Parashat Eikev: How is the Goodness of the Promised Land a Portal to Deeper Blessings?

 

Parashat Eikev
How is the Goodness of the Promised Land a Portal to Deeper Blessings? 

What Is Better – A Rainy Day or a Sunny One, and Why Don’t I Own a Summer Raincoat?

Before flying to Denmark to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday, she gently reminded me to bring a raincoat. In Denmark, even the month of August often comes with grey skies and a damp chill. Rain isn’t exactly a blessing – it’s more of a spoiler, dampening beach plans and family outings. Unlike in Israel, where rain is received like a kiss from Heaven, in Denmark, sunshine is the prized rarity. People even say that if the sun shines on your birthday, it means you were good all year round.
The truth is, I don’t even own a summer raincoat – except for the one I left hanging in my mother’s closet. In Israel, I’ve never needed it. From June through October, most years, not a drop of rain falls. Our summers are dry and searing, and the heat of Av can be overwhelming. But in this arid rhythm, I’ve learned something precious: the absence of rain awakens an intimate relationship with Hashem, our Provider. Rain isn’t just weather here – it’s a prayer, a yearning, a spiritual barometer. We feel its absence in our gardens and in our hearts. Unlike northern countries, where water flows endlessly from the faucet, here we collect the first cold splash of shower water in buckets to nourish our plants. After Sukkot, if the earth still cracks beneath our feet and our cherry tomatoes wilt in protest, we lift our eyes to Heaven. And so, begins our season of beseeching – a nation taught by its Land to treasure every drop and to remember the Source from which it flows.

What Do the Waters of the Land Reveal and How Do They Allude to Its Goodness?
In Parashat Eikev, Moshe prepares Am Yisrael to enter the Land by describing its unique nature in loving detail. He doesn’t just say the land is “good” – he shows us why:

ספר דברים פרק ח פסוק ז כִּי הַשֵּׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה אֶרֶץ נַחֲלֵי מָיִם עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר:

“For Hashem your G-d is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains” (Devarim 8:7).

 

But what does it mean for a land to be “good”? These verses reveal that Eretz Yisrael is not just agriculturally rich – it’s spiritually alive. This isn’t simply a geographic description. The Land provides not only physical sustenance but also inner alignment with Divine flow. Moshe paints a rich, sensory image of the Promised Land’s unparalleled blessings – a land of water sources, rivers, springs, and subterranean depths (Devarim 8:7).

The Malbim explains that the Torah’s emphasis on dynamic, flowing waters – נַחֲלֵי מָיִם/nachlei mayim – “streams,” and תְּהֹמוֹת/tehomot – “underground depths” – evokes vitality, joy, and spiritual delight. This explains the spiritual energy available in Bat Ayin, which is so named for its many wellsprings. These waters are not merely practical resources, but expressions of the Land’s essence – constantly renewing and giving, like the Torah itself. Eretz Yisrael is not just a backdrop for holiness – it is a partner in it. It is not simply a place where good things happen. It is itself good – inherently, perpetually, and in a way that is meant to awaken the soul.

Sforno emphasizes the superiority of these waters: unlike stagnant canals and artificial reservoirs of other lands, the waters of Eretz Yisrael are alive – constantly flowing and renewing, a fitting metaphor for the Torah itself. The Land’s water nourishes with purity and vitality, just as Torah nourishes our inner life.

Rabbeinu Bachaya and the Shivtei Kohen reveal even more hidden meaning: these flowing waters are not only physical but also spiritual. The “depths” recall the primordial depths of creation – a reminder that unseen, buried forces sustain us. The streams and springs rising from valleys and mountains symbolize the full spectrum of Hashem’s blessing, emerging from both exalted heights and the most concealed places.

In our personal spiritual journeys, we often draw strength from visible streams – moments of inspiration and clarity. But the Torah here is teaching that in the Land of Israel, we are nourished even by that which is not seen. Hashem embeds His blessing in every layer of the Land – in the bubbling spring and the subterranean current. Life in the Land of Israel invites us to trust in the unseen, to believe that what feels barren may yet be overflowing with blessing.

Just as the physical waters of Eretz Yisrael well up from underground, so too its spiritual nourishment often comes from hidden places. The Land teaches us that even when the surface appears dry, Hashem’s blessing is flowing below – waiting to rise and renew. Now isn’t that true goodness?

What Does It Mean to Lack Nothing?

ספר דברים פרק ח פסוק ט

אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא בְמִסְכֵּנֻת תֹּאכַל בָּהּ לֶחֶם לֹא תֶחְסַר כֹּל בָּהּ אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲבָנֶיהָ בַרְזֶל וּמֵהֲרָרֶיהָ תַּחְצֹב נְחשֶׁת:

“A land in which you will eat bread without poverty – you will lack nothing in it…” )Devarim 8:9).

