At some unspecified point in this week’s Parasha, Chuqat, the biblical text makes a leap in time, transporting us from the second year after the Exodus from Egypt to the 40th year. The new protagonists are the young generation of Am Israel, ready to fight and conquer the Promised Land.

The previous generation was born and lived their entire lives in slavery. They didn’t know how to fight or defend themselves. They were mentally tied to slavery, suffering from a fear of freedom. They missed Egypt and longed to return to a life of oppression. Despite witnessing and experiencing the most imposing miracles in history, both in Egypt and in the desert (the Ten Plagues, the parting of the sea, the revelation of God at Mount Sinai, the manna falling from the sky, etc.), they were only temporarily influenced. God was with them, but they did not see Him. Or they did not want to see Him, perhaps to avoid the many responsibilities that come with living as Jews. This defeatist generation defined themselves as locusts, unable to defend themselves against the enemy.

But this generation has now disappeared. Unfortunately, the change in the mentality of the Jewish people did not occur as a transition from slavery to freedom. It happened, as once mercilessly stated by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: “In some societies, change does not take place through a slow process of learning, but funeral after funeral.”

Entebbe 1.0

The new people of Israel, the generation that did not grow up obeying Pharaoh but observing God’s will, begin their relentless campaign to conquer the Promised Land in this Parasha. The first challenge they face is highly relevant to our days. The Canaanites of the city of Arad in the Negev attack the Jews, and guess what they do? They take prisoners! What does the young Israeli army do in their first challenge? First, they pray, promising loyalty and gratitude to God if He grants them this first victory. Then they attack the terrorist kidnappers and rescue the hostages alive. The most important thing is to notice what they did not do: negotiate with the kidnappers. The Tora does not seem very much in favor of negotiating with terrorists.

The First War

They are now in what is today Jordan, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Before crossing the river to reach Israel, they must pass through the territories of Sichon and Og, kings of the Amorites and Bashan, respectively.

Sihon was a powerful king, reputedly invincible, who had conquered the lands of the Moabites in a battle so fierce it was recorded by the poets of the time—and incidentally mentioned by the Tora—as an epic military victory, possibly intended to intimidate the enemy. Now, the commander-in-chief of the new Israeli army, Moshe Rabbenu, sends Sichon a “message of peace”: The people of Israel request your permission to cross your territory “without deviating from the main path, without ruining your fields or vineyards, and without intending to drink water from your wells. We do not seek war with you. We just want to pass through your territory to cross the Jordan River and reach our destination: the land of Israel, promised to us by God (Numbers 21:22). Surprisingly—or not—Sichon rejected Israel’s generous peace message and came out to attack Israel.

Why?

Reflecting on our present days, a few ideas occurred to me:

1. In the Middle East, people were not used to a nation behaving with honor and keeping their word. Because lying was part of the military strategy in those nations. Sihon must have thought the Jews were trying to deceive them. It’s what he would have done. Or perhaps he did it to destroy Moab.
2. Sichon may have thought the Jews still had a slave mentality, the “locust complex.” The proof for Sichon was that they had wandered in the desert for 40 years, and during that time, they had not practiced war nor attacked any nation. The Jew always stood out for his or her intelligence and study vocation. That is why they were always the ideal victims. Sichon did not know these “new” Jews also knew how to defend and fight.
3. Complementing this second idea, Israel’s peace offer is not typical in the Middle East. In that region, people attack without warning; only the weak offer peace or warns before attacking. I think Sichon, in the best style of Middle Eastern war culture, did not understand the nature of the Jewish people and confused Israel’s peace offer with “weakness.”

Without any provocation, Sichon attacked Israel. Ironically, the first military challenge for the new Israeli army was not to attack and conquer but to defend themselves from their attackers. We are facing the first battle of the Israeli DEFENSE Forces.

Sichon miscalculated: “Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and inherited his territory, from Arnon to Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites…” These new lands extended along the upper half of the Dead Sea, continuing along the Jordan River’s shores to the current Golan Heights, now Israeli territory, where it bordered the lands of another powerful monarch: Og, king of Bashan.

Second War

Then came the second war the new Israeli army faced. Og, who did not learn from what happened to Sichon, also came out to attack Israel. “The people (of Israel) moved northward by the road to Bashan, but Og, the king of Bashan, came out with all his people to confront them in battle at Edrei. God said to Moshe: ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him and all his people into your hands. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. The people of Israel defeated him, his sons, and all his people completely… and inherited his land…” (Numbers 21:33-35). This last phrase, “and inherited his land,” is also very important. If someone attacks you, you defend yourself and win; you do not have to return their territory; it is now considered your inheritance. The defeatist attitude of the old generation had been replaced by the optimistic attitude of their children. Imbued with solid EMUNA, trusting God’s providence and His help, they prevailed in the military battle against the kings of Transjordan. Thus, Israel emerged as a people prepared to settle in their land, exercise their national will, and always be ready to defend themselves against any enemy.

The New Israeli Soldiers

I can’t help but think of the brave young soldiers who, along with their leaders, fight valiantly today in Gaza with an indomitable BIBLICAL spirit. With a deep conviction that they are fighting what the Jewish Sages called MILCHAMOT HASHEM, “the wars that God’s enemies wage against His representatives, the people of Israel.”

