30 Jul 2026 Eikev 5786: A Land, and Nation, That Lives with Hashem

Parshas Eikev contains some of the Torah’s most beautiful descriptions of Eretz Yisrael. As Moshe Rabbeinu prepares the nation to enter the Promised Land, he does not describe merely a place of physical beauty or agricultural abundance. Rather, he describes a land whose very essence is bound to the Presence of Hashem.

כִּי ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה… אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן אֶרֶץ זֵית שֶׁמֶן וּדְבָשׁ – For Hashem, your G-d, is bringing you to a good land… a land of wheat and barley, grapevines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey from dates (Devarim 8:7-8).

The Torah continues: וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ עַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָךְ – You shall eat, be satiated, and bless Hashem for the good land that He has given you (8:10).

Yet immediately afterward, Moshe issues a warning: הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ – Beware lest you forget Hashem your G-d… (8:11).

The Torah’s concern is striking. Precisely when life is comfortable, when the fields flourish, the vineyards produce fruit, and the tables are filled with blessing, a person may mistakenly believe that success is entirely the result of his own efforts. Therefore, the Torah repeatedly reminds us that Eretz Yisrael is unlike every other land.

Later in the parsha, Moshe teaches:

אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ דֹּרֵשׁ אֹתָהּ תָּמִיד עֵינֵי ה‘ אֱלֹקיךָ בָּהּ מֵרֵשִׁית הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה – The land… is not like the land of Egypt… It is a land that Hashem, your G-d, seeks out; the eyes of Hashem your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year (11:11-12).

The Torah reminds us that if we go in the ways of Hashem in the Land of Hashem:

וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ… וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ וְתִירשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ. וְנָתַתִּי עֵשֶׂב בְּשָׂדְךָ לִבְהֶמְתֶּךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ – I shall provide the rain for your land in its proper time, early rains and late rains, and you shall gather your grain, your wine, and your oil. I shall place grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be satisfied (11:14-15).

And if we remain faithful to the Torah: לְמַ֨עַן יִרְבּ֤וּ יְמֵיכֶם֙ וִימֵ֣י בְנֵיכֶ֔ם עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע ה’ לַֽאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֖ם לָתֵ֣ת לָהֶ֑ם כִּימֵ֥י הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ – So that your days, and the days of your children, may be increased upon the land that Hashem swore to your forefathers to give to them, like the days of heaven upon the earth (11:21).

It is the relationship between the nation, the land and HKB”H that distinguishes Eretz Yisrael from all other lands.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav, zt’l, expresses this idea beautifully:

“Hashra’at ha-Shekhinah, the reality of the Divine Presence, is a continuous process in Eretz Yisrael; it is part of the climate. Just as there are different kinds of climates, cold climates and warm climates, similarly there are climates completely devoid of the Divine Presence and climates very conducive to it. Just as it is natural to get up in the morning and see the sun shining or hear the rain falling, so it is natural in Eretz Yisrael to get up in the morning and find the Shekhinah. Just as one who walks out in the rain must get wet, and one who walks out in the sunshine must feel warm, so too, one who lives in Eretz Yisrael must feel and absorb the ruah ha-kodesh, must simply be saturated with kevod Elokim… “The eyes of the Lord, your God, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year “ (Deut. 11:12)… No other land in the world can imitate this quality. All one needs to do is open oneself up to the divine flow, which is like dew or a stream coming down upon the land from Heaven.” (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Lord is Righteous in All His Ways, ed. Jacob J. Schacter (KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2006), pp.308-309.)

During our recent visit to Eretz Yisrael, we prepared for Shabbos in the shuk Machaneh Yehuda on Friday afternoon. We stood at the Kotel, humbled in tefila before Hashem. We walked through the alleyways of the Old City, where every stone whispers thousands of years of the Jewish story.

We traveled north to Teveriah and gazed upon the tranquil waters of the Kinneret, with the mountains behind them alight with the glow of the setting sun. We spent time in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, walking the lush and exquisite vineyards, palm-tree/date fields, and blossoming fruit trees that dot the kibbutz landscape. We walked to the nearby ma’ayan, whose cool waters flow through the heat of the Beit She’an Valley.

We gave a tremp to an IDF soldier returning home, to Be’er Sheva, for just one precious day after serving in Lebanon. We spent time in Beitar, a city pulsating with Torah learning, watching the huge, full moon slowly rise over the mountains of Harei Yehuda. We walked through the vibrant streets of Rehovot, and enjoyed pre-Shabbos shopping in the bakery, flower shop, cafe, and streets of this city.

Each place possessed its own distinct beauty. In Eretz Yisrael, there is an unmistakable awareness that this is Hashem’s land. Perhaps this is precisely why the Torah tells us that Hashem’s eyes are always upon the Land. The physical beauty of Eretz Yisrael is certainly manifest, but its true beauty lies in its spirituality, for it is the gateway to Heaven.

Our connection to Eretz Yisrael is not merely historical. It is not only political or emotional. It is deeply spiritual. It is woven into our tefillos, our mitzvos, our longing, and our identity as a nation.

May we soon merit to witness the complete redemption, when the Divine Presence will once again be fully revealed in Tzion, and all of Klal Yisrael will return to our beloved Land in everlasting peace.

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום,

Michal