This verse expresses not only abundance but fullness – a wholeness that is uniquely tied to Eretz Yisrael. According to Sforno, the Torah here reveals a progression of blessings: not only do the people have food, but they have dignity while eating – no poverty or humiliation accompanies their sustenance. And not only is there food, there is currency – not only survival, but stable prosperity. The phrase “you will lack nothing” includes the assurance of economic health – a subtle promise that the economy of the Land supports well-being without anxiety. We see this blessing unfolding even today. Despite nearly two years of warfare on multiple fronts, the Israeli stock market has remarkably outperformed its regional peers. After plunging 23% following the October 2023 Hamas attack, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange rebounded within months, more than doubling its wartime low – a living testament to the Divine blessing embedded in the Land’s economy. Thus, more important than material prosperity is spiritual and emotional sufficiency.

Rabbeinu Bachayei brings another layer: the phrase “you will lack nothing” refers to the land’s inherent completeness. He notes that the word אֶרֶץ/eretz – “land” – appears six times in this short passage (Devarim 8:7-9), alluding to the six climatic zones of the earth. Each of these receives spiritual sustenance from Eretz Yisrael, pointing to the centrality of the Land in the cosmic design. The seventh mention, however – “you shall bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good land He has given you” – highlights the sanctity of the seventh realm, the inner dimension of the Land, corresponding to Yerushalayim. This is the navel of creation, praised by David HaMelech as “the joy of all the earth” (Tehillim 48:3). Only here is the soul fully at peace, for only here is the physical landscape in alignment with the Source of blessing.

I’ve often marveled at how this small strip of land contains so many climate zones – from the snowy slopes of the Hermon to the arid heat of Eilat, from the tropical springs of Ein Gedi to the Mediterranean coastline, from the lush valleys of the Galilee to the cool Judean hills. This variety reflects the Land’s role as the spiritual root of all creation – a microcosm of the world’s goodness, concentrated in one sacred place. Indeed, the flora and fauna of Israel, situated at the crossroads of three continents, mirror its geographical and spiritual diversity.

In exile, we may gather much yet still feel empty. If it wasn’t my mother’s birthday, I would never want to vacation anywhere else than in Israel. Because here, the bread we eat is not just nourishment – it is a reminder that we belong. Here, physical blessing and spiritual identity merge. And that is what it truly means to have nothing lacking.

What Is Hidden in the Mountains?

ספר דברים פרק ח פסוק ט 

אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא בְמִסְכֵּנֻת תֹּאכַל בָּהּ לֶחֶם לֹא תֶחְסַר כֹּל בָּהּ אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲבָנֶיהָ בַרְזֶל וּמֵהֲרָרֶיהָ תַּחְצֹב נְחשֶׁת:

“A land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you will mine copper” (Devarim 8:9).

The Torah now reveals another layer – the wealth hidden in the very terrain. Rabbeinu Bachaya views these stones and mountains as metaphorical as well as literal: even the hardest elements of the Land – its rocks – become sources of strength, construction, and wealth when sanctified through human effort. HaEmek Davar teaches that while physical sustenance once came through miracles in the desert, in the Land of Israel it flows through our work and our words – and even after the Temple’s destruction, our blessings and prayers become spiritual mining tools.

The Shivtei Kohen links these verses to the redemptive power of labor in the Land. Though the desert offered ready-made food and shelter, in the Land, we engage in the holy process of extracting, refining, and elevating the material. Even the metals for our pots and tools must be mined, shaped, and sanctified. But here lies the miracle: the more we dig, the more we discover that holiness lies within. In Eretz Yisrael, the mundane becomes a vessel for the sacred.

When digging the entrance road to Bat Ayin, workers uncovered an ancient mikveh and winepress from the Second Temple period – a literal unearthing of our sacred past, still embedded in the Holy Land. The physical beauty of the mountains hints at their inner purpose: to draw us upward. And as we climb them – both literally and spiritually – we chip away at the coverings of our own souls, revealing the gleaming essence Hashem planted within.

How Does This Land Nourish the Soul?

Through its natural features – its waters, grains, fruits, and precious minerals – the Land of Israel whispers its secrets to us. The list of seven species of the Holy Land (Devarim 8:8) mentioned between these verses is not just agricultural bounties – they are channels of spiritual repair. Each one represents a different sefirah, a facet of Divine light, and collectively they nourish all dimensions of the Jewish soul.

This is why Sforno teaches that only in Eretz Yisrael are all forms of goodness found together – from essential food to royal delicacies, from water that quenches to minerals that build. The Land is complete in a way no other region is. It not only sustains the body – it awakens memory, destiny, and the yearning to return to wholeness.

Hashem is bringing us into a Land unlike any other. A Land where valleys and mountains both carry blessings. Where water and wheat, pomegranates and copper, are more than resources – they are reminders. Reminders that even in physicality, holiness pulses. And when we live with that awareness, we find ourselves not only in the Land – but aligned with the Divine plan for our people and for the world.