Two Views of the Land
"Go up to this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the Children of Israel." (Bamidbar 27:12)
"And you shall see it…" (Ibid. 27:13)
In this week's Torah portion Moshe is reminded by G-d that he will not enter Eretz Yisrael, and he is invited to ascend a mountain to see the land. But why is the invitation to see it repeated in the very next passage?
The commentaries see this as a reference to two different ways of seeing Eretz Yisrael. There is a physical look at the land and a spiritual one. Moshe was privileged just before his death to miraculously view all of Eretz Yisrael and to also probe its spiritual depth.
To see Eretz Yisrael today in only a physical way is a serious case of short-sightedness. Only by appreciating the land's spiritual qualities and attaching ourselves to those values can we gain the privilege of truly seeing our Promised Land forever.