The command line that today leads the armed forces fighting in Gaza are the commanders of the future army and also—I am convinced—the future political leaders of the State of Israel in the coming years. This new generation, which believes in themselves and their Divine mission, will replace the military leadership that will have to say goodbye to the armed forces and give way to the new generation to take responsibility. They have already accumulated nine months of combat and nine months of unity. They are very clear that their goal is victory over the enemy. They are directing a war of the most challenging and dangerous type, not against a regular army of a country in tank combat plains but against a terrorist organization, a hidden enemy, in tunnels in dense urban areas. It is a very difficult and dangerous war for commanders and fighters.

These soldiers also have a solid Emuna, faith that the God who brought us out of Egypt, defeated Pharaoh, and was with us when we defeated Sihon, Og, and all the peoples of Canaan is still with us today, closer than ever.

THE FIRST ISRAELI ARMY

Three thousand five hundred years ago, the first Israeli army was formed in the Sinai desert. It consisted of 603,550 soldiers aged 20 to 60. These individuals were born in captivity. Their ancestors were slaves in Egypt for four generations. They did not know how to fight or defend themselves. On the contrary, they had been “domesticated” and trained to be submissive to their attackers. On the 20th of Iyar, one year and one month after leaving Egypt, by Divine command, Moses organized them into an army with a mission: to conquer the land of Canaan from seven pagan and savage nations and transform it into a Jewish state.

The military camp had four columns, with three tribes on each side. In the middle was the Tabernacle — guarded by the tribe of Levi— representing that the Divine Presence is at the heart of their military strength. This was not a “normal” army but God’s army. The Creator accompanied them in their fight against the enemy and granted them victory. Our Parasha Beha’alotekha describes the first steps of this army of God toward the Promised Land. The signal to advance was that the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of the law, was lifted by the Levites, and as it advanced, Moshe would proclaim loudly the Jewish war cry: קומה ה’ ויפוצו אויביך “Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies [=the enemies of Israel] be scattered; and let those who hate You [and consequently hate Your people] flee from before You.”

But something went wrong. Initially supposed to take just a few days, the journey to Israel turned into a 40-year odyssey in the desert. As we will see in the coming weeks, paralyzing fear and slave mentality played their part. Despite witnessing numerous miracles, such as the manna falling from heaven daily, the Jews did not recognize His evident presence. The generation that left Egypt had to wander for 40 years until a generational change occurred, and only then did they go out to fight. It was the children of the slaves, a new generation not born or raised in captivity, who took the reins of the Jewish army and, under the leadership of Joshua, conquered the Promised Land.

THE NEW ARMY

The army of the modern State of Israel in 1948 was mainly composed of Jewish refugees from Europe, many of them Holocaust survivors. Miraculously and heroically, they managed to organize and defeat their enemies. God fought with them, although some were unaware of it. Many had escaped from communist countries and had not had the opportunity to receive a Jewish education. Or were influenced by the anti-religious spirit of the time. God was with them and granted them extraordinary victories, even though His presence was not openly recognized. In its infancy, the State of Israel experienced miracles that only a few leaders, like David Ben-Gurion, could appreciate.

The miracle becomes even more significant when you understand that Israel not only survives but also prospers in all areas: God continues to send His manna to His people in the most hostile geography on the planet!

THE RETURN OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE

After the terrible one-day Shoah that Israel suffered on October 7, the Israeli army embarked on an existential war against Hamas, a MILCHEMET MITSVA in Hebrew. In the days following the brutal attack, many thought Israel would react as it had in the past: with a few isolated incursions into Gaza to try to rescue hostages or eliminate terrorist leaders. But the Israeli government made a courageous and risky decision: to invade Gaza to destroy its military infrastructure: thousands of tunnels used to hide weapons and terrorists. The strategic goal of entering Gaza was to take control of all the borders of the strip, stationing troops there to prevent terrorists from rearming.

THANK GOD, this week was very good for the Israeli army. I do not fully understand why this extraordinary victory is not widely reported in the media. I will share a small story to show the magnitude of this victory.

On the 28th of Iyar, 1967, we recovered the Western Wall and the Temple Mount area after bloody battles against the Jordanian legions at Givat HaTachmoshet, which left hundreds dead. Finally, our capital, Jerusalem, returned to our hands after 1900 years of diaspora.

An iconic phrase is pronounced at that moment, remembered by every Israeli because it sounded like a dream: “HAR HABAYIT BEYADENU, HAR HABAYIT BEYADENU,” “The Temple Mount is in our hands.

THE MOST RECENT VICTORY

A few days ago, I saw a video on the Leumanut channel with the iconic title: “TSIR FILADELFI BEYADENU,” “The Philadelphia Corridor is in our hands.” (see video below).

