנה נתנה הקב"ה לבנ"י בהבטחת אבות

Therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave Eretz Yisrael to Bnei Yisrael as a gift, through the promise made to the Avos.

Because the Land is bound up with that sense of having nothing of one's own, Hashem gave it as a gift, resting on the merit and promise of the Avos rather than on what the recipients earned.

כמ"ש כ"פ אשר אני נותן

As it is written many times, 'which I give' — the land coming as a bestowal from Hashem.

The repeated Torah phrase 'which I give' underscores that Eretz Yisrael comes as a bestowal from above, not as a wage.

ה"א נותן לך כו'

And as it is written, 'Hashem your God gives to you' — emphasizing that it is a gift given.

The verse 'Hashem your God gives to you' likewise stresses the character of the Land as something given freely.

ולכן לא נכנס מרע"ה לשם כי מעלתו גדלה ולא הי' נצרך לבחי' מתנה

Therefore Moshe Rabbeinu did not enter there, for his stature was so great that he had no need for the aspect of receiving a mere gift.

Moshe's level was so elevated that he stood above the mode of receiving a free gift, and since the Land is given precisely as a gift, he did not enter it.

אכן הצדיקים באמת חפצים יותר שיצטרכו לקבל מתנת הבורא ית' משירויחו ע"י מעשיהם

Yet in truth the tzaddikim desire all the more that they should need to receive a gift from the Creator, blessed is He, rather than earn it through their own deeds.

Paradoxically, true tzaddikim prefer to be in the position of needing Hashem's gift rather than earning their portion by their own labor.

כמו שהקב"ה בטובתו חפץ שיזכו בנ"י במעשיהם כמ"ש דמאן דאכיל דלאו דילי' בהית לאיסתכולי כו'

Just as the Holy One, Blessed is He, in His goodness, desires that Bnei Yisrael should merit through their own deeds — as it is said, that one who eats of that which is not his own is ashamed to look upon the giver —

Hashem, out of His goodness, wants Bnei Yisrael to earn their reward so they need not feel the shame Chazal describe — the embarrassment of eating bread that is not one's own and having to face the giver.

כן בנ"י חפצים לזכות רק במתנת חנם להיות להם הכנעה יתירה לפניו ית'

so too Bnei Yisrael desire to merit only through a free gift, in order to have an added measure of hachna'ah, submission, before Him, blessed is He.

Bnei Yisrael, for their part, actually prefer to receive purely as a free gift, because that produces in them a deeper humility and submission before Hashem.

וזה השבח הגדול שהכניס עצמו מרע"ה לבחי' התפלה בתחנונים

And this is the great praise of Moshe Rabbeinu, that he lowered himself into the aspect of tefillah through supplications.

This is Moshe's great praise: he willingly lowered himself into the humble mode of tefillah, asking through supplication rather than standing on his merits.

אכן הקב"ה לא חפץ שירד מרע"ה ממדרגתו העליונה וא"ל רב לך כו' שהוא במדרגה יתירה מזה

Yet the Holy One, Blessed is He, did not desire that Moshe Rabbeinu descend from his lofty madreigah, and said to him 'It is enough for you' — for his level was higher still than this.

But Hashem did not want Moshe to step down from his exalted madreigah, so He told him 'It is enough for you' — Moshe's true level was actually higher than the gift-receiving mode of entering the Land.

אכן פעל מרע"ה ולימד סדר תפלה לבנ"י והי' זה הכנה לביאת הארץ ונאמר ושא עיניך כו' והוא ינחיל כו' הארץ אשר תראה כלומר שכפי הכנה שלו בראיתו כן ינחיל אותם יהושע

Nevertheless Moshe Rabbeinu accomplished something and taught the order of tefillah to Bnei Yisrael, and this became a preparation for entering the Land; and it is said, 'Lift up your eyes,' and 'He will give as an inheritance the land that you see' — meaning that according to the measure of Moshe's preparation through his seeing, so would Yehoshua give it to them as an inheritance.

Even so, Moshe achieved something lasting: he taught Bnei Yisrael how to daven, which itself prepared them for entering the Land, and his gazing upon it set the measure by which Yehoshua would later apportion it to them.

ובאמת כל חפצו של מרע"ה להכניס בנ"י לא"י כי ידע שע"י שיכנוס עמהם לא יבואו לידי חטא והשי"ת נתן לו כח לתקן הכנה בראי' שלו כנ"ל:

And in truth Moshe Rabbeinu's entire desire was to bring Bnei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael, for he knew that through his entering together with them they would not come to sin; and Hashem gave him the power to effect the preparation through his seeing, as above.

Moshe's whole wish was to bring Bnei Yisrael into the Land, knowing his presence among them would guard them from sin; and though he could not enter, Hashem empowered him to accomplish the preparation through his seeing the Land.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why Moshe Rabbeinu, of all the ten expressions of tefillah, davened specifically with 'tachanunim' — supplication that claims no merit. He explains that Eretz Yisrael is an aspect of tefillah, the posture of one who has nothing of his own, like Dovid HaMelech, and so the Land was given purely as a gift resting on the promise of the Avos. Tzaddikim actually prefer to receive as a free gift rather than earn their portion, because that produces a deeper hachna'ah before Hashem, and Moshe's praise is that he lowered himself into this humble mode of supplication. Yet Hashem told him 'rav lach' — it is enough — because Moshe's true madreigah was even higher than the gift-receiving level of entering the Land. In the end Moshe still accomplished something eternal: he taught Bnei Yisrael the order of tefillah and, through his very gazing upon the Land, set the measure of preparation by which Yehoshua would give it to them as an inheritance.