From:          "Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash"
To:            yhe-parsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       PARSHA -45: Parashat Ekev


                   YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
      ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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                      PARASHAT EKEV
                    In Praise of the Land
                  By Rav Elchanan Samet
                           

      In  the portion of Moshe's speech contained in this
week's  parasha, there are two passages which praise  the
Promised   Land.   We   shall  examine   each    of   them
individually,  as  well  as  compare  them  in  order   to
understand their similarities and differences.


I. THE DESERT VS. THE CHOSEN LAND


  The land is first praised in chapter 8, verses 7-10:

 
   "For Hashem your God is bringing you to a GOOD LAND,
  
   A  LAND  with  streams of water,  with  fountains   and
   depths that flow from the valleys and the hills;
  
   A  LAND  of  wheat and barley and vines and fig  trees
   and pomegranates,
  
   A LAND of olive oil and honey;
  
   A   LAND   in   which  you  will   eat  bread   without
   scarceness, in which you will lack nothing;
  
   A  LAND whose stones are iron and from whose mountains
   you will mine brass.
  
   And  you  will eat and you will be satisfied  and  you
   will bless Hashem your God for the GOOD LAND which  He
   has given you."
  
      The significance of the word "land" in this excerpt
is  self-evident: it is repeated seven times as a leading
word,  and  appears  as the subject of  five  consecutive
clauses.  In  this way it determines in the ears  of  the
listener  (or  eyes  of the reader) the  subject  of  the
entire  excerpt,  as  well  as its  rhythm  and   internal
structure.

      Upon examination of the different contexts in which
the  leading word appears, the chiastic structure of  the
excerpt becomes apparent, as follows:

1.    a  GOOD  land (to which Hashem your God is bringing
  you)
 
 2.   a land of streams...
   
   3.   a land of wheat...
     
     4.   A land of olive oil and honey.
       
   5.   A land in which you will eat bread...
     
 6.   A land whose stones are iron...
   
7.    The  GOOD land (Hashem your God has given you,  and
  you will bless Him for it)
 
      In  1  and  7  the land is called "good,"  with  no
specification of any of its qualities. In both places the
emphasis is on the fact that God has brought you  to,  or
given  you,  the  land. But in 1  the  land  is  still   a
destination whose nature and quality is unknown, while in
7,  following  the list of its praises (2-6),  the  Torah
concludes:  after  entering the land and  eating  of  its
goodness,  you will bless God for "THE good  land"  (this
time using the definite article) which He has given you.

      In  2  and  6 we find a description of the   natural
resources  with which the land is blessed: first  of  all
there   is  water  flowing  from  the  valleys   and   the
mountains, allowing for the possibility of agriculture  -
this  is the most vital of all natural resources. At  the
same  time  there is iron and brass to be  dug  from  the
ground,   facilitating  industry  and  the  creation    of
agricultural tools, for domestic use and for the creation
of weapons.

      Sections 3,4 and 5 form the heart of this  excerpt.
Here  we  find a list of the seven species for which  the
land  is  praised  - these are the types of  agricultural
produce  that characterize the land. In 3 we find mention
of five types of produce necessary for human consumption,
and  correspondingly we are told in 5  that  the  "bread"
(made from wheat or barley) will be abundant in the land,
together  with  other types of food. In  4,  the  central
section, we find mention of oil and honey (that is,  date
honey). Why are these two products so important that they
are placed at the center of the list?

      Let  us  examine  once again the   development  that
exists in each corresponding pair, and try to see whether
it  is  based on some uniform system. We shall  now  work
backwards: from the center outwards. The wheat and barley
mentioned in 3 are separated from the bread in section  5
by a series of human activities which take the raw grains
and  make them fit for consumption. Bread is therefore  a
higher  developmental level of good use of the  land;  an
expression of cooperation between man and the land.

      The water flowing through the streams in section  2
flow  of their own accord from the valleys and mountains.
Man  can  channel this water in such a way as to irrigate
his  fields. But the iron and brass contained within  the
earth and its rocks in section 6 require considerable and
sophisticated human effort in order to become  useful  to
man.  A  comparison  of the verbs in these  two  sections
illustrates the difference and development between  them:
the water "flows" (yotz'im) in the valleys and mountains,
but "you shall mine (dig)" the brass from the mountains -
you,  man. Here, too, the mining of minerals is a  higher
developmental level of good use of the land  -  it  is  a
realization of the potential which it hold, through human
intelligence and diligent labor.

