[Index of all Weekly Divrei Torah pages]
Our parsha (Ki Tavo) introduces us to the notion that as soon as the Jews reached the land of Israel and entered it, they had responsibilities. God led us out of Egypt, through the desert and ultimately to the land of Israel, not for the purpose of proving that He exists (that was already proven by Abraham and the forefathers and mothers), but for the purpose of giving us a “job” within the land of Israel. What was the job? To uplift and elevate the physical land. For that purpose, we were given mitzvoth – commandments – which connect us to the One above and make us His emissaries in the world below. That is why our Torah portion begins with the verse, “And when you will come to the landŔ and proceeds to tell us that once having inherited and divided the land, we must bring offerings from the first of our fruits…
We already know that the Chassidic masters did not suffice with learning and mastering the simple textual level of the Torah text. The text never leaves its simple interpretation behind – the “pshat” remains in place - but there are infinite other levels of interpretation as well.
The Chassidic masters sought to divine what the Torah was telling us in each verse, regarding how to get closer to the One above. They interpreted every verse of the Torah as a way of approaching God. The key to understanding their interpretation of this particular verse at the beginning of our parsha lies in the word, aretz, or “land.” Aside from representing the physical land (in our case, the land of Israel), the word aretz also represents the “land,” or the physical tendencies that exists within each and every one of us. And here, the Torah tells us something very interesting; “And when you come to the landŔ means, “when you encounter the physical and corporeal dimension within yourself.” At that point, how are you to deal with it? The verse continues, Ӆthat the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance, and you take possession and dwell within it.” Here, the verse instructs us not to forsake or shun the “land” – our physical side – but to embrace it. The Torah instructs us to “embrace” our physical side in order to uplift and elevate it. For, everything that He created is only for His honor. The physical world was created to indicate His greatness and majesty. It is up to us, as His agents, to turn the physical land into a place of desire and majesty, and this applies to the physical dimensions that exist within us as well. As the Ilana deChaya (R’ Menachem Mendel of Rimanov) says in the name of his father, this takes place when we “embrace” and accept the sparks of holiness that have fallen into this “land” (our physical tendencies). And therefore we should not be afraid that good food, for example, will slow us down or cause us to be intellectually slothful. Quite the opposite, by extracting the holy sp-ark from the physical “garments” in which they are trapped, we achieve greater understanding and knowledge…
And here is where our treatment of the “land” (the physical dimension of our souls and bodies) becomes sub-divided…there are those who “dwell” in the land, and there are those who merely “live” there. That is (according to R’ Michli, quoted by the Ilana deChaya), there are those who place emphasis (“dwell” in a permanent manner) upon the physical side, and there are those who merely acknowledge its existence (“live” with their physical side). He who “dwells” with his physical side “owns” and acknowledges” his corporeal nature. But, he who merely “lives” with it, makes no claim and has no more than a passing relationship with physicality whatsoever.
Now, the same duality of “owner” as opposed to “renter” exists in the spiritual side as well. In fact, He who progresses in a spiritual path of learning Torah, doing mitzvoth and being involved his entire life in Torah and prayer, is called a “settler” (toshav - and, by extension, an “owner”). About such a person, the verse says that the entire universe was created for his sake. Therefore, the forefathers, who recognized the greatness of the Creator within the creation, were called “owners.” Like Abraham said to the Hittites from whom he bought the cave of Machpela, “I am a sojourner among you.” That is, if I am a sojourner among you in this world, then I am truly an “owner” in the world to come. If I shun the physical in this world, then my true association will really be with the world to come, where the emphasis is upon the spiritual. And, I will be considered a “dweller” and “owner” regarding spiritual matters and only a sojourner in this physical universe…
However, there is a deeper meaning to the word aretz, or Land (which up til now we have associated with the physical dimension of our lives). The deeper meaning is associated with the word ratzon, or “will.” The land (aretz) of Israel is so called because it “runs” (ratz) to do the Will of the One above. And therefore, the land of Israel represents not only our physical side and dimension, but also the Will of the One above. How do we reconcile this seeming contradiction? How can the Land represent both our physical side and also the will of the One above? Because when we do His will in the physical realm, the aretz (physical land) becomes transformed – it becomes Godly in conjunction with His will. And therefore, in whatever physical activities we become involved, we must always seek the spiritual “spark” which it is our job to reach and uplift. At that point, we become involved in the physical, and also fulfill His will. Then, we can safely say that we are “dwellers” even in the physical realm. If we utilize the physical side for spiritual purposes, then we truly “inherit” it and it belongs to us – we become not people who merely “live” there, as if passing through (“renting”) – but like those who “dwell” there (“owners”). Proper use of the land (our physical side) imparts more than a passing relationship with this physical universe. It makes us “owners,” who are utilizing God’s creation as He intended, and then we become “those who inheritŔ even in this physical world.