The phrase “is in our hands” is neither casual nor arbitrary but reflects the enormous historical magnitude of Israel’s victory this week. The Jewish army has been fighting in Gaza for eight months in an unprecedented military operation, and a few days ago, it finally conquered this critical corridor completely, from Kerem Shalom to the Mediterranean Sea. By controlling the border between Gaza and Egypt, Israel achieved its first and most challenging mission: preventing terrorists from resupplying weapons or fighters via the dozens of passages or tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt. Israel now controls ALL the borders of the Gaza Strip, from north to south and east to west. The conquest of the city of Rafah and the Philadelphia Corridor is a fundamental victory we should celebrate and thank the Creator for achieving.

This does not mean the military operation in the Gaza Strip is over. However, according to Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the dynamics of the war will now change. Israel no longer faces Hamas’s army, which has been dismantled. But there are still over 10,000 terrorists hiding among civilians or in undiscovered tunnels, and they are expected to continue operating as guerrillas. Israel, B” H, is prepared to face them.

It is our duty as Jews to recognize the merit of our brave soldiers and Israel’s political leaders and also thank the Creator for being with our army as He was with Joshua, King David, and King Solomon.

THE RETURN OF THE MISHKAN

It is also important to highlight that in this war, the Divine Presence has become more recognized in the Israeli army. A friend told me that in his combat unit, made up of Jews from all backgrounds and levels of observance, there is great harmony and unity, which, THANK GOD, does not reflect the usual differences that unfortunately separate us Jews outside the army. Per our Sages, unity among Jews is the prerequisite for the Divine Presence to accompany us. He also told me that no single soldier does not put on Tefillin every morning, something that was not so popular in 1948, 1967, or the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Even Druze soldiers ask to wear Tzitzit and carry a Tehillim book in their pockets. Everyone prays.

As it happened in the Sinai desert when an army unit knows that they have to camp in a particular place for a few days, then they build a temporary “Synagogue”, a Tabernacle of sorts, where they pray, study Torah, study Daf Yomi or read Tehilim. Like the Tabernacle in the desert, every one of these temporary Gaza Synagogues has a Sefer Tora, a Torah scroll provided by the military rabbinate, representing the content of the Ark of the Covenant that was in the midst of the first Israeli camp. These beautiful Mishkan that house Tora, Tefila, Tefillin, and Tzitzit are causing the name of HaShem to be heard more and louder among the Jewish soldiers ברוך שחידש ימינו כקדם.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE

We must thank Bore Olam, the Creator, for Israel’s impressive victories so far.

The Jewish State is preparing for a seemingly inevitable and imminent war with Hezbollah in the north. Let us pray that God continues to protect our brave soldiers and inspire our political leaders with the wisdom to make the best decisions.

SHABBAT SHALOM

40 years have passed between last week’s Parasha and this week’s Parasha, Chuqat. We are right now at the last moments of the journey . The generation that lived in slavery disappeared. Those who remain are their children, who were born in captivity, but had 40 years to deprogram their slave-mentality and think and act as free men and women. And unlike their parents, this new generation is not scared to fight and conquer the land that was inhabited by their ancestors.

THE QUESTION

The situation our Parasha describes is not easy. The Israelites had tried to get into the land of Israel through Edom, the area between modern Eilat and the Dead Sea.  But Edom, a future Israel neighbor, does not allow them to pass. Israel then has to circumvent the land of Edom. And the new journey is very long, and people are exhausted. In our Parasha we find a memorable sad episode. People complained about the lack of water. HaShem tells Moshe to take his staff (maté) and to gather the people in front of a rock. Moshe must speak to the rock, and a spring of water will emerge from it. Moshe does everything that HaShem tells him. Well, almost everything: instead of speaking to the rock, Moshe hits the rock with a stick. HaShem says to Moshe, without explicitly indicating what was his fault, that he and Aharon are not going to lead the people into the promised land. Moshe will die in the desert. And Yehoshua will lead the new generation to conquer the land of Israel. All Biblical commentators wondered what did Moshe do to deserve such severe consequences. Rashi insists that “Moshe should not have hit the rock, he should have spoken to it.” But the punishment still seems too severe. Was Moshe’s error so serious? Especially if we take into account that HaShem asked Moshe to take his staff with him when speaking to the rock … and also that 40 years ago, in a very similar situation, HaShem told Moshe that he should hit the rock in order to have the water to come from it. How is that such a small deviation, probably a mistake, deserves such a severe punishment?

A POSSIBLE ANSWER

We need to go deeper into the symbolic aspect of “hitting” the rock vs. “talking” to the rock.  Remember the context: the previous generation was a generation of slaves who were trained to obey by violence. The only way to make slaves moving and acting was with the whip or the stick: physical punishment. In an article called “Slavery, a dehumanizing institution” Nell Painter explains that in the 16th and 17th century African slaves were exposed to all kinds of physical and psychological torture: they were branded as animals, mutilated, violated and forced to watch the tortures applied to the members of their family. In Egypt, 3000 years before that, the conditions of the Hebrew slaves could not have been much better …. and all these horrifying experiences left their mark in their character. 

