Shabbat Greetings

I write these words thinking of many friends in Israel because a nation that loves life is under attack by those who worship death. Every fiber of my being longs to be there, too: to stand on our soil, to share the burden, to hold my loved ones close, and to contribute to communal and national efforts to help those in need.

This week’s Torah portion, Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13:1-15:41) tells the story of a people who looked at that same land – and saw either promise or defeat. Moses sends 12 leaders, one from each tribe, to scout the Land of Israel before the people cross into it. They see a land overflowing with abundance: “We came to the land… it indeed flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” But instead of rejoicing, 10 of the spies see only giants, fortified cities, and unbeatable enemies. They return with fear in their voices, infecting the camp with doubt: “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than us” (13:31).

Then come the words that still echo painfully through Jewish history: “We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were in their eyes” (13:33). They had not yet fought a single battle, but they had already lost the war within themselves. However, among these leaders stand two dissenting voices: Caleb and Joshua. They see the same giants, the same cities, the same daunting terrain – but their eyes are fixed on a greater truth. “The land we passed through is very, very good… do not fear the people of the land… their protection has departed from them, and God is with us. Do not fear them” (14:7–9).

Reading these verses this week, from an ocean away, I cannot help but see our present moment reflected in their ancient footsteps. Israel today faces enemies no less determined to keep us from our land – Iran’s missiles, terror proxies in Gaza and Lebanon, the cruel targeting of our civilians in their homes, schools, and synagogues. And yet, in the midst of all this, Israel’s pilots fly missions so daring they rewrite the rules of air warfare. The Mossad reaches into enemy capitals, unraveling plots before they can mature. Iron Dome soldiers stand guard so rockets meant to destroy fall harmlessly into fields and deserts.

We are a people of remarkable might and power – yet we know, as the prophet Zechariah reminds us: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says Adonai of Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Our truest strength has never been our weapons alone but the spirit that animates us – the courage to hope, the faith to keep going, and the unity that binds us in our darkest hours.

This is not the vision of grasshoppers. This is the vision of Caleb and Joshua, reborn in our own days.

SHABBAT SHALOM