“Let me now cross and see the good Land…” (Devarim 3:25).
Why was Moshe Rabbeinu so persistent in his desire to enter Eretz Yisroel?
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai states (Brachos 5a) that Hashem gave the Jewish People three precious gifts, all of them given only by means of suffering: Torah, Eretz Yisroel, and the World to Come.
Rabbi Yitzchak Dov Koppelman, the rosh yeshiva of Lucerne, notes that Torah and the World to Come are totally in the spiritual realm, but Eretz Yisroel is different. Although superficially it appears to be a completely material acquisition, the essence of Eretz Yisroel is not its vineyards and its fields but its inherent spirituality. He compares it to man who is a composite of ruchniyus and gashmiyus: his essence is the spirituality, a segment of Hashem, and the physical aspect is only to help the soul accomplish its goals in this world.
The Talmud makes the shocking statement (Kesubos 110b): “One who resides in Eretz Yisroel is considered as one who has a G-d, and one who resides outside of Eretz Yisroel is considered as one who does not have a G-d.”
Moshe Rabbeinu longed to enter Eretz Yisroel in order to attain that significant spiritual quality unique to Eretz Yisroel, as he pleaded “Let me cross and see the good,” i.e. spirituality, of the Land.” This exceptional spiritual element is evidenced in Rashi’s explanation of Yaakov’s dream (Bereishis 28:12) where “angels were ascending and descending.” Now that Yaakov reached the border of Eretz Yisroel, Rashi says, the angels who had accompanied him on his journey ascended to Heaven, as they would not go outside the Land, and the angels of outside the Holy Land descended to escort him further.
Moshe Rabbeinu persisted and prayed 515 tefillos to Hashem to be able to enter Eretz Yisroel. The Or HaChaim notes that he even asked not to enter as a leader but as an unassuming member of the Jewish People. The Midrash adds that Moshe said, “‘Master of the world, if I myself cannot enter Eretz Yisroel, at least let me enter like an animal of the field to roam the land.’ Hashem said, ‘Don’t pray anymore.’ Then Moshe pleaded, ‘Let me be in this world like a bird that flies to the four corners of the world.’ Again, Hashem told him, ‘Don’t pray anymore.’”
Rav Shach asks: Why did Moshe Rabbeinu wish to remain in the world like an animal or a bird? He answers that every living being has a specific mission in life through which the honor of Hashem is increased and spread. Even though a huge reward awaited Moshe in the eternal world, he was content to remain in this world in any animate body as long as he could bring honor to the Creator.
Citing Rav Simlai, the Talmud (Sotah 14a) offers another reason why Moshe so desired to enter Eretz Yisroel: many of the mitzvos that Hashem had given the Jewish People were exclusive to Eretz Yisroel. Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter the land in order to be able to fulfill all those mitzvos.
The Lechovitcher expounds that yesurim cleanse a person of all impurities as well as humble him. When Yehoshua and Calev described Eretz Yisroel to the Jewish People (Bamidbar 14:7), they said “tovah ha’aretz me’od me’od,” “the land is exceedingly good.” A similar expression is used in Pirkei Avos (4:4): “Me’od me’od hevei shefal ruach,” “Be exceedingly humble in spirit.” Our sages derive that one who is exceedingly humble will merit the holiness of Eretz Yisroel. Moshe Rabbeinu is notable for being the most humble individual on earth; this was his impetus and yearning for Eretz Yisroel.
Rav Aharon Moshe of Brody, Ukraine, was a devoted chossid of the famed Chozeh of Lublin, one of the great Chassidic masters renowned for great intuitive powers that enabled him to accomplish miraculous feats.
Rav Aharon Moshe eventually left Europe for Eretz Yisroel and settled in Chevron. It is told that when he encountered a complex concept in his study of the Talmud, he would merit to have his Rebbe, the Chozeh, come to him in a dream to clarify the passage for him.
One day a man came to Rav Aharon Moshe for his counsel. He explained that he had been living in Eretz Yisroel for some time, yet he unfortunately had still not merited to sense the holiness and great spirituality of the Land. He sought to become a better servant of Hashem, and was becoming disheartened.
R’ Aharon Moshe listened intently to the man’s problem but had no response to offer him. Later that night, the Chozeh of Lublin revealed himself to Rav Aharon Moshe and told him that if a person wanted to merit to absorb the exceptional good of the land of Eretz Yisroel, he needed to follow the exhortation of our sages to be exceptionally humble.
Rav Aharon Moshe transmitted this information to the petitioner the next day, who undertook a program of self-improvement in the middah of humility. Indeed, as the months progressed, the seeker was successful in his quest to feel the holiness of the land.
Rav Aharon Moshe later moved to Yerushalayim where he is buried. He is memorialized on his matzeivah as “A tzaddik, a pure man, who loved his fellow Jew.”
