Dear Friends,
Sirens are blaring. Israelis are like metronomes: back and forth from outside to their bomb shelter. Why? On the surface, it is because Iranian missiles are raining on them each evening. But, deeper down, there is a much larger reason. First – the Torah.
Here’s the situation. The Israelites were in the desert early in their 40-year trek and nearing the border of the Land of Canaan. God instructed Moses to send scouts to investigate the land. After 40 days of reconnoitering, the scouts returned, and while two – Caleb and Joshua - reported positively, the remaining scouts reported the land as inhospitable. The Israelites fearfully railed against Moses and Aaron, rejecting the Land and rejecting God, by extension. Angrily, God decided that only Caleb and Joshua, and those Israelites under age 20, would survive the years in the desert, while all others would perish along the way.
God instructed Moses to declare, “Of all you men who were recorded in our various lists from age twenty years up, you who have muttered against Me, not one shall enter the land in which I swore to settle you.” (Num. 14:29-30)
So, what was the real reason for God’s anger?
Rather, the hidden message is not so hidden – it is found in the word “muttered.” God was angered that some Israelites spoke against God, others kept silent, and others merely mumbled. A midrash explains:
All Israelites over twenty years of age were condemned to die in the wilderness, even those who silently disagreed with the majority and favored Joshua and Caleb. Why? Because they did not speak up.
The teaching is clear: the duty of a Jew – and all persons – is to speak up when the world demands it.
The real reason for the missiles falling on Israel? Israel dared to speak up and act up against the existential threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. The world had sat by silently for too long. The time was coming near when quietude could be suicidal. So, Israel acted. They learned the lesson of the ten scouts.
God and life demand speaking up – as individuals or as a nation. No muttering allowed.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Sirens are blaring. Israelis are like metronomes: back and forth from outside to their bomb shelter. Why? On the surface, it is because Iranian missiles are raining on them each evening. But, deeper down, there is a much larger reason. First – the Torah.
Here’s the situation. The Israelites were in the desert early in their 40-year trek and nearing the border of the Land of Canaan. God instructed Moses to send scouts to investigate the land. After 40 days of reconnoitering, the scouts returned, and while two – Caleb and Joshua - reported positively, the remaining scouts reported the land as inhospitable. The Israelites fearfully railed against Moses and Aaron, rejecting the Land and rejecting God, by extension. Angrily, God decided that only Caleb and Joshua, and those Israelites under age 20, would survive the years in the desert, while all others would perish along the way.
God instructed Moses to declare, “Of all you men who were recorded in our various lists from age twenty years up, you who have muttered against Me, not one shall enter the land in which I swore to settle you.” (Num. 14:29-30)
So, what was the real reason for God’s anger?
- Was it because the Israelites rejected God’s generosity of the Land? Perhaps, but unlikely, God is not that petty.
- Was it because the Israelites failed to listen to reason and succumbed to fearmongering? Perhaps, but is that a good reason to punish all of them?
- Was it because of a failure of leadership of Aaron and the scouts, who betrayed God’s trust? Perhaps, but the text does not hint at such a conclusion.
Rather, the hidden message is not so hidden – it is found in the word “muttered.” God was angered that some Israelites spoke against God, others kept silent, and others merely mumbled. A midrash explains:
All Israelites over twenty years of age were condemned to die in the wilderness, even those who silently disagreed with the majority and favored Joshua and Caleb. Why? Because they did not speak up.
The teaching is clear: the duty of a Jew – and all persons – is to speak up when the world demands it.
The real reason for the missiles falling on Israel? Israel dared to speak up and act up against the existential threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. The world had sat by silently for too long. The time was coming near when quietude could be suicidal. So, Israel acted. They learned the lesson of the ten scouts.
God and life demand speaking up – as individuals or as a nation. No muttering allowed.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
