The Land I Will Show You, sec. 7, chapter 4
Seeing the Land
(For the previous chapter of “The Land I Will Show You, click here. For the ToC, click here.)
4: Seeing the Land
“Go for yourself… to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). These words serve as the opening of the subject of Eretz Yisrael. I intend to show you, dear reader, that this pithy, divine definition – “the land I will show you” – captures the whole secret of the Holy Land. The Torah’s description is not merely a sign indicating to Abraham to which land the divine command directed him, but it rather signifies the essence of the Holy Land and its virtue. This one phrase includes the entire holy notion of Eretz Yisrael, a notion equivalent to the entire Torah and fundamental to it.
The meaning of “I will show you” (“אראך”) is that Abraham will learn to see in a manner similar to Hashem. That is the entire secret, the rest, but interpretation. Abraham was invited to cultivate for himself divine vision, to train himself to see as Hashem sees. This is the inner meaning of the Almighty showing something to a human: The person is elevated to a level of sublime, divine sight. God brings the person to see what He sees, to look at things as He looks at them.
This kind of perception won’t be achieved by humans just anywhere in the world. It is rather linked to a specific land, as is written: “the land I will show you.” A particular land will enable this perception and assist in its realization, and once achieved, this elevated perception will shape the character of that land and its qualities. Abraham was called to establish such a land. “The land I will show you” is a specific type of land Abraham was commanded to establish, a land defined by the description “I will show you.”
This land will be a fitting place for seeing with the eyes of the spirit, with divine vision. Accordingly, the promise that Hashem will show the land to Abraham was fulfilled in a prophetic vision, in a divine viewing, as is written: “And Hashem said to Abraham, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever’” (Genesis 13:14–15).1
In this chapter, we will present the evidence for this important idea without explaining its depth, and only after that will we delve into understanding what God sees, how a human being can see as He does, and the connection between all this and a specific region of land.
“Lech Lecha” is the parashah of choosing Eretz Yisrael and of Abraham’s journey to there. Another parashah that parallels “Lech Lecha” clearly details the uniqueness of Eretz Yisrael; comparing the 2 parashahs will demonstrate the important idea. It is written:
For the land into which you are crossing to possess it is not like the land of Egypt from which you came out, where you sow your seed and water it with your foot like a garden of greens. But the land into which you are crossing to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinks water of the rain of heaven; a land which Hashem your God cares for: The eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. And it shall be, if you indeed heed my commandments which I command you this day… I will give the rain of your land in its season… Watch yourselves, lest your heart be seduced… and the anger of Hashem be kindled against you, and He hold back the heavens etc." (Deuteronomy 11:10–17).
The land of Canaan differs from the land of Egypt. It is a land that is always under the eyes of Hashem. It is a land that He sees. Hashem looks upon it and decides whether its people deserve His grace or not. This land depends on special divine providence from the heavens – it needs rain and therefore may suffer famine, whereas the land of Egypt does not depend on special providence. Egypt’s source of sustenance, the river, is secure and stable. Thus, the eyes of Hashem are always on the land of Canaan to see if its people are meritorious – in which case, they merit rain; or if their deeds are not worthy – in which case they perish in famine, God forbid. The people of Egypt, in contrast, are sustained even without special merit.2
The contrast between the land of Canaan and the land of Egypt appears also in the parashah of “Lech Lecha,” albeit in the form of a story. These are the main points of the story, which is the sequence of events that led from the promise to Abraham of “I will show you” to its fulfillment, “Lift up now your eyes and look,” with the contrast between the land of Canaan and Egypt at the crux of the narrative: Motivated by divine command, Abraham traveled to the land of Canaan, with Sarah and Lot, his nephew; famine in Canaan led him to travel from Canaan to Egypt; Egypt and its king demonstrated their moral corruption; Abraham returned to the land of Canaan; he and Lot separated, with Lot choosing that region in the land of Canaan that was actually similar to the land of Egypt, as is written: “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the whole plain of Jordan, that all of it was well-watered … like the garden of Hashem, like the land of Egypt” (Genesis 13:10). Only then did Hashem finally say to Abraham, “Lift up now your eyes and look.”
