Once again, we’re standing on the cliff’s edge
Imagine an old-fashioned cowboy Western. A stagecoach has been ambushed by outlaws who have killed the driver. The horses, spooked by gunfire, bolt down a winding road toward a cliff. Inside the coach, the hero regains consciousness and desperately tries to reach the reins before disaster strikes.
You sit on the edge of your seat, wishing you could leap into the screen and stop the horses yourself.
That is how I feel, sitting in Israel, reading these parshiyot. We read B’haalotcha last week (while those in chutz la’Aretz are getting to it this week while we read Shlach). In Shlach, B’nei Yisrael make the unforgivable mistake of the sin of the Spies, refusing to enter the Land, a error that will cost most of that generation — including their great leaders Moshe, Aharon and Miriam — their lives.
I want to urge our coreligionists outside of Israel — and to reach back and warn our forefathers in B’haalotcha — to stop your foolish complaining, bitterness, anger and fear. Trust in Hashem! You are heading for a cliff!
• • •
That’s also how I feel as I review the parsha and write this, because President Donald Trump has still not made his decision about whether to proceed with an extension of the “ceasefire” with Iran or resume the war and finish the job.
A good part of me wants to grab the president by the shoulders and say, “What are you doing? You’ve won — G-d of Israel is on your side, just finish the job, don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! You are being played by this evil regime who has no intention of complying with any ‘deal,’ if you don’t eliminate them, not just you and your presidency but the fate of the world (and especially Israel which appears bound to follow your lead) will go over a cliff.”
Perhaps that sounds melodramatic. Yet our parshiyot — and much of Sefer Bamidbar — remind us that we have been here before.
Throughout Jewish history, we see the same pattern. There was chet ha’egel, the sin of the Golden Calf; there were the complaints in B’haalotcha; the sin of the Spies; Korach’s rebellion and the sins at Ba’al Peor. Later came Shaul HaMelech’s failure to eradicate Amalek, divisions within the kingdom and ultimately the destruction of both Temples.
I call this the Plan A and Plan B outline of Jewish history.
Hashem gives us instructions and tells us where they lead. That is Plan A.
We object, complain, fear, divide and resist; we fail and suffer the consequences. Hashem relents and fulfills His covenant with us. He gets what He wants. That’s plan B.
We could have arrived at the same destination with far less pain. The question is whether we ever learn.
• • •
To understand this pattern, consider the haftara of Parshat B’haalotcha, also read on Shabbat Chanukah. The prophet Zechariah, speaking after the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile, offers a vision that many commentators see as extending beyond his own era into the End of Days.
Three elements stand out.
•First is the opening call: Rani v’Simchi bat Tzion “(Sing and be glad, O daughter of Zion”). This is more than poetry. It is a command.
At a time when the word “Zionist” is often used as an insult, Zechariah challenges us to proclaim our connection to Zion proudly and without apology. Zion has always meant Jerusalem. The world has repeatedly sought to separate the Jewish people from Jerusalem, whether by conquest, denial or distortion.
Zechariah’s message is simple: Do not hide your Judaism. Do not hide your Zionism. Declare both openly and proudly.
•Second is perhaps the most famous verse in the haftara: Lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach, ki im b’ruchi, amar Hashem (“Not by armies and not by strength, but by My Spirit, says Hashem”).
The Jewish people are grateful for military strength. Israel’s accomplishments in defending itself are extraordinary. But Zechariah reminds us that military power alone does not bring redemption.
The ruach of Hashem does.
That ruach, referenced repeatedly in B’haalotcha, is the source of our strength, resilience and ability to overcome impossible odds. It comes through Torah and mitzvot. Military power may protect us, but spiritual power sustains us.
•Finally, the haftara presents Yehoshua the Kohen Gadol. Exiled along with the Jewish people, he stands accused by Satan, yet Hashem defends him. He is called an ud mutzal mei’eish (a firebrand rescued from the flames).
Is that not our story as well?
• • •
We are the children and grandchildren of survivors — survivors of the Holocaust, survivors of expulsions from Arab lands, survivors of persecution and exile. Against staggering odds, Jews rebuilt communities, rebuilt Jerusalem and rebuilt Jewish sovereignty in our ancestral homeland.
Zechariah describes those who participate in this mission as anshei mofet (people of wonder, miracle workers).
The term fits.
We constantly recount extraordinary stories of survival, resilience and providence. We have witnessed events that seem impossible by any normal historical standard. Ours is a nation of miracle workers because it is a nation sustained by faith.
It is no accident that this message is symbolized by the Menorah, the centerpiece of Parshat B’haalotcha and the emblem of the State of Israel itself. The Menorah represents light, wisdom and divine presence.
So if you are looking for chizuk, read the parsha and the haftara carefully.
At times, it may feel as though we are racing toward the edge of a cliff. Yet we possess extraordinary resources, gifts provided by Hakadosh Baruch Hu through the Torah, the Prophets and the enduring covenant with the Jewish people.
We need only open the Book.
Shabbat Shalom.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
