Shlach. The Paradox of Courage

Courage—Oh, do we need some now. It takes so much courage since the past two years, and especially since last week

For those flying the planes.

For those sheltering in bunkers.

For those waiting in tunnels.

For those lying in hospital beds.

For those in mourning.

It takes courage for those in the diaspora who walk the streets with visible signs of Jewishness, those who support Israel on social media, or who refuse to remain silent among groups of friends who know judge them for what they belong to.

It takes courage not to despair. And to keep faith in humanity.

It also takes courage not to give in to hatred or not to retreat into identity-based isolation.

It takes courage to not support blindly everything the Israeli government does, out of loyalty to Israel.

Yes, it takes courage to maintain a critical and clear-sighted view of ourselves, and to be the first guardians of our own ethics in a world that is losing its own.

We may sometimes lose self-confidence

But the Source of Life has confidence in us.

Much more than we trust ourselves.

This is what Caleb and Joshuah remembered, in the episode of the meraglim- scouts- in this week's parasha.

Now is the moment, just like them, to trust something greater than us.

How do they do that? It takes this humility to show great courage.

This is what the Sfat Emet is teaching us this week

וע"י שיודע שגם חיותו מהשי"ת

By knowing (cultivating awareness) that our very life-force comes from Life Source.

It takes setting our egos (that means our fears, comparative mind, self deprecation etc) aside to connect to that aliveness that breathes deep within us. It is she who gives us wings.

Even if the challenges ahead seem overwhelming, even if we sometimes feel paralyzed by fear, connecting to this can help us move forward.

This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarekhim—the Shabbat when we bless the coming month, the month of Tammuz.

And though (or perhaps because) it opens the “Three Weeks” of mourning—the lowest point in the Jewish calendar—Tammuz is also the month of vision.

And that’s fitting—because vision is exactly what we need right now.

It is time to keep looking forward.

It is time to remember that the Source of Life supports us—and to let it guide us. Shabbat shalom