Shabbat Parashat Vaetchanan - 5783

Shabbat Parashat Vaetchanan - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller

And command Yehoshua and strengthen him and give him resolve for he shall

cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land that you will

see. [Devarim 3:28]

What exactly is "the land" that the people are to inherit? In Bamidbar chapter 34,

the Torah goes to great length to lay out the exact borders of "the land that shall fall

to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its borders." According to

various opinions, that land is somewhat analogous to the borders of the modern day

State of Israel, with some significant variances.

But there are other verses that give us different descriptions. Devarim [34:1] includes

"and God showed him the entire land", and gives some examples of places that were

well beyond a human being's vision at the point Moshe stood, as well as on the eastern

side of the Jordan. Rashi explains that in Devarim [3:25] Moshe asked to see the land

on the other side of the Jordan, but now God is showing him "all the land", which must

mean something to the east of the Jordan river. In Devarim [4:5], Moshe tells the people

that God commanded him to teach them laws standing "in the midst of the land", which

again implies that there is more to the promised land than just what lies beyond the Jordan.

When Moshe conquers the lands of Sichon and Og as inheritance for Reuven, Gad

and half of Menashe, the fact that it was the inheritance for those tribes means that

Moshe was himself in some portion of the promised land, but it lies outside of the

borders mentioned in Bamidbar.

We go back to Bereishit [15:18-21] where God promised Avram, "To your descendants I

have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River, the

Kennite, the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite, the Hittite, the Perizzite and the Rephaim, the

Emorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite and the Jebusite." This extends "the land" all the

way to Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Further, it covers the lands of ten nations, not just the

seven Canaanite nations that Yehoshua conquered. So, what is "the land"?

We can understand that there are two parts to "the land". One is what gets described in

Bamidbar, the other is to the east of the first. Why are there two parts?

One answer could be that the expanded combination was promised to Avraham, but

he had many sons. If part 2 was meant for Yishmael and/or the other sons of Keturah,

then part 1, in Bamidbar, is all that was intended for the Jews. But we know from a

number of places that Yishmael and the others were given specific gifts, and the rest

of the land was meant as the "inheritance", which was designated for Yitzchak.

Another answer is that Moshe felt the people were not numerous enough at that point

to settle all the land, so they should concentrate on one part at a time. But nowhere

did God direct Moshe or Yehoshua to only distribute part for such a reason.

It would seem then that the answer is the complete inheritance will take place in the

days of Moshiach. We have traditions that the borders will expand to accommodate

all the returning exiled tribes, and that all those who follow Avraham will have a place

in the land of Israel, but only then. What was promised to Avraham will belong to the

Jews, but will also be a dwelling place for those who return to God even from other

peoples. In the mean time, we have the part which is of the greatest holiness.