The conquest of Eretz Yisrael was much more than mere appropriation of real estate
The above pasuk lends itself to several questions. Firstly, Moshe promised Bnei Yisrael that they’d conquer the land through Hashem’s miracles. As it says three pesukim before: “Just as your eyes beheld the great miracles, marvels, and signs (7:19)… Hashem will do the same to all the nations whom you fear.” If so, why couldn’t Hashem perform the same miracles to chase away the wild beasts?
Secondly, we know that if Klal Yisrael fear Hashem, then they have no need to fear animals, as it says: “Your fear and trepidation will be cast over all the beasts on earth” (Bereishis 9:2).
And lastly, the fact that Hashem slowed the conquest to avoid the wild animals resulted in several years’ postponement of fulfillment of the mitzvos that depend on living in Eretz Yisrael. Why was this worth it? (Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, Doresh Dovid)
The minute I heard my friend Tzivia over the phone, I knew something was wrong. Tzivia’s generally soft-spoken and sweet, but now there was a note of hysteria in her voice.
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