Timeless Torah

The philosopher, George Santayana, once said, “The highest form of vanity is love of fame.” This particular epigram afflicts politicians, performers, and sports figures especially hard. We can be forgiving to those who crave publicity and adoration. After all, it is usually harmless. But good old George was famous for another quote that warns of serious consequences. You probably remember it. “Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.” Tragically, Ariel Sharon is one of these.
It is thus no accident that the ‘disengagement’ plan of Israel’s Prime Minister occurs precisely the same week we read in the Torah of ancient Jewish leaders who shamefully declared, “We cannot ascend to the land of Israel because the enemy is stronger than us.”
I can almost hear the Divine response, “How long will this nation provoke Me,” reverberating again in our ears, all because Jewish leaders so conveniently forgot that infamous night of so long ago when Jews cowered for no reason. That event set into motion the destruction of both Temples and many other national tragedies. Can anyone guess what calamities are we creating now?
There is an interesting Midrash which addresses an anomaly in the Book of Lamentations. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 consist of verses alphabetically arranged, except that the sentence beginning with the letter ‘Pay’ precedes those beginning with the letter ‘Ayin’. The Midrash explains that the letter Pay (literally, mouth) precedes the Ayin (meaning eye) to remind us that the Spies spoke with their mouths that which they did not see with their eyes.
But surely the spies did not fabricate a tale of “Giants.” Nor were they lying when they reported that it was, “A land that buries its inhabitants.” So what does the Midrash mean, “They reported…that which their eyes did not see?”
Two people can view the exact same occurrence and see two different things. It happens all the time. Concerning the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac), Abraham and his son, “Saw the place from a distance,” a reference to the Divine Presence hovering over Mount Moriah. Abraham’s other child and trusted servant, Ishmael and Eliezer, however only saw a mountain of rocks. They were then informed to proceed no further and, “Stay together with the donkeys.” (Since they saw nothing but the physical, they stayed with the donkeys, whose Hebrew word “chamor” is etymologically related to “chomer”, meaning the physical.) This was the problem with our “so-called” Jewish leaders, both then and now. Israel is not another piece of real estate. It is, “The Land where the eyes of the L-rd rest upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” However, not everyone sees that. Some people go to the Promised Land and merely proclaim that, “It’s so stony!” Still, it is possible to go to Eretz Yisroel and sense its unique spirituality. The Midrash that states, “They reported…that which their eyes did not see,” is teaching us that the Spies failed to see that which is there to be seen. When they arrived at Mount Moriah, they merely saw ‘a mountain’. They did not see the lesson of Isaac’s sacrifice at the Akeida, nor did they perceive the future glory of Solomon’s Temple. Similarly, when they came to Hebron, they saw just another city, populated by less than friendly Giants, instead of sensing the presence of the Patriarchs who conferred their strength to us there. They spoke with their Pay/mouths. But they did not utilize their Ayin/eyes to fully see and appreciate that which Israel has to offer. This is what brought about their sin, and our recurring tzorres. How I wish Santayana had been wrong about, “Those who do not remember history…” But even as we write these words, there are those leaders who would weaken and demoralize us using precisely the same arguments. They say that Gaza, Judea and Samaria “consume their inhabitants.” G-d forbid!
Israel was given to us as an eternal heritage to pass on to the next generation. It cannot be sold, bartered, or given away for anything in the world. This cannot be done for ‘peace’, honor, or economic benefits from our supposed friends. When Joshua and Calev addressed the other spies, they said, “Don’t rebel against G-d. Don’t be afraid of the people in the land!...G-d is with us.” Quite the contrary, Calev says, “We must go forth and occupy the Land. We can do it!”
Let us be strong, courageous, and view, “The good of Jerusalem.” (Tehillim 128:5). We can accomplish this when we look under the surface and beyond the physical. And we shall succeed where they failed, because not only will we not repeat history, we will fashion a completely new future.