The land shall be divided as an inheritance to these [people] according to the number of names. You shall increase the inheritance of the large [tribe], and lessen the inheritance of the small [tribe]; according to his count shall each person be given his inheritance. Nonetheless, the land shall be divided according to lot; they shall inherit according to the names of their fathers' tribes. [Each] person's inheritance will be apportioned [to him] by the lot, between the numerous and the few. (Num. 26:53-55)

The land of Israel was divided in three ways:
(1) according to population, that is, the larger the tribe the larger the portion it received,
(2) by lot (which was G‑d's hand at work), and
(3) through inheritance.1

G‑d chose the Land of Israel to be the central setting in which the process of making the physical world into His home would unfold….

In other words, the Jewish people's connection to the land of Israel exists in three ways:
(1) rationally, i.e. by their own merits,
(2) by divine decree, and
(3) by inheritance. The reason for this is that G‑d chose the Land of Israel to be the central setting in which the process of making the physical world into His home would unfold. The Jewish people are similarly the nation G‑d chose to be the central players in this drama. Therefore, the relationship that is about to be established between the chosen people and the chosen land must reflect that which has been established between G‑d and His chosen people.

[In the terminology of Kabbala, the rational, contractual relationship between G‑d and Israel occurs at the level of divinity in which G‑d has "contracted" His presence into the limits of logic and nature, i.e. His immanent creative "light" (mamalei kol almin). The free choice relationship occurs at the level of divinity in which G‑d's presence is not circumscribed by the limitations of created reality, but is still creative divinity, i.e. contextualized by its relationship to Creation. This is His transcendent creative "light" (sovev kol almin). The inheritance relationship occurs at the level of G‑d's essence, which is beyond the context of Creation altogether.]

The relationship between G‑d and the Jewish people is also threefold, as is stated in the daily morning liturgy: "Happy are we: how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful is our inheritance."

"Portion" refers to the contractual relationship between G‑d and Israel. We have undertaken to serve G‑d in various ways, and He has promised to reward us for our service. The portion we receive from G‑d is commensurate with the effort we exert to earn it. On a deeper level, "portion" refers to the fact that the Jewish divine soul is "a veritable portion of G‑d above", as it says in Tanya, just as a child may be seen as an extension of its parent. This intrinsic relationship between G‑d and the Jewish people binds them inseparably.

"Lot" refers to the super-rational relationship G‑d forged with us by choosing us to receive the Torah and be the bearers of His message to humanity. This choice was an act of absolute free will on G‑d's part; He was not compelled by any logical considerations to choose us. This is similar to the fact that the way a lot falls is not predetermined by any external factors. This super-rational relationship is not only deeper than the contractual service-reward relationship, but it is also deeper than the intrinsic parent-child relationship, since it too "forces" G‑d, so to speak, into a connection with Israel. Beyond this, G‑d also chooses Israel of His own, super-rational volition.

"Inheritance" refers to the mutual identity between G‑d and Israel. According to Jewish law, the inheritor assumes the legal standing of the parent and thereby automatically assumes ownership of his parent's property. He does not earn it, nor does the parent choose to bequeath it to him; he in essence becomes his parent. Here, the Jewish people are not a separate entity that G‑d chooses; they and G‑d are, so to speak, one and the same.

When the Torah was given, the free-choice relationship between G‑d and Israel was added….

Before the Torah was given, the relationship between G‑d and the Jewish people was solely on the contractual and child-parent levels. Service of G‑d was limited; an individual could serve G‑d and elicit divine revelation to the extent his natural talents and faculties allowed, but no further. At the same time, G‑d showed the Jewish people special attention due to the divine soul they possessed from the time of Abraham.

When the Torah was given, the free-choice relationship between G‑d and Israel was added. From this point on, G‑d sets the tone in the relationship, meaning that even the service-reward reciprocity is no longer limited by our finite capacities; the Torah and its mitzvot enable us to achieve divine consciousness far in excess of our natural ability to attain.

In the Messianic Redemption, however, the inheritance relationship will become paramount. Our creature consciousness will dissolve into yet coexist with Creator consciousness, as our unique personalities shine as they paradoxically exist within G‑d's absolute reality.

Thus, since the Land of Israel was intended to be, as we said, the microcosm of the comprehensive process of making the physical world into G‑d's home, it was necessary for the relationship between it and the Jewish people to be established on all three levels: rational, super-rational, and intrinsic. In this way our entry and possession of it foreshadowed the final redemption, in which our intrinsic, essential identity with G‑d will become the operative consciousness of reality.

Adapted by Moshe Yakov Wisnefsky from Likutei Sichot, vol. 28, pp. 176-181

Copyright 2001 chabad of california / www.lachumash.org