- Clergy
- Shabbat
This has been another difficult week. As we wait and watch and hold our breath over the news coming out of Israel, we feel tension, concern, and hope. The events unfolding in Israel and in our own backyard fill up our thoughts and trouble our sleep. In the past week I’ve had several conversations with congregants about Israel in particular, and what many of us keep coming back to is the awe we feel for how Israelis are handling the situation.
In reports, stories, and personal conversation with Israelis on the ground, there is a sense of unification and solidarity, of neighborly care and consideration best embodied by Israelis in wartime. And more than anything, there is a sense of Israelis’ determination and hope for the future. As they weather yet another storm on their homefront, their response has been to dig in with nothing short of heroic courage. And of course this instance is just one in the history of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Our Torah portion this week reminds us of the strength needed by the Jewish people to return to the land of Israel. In Parashat Shelach, the Israelites have made it through the wilderness to a place close to the entrance to the Promised Land. Moses sends out twelve spies to go and scout out the land and bring back a report of what they find. Of the twelve, ten return and say that the Israelites need to go somewhere else. There are tribes of giants living there, the spies say, and it will be too hard to overcome them and settle. They quickly give up on returning to the land, part of God’s covenant with the Jewish people, because the task feels too challenging for them. But the other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, reject this perspective and say that, with faith in God and their own strength, the Israelites will be able to build their lives there. Because of the fear and hesitancy of the first ten spies, God declares that the Israelites will wander in the desert for forty years instead so that a new, more brave generation can enter into the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb, who had that courage and determination, come into Israel from the previous generations.
This moment is viewed by Jewish tradition as a failure of cowardice and lack of faith. The Israelites were meant to show conviction and clarity of their destiny. There was no expectation that coming back to the land of Israel would be easy or simple. But Joshua and Caleb, the future leaders of the Israelites, demonstrated that determination and courage. It is a powerful reminder for us all as the modern State of Israel navigates this existential fight.
Nothing about the enterprise of the founding and continuation of the Jewish state will ever be easy. If we approach it with lackadaisical expectations, we will be no better than the ten spies. Rather, let us act with courage, faith, and hope for future generations to come. On this Shabbat, may we pray and strive for strength, for protection, and for a real and lasting peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hannah Elkin