Believe in ourselves

Last Shabbat we read the Sedra of Shelach Lecha (this coming week outside of Israel), which tells us about how the leaders of the Jewish people went to view the Land of Israel, as the Jewish people were preparing to enter the land from the desert, as G-d had promised them.

However, we read how 10 of the leaders told the Jewish people, how it was too dangerous for them to live in the Land of Israel, which the Jewish people agreed with. Our Rabbi's tell us how the Jewish people consintued to have a slave mentality , as they had only been freed from their lives as slaves just over a year preiously. They were therefore unable to believe that they could successfully defeat the incumbent residents of the land and rule themselves.

Last week I went on a tiyul (tour) in which I saw some of the sites along Road 1, where the battles took place to safeguard Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, during the War of Indepence between 1947 and 1949. I learnt of how in many of the battles, Israel's soldiers were Holocaust survivors of only three years previously. Despite this though, they were strong enough and had the belief that they could help to defend Israel, so that they were able to live in the Jewish State of Israel.

During the Tiyul, I was able to see how in modern times, our heroes who help to protect the land of Israel, have been able to overcome the difficulties that many Biblical Leaders were scared to accept, and thanks to these modern day heroes, our soldiers, we are able to safely live in the Land of Israel.