The Secret of the Final Redemption: Why Love of God Is the Key

In this week's Torah portion, the Torah promises: "And when the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your forefathers, and gives you all the land that He promised to give them..." (Deuteronomy 19:8)

The Torah then continues: "...provided that you carefully observe this entire commandment that I command you today: to love the Lord your God and to walk in His ways always. Then you shall add three more cities to these three." (Deuteronomy 19:9)

Here, God promises that He will one day expand the borders of Israel, granting the Jewish people the full inheritance of the Promised Land.

When will this promise be fulfilled? The Torah makes it clear that it depends upon two conditions:

• Complete observance of the Torah.

• Fulfilling the Torah and its mitzvot out of love for God. It is not enough to serve God merely out of fear or obligation. The Torah emphasizes service motivated by genuine love.

The Future Redemption

The Ohr HaChaim explains that the generation that serves God out of love will merit the final redemption and the resurrection of the dead.

At that time, God will fulfill His promise in its entirety, granting the Jewish people the complete inheritance of the Land of Israel, including the territories of all ten nations originally promised to the Patriarchs. He will then bestow upon Israel all the blessings He pledged to their forefathers when they rise at the time of the resurrection.

The Ohr HaChaim concludes by citing the Talmud (Sanhedrin 99b), which teaches that the future redemption is specifically dependent upon serving God out of love.

He writes: "They themselves will inherit the land in the future. This will be achieved if they observe the entire Torah and fulfill it, and if that observance is motivated by love of God rather than fear. The generation that reaches this level will witness God fulfilling His promise to grant all ten nations' lands to Israel and bestow all the good He promised to the Patriarchs at the time of the resurrection. Our Sages (Sanhedrin 99b) taught that the future redemption depends specifically upon serving God out of love."

The Torah's message is both inspiring and demanding.

The ultimate redemption will not come through power, wealth, or political achievement alone. It will come through a generation whose relationship with God is rooted not merely in obligation, but in sincere love that expresses itself through faithful observance of His Torah and a lifelong commitment to walk in His ways.