But the new generation was different. They had time to adopt their new identity: now they are the people of HaShem. They have voluntarily submitted to the instructions of the Tora, which includes self-discipline (qedusha). This new generation has to be educated and led with words, not with whips. Think of the difference between our modern society and the society  40 or 50 years ago: then, teachers beat their students in class to discipline them. The world, in that aspect, changed radically. Today, in civilized countries, a teacher will never hit her students. A similar phenomenon occurs within families. I know many parents who were raised by their parents “with the whip”, and who find it very difficult to free themselves from that burden when educating their own children. It is difficult to stop using force as a tool of persuasion when one was not educated in other ways to obey the voice of authority. Younger parents, however, learned to replace the whip for the word, and to establish their authority by the weight of what they say.

It is possible that in our Parasha something similar happened. The new generation had to reprogram and forget the power of the “whip”. It is as if HaShem had told Moshe, “Take the stick, but do not use it! Just talk to the rock, and do not hit it! The new generation needs to be free of the whip and learn to obey not with violence but with persuasion.

SHABBAT SHALOM

וַיְשַׁלַּח ה’ בָּעָם אֵת הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים

BIBLICAL SOPHISTICATION

Hebrew is an extremely sophisticated language. Almost all nouns have a 3-letter “root”, which with the addition of prefixes and suffixes, differentiates one term from the other. Verbs, also with three letters root, can be combined in seven different ways (binyanim), with different meanings that the untrained eye might not notice. This brief explanation should be enough to understand a deep “philosophical” idea behind the subtle details of a biblical verb in our Parasha, Chuqat: VAYISHALLACH.

In this week’s Parasha, the people again complain and rebel against God. At one point, they suggest that they should not have left Egypt and want to come back. God punishes this insubordination by “sending” poisonous snakes that claim numerous victims. “Sending” is the way almost all translations, Jewish and non-Jewish, rendered this term in our Parasha:   “And God sent the poisonous snakes toward the people… (Bamidbar, Numbers) 21: 6”. However, this translation is wrong and does not capture the subtlety of the word VAYISHALLACH

TO SEND OR TO RELEASE?

There are two ways to vocalize the Hebrew word “וישלח”: one is VAYISHLACH, and the other is VAYISHAL-LACH. Without going too much into detail, the first vocalization means “to send”. Our Parasha mentions, for example, that Moshe “sent” emissaries to speak with the nation of Edom (20:14) and then Emor (21:21), etc. This word is repeated many times in the Tora, and there is even a Parasha with the name VAYISHLACH (YAAQOB MALAKHIM…), and Jacob sent angels. The second vocalization of the same word is VAYISHALLACH (with a dagesh, that duplicates the letter “L”) is less common. Its meaning is not “to send” but to release”: One example: VAYHI BESHALLACH PAR’O ET HA’AM, which also misinterpreted by almost all translations, is rendered as “And it was when Pharaoh ‘sent’ the people (of Israel)”.  Now, what is the difference between VAYISHLACH and VAYISHALLACH? The first means “to send”: “A” sends “B” for a specific purpose or mission (SHELICHUT or SHALIACH). The second VAYISHALLACH means: “to release”, “to unleash”, “to let go”, and it expresses the idea that “A”, who is somehow in control of “B”, now “sets B free”,  and “B” now acts on its own. Obviously, Pharaoh did not “send” the Jews on a mission outside Egypt: Pharaoh had not choice but to  “let them go”, he “frees them” “releases them” from their captivity, and once free the Jews act on their own. The semantic difference between these two terms is not negligible.

GOD’S MODUS OPERANDI

Let us now return to the snakes: VAYISHAL-LACH does not mean that God “sent” the snakes to bite their victims. But that God “released” “unleashed” them. Our Sages explained that in the desert Bore Olam, the Creator protected us from our enemies, the devastating climate, desert animals, sand storms, etc., with the “‘anane kabod”, a virtual cloud,  or a “firewall.”    Divine punishment then, does not consist in God “sending” the poisonous snakes, but rather in God’s “suspending” His special protection, enabling the poisonous snakes to act according to their nature and instinct.  I remember an unforgettable scene from “Jurassic Park” that can illustrate this idea. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, a carnivorous, very dangerous dinosaur, was contained by a 10,000-volt electric fence. And that fence separated him from the goats, his daily food, and from the humans who were visiting the park. …  For some reason, the electrical power was disrupted,  and the fence was now useless. The tyrannosaurus Rex was now “free,” and following his instincts, he devoured the goats and chased the humans.     In our case, and as a punishment, God “deactivated”, and “suspended” His special protection, and the snakes were free to follow their nature, bite and cause the death of their Jewish victims.

WHO DEACTIVATED THE FENCE?

Why is this idea so important? Because it helps us to understand that HaShem “constantly protects Israel”, and not only in the past and not just the desert.…    Israel –the Prophets and the Sages said–is like a little lamb among the nations, surrounded by enemies who want to destroy us. Israel is protected by Bore Olam through an invisible hedge, a Divine firewall, a 10,000 volt fence that “keeps our enemies away”, thwarting their plans, deflecting their missiles, confuseing their ideas, etc.  However, when our behavior is not correct, the Divine firewall is somehow deactivated. And when HaShem “suspends” His special protection, the enemies of Israel do their thing.… This idea is mentioned in a very explicit way in Debarim 31:18, ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא: when the Jewish people abandon their covenant with God,  the most severe punishment Israel might get is HaShem “hiding His presence”, that is, “suspending His special protection” from us. 

