Parshat Eikev 5778
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week's parsha about the special qualities of Eretz Yisrael. In the beginning of the parsha we read (Chapter 8, Pasuk 7), Ki Hashem Elokecha Mevi'acha el Eretz Tovah, Hashem is bringing you to a good land. And then the next few pasukim speak of the virtues of the land, culminating in the mitzvah of Birkas Hamazon. One of the special qualities of the land mentioned is (Pasuk 9), Eretz Asher Lo Be'Miskanus Tochal Bah Lechem Lo Sechsar Kol Bah, A land in which you shall not eat bread in scarcity and you shall lack nothing. These two statements seem repetitive; what is the difference between Eretz Asher Lo Be'Miskanus Tochal Bah Lechem and Lo Sechsar Kol Bah?
The Sfas Emes teaches on our parsha that from the time that Adam Harishon sinned and ate from the Eitz HaDa'as Tov V'Ra, the world became a mixture of good and bad, Tov V'Ra. And as a result Adam was cursed with Arurah Ha'Adamah and B'Zei'as Apecha Tochal Lechem. But Hashem gave a special bracha to the Avos that they should not be included in the curse and in this mixture of good and bad. Their blessing was such that the yetzer hara didn't affect them. This is why when Avraham was searching for a wife for his son Yitzchak he wouldn't consider giving him to Eliezer's daughter. Rashi explains (Bereishis, Chapter 24, Pasuk 39), Ein Arur Medabek B'Baruch; someone cursed can't cling to one who is blessed. And the Gemara in Baba Basra 17A derives that the Avos didn't have a yetzer hara from their midah of Bakol, Mikol, Kol. This trait of completion represented by the word Kol, which each of the forefathers experienced, indicates a state of goodness without evil mixed in.
Just as the Avos were unique among men in not having this mixture of Tov V'Ra, in a similar vein they were given a land which was totally good. Hence the pasuk above refers to Eretz Yisrael as Eretz Tovah. Originally, Eretz Yisrael was in the hands of Canaan, and the pasuk states regarding Canaan (Bereishis, Chapter 9, Pasuk 25), Arur Canaan Eved Avadim Yihyeh L'Achiv. Canaan was cursed. When Yehoshua brought Bnei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael became blessed. And Chazal teach that Yehoshua established "Al Ha'Aretz V'al Hamazon", the second bracha of Birkas Hamazon, which the Medrash Tanchuma on Masei (6) teaches is the most dear of all the brachos of Birkas Hamazon. The reason is because when this bracha was established Eretz Yisrael became a blessed place. No longer did the words of Arurah Ha'Adamah apply or was the curse of B'Zei'as Apecha Tochal Lechem relevant.
The new reality in Eretz Yisrael now included the blessing of Lo Sechsar Kol Bah; you will not be lacking in anything, i.e. you will have the midah of Kol. Just as each of the Avos had this special trait of Kol which teaches that they were all good without even a yetzer hara, so too Eretz Yisrael had this midah of Kol. And how was this expressed? Eretz Asher Lo Be'Miskanus Tochal Bah Lechem. The Sfas Emes teaches that the word Be'Miskanus comes from the word Sekanah which means danger. When man is involved in the base, physical act of eating, there is a danger he will be overcome by the yetzer hara which is activated when eating. But in Eretz Yisrael there is no such danger; it is a land where the eating is done in holiness. Lo Sechsar Kol Bah, the midah of Kol insures that the yetzer hara doesn’t penetrate eating and it's done B'Kedushah U'VeTaharah.
We can now take what we've learned about Eretz Yisrael and apply it back to the Avos themselves. The midah of Kol appears by Avraham Avinu when the Torah teaches that Hashem blessed Avraham with this trait (Bereishis, Chapter 24, Pasuk 1), V'Hashem Beirach es Avraham BaKol. Similarly by Yaakov Avinu, Yaakov tells Eisav that he has been blessed with this trait when he tells Eisav (Chapter 33, Pasuk 11), V'chi Yesh Li Kol. But the midah of Kol is expressed by Yitzchak Avinu with the words (Chapter 27, Pasuk 33), Va'Ochal M'Kol, I have eaten from Kol. Why is eating introduced here when teaching us that Yitzchak contained the midah of Kol?
The answer is as we explained the words in our parsha of the pasuk Lo Be'Miskanus Tochal Bah Lechem Lo Sechsar Kol Bah. Eating typically activates the yetzer hara. Yet Yitzchak is teaching us that even when he ate it was done from a place of holiness. Va'Ochal M'Kol, even when eating I eat for the right purpose and without being consumed by the yetzer hara. This is because Yitzchak had the trait of Kol as did Eretz Yisrael; a blessed place in which nothing was lacking, including the trait of Kol. Lo Sechsar Kol Bah.
Good Shabbos
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