“Chefetz Chashud “
That is how one says
“Suspicious Object”
In Hebrew.
Everyone in Israel is very aware of suspicious objects, because the lack of awareness can lead to horrific consequences.
Many moons ago I studied in Israel.
My roommate in the dormitory was an American girl who had been injured in a terrorist attack a few years prior.
She was on a bus, and no one noticed the “Chefetz Chashud” that had been left under her seat. When the bomb exploded, the hard plastic seat protected her and the subsequent burns she suffered, healed with time.
But you can imagine how she reacted whenever she heard the words “Chefetz Chashud”.
In case you might think these words may have fallen into disuse, let me disabuse you of that notion.
Just yesterday, I left my Mother’s Jerusalem apartment to do an errand for her. As I left the building I noticed an unusually heavy police presence. As I tried to get to my destination ahead, I was stopped by the police and told to turn back.
I called the shopkeeper I was headed to as the police van was parked right outside his door. He said, it’s “just” a Chefetz Chashud. He calmly told me the police will take care of it and I should be able to come back in a few minutes to complete my transaction. To quote him,
“We have to be careful, but life must go on. “
Today I went to the Kotel, the Wailing Wall. It is the last remnant of the Temple that stood thousands of years ago in Jerusalem, until it’s destruction on the 9th of Av.
In the Kotel plaza I witnessed a very moving ceremony.
Hundreds of young men and women were being inducted into army service. I was so deeply touched to witness these young people preparing themselves to serve our people.
This is a country of people who will do whatever it takes to live and thrive in the Land of Israel.
This week’s Torah portion is called Shlach, which means send.
The portion chronicles a tragic event in our history. Moses is instructed to send a leader from each Tribe to spy out the Land of Israel and assess the population, the cities and the produce, in anticipation of their entry as a nation into the Land.
The spies brought back an extremely negative report in they posited that the land cannot be conquered. This report resulted in an immediate delay in entering the Land. This delay translated into 40 years of wandering in the desert.
The negative report had eternal, national implications as well.
The spies brought back a report which included the strength of the inhabitants and the impossibility of conquest, and the nation accepted the report.
(Actually only the men accepted the report!)
We are still mourning the calamities that have befallen the Jewish people on this day, which was the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, including the destruction of both Temples on the same date that the spies returned with their negative report.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks quotes the Lubavitcher Rebbe who asks how is it possible that the Jewish people accepted this negative report?
Had they not just experienced the Ten Plagues, The splitting of the Sea, the Giving of the Torah on Mt Sinai? Why would they think Gd couldn’t take them into the Land of Israel safely?
And who were these spies anyway?
They were not a bunch of hooligans, or misguided individuals, they were esteemed leaders of the Jewish people. How could this have come to pass?
Rabbi Shneerson shares an insight into this conundrum.
The leaders who gave the bad report were indeed holy men. The relationship with Gd that they were experiencing in the desert was highly spiritual in nature. The food came from heaven, protection was provided by Clouds of Glory and the interaction was otherworldly.
This was the root of their error.
Gd gave the Torah to humans, not angels.
The Torah is to guide us in our real journey of life, as we navigate the challenges of livelihood and war and everything in between.
The Leaders wanted to keep the relationship with Gd on a totally spiritual level and erred in that understanding.
It was now time to take the Torah wisdom and use it as a practical guide for living life.
“One of the great differences between Judaism and other religions is that while others seek to lift people to Heaven, Judaism seeks to bring Heaven down to earth.” Jonathan Sacks.
That’s what we witness in Israel today.
We live with the reality of war and Chefetz Chashud and not letting those realities keep us from living in our Land.
My friend who was in the attack suffered trauma from her experience. But she returned to live in Israel for many years, because she did not allow her negative experience to dictate her narrative.
Her objective was not suspicious, but clear - she wanted to live, fully, in the Land of Israel.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love