      The development from section 1 to 7 is built on the
same principle. In 1, man is passive: God "brings" him to
a  good land. But after he has extracted the good of  the
land  by  his efforts - by plowing, sowing and harvesting
crops, planting and gathering fruit, baking his bread and
drawing  the minerals from the earth, and has merited  to
eat  and  be  satisfied, he himself blesses God  Who  has
brought him to the land and given it to him.

     We may summarize by saying that the development from
the  section  in  the first half of the  excerpt  to  the
corresponding section in the second half is a development
from  the  good that exists within the land - that  which
embedded within it or obtained from it in a raw  state  -
to  what man creates and changes, using that which exists
in the land.

      Now  we come to the section that is located at   the
heart of this structure: "a land of olive oil and honey."
On  the one hand, this phrase is part of the list of  the
seven  species that grow in the land, and in this respect
it belongs to the first half of the excerpt. On the other
hand,  it also belongs partly to the second half  because
it does not mention the fruits in their raw state (olives
and   dates),  but  rather  fruits  from  which   man  has
extracted the best for his use, by means of his  strength
and  wisdom: from the olive he has obtained oil, and from
the  dates  he  has  produced  honey.  There  is   also  a
development  within this pair itself: the origin  of  the
oil  is mentioned - it comes from the olive, but when  it
comes to the honey there is no mention of the fruit  from
which  it  is made. Only the final product is  mentioned.
Thus  the  oil  and honey belong to both  halves  of  the
excerpt and serve as a connection between them. For  this
reason  they  are located at the center of  the  chiastic
structure.

      Our  discovery  of the principle  upon   which  this
excerpt is built will clarify its continuation in  verses
11-14.  Here  the Torah expresses concern lest  man  grow
proud  of the wealth and possessions that he has  amassed
in  the land. This continuation is a sort of mirror-image
of  what  preceded  it, in terms of  both  structure  and
content:

   Guard yourself lest you forget Hashem your God...
  
   lest when you eat and be satisfied,
  
   having built good houses and dwelled in them,
  
   and your herds and flocks HAVE MULTIPLIED
  
   and YOU SHALL HAVE MULTIPLIED your silver and gold
  
   and all that you have IS MULTIPLIED
  
   then  your  heart will be haughty and you will  forget
   Hashem your God...
  
     The root of faith is also the root of blasphemy. The
crux of the praise of the land lies in the good qualities
which  it  possesses in POTENTIAL, allowing a person  who
labors  to  realize  all of it, with  considerable  human
effort.  Man's part in the final product which he creates
in  partnership with the land increases and enhances  the
praise of the land.

      But  as  man's part in the creation of  his   wealth
grows,  and as his actions distance themselves from  that
partnership with the land, the danger increases  that  he
will say to himself (8:17), "My power and the strength of
my hand have made this might for me," and that this pride
will  bring  him  to  forget  God  and  to   neglect   the
observance of the mitzvot.

      The  starting  point of this dangerous   process  is
exactly at the point where the previous description ended
off  (8:10):  "And  you  shall  eat  and  you   shall   be
satisfied..." Here we continue (8:12): "LEST you eat  and
be satisfied.." But verse 12 lacks the continuation which
is  found  in verse 10, the condition without  which  the
deterioration  is to be expected: "And  you  shall  bless
Hashem your God for the good land..."

      The eating and satisfaction are the final stage  in
the  connection  between man and the land  in  the  first
passage,  but  they are only the beginning of  the  rapid
process  in  the passage which follows: the  continuation
involves  "good houses which you will build and in  which
you will dwell" - and these houses are still built on the
ground,  and are built from the stones and rocks  of  the
ground.  Thereafter "and your herds and your flocks  will
multiply" - cattle and sheep roam around on the land, and
the  purpose  of  raising them is to eat meat.  The  next
stage is that "you will multiply your silver and gold"  -
there  will  be  a  wild  increase  of  wealth   which  is
disconnected  from  the land and its goodness.  All  this
wealth  has been created and achieved by man, apparently,
by  his  own strength and power. It begins in cooperation
with  the land, but ends disconnected from it. And  here,
the  same  human act and effort which constituted  praise
for  the land and praise for man, may turn man away  from
recognition of his Creator and increase his pride to  the
point  where  he forgets God and neglects to observe  the
mitzvot: "And Yeshurun grew fat and kicked." There is  no
remedy  but  to remember where we come from and  Who  has
given us all this good, and Who gives us the strength and
power to achieve all of this might.

