Chapter 13
You Shall Walk in His Ways
The holy Ohr HaChaim wrote the following in his commentary on the verse
את ה' האמרת היום להיות לך לאלוקים וללכת בדרכיו
You have acknowledged the L-rd today to be your G-d, and to walk in His ways
(Dvarim 26, 17)
"The word 'today' is explained in light of the Sages' teaching, 'Whoever lives outside the Land of Israel is like one who has no G-d.' The verse emphasizes that you have accepted G-d today because it was the day you entered the Holy Land. True, Israel was still in the land of Sichon and Og - but we have already written that this was sanctified land, for the nation conquered it at the direction of a Prophet... and for this reason G-d accepted them and became their G-d, as is written, 'to be your G-d.'
The Ohr HaChaim continues:
"The other lands are given to the control of ministers on high, but the Land of Israel has no ruler other than G-d. This is why the Torah states,
'You have acknowledged the L-rd this day' - as you enter the Land - 'to be your G-d.' This is as is written in Psalms (17,2), מלפניך משפטי יצא - My judgement will emerge before You - meaning that our judgement will not come before ministers
or other rulers, but only before Hashem…"
And the author of Mizmor L'Asaf writes (page 135b):
"The Sages taught in the Talmud, in the first chapter of
Avodah Zarah, that whoever occupies himself solely with the study of Torah to the exclusion of acts of kindness is like one who has no G-d, as is written, ימים רבים לישראל ללא אלוהי אמת, Israel will spend many days without a true G-d (Chronicles II 15,3), Heaven forbid.
The meaning of this appears to be that the command to do acts of kindness is derived from the verse "and you shall walk in His ways" – meaning: Just like G-d does kindness, and just like G-d buries the dead, and just like G-d visits the sick, so too you should do the same. And one who does not emulate G-d's actions and walk in the way that He takes, shows that he has no G-d to follow, Heaven forbid."
Based on this, we see that the idea of Aliyah to the Land of Israel is actually a Divine test. G-d wishes to see who are those who want to walk in His ways - by going to the Land of Israel, in order to connect the Divine Presence with Zion, the secret of yesod and malchut - just like Avraham Avinu did when he left his homeland and went to the Land of Israel in order to unite the ze'ir v'nukba.
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