Why is it Always a Joy to Live in Eretz Yisroel? - Ohr HaChaim and Rav Nachman MiBreslo
"Vihaya Ki Savo El Ha'Aretz Asher Hashem Elokecha Nosain Licha
Nachala"; and it will be when you come to the land which Hashem your
G-d is giving you as a heritage. (Devarim 26:1).
The Ohr HaChaim comments on this pasuk that "Vihaya" - and it will
be - always refers to simcha. There is no simcha other than in living
in Eretz Yisroel. This simcha is what the pasuk is referring to in
Tehillim (12:6 1-2), "When Hashem returns the captivity of Tzion, we
will be like dreamers. Then our mouths will fill with laughter."
Rav Nachman of Breslov says that the only way to be truly happy is
through bitachon in Hashem; simcha and bitachon always go hand and
hand. In fact the very next pasuk highlights the necessity of
constantly trusting in Hashem. "And you should take the first of every
fruit of the ground..." This pasuk explains the mitzvah of Bikurim
-bringing the first fruits as an offering to Hashem in the Bais
Hamikdash. The Ohr HaChaim explains that Hashem gave Bnei Yisroel this
mitzvah in order to strengthen their realization that they did not
inherit Eretz Yisroel through their own strength, but rather as a gift
from Hashem. The mitzvah of bikurim strengthens Bnei Yisroel's
bitachon in Hashem as the source of their sustenance, thereby
strengthening their simcha.
When we think that people control events and the course of history,
we are not B'Simcha. When we know that we are in Hashem's hands then
no matter how bleak the situation appears, we can be calm, serene, and
B'Simcha. Eretz Yisroel is a special place of Simcha because it is
always easy to see that Hashem and nothing else controls every event.
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