      The description of the land's goodness in verses 7-
10  is  surrounded with descriptions of the desert period
as  the  antithesis  to living in the land.  The  desert,
after  all,  is (Bamidbar 20:5) "this evil place,  not  a
place of seed or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there
is  no  water to drink." Prior to the praise of the land,
we are told in verses 2-3:

   "And  you shall remember all the way that Hashem  your
   God led you these forty years in the desert... and  He
   humbled  you and  made you hungry, and fed  you  manna
   which  you had never known and which your fathers  had
   never  known... in order to make you know that  it  is
   not by bread alone that man lives..."
  
Following  the  praise  of the land,  we  read  something
similar in verses 15-16:

   "...Who  leads  you in the great and terrible  desert,
   with  poisonous  snakes and scorpions and  thirst  for
   there  is  no water, Who brought forth water  for  you
   from  the rock of flint, Who fed you manna, which your
   fathers  had never known, in the desert, in  order  to
   afflict you..."
  
     The life of the nation in the desert was a necessary
stage  in their history. This period was meant to educate
Am  Yisrael  towards the idea that "it is  not  by  bread
alone  that man lives, but by every word that comes  from
God's  mouth  a  person lives." The  remembrance  of   the
wandering  in  the desert is the remedy for the  possible
danger  that  awaits Israel specifically because  of  the
good of the land and the wealth that they are destined to
amass there.

      Nevertheless, the desired goal for national life is
in  the good land: in working the earth and eating of its
goodness  -  eating which is accompanied by blessing  God
and  by observing the mitzvot. It is only within the land
that  God's mercy towards Am Yisrael will be revealed  in
its fullness.


II. THE LAND OF THE RIVER VS. THE CHOSEN LAND

  The  next  place in parashat Ekev where we find  praise
of the land is in chapter 11, verses 8-12.

   "And  you  shall  observe all of the mitzvot  which   I
   command  you today, in order that you may  be  strong,
   and  come  and  possess  THE LAND  to  which   you  are
   passing over, to possess it.
  
   And  in order that you may prolong your days upon  the
   land  which God promised to your fathers, to  give  it
   to  them and their seed, A LAND flowing with milk  and
   honey.
  
   For THE LAND to which you are coming, to possess it  -
   it  not  LIKE THE LAND OF EGYPT, from which  you  came
   out,  where you sowed your seeds and watered with your
   foot, like a vegetable garden.
  
   THE  LAND to which you are passing over to inherit  it
   is  A  LAND  of mountains and valleys; it  drinks   the
   water of the rain from heaven.
  
   It  is  a  LAND which Hashem your God cares  for;   the
   eyes  of Hashem your God are always upon it, from  the
   beginning of the year to the end of the year."
  
      As  in the previous passage, "land" is clearly  the
leading word here, and is repeated seven times. But there
are some differences between the two passage:

  i.Here not all appearances of the word "land" refer  to
     the  land  of Israel. In verse 10, where it   appears
     for  the  fourth time - the central section  -   this
     word refers to Egypt.
    
  ii.     While  in  the  previous excerpt the   principle
     praise of the land lay in its seven special species,
     here  the main praise of the land rests on the  fact
     that it is a "land flowing with milk and honey."
    
  iii.    While  in the previous passage (8:7) "fountains
     and  depths flow from the valleys and the mountains"
     and  join  the streams, here it is (11) "a   land  of
     mountains and valleys which drinks the water OF  THE
     RAIN  OF  THE  HEAVENS."  (It  is   specifically  the
     similarity   between  the  two    verses   in   their
     description  of  the land as one  of   mountains  and
     valleys that emphasizes the difference.)
    
  iv.     The  most obvious difference is God's   constant
     care and concern for the land, mentioned at the  end
     of  the  present passage (12), but not mentioned   at
     all in the previous one.
    
