Mitzva to Appreciate the Land

You must thus meditate on the fact that just as a man might chastise his child, so God your Lord is chastising you.                                                    Numbers 8:5

"As a man might chastise his child": as a father acts for his child's benefit, as the verse [Proverbs 19:18] states: "Chasten your son, for there is hope; but do not set your heart on his destruction." Similarly, "God your Lord is chastising you," first with the suffering in the wilderness and with the trial of manna, so the goodness of the Land and its fruit will be pleasant for your soul.

                                                        Naḥmanides

Naḥmanides adds that, indeed, our verse serves as the introduction to the declaration that "God your Lord is bringing you to a good Land," and through reflection on Israel's Egyptian servitude and the travails of the wilderness, when Israel merits entering the Promised Land and eating its fruit, they will surely bless God.

Rabbi Yeruḥam Lebovitz notes that the straightforward meaning of Naḥmanides' comments is that all of God's "chastising you" was for the purpose of recognizing the merits of the Land. Based upon Naḥmanides' approach, Rabbi Lebovitz concludes that there is a mitzva to reflect upon the importance of the Land of Israel, and further that the blessings to be recited before partaking of the fruit of the Land are intended to stress the greatness of the Land and thereby to bring us to appreciation of the greatness of the Creator as well as His unlimited ability and might.