Question of the Week: How do you anyalyze the events of the Six-Day War and its aftermath? Submit your response. Submit a question for future weeks. ~~~~ SIX-DAY WAR: 40 YEARS LATER Fearing the Promised Land By Simon Jacobson The 40th anniversary of the miraculous Six-Day War victory (June 1967-2007) corresponds with this week’s Torah portion in which we read about Moses sending scouts to survey and discover the best way to conquer the Promised Land. And now, just as then, great opportunities were squandered; grave mistakes were made. Then, just as now, a people rose to great heights only to fall into dark depths. Following their miraculous deliverance from Instead, the scouts returned with a terrifying report, “slandering” the land and inciting the entire nation to mutiny, against marching onward into the Promised Land. “We cannot go forward…they are too strong for us,” it is a “land that consumes its inhabitants.” As a result, instead of a smooth entry, the Jewish people had to wander for forty years in a desolate wilderness – one year for each of the forty days the scouts spent exploring the land with slanderous intent. And the entire nation, including Moses, would end up perishing in the desert, never to enter the long-sought Promised Land. A tragedy of immense, yes, Biblical, proportions. Now, over 3200 years later, an uncanny similarity of extremes cannot be ignored. The Six-Day War fought in June 1967 – close to the same time period when the scouts were sent to explore the land (end of the month of Sivan) – marked one of the highest points in modern Jewish history. Twenty-two years after Auschwitz, the fledgling Then in a mere six days, What happened next remains one of the tragedies of Jewish history. From a state of euphoria, today What transpired during the last forty years? What mistakes were made following the victory in 1967 that allowed for the never-ending downward spiral that has led to the stalemate in 2007? How was such great victory and pride squandered? Many answers can be gleaned from studying the events that took place 3318 years ago and their parallels to today’s situation. The mistakes made then by the scouts were meant to be lessons not to be repeated in 1967 and in the forty years hence. Here are some of the lessons: G-D’S PROMISE 1) The only right that Jews have to Why else would several million Jews insist on planting themselves in a small sliver of land surrounded by hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims who don’t want them there? HOW NOT WHETHER 2) We do not have the power, and were not given the right, to challenge the mission we are charged with. Our role is to figure out how to fulfill our calling, not whether to do so or not. Jewish leaders then, leaders in 1967 and leaders today have allowed their own subjective perceptions and philosophies – and doubts – to dictate policy whether to hold on to and advance into the Promised Land. Your role as leaders is to explore ways to ensure security and peace; not to question your right to the land. Before and during the Six-Day War Israeli leaders were questioning whether to proceed forward. The Israeli Defense Minister at the time declared unwillingness to conquer the Old City of Jerusalem, stating “who needs this After the war, these same leaders declared a policy of returning “land for peace.” In one of the greatest historical ironies, it was President Nasser of Egypt and the pother Arab leaders – humiliated in defeat – that rejected the offer, arguing that taking back land for peace would be a declaration of… defeat. No one asked for or wanted the Six-Day War. But once it was fought and won, behave like winners not like losers. [Moses’ scouts refused to enter the land because of they feared it would compromise their own deep spirituality. Today the reasons are far different; some actually fear that CONFIDENCE 3) In opposition to their ten colleagues, Caleb and Joshua declared “we must definitely go up and take possession [of the land], we are definitely capable of it.” “the Land through which we passed in our explorations is a very, very good land. If G-d is satisfied with us and brings us to this land… He can surely give it to us. But don’t rebel against G-d. Don’t be afraid…G-d is with us.” HUMILITY 4) When we are blessed with miracles, we must never ever become arrogant. Blessings must elicit in us humility. Humility enables us to review our own previous positions and perhaps change them, instead of stubbornly holding on to old attitudes. And humility leads to sensitivity, instead of aggression, which is the only sure way to true peace. VISION 5) Entering and living in the Promised Land is not somebody’s whim or personal desire. It reflects a global vision for life – the Divine promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them the As the prophet Isaiah foretold: “It shall come to pass in the last days that the The scouts back then, and the “scouts” entrusted with When leaders are driven by faith, confidence, vision and humility, they combine both fortitude and wisdom to face every challenge that will come our way. No where is this more important than in the hotbed of the Middle-East – a vortex that has been consumed with battles over the last three millennia. "Leaders" who lack these vital features will waver from doubt to aggression (to compensate for the doubt), to paralysis and more aggression – fluctuating extremes – as witnessed in the Israeli approach to last years Lebanese war. Instead of leadership, we end up at best with “administrators” and “fire-fighters,” offering temporary band-aids for deep rooted wounds. We cannot turn the clock back to 1967, but we can learn from past mistakes – and from errors made thousands of years – and adopt new policies and approaches, and perhaps finally offer Do we have such leaders? And if yes, will they rise to the occasion and make us aware of their presence? |
 |