24/7 PROTECTION

I think that the most important –and the most beautiful — aspect of this idea of ​​VAYISHAL-LACH, is the understanding that the Creator protects us constantly as a people and also as individuals, without us even realizing it. Think, for example, that around us (or inside our body), there are billions of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and small microbes, many of which could affect us or even kill us. The Creator permanently protects us (hashgacha peratit) from the natural elements surrounding us, from going wrong and so many accidents that can so easily occur. The Almighty watches over us by restraining these harmful natural forces. The “Divine Protection” is permanently active, non-stop, without us even noticing it like a firewall or an antivirus program that protects our computers 24/7. Every day, 3 times a day, we allude to this kind of Divine protection when we recite the berakha MAGEN ABRAHAM. “Protector of Abraham”,  and we thank HaShem for taking care of us and guarding us with His invisible shield.

Shabbat Shalom

ציונות = חזרתם של העם היהודי לארץ ישראל להקים שם מדינה יהודית.

בעוד שהמונח “ציונות” הוטבע על ידי נתן בירנבאום בשנת 1890, הרב יהודה ביבאס (1776-1852) צריך להיות מוכר כאחד ההוגים של הציונות המודרנית. הוא נולד בג’יברלטר. מצד אמו, הוא היה נכדו של הרב המפורסם ממרוקו, רבנו חיים בן עטר, אור החיים הקדוש (1696-1743). אביו השתייך למשפחת ביבאס היוקרתית של רבנים, דיינים ושוחטים בטיטואן, מרוקו הספרדית. במשך שנים רבות היה הרב של הקהילה היהודית הבולטת והעשירה של קורפו, אי יפהפה השייך כיום ליוון.

הרב ביבאס ראה הזדמנות נדירה לעם היהודי להקים מדינה משלו, משום שבאותן שנים (1820-1835) מרדו מדינות רבות באימפריות השולטות וזכו לעצמאותן. החיים בקורפו אפשרו לרב את הפרספקטיבה הייחודית להיות עד ישיר למהפכה של היוונים נגד האימפריה העות‘מאנית ולניצחון שהוביל ליצירת המדינה היוונית העצמאית. ישראל, שכונתה אז “פלשתינה“, הייתה גם היא תחת שלטון האימפריה העות‘מאנית. בשנת 1835, הרב ביבאס האמין כי, כמו היוונים, גם היהודים יכולים להשיג את עצמאותם, שכן האימפריה העות‘מאנית הייתה הולכת ונחלשת פוליטית וצבאית. לדעתו: “היהודים צריכים לכבוש את ארץ ישראל בכוח צבאי מהתורכים, כמו שהיוונים כבשו את ארצם מהתורכים.” הרב ביבאס נסע ברחבי אירופה וצפון אפריקה, ביקר בטורקיה, בבלקן, בוינה, בלונדון, בגרמניה, בהונגריה ובפראג, ובקהילות יהודיות רבות נוספות. המסר העיקרי שהטיף לכל היהודים בעולם היה “תשובה,” קריאה לאומית לחזור לארץ ישראל ולהקים מדינה יהודית.

הרב נתן למונח תשובה משמעות רחבה יותר. מילולית, “תשובה” פירושה “חזרה“. אך מעבר למשמעות הקונבנציונלית של חזרת היהודי היחיד לאלוקיו, בתורה אנו מוצאים את רעיון “התשובה / חזרה” בראש ובראשונה כחזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל. בספר דברים, פרק ל‘, פסוקים 1-11, מוזכר השורש  שו“ב  על כל בניניו שמונה פעמים,  כ“תשובה קולקטיבית,” ולאחר מכן כ“פיוס” לאומי עם ה‘. לאחר מכן, תשובה מגדירה את הדרך בה ה‘ יחזיר את העם היהודי לארצו. כמו שהגלות בפרק הקודם (דברים כ“ט) נבעה מנטישת היהודים את ה‘, חזרה לארץ ישראל מוצגת כתוצאה של הפיוס בין עם ישראל לה‘ אלוקינו. הרב ביבאס הסביר כי על ידי הישהות בתפוצות: “אנו מפנים את גבנו לה‘ :ההיפך מתשובה  שהיא ‘פניה‘ לה‘.   כפי שהסבירו רבותינו: יהודי החי מחוץ לישראל דומה למי שאין לו אלוקים. ומדוע אנו חיים בגלות? כדי לחפש את פרנסתנו? האם לא נאמר בתורה שארץ ישראל היא ארץ שעיני ה‘ תמיד   בה, שבה לא נאכל  לחם בעוני? האם לא נאמר שהיא ארץ שלא תחסר בה כלום? יום יום, כשאנו אוכלים את לחמנו, אנו מודים לה‘ על הארץ מבורכת, ישראל, שה‘ נתן לנו…”

