Since God can do anything but also gives humans free will to make moral choices, we may surmise that He chooses to let us choose.

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses acquisition of real estate by walking along the borders of the property. There is a discussion amongst the Rishonim (see Rashi and Tosafos) about the precise nature of this demonstration of ownership. Regardless, there is a Biblical precedent in Hashem’s invitation to Avraham to walk the length and width of the land of Canaan. 

There are a series of verses (Bereishis 13:14-17) that Kli Yakkar analyzes, bringing out some powerful points about Man and God:

וה׳ אָמַ֣ר אֶל־אַבְרָ֗ם אַחֲרֵי֙ הִפָּֽרֶד־ל֣וֹט מֵֽעִמּ֔וֹ שָׂ֣א נָ֤א עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ וּרְאֵ֔ה מִן־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֣ה שָׁ֑ם צָפֹ֥נָה וָנֶ֖גְבָּה וָקֵ֥דְמָה וָיָֽמָּה׃

And Hashem said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west

כִּ֧י אֶת־כׇּל־הָאָ֛רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה רֹאֶ֖ה לְךָ֣ אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֖ עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever…

 ק֚וּם הִתְהַלֵּ֣ךְ בָּאָ֔רֶץ לְאׇרְכָּ֖הּ וּלְרׇחְבָּ֑הּ כִּ֥י לְךָ֖ אֶתְּנֶֽנָּה׃…

Get up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.”

Kli Yakkar notes three anomalies:

  1. First Hashem asks Avraham to lift his eyes and look out at the land in all four directions, then he asks him to physically walk the borders. So, first Avraham is asked to see in all directions, and secondly to walk it’s length and width. Why these two acts, sight and then treading the borders?
  2. Hashem asks Avraham to “please” ״נא״ look out at the land, but then does not use please when he asks him to tread the borders. However, in regard to Moshe, it is the exact opposite. Moshe asks “נא please to tread on the land, and Hashem answer without “please” that he can see the Land of Israel. (Devarim 3:25-27). So Hashem tells Avraham please, to look, but commands him to walk, while Moshe asks please to walk but Hashem commands to see.
  3. In reference to Avraham’s sight of the land, he is told that it will be given to him and his children forever. However in regard to Avraham’s walking the borders, he is told it will be given to him, with the clause of “forever to his children” conspicuously absent. 

Kli Yakkar answers all these questions with a brilliant approach. The sight refers to spiritual acquisition and comprehension. Therefore it can be done by seeing alone, and because it is spiritual, it lasts forever. The physical treading of the borders is a physical act, and therefore accomplished physical acquisition. But since it is physical, it does not last forever.

And now for the Kli Yakkar’s pièce de résistance:

When it comes to spiritual matters, Hashem cannot control humans, as they must make a voluntary choice to turn to Hashem. Therefore Hashem has to ASK Avraham to look at the land because it is a spiritual acquisition. When it comes to Avraham physically treading on the land, since it is a physical matter, has no need to ask. Yet Moshe, when talking to Hashem, must ASK for the land physically as a gift from Hashem, but has no need to ask for the spiritual acquisition since Moshe already desired that. In other words Hashem must ask humans to voluntarily undertake spiritual matters for them to be meaningful. (Kli Yakkar doesn’t refer to this explicitly but Moreh Nevukhim 3:32 elaborates on this idea extensively and is worth studying.) 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation cool

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