פירוש על דברים 8:7

A LAND OF BROOKS OF WATER. The meaning thereof is that it is like a watered garden,⁷⁷Isaiah 58:11. and it is not necessary to irrigate it by foot as the land of Egypt, as it will yet be stated,⁷⁸Further, 11:10. for it drinketh water as the rain of heaven cometh down.⁷⁹Ibid., Verse 11. Now he explained [here] that fountains and depths, come out in deep valleys and mountains,⁸⁰Verse 7 before us. and from there the brooks flow in the Land, the purport of the verse being “fountains and the fountains of the depths, ” like: when the ‘fountains of the deep’ showed their might;⁸¹Proverbs 8:28. the fountains of the great deep.⁸²Genesis 7:11. The reason [for referring to both sources: fountains, and fountains of the deep] is that there are some fountains that flow from the very moisture of the mountains which has been absorbed by them from the rains, or from the clouds that ascend upon them, these being called “fountains” [or “springs”] as it is said, unto all the springs of water,⁸³I Kings 18:5. the flint [He turned] into a fountain of waters.⁸⁴Psalms 114:8. There are other kinds of fountains which come forth from the interior of the depth, these being called “deep waters” that is to say, the fountains of the depths. The verse is thus stating that both [kinds of fountains] come out in deep valleys and mountains.

אל ארץ טובה, a land which is the confluence of numerous good, desirable qualities not found together in other districts of the globe. These qualities are the following, the Torah prefacing each with the word ארץ again.
1) ארץ נחלי מים עינות ותהומות, not the waters from polluted rivers or static ponds, waters described as evil waters in Kings II 2,19.
2) ארץ חטה ושעורה , crops which are basic as food.
3) ארץ זית שמן ודבש, products fit for the palate of a king.
4) ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, a land in which money can be found cheaply, a land full of treasures as per Isaiah 2,7 “the land is full of silver and gold and there is no end to the treasures it hides.” Dearth of money is more serious than shortage of the products which can be bought with it, as we know from the Talmud Taanit 19 which declares that whereas the blowing of the shofar in supplication to G’d on account of a shortage of foodstuffs does not have to be arranged immediately, shortage of money, i.e. people not having the money to buy the available food products gives rise to immediate supplication to Gd including the sounding of the shofar at public prayer meetings.
5) ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל, a land whose stones contain iron, i.e. a useful metal, or whose stones are strong as iron, providing excellent building materials.

כי ה' אלוקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה, so that in the end, you will become proud and forget the source of your wealth (verse 14). In order to forestall such a development I command you to remember the path that led you to these achievements and who it was who supplied all this directly from the celestial regions. Knowing this will help you realise that man’s achievements are not due to his own resources.