According to one opinion in the Talmud, during their years in the desert the only meat Bnei Yisrael were permitted to consume was that of the sacrifices. It was therefore necessary for Moshe to tell them that when G‑d “expands your borders,” i.e., when they will arrive in the Land of Israel, they will be allowed to eat meat whenever “your soul desires to eat meat,” even from an animal that was not brought as a sacrifice.
The permission to consume non‑sacrificial meat upon entering the Land of Israel reflects the shift of spiritual focus that accompanied Bnei Yisrael’s transition from the desert to the Land.
Upon entering Israel, Bnei Yisrael would begin engaging with the world on a natural level, working the land and settling it. Their Divine mission would be to elevate the material world by imbuing it with G‑dly purpose.
In the desert, however, G‑d had provided all their material needs, allowing them to devote themselves entirely to spiritual development and the study of Torah. There was therefore no justification for eating “mundane” meat in the desert, for the job of elevating the mundane had not yet begun. Animals were to be offered to G‑d as sacrifices, and only in that holy context was the consumption of meat permissible.
Non‑sacrificial meat became permissible for consumption only when Bnei Yisrael entered the Land of Israel. Now they were permitted to partake of the physical world—even beyond that which is obviously sacred (as the sacrifices were), for they now had the ability (and responsibility!) to infuse even their mundane desires with G‑dly purpose.
The Torah warns, however, “Be strong in not eating the blood.” Blood is a metaphor for energy, enthusiasm and passion. The Torah’s admonition to eat meat only if it has been drained of its blood means that when we utilize what the world has to offer for a G‑dly purpose, we must do so without “blood”—i.e., without excitement or lust for physical pleasure.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 4, pp. 1108–1110