הרב יהודה אלקלעי (1798-1878) הביא את רעיונותיו של הרב יהודה ביבאס לכתב. שלא כמו הרב ביבאס, שלא זכה לפרסם את רעיונותיו (או שספריו לא הגיעו אלינו), הרב אלקלעי היה כותב פורה. כמו הרב ביבאס, הרב אלקלעי לא ראה את חזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל רק כפתרון לבעיית האנטישמיות , אלא כדרך היחידה למימוש השאיפה ל“נורמליזציה היהודית“: כלומר, עם ישראל בארץ ישראל ע“פ תורת ישראל . שני הרבנים, ביבאס ואלקלעי, הבינו כי העם היהודי לא צריך לחכות באופן פסיבי לביאת המשיח כדי לממש שאיפה זו. אלא, על היהודים לפעול באופן אקטיבי לשוב ולהקים מדינה יהודית עצמאית בארץ אבותינו, כדרך לקדם ולהקל על בואו של המשיח.

בהשראת הרב ביבאס, הרב אלקלעי ניסח את תוכניותיו ורעיונותיו להחזרת היהודים לארץ ישראל בספרו “גורל לה‘”, שפורסם בוינה בשנת 1857. בספר זה הוא תכנן תוכנית מקיפה עם היסודות הדתיים והצעדים המעשיים להגשמת התשובה הלאומית: חזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל. הספר פורסם בשלוש מהדורות שונות ותורגם לשפות רבות, כולל אנגלית.

אני מציג כאן לקוראי “הלכה יומית” את ספרו של הרב יהודה אלקלעי, שבו תוכלו לראות שוב ושוב שהמילה המגדירה “ציונות” היא תשובה.

מרתק לקרוא את ההסכמות שהיו לספר זה מרבנים הבולטים באותה תקופה. אולם לדעתי, ההסכמה המעניינת ביותר, שנכבתה בברית רבנית זכה, היא של השר משה מונטיפיורי (1784-1885, נכתבה במקור בעברית), הפילנתרופ והמנהיג היהודי המפורסם ביותר במאה ה-19.

הרב יוסף י ביטון 

גרייט ניק, ניו יורק 

THE PLAN
With Divine consent, Moses sends spies on a reconnaissance mission into the land of Canaan in preparation for the Israelites’ invasion and conquest of the land. One member of each tribe, with the exception of the tribe of Levi, was chosen for this task. Moses instructed the explorers to bring a military report on the nature of the inhabitants of Canaan, and their strengths and weaknesses in order to define a  military strategy. He also ordered them to bring samples of the products of the land.

THE REPORT
The explorers are in the promised land for 40 days and at the end, they return to the camp of Israel with some fruits of Canaan. And also with the intelligence report. “The land flows with milk and honey,” they said, but then they exaggerate the strength of the population, they said that the inhabitants of the land were gigantic and savage. They also said that “the cities were fortified up to the sky and that it was impossible to conquer them.” Only two of the explorers, Caleb and Yehoshua, dissented and said that the land was magnificent and there was no reason to worry about its inhabitants since God was going to bring victory to the Israelites. The Jewish people were convinced by the pessimistic spies and spent the night crying and expressing their desire to return to Egypt rather than be killed in battle by the Canaanites. To make matters worse, the mob wanted to kill Yehoshua and Caleb. God finally intervenes by making his Glory appear on the Tabernacle.

THE CONSEQUENCES
God informs Moshe of His decision to immediately eliminate the Israelites due to their lack of faith in God. Moses successfully invokes God’s mercy and points out that this punishment would result in a profanation of God’s name. God agreed not to immediately eliminate the Israelites, but determined that that generation would not enter the Land of Israel, and instructed them to change course and return to the desert. The Israelites will have to wander in the desert for forty years. During that time, everyone over the age of twenty, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, would perish. And the next generation would enter the Promised Land.  When the Jews are informed about the Divine decision they are sad and depressed and a group of people decides to go on their own to conquer the Land of Israel, against God’s new instructions. These people were killed in battle by the Amalekites and the Canaanites.

LAWS OF SACRIFICES AND OTHER MITZVOT
Jews are told that upon entering Israel, a person who undertakes to bring a sacrifice must also bring a libation of wine and an offering of flour mixed with olive oil. The text also clarifies the quantities of wine, flour, and oil that must be brought with various species of livestock. The Mitzva of Challah is contained in this section: when one kneads dough, one should take a portion and give it to the priest (Cohen). If the Sanhedrin (rabbinical supreme court) wrongly permits an act of idolatry, and the community acts with this permission, the Sanhedrin must bring a special offering for that sin, detailed in this section. We learn the rules regarding an individual who is guilty of an idolatrous practice, either inadvertently or intentionally. A man is found profaning Shabbat and is executed. The last part of this week’s Parashah deals with the commandment to wear tzitzit (fringes) on four-cornered garments. By looking at the fringes we remember all the commandments and refrain from following the temptations of our hearts.

THE MISSION

The children of Israel are in the desert, just weeks away from arriving in the Promised Land. To ensure the success of their military expedition, Moses sends 12 men as spies on an intelligence mission. These men, the leaders of the tribes, were asked to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the people living there, whom they would soon have to face. The information they would bring back would be crucial for military success.

