And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have passed over; that you may go in to the land which Hashem your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Hashem, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
When Klal Yisroel arrived in Eretz Yisroel for the first time, they reached their desired destination. They had spent 400 years in Mitzrayim preparing to become a nation under Hashem, serving Him with all of their souls. They were then redeemed and brought to Har Sinai, where they were taught how to serve Hashem in all circumstances. Forty years in the desert transformed them into a nation that can live in a country and arrange all of their matters based on the Torah. This was a culmination of generations of preparation, and they needed to ensure they would be able to settle the land and last there as Hashem’s nation forever.
They were commanded to place large boulders at the entrance to Eretz Yisroel with the entire Torah written out in all seventy languages. Eretz Yisroel is a country where people follow the Torah with all of their might and dedicate their entire being solely to Hashem. Essentially, living in Eretz Yisroel means following Hashem with all of our might.
The Ibn Ezra explains that this mitzvah is the first of all of the mitzvos that they would keep in Eretz Yisroel. By fulfilling this mitzvah, they would be ready for all of the other mitzvos they would keep, which is the true meaning of living in Eretz Yisroel.
The Ramban offers another explanation. He says that with the Torah we can live in Eretz Yisroel, but without it, they will not be able to live there any more. The words לְמַעַן אֲשֶר תָבֹא – in order that you shall come to Eretz Yisroel, telling us that we came to Eretz Yisroel in order to keep the Torah and know it.
The Ohr Hacahaim does not accept any of these explanations. He writes that the pessukim are too difficult to read with these explanations. The possuk says that they should keep this mitzvah of writing the Torah on the boulders, in order that they should come to Eretz Yisroel. These mefarshim are explaining why they would merit to continue living in Eretz Yisroel, but the possuk seems to be telling us why they would enter Eretz Yisroel in the first place.
The Ohr Hachaim also asks about the word לָךְ at the end of the possuk. The possuk is talking about Hashem’s giving the land to Klal Yisroel, and Klal Yisroel’s merit in living there. To whom else would the possuk be referring?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that Hashem told Klal Yisroel already (Devarim 9:5) אַל תֹאמַר בִלְבָבְךָ בַהֲדֹף ה' אֱלוקיךָ אֹתָם מִלְפָנֶיךָ לֵאמֹר בְצִדְקָתִי הֱבִיאַנִי ה' לָרֶשֶת אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וּבְרִשְעַת הַגוֹיִם הָאֵלֶה ה' מוֹרִישָם מִפָנֶיךָ .לֹא בְצִדְקָתְךָ וּבְיֹשֶר לְבָבְךָ אַתָה בָא לָרֶשֶת אֶת אַרְצָם כִי בְרִשְעַת הַגוֹיִם הָאֵלֶה ה' אֱלוקיךָ מוֹרִישָם מִפָנֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת הַדָבָר אֲשֶר נִשְבַע ה' לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב - Don't say in your heart, when Hashem your G-d has thrust them out from before you, saying, "For my righteousness Hashem has brought me in to possess this land"; because Hashem drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. Not for your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Hashem your God drives them out from before you, and that He may establish the word which Hashem swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchok, and to Yaakov. Klal Yisroel is not allowed to think that they were the ones who brought themselves the merit of entering Eretz Yisroel. The only reason to which they could attribute their arrival in Eretz Yisroel is the wickedness of the Cana’anim, who worshipped idols in the most evil of manners.
The Ohr Hachaim explains that our possuk is telling Klal Yisroel that if they fulfilled this mitzvah of writing the entire Torah on the boulders at the entrance to Eretz Yisroel, their entrance to Eretz Yisroel would be in their own merit. They would no longer require the wickedness of the Canaanim, or the promise that Hashem made to our forefathers, they would arrive of their own accord. The possuk ends with the word לָךְ to show that they would receive the land that was promised to their forefathers, but they would be the ones receiving it, not as descendants of their forefathers.