      The  key  to  understanding this   passage  and  its
differences  from the previous passage lies in  the  fact
that  here, THE PRAISE OF ERETZ YISRAEL IS CONTRASTED 
IN ITS  ENTIRETY  WITH DISDAIN FOR THE LAND OF EGYPT. 
Since this contrast between the two lands forms the crux of the
excerpt,  the  central appearance  of  the  leading  word
"land"  refers specifically to the land of Egypt: "It  is
not  like the land of Egypt." The praise of Eretz Yisrael
is  arranged around this verse which serves as a  central
axis.  Again, we have a chiastic structure based  on  the
leading  word, "land." The first obvious contrast between
Eretz  Yisrael and Egypt - located at the  heart  of  the
excerpt  -  is in the sphere of the historical connection
of Am Yisrael to the two lands:

 3. For THE LAND to which you are coming TO POSSESS
 
   4.  IS NOT LIKE THE LAND of Egypt, from WHERE YOU CAME
   OUT
  
 5.  ...THE LAND to which you are PASSING OVER TO POSSESS
 IT
 
      Canaan is the destined and promised land - THE LAND
OF  THE FUTURE, while the land of Egypt is the one  "from
where  you  came out" - it is the LAND OF THE  PAST,  and
everyone knows what we went through there.

      The second contrast between these two lands is  the
NATURE of each of them, in the geographical, agricultural
and  climatic spheres. This contrast is described in  the
next most outward circle:

 2. A LAND flowing with milk and honey
 
   4.  It  is  NOT  LIKE THE LAND of Egypt...  where   you
   sowed your seeds and watered it with your foot like  a
   vegetable garden
  
 6.  It  is A LAND of mountains and valleys which  drinks
 water of the rain of heaven.
 
     What is the meaning of "a land flowing with milk and
honey"? Here the reference is not to the honey of  fruits
(dates), as in the previous passage. The honey here, like
the  milk,  is  a product that is obtained from  animals,
i.e.  bees.  Honey is evidence of fields that  have  many
flowers,  while  an abundance of milk testifies  to  good
pasture ground. This description therefore indicates that
the land has these natural attributes, such that even  in
the absence of agricultural processing (when the land  is
still sparsely settled, as in the early generations after
the conquest), it provides an abundance of honey and milk
for  the inhabitants who dwell in its green areas and let
their flocks roam there.

      The  fact that Canaan is a land "flowing with   milk
and  honey"  stems from the fact that it is  a  "land   of
mountains and valleys" which are fed by the rain  of  the
heavens, as explained in the corresponding section 6. The
arid  and flat land of Egypt, which is irrigated only  by
the  waters  of the Nile and all of which is  simply  one
long  valley  around  this river, is  indeed  a  land   of
intensive  and  developed agriculture -  "and  which  you
water with your foot, like a vegetable garden," but it is
not by nature a "land flowing with milk and honey."

     The third contrast between the two lands, located in
the outermost circle, rto the connection between the land
on  one  hand and God and His mitzvot on the  other  -  a
connection  which determines the fate of the  inhabitants
of the land:

 1.  "And  you shall observe all the mitzvot... in  order
 that  you  may  be  strong, and  come  and   possess  THE
 LAND...  and in order that you lengthen your  days  upon
 the  land which God promised to your forefathers to give
 to them and to their seed
 
   4. Not LIKE THE LAND OF EGYPT...
  
 7.  A LAND which Hashem your God cares for; the eyes  of
 Hashem  your  God  are  constantly  upon  it,   from  the
 beginning of the year until the end of the year."
 
      The possession of the land, and the lengthening  of
Israel's  days  upon  it (section  1)  are  dependent   on
observance of God's mitzvot. This dependence is unique to
this land, and does not exist in Egypt. This is explained
by  God's  selection of the land and His special attitude
towards it, as described in the corresponding section  7.
This outermost circle contains the starting point of  the
entire  excerpt - a demand for observance of the  mitzvot
in  the land, as well as the climax and conclusion of the
description  of  the  land's praises  -  God's  care   and
concern for the land from the beginning of the year until
the end of the year.

