יד יוסף: Ki Tavo - G-d's Country

בס"ד

Moshe assembles the nation Israel shortly before they are to enter Canaan and addresses them. He mentions the many miracles they have seen, the successful recent wars, and that until this day they have not been given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear in order that they should know Hashem their G-d (see Deuteronomy 29:3 and 5). So to speak they are being informed that before the imminent prospect of entry into the land of Israel, they have been totally naive about religion. The parting of the Red Sea, the revelation on Mount Sinai, the manna raining down from heaven for forty years, did not make much of an impression on them and it shouldn't have.

To illustrate this there is a story of a hasid who had three questions that had been troubling him for years. One day he decided to travel to the saintly Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi to seek an answer. Once he firmly resolved to make the trip a clear answer to one of the questions appeared in his mind. Nevertheless he still had two very difficult questions so he made the necessary preparations. The horse drawn coach came, but not long after entering it, a good answer to another question came. Still he had one big question, so he continued. He disembarked at his destination and went to the house of the rebbe. As he arrived at the door the final difficulty was resolved.

The lesson of the story is that when approaching great sanctity, a person's eyes are opened like they have never been opened before. Things that were incomprehensible before become simple. This phenomenon is far greater with the land of Israel. The prospect of going there, especially to live there the rest of your life, literally makes people shake. Quitting your job, packing your bags, saying goodbye to family and friends is not easy, but the rough part is confrontation with soul and truth.

In Israel the presence of G-d is much stronger than elsewhere. The hand of G-d in can be seen in things that made no sense at the time. One sees the staff of heaven shepherding you through what would have seemed to normal life processes in your native land. The religious texts talk to you. The street signs talk to you. The mountains in a distance talk to you. The rocks and flowers talk to you. They all talk of the kindness and love Hashem has bestowed on you and this is more intimidating than fear of a punishment for a serious transgression. Israel is a land of constant challenges and the special perceptions that come with moving here are necessary to living here. Outside Israel they are not needed and probably would be a bother. The forty years of the Jews in the wilderness come to teach us that it takes time for our knowledge and experiences to ferment until they come to fruition in the Holy Land.