After forty days of exploring the land from south to north and from east to west, the spies finally return to the camp.

The information was to be transmitted only to Moses, who was the commander-in-chief of Israel’s army. But something unexpected happened: when the children of Israel found out about the spies’ return, they surrounded the spies and stayed there to listen to their report.

Without thinking about the consequences of this small change of plans, the spies, instead of privately informing Moses – and naturally motivated by the temptation to be heard by hundreds of thousands of people – presented their report publicly, starting a chain of tragic events that no one could have anticipated.

THE INTELLIGENCE REPORT

At first, the spies praised the land and even proudly showed off the huge fruits of the place, which everyone saw with astonishment. But then, the narrative changed. Most of the spies, ten of the twelve, began to verbalize their doubts about the wisdom of proceeding with the plan to conquer the land of Canaan.

The long list of doubts includes the following:

GRASSHOPPERS

“The men we will have to fight are giants… we saw ourselves as grasshoppers, and so they saw us.”

When you are possessed by fear, you see –you “need” to see– reality through negative lenses, the lenses of the impossible. That is a point of view, real or imaginary that, far from dispelling fear, justifies it. The spies were not objective: they did not mention that they were much more numerous than their enemies. And instead of emphasizing this advantage, they described themselves as subhuman (insects) and the enemy as superhuman (giants).

This psychological defeatism is also revealed in a detail that I had never noticed before: if you see yourself as small as an insect, why not describe yourself as an ant, a bee, or a wasp (the famous Tzir’a that the Tora sometimes mentions)? Why use the “grasshopper” for the metaphor? I believe they chose to compare themselves to grasshoppers because these insects “have no stingers”; that is, they cannot defend themselves or their colony, even when numerically superior: the spies saw themselves as small and also vulnerable, unable to fight back. Moreover, according to the gastronomic culture of those times, locusts were edible (many species are Kosher), and perhaps unconsciously, they were describing themselves as “food” for the enemy.

AL-QAEDA AND AMALEQ

The Israelites did not know the enemies they would face except for one of them: Amaleq. Although Amaleq had been defeated in a previous war, he created and left trauma and psychological fear in the Jewish people, as they were the first to attack Israel, not from the front but from the rear: Amaleq attacked women, children, and the elderly. Amaleq showed no mercy and was not dissuaded by the fact that Israel is God’s protected people. The spies mentioned Amaleq because they projected their own fears toward an enemy who does not hesitate to inflict pain and death and practices terrorism more than war. Mentioning Amaleq terrified the Israelites, like mentioning ISIS or Al Qaeda to the victims of terror in the Middle East.

THE LAND THAT SWALLOWS

They also mentioned the land of Israel. First, positively: the milk -a product of livestock- and honey, the syrup of dates -a product of agriculture. But then the narrative changed. And the words that the spies used to describe Israel were: “a land that swallows its inhabitants”. What were they trying to say with this completely false description of Israel’s topography? I believe that the subliminal message of this geographical demonization was the following: even if, in the best-case scenario, we manage to defeat the native peoples, the land is not worth it! Since it “devours its inhabitants”. The spies painted an unreal, horrific, and false image of Israel, likening it to a volcanic and dry region prone to seismic activity. In other words, and this is the fundamental message of the spies: Israel as a land is worse than the desert where we live right now… so it’s better if we stay here!

THE REACTION

Upon hearing this report, things went completely out of control: the people began to cry, scream, and protest. It was no use that Joshua and Caleb tried to reason with them. The mob wanted to kill them. God had to intervene directly to prevent the uprising. There were casualties – the ten spies and many more. God punished them in the worst possible way. If they did not want to go to the promised land, they would stay in the desert until they died, waiting for a generational reset.

It was such a tragic night that we remember it in mourning every year on the 9th of the month of Ab.

BUT WHY?

I confess that for many years I adopted the opinion of commentators who blamed the ten spies and saw them as political instigators with personal agendas: they did not “want” to conquer Israel and preferred to return to Egypt and be welcomed there as heroes, etc. (see here). This year, I’m embracing a different approach: perhaps the spies were victims of their own panic. An uncontrollable fear that took hold of them even before the spying operation had begun. Perhaps when they gave their report, they did not plan to discourage the people, and they were “venting” their personal fears, but in the wrong theatre: in front of everyone else.

ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM

What led me to think this way is having recently reread Eric Fromm’s book, “Escape from Freedom” (or in the Spanish version I read: “Fear of Freedom”, which, ironically, captures better the idea I am trying to express). The spies were the “leaders of Israel,” but we cannot forget for a second that just a couple of years ago, they were “slaves”: they were born and raised in a system of physical and mental abuse. They had been trained by their masters for generations not to defend themselves or fight for their rights. They were programmed to “not dream” of a better future. And to suppress any desire for freedom or success.

Probably due to this “personality disorder,” the spies verbalized their panic, activating the most important instinct of a slave: survival, which includes “not taking any unnecessary risks”.

