It has been a historic week, filled with tremendous miracles, for which we must be thankful and rejoice. But, staying in character, instead of using this space to communicate information you already know or can access with the tap of your finger, I’ll continue sharing how I am absorbing what’s happening through the lens of my reading of the weekly Torah portion of Shlach.
The main theme of the parsha is the tragic story of the spies. A year after the Exodus, as the Israelites approached the Promised Land, Moshe reluctantly acquiesced to their request to scout the land before conquering it, and he sent twelve representatives, one from each tribe, on the reconnaissance mission. Upon their return, ten spies delivered a scathing report of how conquering the land was impossible and essentially a suicidal mission. Devastated, the people revolted and refused to continue. The fallout from the scandal was severe. The rogue spies died immediately, and the rest of that generation died in the desert over forty years.
The two heroes of this story were Yehoshua and Kalev, the two spies who remained dedicated to G-d and the cause despite their colleagues’ treachery. With great personal risk, Kalev contradicted them and said: “We can go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it.”
When the spies insisted he was wrong, and the masses started to revolt against Moshe, Yehoshua and Kalev proclaimed: “The land we traveled through to inspect is an exceedingly good land. If G-d desires us, He will bring us to this land and give it to us, this land flowing with milk and date- and fig-honey. Just do not rebel against G-d, and as for you, do not fear the people of that land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them. G-d is with us; do not fear them!”
This week, we witnessed the opposite of what happened to the Jews in the desert 3,336 years ago. With Israeli airspace closed since the launch of Operation Rising Lion, 100,000 Israelis stranded overseas are trying very hard to return. Instead of running away from the Promised Land in a time of extreme danger, Jews are desperate to go there.
Make no mistake. This is a generations-long struggle about the Jewish connection to the Promised Land. As a nation, we must rise to the opportunity of projecting this truth to all humanity. And as Yehoshua and Kalev proclaimed over three millennia ago, we know G-d is with us and will continue to grant tremendous success to this military operation and protect all of our brothers and sisters around the world, so there is no need for fear. However, we must follow G-d’s instructions, articulated in Torah, to ensure our natural efforts are crowned with miraculous success.
I highly recommend watching this new 11-minute film produced by Jewish Educational Media: Israeli Jets Over Tehran. What’s next? | The Lubavitcher Rebbe
It has six crucial Torah ideas, explained by the Rebbe, on how Israel can ensure this war concludes with true peace for the entire region and how we can all contribute to making this happen.
May this Shabbat be one of true peace and tranquility for all.