I'm on a flight to Israel, on El Al. It's full. And mostly Israeli -- families returning home from trips abroad, soldiers going to fight.
Two weeks ago today, it was the sixth day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a day known as Hashanah Rabbah. I noted that it had been one of the best Sukkot holidays I could remember. We had hosted several dinner parties in our new backyard sukkah -- a kind of hut -- and I spent the day balancing work and fun, even going surfing.
The Middle East was calm, and people were talking about peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had just returned in triumph, two weeks before, from a successful visit to the U.S., where he talked up his country with Elon Musk and told the UN about the growing momentum toward peace with Saudi Arabia, among others.
That was Friday, October 6. I even remember looking out over the Pacific and thinking about the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which Jews had observed the week before, according to the Hebrew calendar. I thought about the diminishing power of dates.
I was wrong. We were all wrong. And just like in 2000 -- when the Palestinians launched a bloody second "intifada," ripping up the dreams of Shimon Peres and others for a "new Middle East" -- we were all plunged back into darkness. For how long this time?
Netanyahu, who guided his nation through so much, and who came out of a tumultuous fight over judicial reform with polls that show Israelis would throw him out today, if there were an election -- is this to be his legacy? This atrocity, on his watch, after so long?
Yossi Klein Halevi remarked that on Oct. 7, Israel became the most dangerous country in the world for Jews, a reversal of its mission. That is a depressing thought, and -- at the risk of gratifying the haters who like it when Jews have doubts about Israel -- we have to ask whether there is a point to it all. True, there was no alternative...
What happens to Israel if the dream of "Free Palestine" comes about? What will happen to the cities, the fields, the streets? Gaza is their fate. (At best, "free" South Africa, which is becoming Gaza.) What happens to the people? We know that, now: Kibbutz Be'eri.
No, there is no alternative. But more than that: I love Israel. There is so much to love. The fusion of the spiritual and the sensual... the woman next to me, for example, appears completely secular, wearing a tank top and yoga pants for the flight, and yet she broke out a book of Psalms and began reciting them, likely praying for a safe return.
I'm very happy to be on this flight. I'm going to tell the stories, to see for myself... and to show solidarity with the people of Israel. I'm going to do what I can to help this country, and through it, America...
But I would rather none of this had ever happened. A nightmare.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