Following the ideas of Eric Fromm, the Jewish slaves were incapable of fully exercising their freedom, which includes the responsibility to fight and risk their lives for it. Without realizing it, they were terrified of freedom and ironically, they did everything possible not to achieve it. Perhaps in a Freudian lapse, they described themselves as “grasshoppers” and not as “ants” because they were unconsciously choosing to “fly” instead of “fight with the sting until death “.

As a South American, I can hear the subconscious echoes of a similar mental situation in the anthems of Argentina or Uruguay: Libertad o con Gloria morir”, “Freedom or dying with glory”. These words, perhaps, do not express what the caudillo leaders of the 19th century felt, but the idea that they were trying to convey to reprogram the subjugated natives to embrace the price of freedom and be willing to take the risk of “dying with glory” on the battlefield. Something that the generation of the desert did not know how to achieve. The fear of freedom, as Fromm asserts, led them literally to self-destruction.

I believe that if the spies had first spoken with Moses instead of presenting their report to the people, he could have dissuaded them from mutiny. Moshe would have calmly conveyed to them the “Emuna”, the certainty that God was with them, and shown them that everything the Almighty had promised them had been fulfilled. Perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided if they had spoken first with Moses, as the original plan indicated. But tragically, once they verbalized their fears in public, things went completely out of control, because panic is contagious, and fear made an entire generation forget their faith.

Who was the most humble person who ever lived on the face of the earth? The answer is in Bamidbar (Numbers) 12: 3.

In antiquity, the virtues exalted among non-Jewish leaders were not humility or integrity. They were physical power (Hercules); military ingenuity (Alexander the Great), or cunning and mischief (Hermes). Among pagan civilizations, humility never deserved to be exalted as a virtue.

Moshe was the leader of the people of Israel also on the political and military level: Moshe confronted Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at that time. Moshe led the way out of the slavery of three million people,  and he also led the victorious battles against Sihon and ‘Og. The Tora, however, never emphasizes Moshe’s physical or military virtues: what stands out in the Tora is the character and personality of Moshe

There are two episodes, reported in this week’s Perasha, where we can appreciate the nature of Moshe’s humility. And the nature of humility in general.

Let’s start by saying that every leader has two types of agendas: his public agenda and his personal agenda. The public, political or community agenda includes everything this leader wants to do for his or her community, people, or nation. The personal agenda is what he wants to do for his or her personal benefit, in material terms, narcissism, self-image, etc. One could say that sometimes these two dimensions of leadership are inversely proportional: the greater the purely political aspiration, in other words, the more the leader aspires to do good for others, the more he should be willing to sacrifice his agenda or personal benefit. On the other hand, when the ultimate goal of the political leader is his personal benefit, he will be willing to sacrifice the common good to achieve his selfish goals.

Here are some examples of Moshe’s leadership.

1. In Shemot Moshe reacts with indignation as he descends from Mount Sinai and sees the people worshiping a golden calf. The people had replaced HaShem with an Egyptian idol …. Such was the indignation of Moshe that he broke the Tables.

2. In this week’s Perasha, when the people complained that they only had manna to eat and start to longing for what they ate in Egypt, Moshe also gets “offended”. These complaints represented a total lack of acknowledgment to Hashem and to all His protection and intervention in the desert. Moshe was not able to tolerate this offense (ובעיני משה רע).

3. In Bamidbar, when the people complained, saying “Why did they bring us out of Egypt and brought us into this wilderness? To make us die of thirst and hunger?” Again, the people complained about HaShem. And Moshe reacted, accusing the people of Israel of “rebellion” (שמעו נא המורים).

These three cases in which Moshe reacts have something in common: the people are complaining about HaShem; they were ungrateful to HaShem or were trying to replace HaShem.

Now let’s look at another kind of reaction from Moshe.

1. In this week’s Perasha there is a very interesting episode, that of Eldad and Medad, two men who were “prophesying” in the camp of Israel, an exclusive prerogative of Moshe until then. This event was noted by Yehoshua, who immediately reports to Moshe this incident and proposes to “eliminate” possible competition. Moshes’ response is incredible (Bamidbar 11:29): “And Moses answered him, are you jealous for me? I wish all the people of HaShem would prophesy, and [I wish] HaShem would bestow his prophecy [also] on them!”

2. There is another similar episode in our Perasha (Bamidbar 12: 1-2). “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moshe … Did HaShem only spoken to Moshe?“. Did not He also spoken by [or “to”] us?”

On this occasion, again, Moshe does not get angry or react. There is no jealousy or reproach. Moshe remains silent.

Why?

Because Moshe gets “offended”, or he reacts and acts with passion when it comes to the honor of HaShem, His cause (which was  also “his” cause), or when it comes to the cause of the people of Israel. But when it comes to something personal, his own honor, Moshe does not bother. It is enough for him to know the truth about his own integrity. He does not get offended and acts with zero degrees  arrogance. He does not mind competition in leadership. Quite the opposite: he wants to stimulate it. He wants other people to reach the same level as He.

These seemingly small gestures of Moshe are a great demonstration of his great humility and altruism. That is why the Tora says in our Parasha (Bamidbar 12: 3)

“And Moshe was a very humble man, more [humble] than any other man on the face of the earth”