What Were the Giants Doing There?

Why Every Inheritance Passes Through an Impossible Obstacle

Dedicated to the memory of the brave soldiers who gave their lives defending Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, inspiring us to cherish the inheritance for which they fought. Ephraim ben Liat v'Shmuel, Yosef Malachi ben Dina v'David, Eliyahu Moshe Shlomo ben Sarah v'Shimon, Yosef Chaim ben Rachel v'Eliyahu, Netanel ben Revital v'Elad, and Ran ben Sara v'Kenny. May their memories forever be a blessing.

Moshe's Message

Sefer Devarim opens as Moshe Rabbeinu stands before a nation that is about to cross the Jordan without him. This is his final opportunity to speak to Bnei Yisrael. Every word has been chosen with care. Every story he revisits carries a lesson that he believes this new generation and every generation that follows must take with them as they enter Eretz Yisrael.

As I began reading Parshat Devarim, one question kept popping up.

Why does Moshe spend so much time talking about the conquests of other nations?

Before he speaks about Bnei Yisrael inheriting their land, he tells us about Esav inheriting Har Seir, about Moav inheriting its land, and about Ammon inheriting its land. Even more confusing is that each of these accounts includes a description of the powerful nations that occupied those lands beforehand.

Regarding Moav, the Torah tells us:

"הָאֵמִים לְפָנִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ עַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כָּעֲנָקִים.""The Emim formerly lived there, a people great, numerous and tall like the Anakim." (Devarim 2:10)

Regarding Ammon, Moshe repeats the same pattern:

"עַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כָּעֲנָקִים.""A people great, numerous and tall like the Anakim." (Devarim 2:21)

Regarding Esav, Moshe reminds us:

"וּבְנֵי עֵשָׂו יִירָשׁוּם וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַּחְתָּם.""The descendants of Esav dispossessed them, destroyed them from before them, and settled in their place." (Devarim 2:12)

Why does Moshe interrupt his farewell address to teach us this history? Why does he repeatedly point out that these nations inherited lands occupied by giants?

Sforno opens the door to understanding what Moshe is trying to teach.

The Inheritance Was Already Given

Commenting on the conquest of Moav, Sforno writes:

"מפני שלא היו בני לוט יורשי אברהם בדין כלל הודיע שגם להם נתן ה׳ את הארץ כמו לבני עשו, והעד על זה כי שניהם כבשו את הארץ שלא כמנהג העולם."

Sforno explains that the descendants of Lot were never naturally entitled to this land. The very fact that they succeeded in conquering nations far stronger than themselves demonstrates that God Himself gave them their inheritance. Their victory unfolded "שלא כמנהג העולם"—not according to the ordinary course of history.

The same pattern appears with Ammon. Sforno explains that they were not capable of defeating such powerful nations on their own. Their inheritance became possible because God made it possible.

Suddenly, Moshe's repeated descriptions begin to make sense. He is teaching us how inheritance works. God gives Har Seir to Esav, Ar to Moav, and the land of Ammon to the descendants of Lot. Yet each nation still has to enter the land, fight for it, and face obstacles that are far beyond its natural ability to overcome. The victory reveals something that was already true: the inheritance was God's gift from the very beginning.

The World Belongs to God

Why do we need to hear about the inheritance of other nations at all? Could Moshe not have taught us about God's role in inheritance simply through the story of Am Yisrael entering Eretz Yisrael? Why does the Torah first take us through the stories of Esav, Moav, and Ammon?

The answer reveals another important lesson. God tells Israel not to wage war against Esav, not to wage war against Moav, and not to wage war against Ammon.

The reason is repeated each time.

"כי... נתתי... ירושה."

"I have given it... as an inheritance."

Rashi notices something remarkable. Even though these lands were once inhabited by the Rephaim, whose territory appears in God's covenant with Avraham, Moshe insists that Israel may not touch them. Why? Because God has already entrusted these lands to Esav and to the descendants of Lot. The boundaries are determined by God's decision.

The opening chapters of Devarim present a clear picture of the world. The world belongs to God. He decides which nation will receive which land, and He establishes the boundaries between nations. Part of Israel's spiritual maturity is learning to respect those boundaries. Before we learn what belongs to us, Moshe teaches us to recognize what belongs to someone else.

Only after establishing that principle does he turn to Israel's own inheritance.

Why Giants?

One question still remains.

If Moshe's goal is to teach that God gives each nation its inheritance, why does he repeatedly describe the previous inhabitants as giants? The Torah could simply have told us that these lands changed hands.

Instead, it emphasizes that the previous inhabitants were great, numerous and tall. Moshe goes out of his way to describe opponents that no nation should naturally have been able to defeat.

This is exactly the point Sforno highlights.

When a nation overcomes an obstacle that is greater than itself, the victory cannot honestly be explained by military strength alone.

The giants become part of the message.

Their presence makes it unmistakably clear that the inheritance could never be reduced to "כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי" — "My own strength and the power of my own hand have produced this success."

The greater the obstacle, the clearer it becomes that the gift did not originate with the nation that received it.

The land had already been given by God.

The conquest revealed that gift.

Receiving What Has Already Been Given

This, I believe, is the message Moshe wanted Bnei Yisrael to carry with them as they stood at the edge of the Jordan.

God had already given them Eretz Yisrael. Their task was to inherit it.

That inheritance still demanded that they cross the Jordan, fight difficult battles, and confront obstacles that appeared far greater than themselves. The struggle did not create the inheritance. The struggle was the process through which they entered the gift that God had already prepared for them.

This pattern extends far beyond the conquest of the Land.

God prepares an inheritance for every one of us. He gives each person a unique mission, unique opportunities, and unique gifts. Like Bnei Yisrael standing on the banks of the Jordan, we are invited to step into what He has already prepared for us. The obstacles we encounter along the way do not mean that the inheritance is beyond our reach. They are part of the process of inheriting it.

Moshe opens Sefer Devarim by reminding us that the world belongs to God, that He determines every nation's inheritance, and that He alone grants us our own. The giants standing between us and that inheritance are never the final reality. The inheritance came first. The gift came first. Our responsibility is to walk forward with courage and faith until what God has already given becomes fully revealed in our lives.