Everything revolves around the contrast between the lands. This is the meaning of the matter: Abraham was brought to learn the uniqueness of the land of Canaan and the secret of its superiority over the land of Egypt. He saw that the land of Canaan “is not like the land of Egypt,” for it is susceptible to famine. From his experiences on his journeys, he came to understand what distinguishes these lands from each other and recognized that the land of Canaan is superior, suited for closeness to God. He saw a land that is always under the gaze of Hashem, Who will hold back the heavens from raining upon it, if that is what is deserved, whereas the land of Egypt is always secure in its source of sustenance, which is the root of its moral corruption. The people of Egypt can behave corruptly and snatch a woman for their desires, and still be sustained easily and comfortably by the river. The topography of Egypt contains no mechanism for immediate feedback. From this, Abraham derived the virtue of the land of Canaan, which is the land associated with the mechanism of reward and punishment described in the passage of “And it shall be, if you indeed heed my commandments.”
Conversely, Lot derived the opposite from all that happened: that it is preferable to live in a region similar to Egypt, secure from famine and the danger of the mechanism of “And it shall be, if you indeed heed my commandments.” He followed his eyes, lifted his gaze, and saw those things that attract the eye of flesh: “that all of it was well-watered … like the garden of Hashem, like the land of Egypt,” and did not understand the ramifications of these facts: “And the people of Sodom were wicked and sinners before Hashem exceedingly” (ibid. 13). Lot was blind to seeing what is clear from Hashem’s point of view.3
Only then – after Lot, who saw with the eyes of flesh, had separated from him – did Abraham complete his study and truly understand the unique nature of the land of Canaan. Then, he grasped the concept of Hashem’s eyes that are upon this land, and he, too, lifted his eyes – and saw through the eyes of Hashem, with a true prophetic vision. In the words of the Ramban: “There is located the land that He will truly show him.”4
The events of the parashah of “Lech Lecha” – that is, Abraham’s journey to the land of Canaan – form a narrative structure for the point written in the parashah of “Ekev,” namely the uniqueness of the land of Canaan and the difference between it and Egypt, i.e., that Hashem’s eyes are always upon it. By comparing the parallel parashahs, it becomes clear that the attainment of “I will show you” is the attainment of vision through the eyes of Hashem that are always upon this land, that is, elevation of a person to the level of divine vision.5 As stated in the Midrash Ha’Gadol: “’To the land I will show you’... to a land that My eyes are upon all year round, as it is written ‘the eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year.’”6
“I will show you”: Abraham, too, will see the land that Hashem sees, and from the same perspective as Hashem sees it. The eyes of Hashem are always upon this land, and so are the eyes of the excellent man – he will see as God. Man and his God become partners in seeing the land.
The parashah of the spies also hints at the notion that the secret of the land’s virtue revolves around correct vision. The spies were sent on a mission to see the land, as it is written: “And see the land, what it is” (Numbers 13:18). About them, it is written: “Send men to explore the land of Canaan” (ibid. 2); and at the end of the parashah of “Sh’lach,” after describing the failure of the spies, the parashah of tzitzis is written, with the warning: “And you shall not go exploring after your own heart or your eyes” (ibid. 15:39). This teaches that the promise of the land revolves around achieving perfect vision. The connection between tzitzis and the vision of the land, and the method that this commandment trains the person in divine vision, will be explained in chapters 11–12; for now, we turn to explaining what is the nature of God’s vision and how man can come to see as He does, and the connection between all this and a specific region of land that is dependent on the rains of heaven.
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As interpreted by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra on Genesis 12:1 and Or Ha’Chaim there.
See Mishnas Yaakov, essay “A Taste of Matzah,” sections 1-4.
The subject of the various types of vision, perfect and flawed alike, is interwoven throughout the parashah, including the descent to Egypt, where Pharaoh’s officers strayed after their hearts and eyes upon seeing the beauty of Sarah. The root ר.א.ה. (to see) appears ten times in this parashah (i.e., chapters 12–13) that teaches the process of the development of Abraham, tenth generation to Shem son of Noah, who himself was chosen due to a certain perfection in the quality of vision, as it is written: “And their father's nakedness they didn’t see” (Genesis 9:23).
Midrash Hagadol, Genesis 12:1.
I am familiar with lech lecha. Yes Eretz Yisrael is ours.