Hashem gave to Yisrael the whole country which He had sworn to their fathers that He would assign to them; they took possession of it and settled in it. Joshua 21:41 (The Israel Bibleā¢)
va-yi-TAYN a-do-NAI lā-yis-ra-AYL et kol ha-A-retz a-SHER nish-BA la-TAYT la-a-vo-TAM va-yi-ra-SHU-ha va-yay-shā-VU VAH
Hashem gave to Yisrael the whole country Hashem fulfills His promise to the People of Israel, who live in and possess the Land of Israel. The Ramban notes that there are three aspects to the Jewish Peopleās obligation regarding Eretz Yisrael: They are commanded to live in Eretz Yisrael, to build up the land through strengthening its Jewish community, and to maintain a sovereign government ruling over Eretz Yisrael. Thus, though itās important for individuals to live in the Land of Israel, itās also critically important that the Nation of Israel has ātaken possession of it and settled in it,ā as this verse describes.
And what is my life span
I'm like a man gone out of Egypt
the Red Sea parts, I cross on dry land
two walls of water; on my right and on my left
Pharaoh's army and his horsemen behind me
Before me the desert,
perhaps the Promised Land, too.
That is my life span.
āBut be most resolute to observe faithfully all that is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moshe, without ever deviating from it to the right or to the left Joshua 23:6 (The Israel Bibleā¢)
va-kha-zak-TEM mā-OD lish-MOR vā-la-a-SOT AYT kol ha-ka-TUV bā-SAY-fer to-RAT mo-SHEH lā-vil-TEE sur mi-ME-nu ya-MEEN us-MOL
Strength Isn't Just a Good Character Trait,
It's a Biblical Commandment
Throughout Sefer Yehoshua, the instructions to be āstrongā and āresoluteā are delivered repeatedly, both to Yehoshua himself and the Children of Israel as a whole. Significantly, this command applies both to spiritual tasks, such as the exhortation in this verse to observe the entire Torah of Moshe, and to physical tasks such as fighting battles to conquer the Land of Israel (see, e.g., Joshua 1:6). A complete national life requires both spiritual and physical fortitude. In todayās Israeli army, many soldiers exemplify this devotion to both Torah study and military service by enlisting in the Hesder program that combines high level Torah study with mandatory army service. The students and graduates of these academies are exemplary soldiers as well as scholars, thereby serving as role models for all.
How to be Truly Righteous
Israelās first Chief Rabbi, Abraham Isaac Kook, expounds upon the nature of righteousness, described in beautiful poetry in this verse. āThe purely righteous do not complain about evil, but increase justice. They do not complain about godlessness, but increase faith. They do not complain about ignorance, but increase wisdom.ā Let us strive to become āpurely righteousā by increasing justice, faith and wisdom in this world.