A couple centuries ago, Jews – particularly in Europe – developed a response to the age-old problem of anti-Semitism. ‘If only, we had a country of our own, a place to call home. Certainly then, they argued, this issue will wane, if not disappear altogether.’ There were many different approaches that arose from this concept. I will not address the details, but we all know the eventual outcome. The modern State of Israel was born from this movement.
Fast forward to the twenty-first century. Jews now have a state of their own. No less, it is on the land that their ancestors walked. It is in the land G-d promised to our people again and again. It is on the land to which we have yearned to return to tens of times a day in our daily prayers. It is a land that we are confident will be the beacon of light and peace for the entire world with the coming of Moshiach.
However, today we are painfully far from that dream. No, I don’t mean we are a long time from that reality. Moshiach can, and hopefully will, come today. We are close to the era of redemption. But the reality on the ground doesn’t remotely resemble the reality that Moshiach will introduce and we will soon embrace.
Today, our brothers and sisters face the evils of terrorism every day. Today the soldiers of the IDF risk – and some lose – their lives to protect the lives of others. Today little children must sleep in bomb shelters. And, yes, today many innocent lives are lost in Gaza by the terrorists who are either supported by or holding hostage a local population.
So, how can it be? And what of the great dream of our people in our land? Must we suffer forever? Or at least till the righteous Moshiach arrives?
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Today, I was able to trace some of the steps of Lewis and Clark and their entourage. As I walked along the Missouri River, I contemplated the near celebrity status that Lewis and Clark maintain, particularly in the Northwest. Yet, in their day, many considered their mission a failure. After all, they did not find the passage to the Pacific they had sought.
Must the people in Israel concede a similar sense of defeat, or partial victory?
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This week’s parsha Mas’ei is the final portion of the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers). The last book of the Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy) is primarily a review – so essentially the story (versus the message) of the Torah concludes here. In it, we find a recap of the forty years the Jews wandered in the wilderness, including every one of their 42 encampments along the way.
Next, the Torah tells about the boundaries of the tribes of Israel, the borders of the land they will inherit.
Interestingly, the Torah tells about two opposites as it concludes the Book of Bamidbar. The Jews are defined as wanderers, as well as having a permanent home. Why the need to repeat, and thus revisit, the wandering of the Jews? Why not focus exclusively on the bright future?
Perhaps, the lesson is the all-too-common, ongoing paradox of the Jewish people. We may be secure in our borders, yet we remain in a state of flux. Conversely, we may be in exile, yet we have a deep bond with our sacred land.
How is this possible?
It’s precisely because our principles are what are truly sacred. We are not fighting simply for a treasured land. We are fighting for the treasure called life. We are fighting for the sacred values of Judaism.
If we recommit ourselves to the principles and traditions of Yiddishkeit, these immutable values that connect us to our G-d, will continue to guide and protect us. That is, until the times of true world peace and universal goodness, with the coming of Moshiach.
May Almighty G-d protect our brothers and sisters and bring peace and security to all.