United or Divided?
Thousands of years ago, as the Jews were preparing to recapture the Land of Israel, almost a quarter of the Jewish people decided to abort the mission and asked for permission to settle outside the Land of Israel in areas the Jews had already captured. It was a dramatic moment that could have undermined the entire fabric and mission of the Jewish people, and Moses the Jewish leader quickly responded with a call for unity of the Jewish people. He chided them on their willingness to not stand shoulder to shoulder with their brethren at a time that was so pivotal and crucial to their destiny.
Things turned around quickly and after some back and forth discussion they agreed to join their brethren in their journey and conquest of Israel and only once it was fully settled and at peace would they return and live with their tribal communities that had started to settle in trans-Jordan.
Moses spoke to them at length and inspired them with the need for unity especially at a time of risk, battles and pivotal national decisions. The call was heard and they agreed to not just stand there in solidarity but to go at the forefront of the Jewish people in their critical next juncture.
Then & Today
Throughout our long history, Israel and the Jewish people have had to withstand and overcome many adversaries tyrannical regimes. Our ability to survive and go it alone, often in miraculous and supranational ways has always been thanks to the unity of the Jewish people, and a combination of determination of the "stiff necked people" and help from G-d almighty.
In Israel and across the world there is tremendous concern about where the dealings and deals with Iran, a country determined to destroy Israel, will take us.
Perhaps a message from this week's portion where the story of Jewish unity and communal responsibility is highlighted so strongly, can serve as a call to action, to focus on strengthening Jewish unity and care for each other. In doing so we will help the Jewish people and the people of Israel be a robust and unified force that will be hard to overcome.
A message from Jacob
Before Jacob our forefather passed away he called his children whom he referred to as “Shevatim”, Tribes (also means sticks), and he told them the following. One of the reasons he gave the twelve tribes this particular title of “Shevatim”, is since they are like sticks which when you try and break one stick, it is not so challenging, but if you take twelve sticks and bind them together, then breaking them will become very challenging. With this message he asked the twelve tribes to commit to a unity of unprecedented proportions both as a means for them to accomplish their divine mandate and also as a way of ensuring that they were united and protected.
None of the above is to say we should focus on spiritual ideals and nothing else, and this doesn’t negate the necessity for lobbying with our elected leaders to share our concerns, but while our leaders and politicians tackle this challenge in the political arena, our job and role will most definitely be strengthened if we can find a way to be there for each other in a tangible and more defined way. Perhaps a starting point may be to think of one or two friends or families who we could pick up the phone to, invite for a Shabbat meal, and just check on their wellbeing if need be. Or perhaps thinking of something that we can do to support a Jewish community or organization in Israel to express our solidarity.
It is my hope, that by us strengthening the work of the Jewish people in making the world a better, kinder, and more spiritual place, one Mitzvah and one deed at a time, G-d will help us overcome the challenges that we face in this day and age, and help Israel have the clarity, peace and security that it so needs.
Good Shabbos
Yisroel