By all accounts, we are living through one of the most difficult chapters in modern Jewish history. The pain is nearly unbearable. Each fallen soldier is not merely a name or a statistic; each is a world lost, a soul extinguished. The collective anguish of our people is overwhelming. And the question must be asked: What can we do? Our member and regular contributor Rabbi Paul Bloom seeks to find an answer to this difficult question.
Some say, “Give in to our enemies’ demands, just so the
bloodshed ends.” Others demand, “Fight with greater force and crush our enemies
once and for all.” And as usual, the world applies to us a set of standards it
uses for no other nation—demanding we show restraint even when under attack by
barbaric terrorists. We are left with the inescapable truth: Only Divine
intervention can save us.
But how do we merit Divine intervention?
The Shofar of Teshuvah
וְכִֽי־תָבֹ֨אוּ
מִלְחָמָ֜ה בְּאַרְצְכֶ֗ם עַל־הַצַּר֙ הַצֹּרֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֔ם וַהֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם
בַּחֲצֹצְרֹ֑ת וְנִזְכַּרְתֶּ֗ם לִפְנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם וְנוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֖ם
מֵאֹיְבֵיכֶֽם׃
"When you go to war in your
land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound a teru'ah on the
trumpets, and you shall be remembered before Hashem your God, and you shall be
saved from your enemies." (Bamidbar 10:9)
The Rambam codifies this in Hilchot Ta’aniyot
(1:1–2):
“It is a positive mitzvah from
the Torah to cry out and blow trumpets when trouble comes upon the community…
This is one of the paths of repentance.”
The message is clear: Our strength does not lie in military
might alone, but in spiritual awakening—prayer, repentance, and the return to
God. When the enemy comes to take away our Land, our first and greatest weapon
must be the shofar of teshuvah, reminding us that the battle is not only
physical but spiritual.
But there is something else, something tangible we can do: Aliyah.
Defeating Our Enemies with Faith and Feet
It may seem counterintuitive to promote moving to Israel in
the midst of war and instability, but that is precisely when it matters most.
The massive wave of aliyah from the former Soviet Union disrupted the Arab
narrative of eventual victory. Every Jew who enters the Land thwarts that
narrative again. As some in the Land courageously declare, “For every Jew
killed, a thousand Jews should come and build.” We must take up that cry—not
just with slogans, but with suitcases.
One might ask: How can we possibly expect people to move
to Israel under such dire circumstances? The answer lies in another episode
from our parashah.
No Pain, No Gain: The Sin of Complaining
Chapter 11 opens with the tragic episode of Tav’eirah:
וַיְהִ֤י
הָעָם֙ כְּמִתְאֹ֣נְנִ֔ים רַ֖ע בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙
וַיִּ֣חַר אַפּ֔וֹ וַתִּבְעַר־בָּם֙ אֵ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתֹּ֖אכַל בִּקְצֵ֥ה
הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃
“And the people were like
complainers; it was evil in the ears of Hashem.” (Bamidbar 11:1)
Rashi explains they were complaining about the hardships of
the journey to Eretz Yisrael. What was Hashem's response? Anger. Why? Because
the hardships were a sign of love—Hashem was trying to bring them into the Land
quickly, compressing three days of travel into one (Bamidbar 10:33). But
instead of seeing the pain as part of the process of redemption, they rejected
it—and lost everything.
As Chazal teach:
"Eretz Yisrael is acquired
only through suffering." (Berachot 5a)
Rather than accept that pain as part of the price for
entering God’s Land, they complained. That moment led to a cascade of failures,
including the sin of the spies and the decree to wander in the wilderness for
forty years.
The lesson is simple: There is no spiritual reward without
spiritual investment. We cannot expect to inherit the Land without struggle.
But if we are willing to endure even modest sacrifices—financial uncertainty,
language barriers, cultural adaptation—then Hashem will surely assist us and
defeat our enemies.
Yitro’s Dilemma: Then and Now
Later in the parashah, we read the dialogue between Moshe
and his father-in-law, Chovav (Yitro):
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר
מֹשֶׁ֗ה לְ֠חֹבָ֠ב בֶּן־רְעוּאֵ֣ל הַמִּדְיָנִי֮ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁה֒ נֹסְעִ֣ים ׀ אֲנַ֗חְנוּ
אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אֹת֖וֹ אֶתֵּ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם לְכָ֤ה אִתָּ֙נוּ֙
וְהֵטַ֣בְנוּ לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־יְהֹוָ֥ה דִּבֶּר־ט֖וֹב עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
"We are journeying to the
place of which Hashem said: I will give it to you. Come with us… and we will do
good for you." (Bamidbar 10:29)
Yitro declines, citing his homeland, his family, and his
possessions. The commentators debate his motives: comfort, health, family,
wealth, or a desire to influence others spiritually from afar. Sound familiar?
Moshe responds by insisting: “Do not leave us... and the
good that Hashem will do with us, we will share with you.”
Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg, in HaKetav VeHaKabbalah,
explains that Moshe was saying: Your decision can inspire the world. If a
man of your stature leaves behind everything to join us in God’s Land, it will
make waves across the nations. This, too, is a powerful Kiddush Hashem.
We must absorb that message today. Every Jew who makes
aliyah—despite obstacles—becomes a beacon. Many cite the same excuses Yitro
did: comfort, livelihood, family, safety, or religious mission abroad. But none
outweigh the sanctity of living in the Land Hashem gave us.
The Call of Our Time
The message of Beha’alotcha is clear: When enemies rise
against us, we must not only cry out to Heaven, but rise up on Earth. Aliyah is
both a spiritual and strategic response. It is the fulfillment of Hashem’s
promise to give us the Land—and a living declaration that we trust in that
promise.
Now more than ever is the time. Let us not repeat the
mistake of our ancestors at Tav’eirah, who turned back when they should have
marched forward. Let us not be like Yitro, content to remain in comfort while
others fight for the future of our people.
Let us rise up, beha’alotcha, and ascend together.
“Go with us… for Hashem has spoken good concerning Israel.” And if we go—together—we will surely see
that goodness with our own eyes.
So let us take Moshe's advice and convince your friends and
family to the ascend to the place of which the Lord said, "I will give it
to you”.
May the memory of our fallen be for a blessing, and may
we merit the ultimate victory—of spirit, of nationhood, and of redemption.
