By: Chaya Sora Jungreis-Gertzulin

It was last Friday afternoon. I was in my kitchen, peeling, slicing, chopping, mixing. Getting ready for Shabbos. While my hands were going through the motions, my heart and soul were in Eretz Yisroel. The situation with Iran was alarming.

Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran… how much can our people endure? How many enemies can a small nation withstand? A silent prayer was on my lips. Please, HaShem, protect our people, protect our land. Keep Am Yisroel safe and secure.

And then I got a clip from Israel. Three men, playing musical instruments, singing “Al tira Yisroel, Al tira, Don’t be afraid, Yisroel, Don’t be afraid.” Don’t be afraid, for HaShem is with us. It will be good.

Shabbos morning, I went to shul. As I was listening to the reading of the Torah, the words of the parsha came alive. We are living it. “V’chi sa’vo’oo milchama b’artzechem,

When you will go to war in your land, against an enemy that oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with trumpets, and you will be remembered before HaShem, and you will be saved from your enemies.” (Bamidbar 10:9).

Are we not living these very words? War, enemies who oppress us, alarms. But know, that at the end, HaShem is with us. Al tira Yisroel, Al tira.

Rambam writes that whenever Eretz Yisroel is in a time of distress, be it war, epidemic or drought, trumpets were to be sounded as a wake-up call. Such happenings are not mere coincidences, but are a reminder to us, to look at our ways, and contemplate what can we do to become better people.

Are the blasting sirens in Israel today not the trumpets and alarms the Torah speaks of?

This Shabbos, we read parshas Shelach. More than a year had passed since the Jewish nation left Egypt. It was now time for them to enter Eretz Yisroel. HaShem’s eternal gift to His people. The Promised Land.

Apprehensive of what they will find, the people asked to send meraglim, scouts to check out the land. In response, HaShem instructed Moshe, “Shelach l’cha”, Send ‘l’cha’ ”, for yourself. HaShem didn’t command the nation to send scouts, they requested it. It was their choice, their initiative. And so, it was send for yourself.

Imagine receiving a beautifully wrapped present from a parent, spouse or best friend. How should one react. Do we say, I’m so grateful, I’m sure it’s perfect. Or, do we have a cool response, saying, I have to open it first, and check it out, to see if I like it. If it was a gift from HaShem, was there any need to explore the land, or should the nation have accepted it without question.

Following the people’s request, HaShem instructed Moshe to send a group of twelve, one representing each tribe. They were “anoshim”, meaning honorable, distinguished men. After forty days of crossing the breadth of the land, they returned with a report.

The meraglim presented their findings to the nation. They began with positive words. It was “Eretz zovas chalav u’devash, A land flowing with milk and honey”, capturing the peoples’ attention. They showed the luscious fruits they had brought back with them. Then, they dropped the bombshell. They began speaking negatively. Efes, meaning but, which also means zero. My mother would teach that when we say efes – but – it negates whatever was said previously. If someone says, I’d love to invite you for Shabbos – BUT, it means there is no invite. It’s not happening. Efes – zero. The meraglim planted seeds of despair and disillusionment, convincing the nation that they will never able to settle the land. They spoke of giants inhabiting the land, even showing the extra-large giant-sized fruits as proof. They took what was beautiful, and turned it into unwanted, negative.

Moshe instructed the scouts to give a factual account of their mission. Instead, they gave an opinionated report. They spread “Dibas ha’aretz, An evil report on the land.” (Bamidbar 13:32)

What went wrong? How did this happen? Weren’t they all anashim, each one a respected leader?

Fear overcame them. The fog of fear clouds one’s thoughts. It sows chaos and confusion. It brings people to say and do things they otherwise would have not. Until now, the nation lived a life based on miracles. From the Exodus to daily life in the desert, HaShem took care of all their needs. HaShem was with them, they had no material concerns. He treated them to the mon, literally, bread from heaven. Their clothes miraculously lasted and lasted, somehow growing with them. They were guided by a Heavenly GPS, ananei hakavod, Divine clouds that guided them and protected them during the day, while a fire protected them at night.

When the meraglim entered the land, they were enveloped in fear. How would they adjust to a natural lifestyle, settling the land on their own?

But they missed a big point. HaShem is always with us. “Hinei lo yanum, v’lo yishan, Shomer Yisroel, He neither sleeps nor slumbers, the Guardian of Yisroel.” (Tehillim 121:4) HaShem never abandons His people.

This past week, my cousins, Chayale (Jungreis) and Nechemiah Isbee, were zoche to make a bris for a grandchild in Yerushalayim. They left New York on Wednesday, plenty of time to be there for a Sunday bris. This was to be a short trip. But, by Thursday evening, Ben Gurion was closed.

I spoke to Chayale. Despite ever-wailing sirens and a barrage of missiles, the bris went on. Family and friends came. A simcha for Am Yisroel. A new neshama entering the covenant of our patriarch Avraham. The parents, Elazar and Rikki, named their baby Yechiel Aryeh, after Rikki’s great-grandfather, Rabbi Yechiel Aryeh Munk z”l. I was reminded that the Ari zt”l teaches that Jewish parents are imbued with Ruach Hakodesh, a Divine spark when they name their children. I told Chayale that in today’s climate of trepidation and apprehension, the name they chose had an additionally relevant meaning. Yechiel, meaning HaShem lives. During these difficult days, we are zoche to witness miracles amidst all the pain. But, HaShem is with us. Aryeh, to stand up strong, like a lion. The current mission to wipe out the nuclear threat from Iran is called Rising Lion, as it says, “Hen Am k’lavi yakum, Behold, the people will arise like a lion…” (Bamidbar 23:24)

My cousin told me of going together with the young couple, the newborn and their two toddlers from the bris to a miklat, a protected basement space. The space was shared by all the residents of the building. While they were from different walks of life, they sat together, reciting Tehillim. They were all there to help one another. Be it sharing water bottles, keeping the little ones occupied, or helping the elderly. The strength of Am Yisroel.

Al tira Yisroel, al tira, Fear not Yisroel, fear not.

Shabbat Shalom!

Chaya Sora

Chaya Sora can be reached at [email protected]

This article was written L’zecher Nishmas/In Memory Of HaRav Meshulem ben HaRav Osher Anshil HaLevi, zt”l and Rebbetzin Esther bas HaRav Avraham HaLevi, zt”l