      There  is a clear connection between this outermost
circle and the more inner one: the land's requirement  of
rain  and  dependence upon it are the tangible expression
of  God's  unique care for this land. Therefore  life  in
this land is not something that can be taken for granted,
as is possible in Egypt. Rather, life is dependent on the
behavior of the nation resident in the land, and  whether
this  nation will observe the mitzvot of God,  Who  cares
for this land constantly.

III.  THE CHOSEN LAND VS. THE DESERT AND THE LAND OF 
THE RIVER

  We  are  now  in a position to explain the  differences
between  the two descriptions of the land in our parasha:
in  the  latter passage (11:8-12), in which the  land  is
presented  in  contrast  to  Egypt,  it  would    not   be
appropriate  to  praise  the land  for  its  agricultural
abundance,  as  we found in the earlier passage,  for  in
this respect Egypt surpasses Eretz Yisrael, for it has  a
great  river and highly developed agriculture,  including
most  of  the  seven species. Likewise it  would  not  be
appropriate  to praise the land here for the streams  and
rivers  that  run through it, as we found in the  earlier
passage,  for  none of these rivers can be compared  with
the  Nile  or Egypt - one of the greatest rivers  in  the
world.  On  the  other hand, the rains which  revive  the
mountains and valleys of Eretz Yisrael do not descend  in
Egypt,  and  it  is these rains which make Eretz  Yisrael
into a "land flowing with milk and honey," unlike Egypt.

      In  the  first  passage, in chapter  8,   the  Torah
contrasts life in Israel with life in the desert. Here it
would  not be appropriate to praise the land for "flowing
with  milk and honey" (which are something of a free gift
to  the inhabitants of the land, for they do not need  to
work  the  ground in order to obtain them), nor  for  its
being  under God's constant care. The life of the  nation
during the desert journeys was under God's constant  care
and  supervision, even more overtly than in the land, and
the  manna which they ate in the desert - bread from  the
heavens  - is preferable to honey and milk. But what  was
lacking in the desert was a normal, natural lifestyle  of
a  nation  living  in  its  land,  deriving  from   it  an
abundance of fruits and produce - the seven species. Such
a  life  is more ideal than a life dependent on  constant
miracles, as was the case in the desert, and so the Torah
emphasizes here this aspect of life in the land.

      Thus  we  find  that  in each excerpt   the  Torah's
language is adapted to the framework and purpose of  that
particular  description of the praise of  the  land.  But
here  the  following  question  arises:  isn't  there    a
contradiction between these two descriptions? There is  a
vast difference and polar contrast between Egypt and  the
desert; how can Eretz Yisrael be praised in contrast with
both of them simultaneously?

      The  praise of the land does indeed lie in the fact
that  it allows for human and national existence  in  the
ideal  "golden  mean," in between two negative  extremes.
The  one  negative  extreme is the way  of  existence  in
Egypt, where none of God's concern is felt: God gives the
inhabitants  of  that  land all of their  requirements  -
abundant water and fertile land - and then cuts  off  all
contact  with  them, as it were. Thus they  are  able  to
wallow in their abominations, for their existence  is  in
no way dependent on or connected with their actions.

      But  life  on the other extreme, in the desert,   is
also  not  ideal. The life of the nation  in  the  desert
depended  on  revealed miracles that repeated  themselves
day  after day. Water was provided for them from a  rock,
while  their food came from heaven - the opposite of  the
natural course of events. This dependence on miracles  is
termed  by  the Torah "affliction" and "testing"   (8:2-3,
15).  Such  a  life was proper as preparation  for  their
entry  into the land, as a foundational experience  which
would accompany them for all generations and protect them
from the moral corruption which would threaten them as  a
nation  living  in  its land, satiated and  blessed  with
plenty.

     An ideal life is one in which the individual and the
nation  are living a natural life, toiling and eating  of
the   fruits  of  their  toil  with  joy,  without   being
dependent  on miracles and changes in the natural  order,
while  still managing to perceive God's concern and  care
within the framework of nature itself. The value of their
actions  in the moral-religious sphere is what determines
their success in the material, tangible sphere. This  way
of  life includes natural agricultural elements - like in
Egypt,  the  land  of  the river - as  well  as   elements
reflecting life under constant Divine supervision -  like
in   the   desert.  Their  proper  combination  is    what
characterizes life in the chosen land.

(Translated by Kaeren Fish)

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