17 Jun SIMCHAS AND SIRENS

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.