וּֽזֲהַ֛ב הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא ט֑וֹב שָׁ֥ם הַבְּדֹ֖לַח וְאֶ֥בֶן הַשֹּֽׁהַם׃
Золото той страны хорошее, есть там и самородный хрусталь, и камень оникс.
Rashi
הבדלח is the name of a precious stone. BEDELLIUM. (Some editions add the O. F. קרישטל crystal).
Rabbeinu Bahya
וארד להצילו ...אל ארץ טובה, “I shall descend in order to save it....to a good land, etc.” What was the need for the Torah to lavish so many compliments on the stones and trees of the land of Canaan? Was it not enough for a people in the condition of abject slavery such as the Jewish people to be told that they would be redeemed and would become free? Would they not consider this a welcome message even if the land they would go to would be of inferior quality? The fact is that all the compliments in our verse apply to the Torah. Torah has been described as לקח טוב, “good” instruction; (Proverbs 4,2) it has been described as רחבה, “spacious” (Psalms 119,96). All the adjectives in this verse apply to Torah as if the Torah had written “to a land (Torah) which is good, spacious flowing with milk and honey” (compare Song of Songs 4,11).
The details of the land of Israel itself are described only commencing with the words: אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, etc.” G’d’s message to the Israelites is that they would inherit the land of these nations as these people are not worthy of living in a country in which the Torah makes its home. Our commentary corresponds to what I have found in Bereshit Rabbah 16,7 on Genesis 2,12: “the gold of this land was good;” the Midrash says: “there is no Torah comparable to the Torah in the land of Israel and there is no wisdom comparable to the wisdom to be found in the land of Israel.” We may add that the words אל מקום הכנעני “to the place of the Canaanite,” instead of the usual “to the land of the Canaanite,” contain an additional message, i.e. that the Israelites would wipe out the present inhabitants of that land and inherit their land. They would not merely live there as residents as had their forefathers.
The details of the land of Israel itself are described only commencing with the words: אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, etc.” G’d’s message to the Israelites is that they would inherit the land of these nations as these people are not worthy of living in a country in which the Torah makes its home. Our commentary corresponds to what I have found in Bereshit Rabbah 16,7 on Genesis 2,12: “the gold of this land was good;” the Midrash says: “there is no Torah comparable to the Torah in the land of Israel and there is no wisdom comparable to the wisdom to be found in the land of Israel.” We may add that the words אל מקום הכנעני “to the place of the Canaanite,” instead of the usual “to the land of the Canaanite,” contain an additional message, i.e. that the Israelites would wipe out the present inhabitants of that land and inherit their land. They would not merely live there as residents as had their forefathers.
Haamek Sheilah
The reason for adhering to these stringencies is that the merit of living in Israel itself [even without the Ark and High Priest] enabled one to arrive at the proper decisions with less analysis, which was not true in Babylonia. It is taught in Avos de-Rabbi Nasan, chapter 28, “R. Nasan said, ‘There is no love like the love of Torah, and no wisdom like the wisdom of the Land of Israel.’” Also, in Vayikra Rabbah, chapter 13, “‘The gold of the land is especially good,’1Gen. 2:12. teaches that there is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel, and there is no wisdom like Israel’s wisdom.” Further in Avos de-Rabbi Nasan it states: “R. Shimeon the son of Elazar says: ‘If a sage who dwells in Israel leaves for the Diaspora, his scholarship becomes tainted, etc.’” In Tractate Sanhedrin 24a it is written, “[To what does the verse], ‘He has placed me in darkness like the eternally dead’2Lam. 3:6. refer? R. Yirmiyahu answered that this alludes to the study of [Torah] in Babylonia.” [R. Yirmiyahu is not saying] that the Babylonian Talmud contains mistakes, Heaven forbid-[he is extolling the power of pilpul in “darkness”]. Since Babylonia was an abyss of darkness,3“He has placed me in darkness like those who are dead forever” is explained by the Midrash Lekah Tov as referring to the long exile. See the Netziv in Ha’amek Davar, Lev. 24:4, which states that “darkness” refers to the lack of the special Divine assistance that existed when the Jews lived in Israel and received the Divine light emitted through the Menorah. totally lacking the light of Torah, only by creating the great torch of pilpul contained in the Babylonian Talmud could they produce in the darkness the light of halachic decision. [As stated ad loc.], “Rabbi Yohanan said, ‘What is Babylonia?4The word Bavel (Babylonia) comes from the root of the Hebrew word livlol, which means “to mix.” See Gen. 11:9. [A place] that blended Scripture, Mishnah and Talmud.’” [To counter this darkness, the Babylonian scholars] needed to apply deep analysis and to study repeatedly all sections of the Torah until they reached sound conclusions. [This way, they] succeeded in magnifying the Torah and creating a magnificent torch-light of Torah.