Show Me the Land

Rav Kook made a comparison between Avraham Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah uses similar language by both of them in regards to being, “shown the land.”

Specifically, in Avraham’s case, he is told to go to the land that, “I will show you.” In Moshe’s case, it says that “He was shown all of the land as well as the Gilad until Dan, and all of Naftali.”

This comparison teaches that there are different ways of looking at the land. One way is to actually see the land with our senses. This is why Avraham is also commanded to traverse the land. He was to feel it in a more physical way. His walking through the land was also a symbolic way of showing acquisition of the land.

Since it is not possible for any human being to see the area of Gilad, which is the Golan Heights, and Dan, which is the area of the plains (Tel Aviv is part of the Dan region,) and Naftali, which is the area of the southern Kinneret, all with the naked eye, Moshe saw the land in a spiritual manner.

Rav Kook further comments that the day will come when the Noachides will desire a connection with the land. It is our duty to appreciate Eretz Yisrael for its physical as well as spiritual beauty.

The Rabbis have such statements as, “The air of Eretz Yisrael makes one wise.” Similarly, “There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael.” The manner in which both Moshe and Avraham were “shown the land,” was to teach us to appreciate the land both physically and spiritually.