Parshas Ki Savo – What comes First

Imagine someone telling you about his trip to Eretz Yisroel. He says, “First I arrived at my hotel in Yerushalayim, and then I entered Eretz Yisroel."

You would immediately ask: How could you get to the hotel before you entered the country?

Yet in Parshas Ki Savo, the Torah seems to say something similar. When a person brings Bikkurim, he says: “Vayevieinu el hamakom hazeh, vayiten lanu es ha'aretz hazos." "Hashem brought us to this place, and He gave us this land." (Devarim 26:9) Rashi explains that “hamakom hazeh,” this place, refers to the Beis Hamikdash, while "ha'aretz hazos,” this land,refers to Eretz Yisroel.

But the order seems backwards. Klal Yisroel first entered Eretz Yisroel. Only later did they have the Beis Hamikdash. Why does the Torah mention the Beis Hamikdash first?

The Chida, based on the Targum Yonasan answers. On the night of Yetzias Mitzrayim, Hashem performed a miracle. He carried Klal Yisroel on clouds from Mitzrayim to the place of the Beis Hamikdash, where they ate the Korban Pesach. Afterward, Hashem brought them back to Mitzrayim.

According to this, the order of the pasuk is exact. “Vayevieinu el hamakom hazeh" happened first. Klal Yisroel had already been brought to the place of the Beis Hamikdash on the night they left Mitzrayim. Only forty years later did "vayiten lanu es ha'aretz hazos" take place, when Hashem brought them into Eretz Yisroel to live there.

Harav Chaim Kaufman gives another answer. Perhaps the Torah is not telling us which event happened first. It is telling us what comes first in importance. Eretz Yisroel is not simply another country. Its special kedusha and bracha come from the Shechina, with the Beis Hamikdash at its center.

That is why the Torah first says, “Vayevieinu el hamakom hazeh," and only afterward, “vayiten lanu es ha'aretz hazos." The Beis Hamikdash comes first because it is the spiritual heart of Eretz Yisroel.

Harav Matisyahu Salomon points out that we find the same idea in Al Ha'michya. We first ask Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim. Only afterward do we say: “V’nochal mipiryah v'nisba mituvah" "We should eat from its fruit and be satisfied from its goodness." Why do we connect rebuilding Yerushalayim with eating the fruit of Eretz Yisroel?

Because we are not just asking for good fruit. When the Shechina rests in the Beis Hamikdash, its shefa spreads throughout Eretz Yisroel. Even the physical blessings of the land have a special kedusha.

It is told that the Vilna Gaon once said that the food of Eretz Yisroel is different. It does not only nourish the body. It carries kedusha as well. A talmid asked him, “But Rebbe, an apple tastes like an apple wherever you eat it!"

The Vilna Gaon answered that in Eretz Yisroel, even the apple carries the effect of the Shechina.

This is what Rav Matisyahu's said. The fruit of Eretz Yisroel is special because the bracha of the land flows from the Shechina.

That is why the Torah says "Vayevieinu el hamakom hazeh" before “vayiten lanu es ha'aretz hazos.”

The Beis Hamikdash is not simply a holy building inside Eretz Yisroel. It is the heart of Eretz Yisroel. From there, the kedusha and bracha spread throughout the entire land.