Entering the Land in Joy

And it shall be (v’haya) when you come into the Land which God gives you as an inheritance, and possess it and dwell therein…                                         Deuteronomy 26:1

          Or haḤayyim (Rabbi Ḥayyim ben Attar, 1696 – 1743) notes that the opening word of the Parasha is “v’haya”, which our Sages teach us expresses joy (as opposed to “vayehi”, which expresses woe), and comments that this enlightens us that there is no true joy other than settling in the Land of Israel.

          Naḥmanides (1194 – 1270) takes a different approach and comments that the use of the word v’haya, hints that the main mitzva of coming to the Land is to enter her in joy.

          The two comments are complementary, not mutually exclusive.

          My wife’s uncle, Rabbi Zvi Tabory, explained our Sages’ understanding of the distinct connotations of “v’haya” versus “vayehi” based upon Hebrew grammar. “Vayehi” is the future tense, turned by the letter “vav” into past tense, while “v’haya” is the opposite. One who turns his future into past is truly woeful, while one who can turn the past into future has reason to be joyful.