ספר דברים

The Talmud Ketuvot 110 states that anyone residing in ‎the Holy Land is comparable to someone who has a G’d. The ‎meaning of that statement is that everyone who physically lives ‎in the land of Israel views himself as serving the Lord by his very ‎presence in the Holy Land, a land of substance. On the other ‎hand, anyone residing outside the Holy Land, seeing that he lives ‎in a land lacking substance, views himself as if he did not have a ‎G’d. This means that such a person has not even begun to serve ‎the Lord, (even if he thinks he has). This is also the meaning of ‎Isaiah 40,31 ‎וקווי ה' יחליפו כח‎, “but those who trust in the Lord ‎will renew their strength (constantly);” the prophet assures the ‎servants of the Lord, that seeing that their service of the Lord ‎leads them to new insights on a daily basis, they will never stand ‎still, (spiritually speaking). This is why the prophet adds that ‎they will not experience fatigue, i.e. ‎לא ייעפו‎. The word ‎עף‎, which ‎primarily means “flying,” is used by the prophet here to indicate ‎that the true servant of the Lord does not view himself as “flying ‎high” spiritually, but the opposite, ‎לא ייגעו‎, they view themselves ‎as not yet having arrived at the first way station on the way to ‎their destination. This is also the meaning of psalms 103,5 ‎תתחדש ‏כנשר נעוריכי‎, “your youth will be renewed like that of the eagles.”