HOW DO WE FACE CHALLENGES?

Let me share a beautiful story with you. A little boy was afraid of the dark, and one night, his mother asked him to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom. The boy hesitated, saying, "Mama, I don't want to go out there. It's dark." His mother reassured him, saying, "You don't have to be afraid of the dark. G-d is out there. He'll look after you and protect you." The boy, still uncertain, asked, "Are you sure he's out there?" His mother replied, "Yes, I'm sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him." The boy, gaining some courage, cracked open the back door and called out, "G-d? If you're out there, would you please hand me the broom?"

The Jewish people's journey lasted forty years. It wasn’t planned this way. The Israelites were destined to settle their land shortly after their Egyptian Exodus. But then Moses sent spies to scout the country, and when they returned, they struck fear and terror into the hearts of the people, describing how mighty and fearful the inhabitation nations were.

At this fateful moment, Moses, their long-time leader, and shepherd, speaks to the nation. This is what he says to them, in this week’s portion, Eikev:

"Hear, O Israel: Today, you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens. You shall know on this day that it is the Lord your G-d Who passes over before you, as a consuming fire. He will destroy them, and you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord spoke to you."

This is mind-staggering.

Moses is repeating, almost verbatim, the words the ten spies uttered 39 years earlier which caused an unparalleled catastrophe and derailed Jewish history from its course.

Moses, do you not remember what happened last time around when the spies described the mighty nations, the fortified cities, the sons of the giants?! Do you not recall how the entire nation surrendered to paralysis, faithlessness, hopelessness, and despondency?

What is more, there are expressions that Moses uses here, that even the spies themselves did not dare to say! The spies said: “The cities were extremely huge and fortified;” Moses, in contrast, added that the “cities are great and fortified up to the heavens!”

Moses, in a way, speaks far more emphatically than the spies: “Hear, O Israel...to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you!”

The Rebbe explains: It is here that we see the power of Judaism: it is all about truth.

So, when Moses wants to prepare his people to enter the land, he will not paint a glowing fictional picture, and mislead them about the truth. Rather, he will tell it to them as is. “Hear, O Israel: You are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens.”

When you inspire people based on exaggerations or suppression of facts, you may score short-term benefits, but at some point, you will lose credibility. When they discover the truth, they might back off. Moses needed the people to know the full truth. ‘Who can stand up against the children of the giants?!’”

Yet, Moses continues: “You shall know on this day that it is the Lord your G-d Who passes over before you, as a consuming fire... He will subdue them before you…” This is a tall order, Moses is saying. But G-d is with you. He will lead the way. Thus, despite all the odds, you will triumph.

When the Jewish people heard this message, they felt far more empowered and invigorated. They knew what they were facing; they knew what to expect.

They can embrace their destiny with a clear mind, a sober heart, and absolute honesty.

Moses’ message was: We have all heard that “nobody can stand up before these giants.” Yes, we can surrender to fear—that would be human and normal. The spies did just that. But here is what I am telling you. Your task is formidable, but the one leading the way is yet more formidable. You can do it, not because it is not hard, but because you are a people who can achieve extraordinary tasks; for G-d—the creator of the possible and the impossible—is right here with you!

With this, Moses not only earned credibility but also showed them their true power and strength. He brought out the fire in them!

What a powerful lesson in life.

Each of us has our own “promised land” to conquer: our dreams, visions, and goals.

Moses tells us here a very different message. Sometimes, the task ahead of you is hard; very hard. But who said you can’t achieve daunting tasks? Who said you could not climb fortresses that reach the heavens? If you can only realize G-d is with you, and say: Yes, this is scary and unnerving, but I am ready to take it on. For I know that G-d is firing the shots, and I am just holding on tightly to Him.

The Torah does not tell us that life is a journey through la-la land, and faith is bliss. Every day has moments when we want to throw in the towel. Do not be disturbed or demoralized, Moses tells us, by your challenges, demons, inconsistencies, and weaknesses. But G-d is with you. You can have a road in the jungle of your psyche, and we can pave a road in the jungle of history.

This is true in our individual lives, and the same is true with our collective state. We, as a people, face difficult challenges. There are nations and people who wish to destroy us. They exist, they are powerful, but we are more powerful!

Rabbi Zev Segal (1917-2008), longtime president of the Rabbinical Council of America and Rabbi of Young Israel in Newark, was a renowned Jewish activist who worked relentlessly for Jewish individuals and communities across the globe. He was a passionate Jew who traveled extensively for Jewish causes.

On one occasion, the Rebbe found out that Rabbi Segal was traveling to "a certain country" and asked him to undertake a "very difficult assignment." Segal agreed and got the job done.

When he arrived back in the United States, Segal was granted a private audience with the Rebbe. "I said that the Rebbe should know that it was not an easy task," Segal recalled.

The Rebbe responded: "Since when did you make a contract with G-d for an easy life?"

Rabbi Segal said that line stuck with him for life and provided a lesson in how he should approach responsibilities and challenges.

All great leaders took this cue from Moses. You don’t inspire real courage, loyalty, and confidence by denying the frightening facts. Because if that is your tactic, when the lid is blown off your cover-ups, your people will desert you.

Menachem Begin used the radio to share the following words with the people of Israel, preparing them for an Arab attack on May 14, 1948:

"We shall go our way into battle… And we shall be accompanied by the spirit of millions of our martyrs, our ancestors tortured and burned for their faith, our murdered fathers and butchered mothers, our murdered brothers and strangled children.

“And in this battle, we shall break the enemy and bring salvation to our people, tried in the furnace of persecution, thirsting only for freedom, for righteousness, and for justice."

This is how leaders inspire their troops—based on how Moses inspired his. He did not promise them an easy ride; he told them exactly what was coming—and he gave them the confidence, resolve, and inspiration to take it on with full grace, courage, and unwavering determination.

There is an old story about a criminal who had committed a capital crime. He was sent to the king for his punishment. The king told him he had a choice of two punishments. He could be hung by a rope or take what’s behind the big, awesome, dark, scary, iron door. The criminal decided on the rope. As the noose was being slipped on him, he turned to the king and asked: “By the way, out of curiosity, what’s behind that door?” The king said: “You know, it’s funny, I offer every criminal the same choice, and nearly everyone picks the rope.”

“So,” said the criminal, “Tell me. What’s behind the door? I mean, obviously, I won’t tell anyone," he said, pointing to the noose around his neck.

The king paused and then answered: “Freedom, but it seems most people are so afraid of the unknown that they immediately take the rope.”

Alan Watts said it well: “Our lives are one long effort to resist the unknown.”

There are many unknowns in life, and some of them are scary. But we have the tools to take the road less traveled, into our Promised Land.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky