Moshe reminded Bnei Yisrael that if not for the episode of the spies, G-d would have brought them into the Land of Israel 39 years earlier. “Hashem, our G-d, spoke to us at Chorev (Mount Sinai), saying, ‘Your stay at this mountain has been much for you. Turn away and journey... Come and possess the land that G-d promised to your fathers.’”
According to one explanation offered by Rashi, the phrase “Your stay at this mountain has been much for you” alludes to the spiritual wealth that Bnei Yisrael accumulated at Mount Sinai.
“Your residence at this mountain has brought you significant greatness and reward. You built the Mishkan, the menorah and other furnishings; you received the Torah; you appointed a Sanhedrin for yourselves...”
This explanation complements the simple meaning of the phrase, which is that G-d regarded Bnei Yisrael’s continued stay at Mount Sinai as excessive because He was eager for them to advance and enter the Promised Land. For unlike other nations, which are formed when a group of people take possession of a particular territory and inhabit it, Jewish nationality is defined by our spiritual identity as “a holy nation,” in reward for which G-d grants us the Land of Israel. Thus, the spiritual “much” that Bnei Yisrael amassed at Mount Sinai led directly to G-d’s eagerness to bring them into the Land.
Moreover, the verse continues, “Come and possess the land!” As Rashi explains, this means, “No one will contest the matter, and you will not need to go to war.” For in the words of the Midrash, “G-d chose the Land of Israel as His portion... and the Jewish people as His portion... It is befitting that His portion inherit in His portion.” Therefore, having established themselves as a holy nation through the spiritual wealth they acquired at Mount Sinai, Bnei Yisrael were ready to enter the Land unopposed, and to easily take possession of the land that was essentially theirs.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 24, pp. 14–19
