This week's Torah portion takes on a particularly powerful meaning these days. The miraculous prophecy of Balaam, who wanted to curse and was forced to bless, is essentially the essence of everything that has happened to us since Simchat Torah.
Our enemies sought to strike us, to frighten us, and to weaken our hands, and the result was tremendous strengthening, breathtaking displays of heroism, and a strength of faith in the people of Israel and their hold on the Land of Israel.
We saw with our own eyes the fulfillment of the verse, "Behold, the people of Caleb shall rise up, and as a lion shall he lift himself up." The people of Israel rose up and prepared for war against the forces of evil and wickedness, and ever since, they have been striking them and inflicting severe and painful blows upon them, striving to subdue them and completely destroy them.
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This is the time for faith.
Unfortunately, the more difficult struggle now is with the hands-off among us. Soldiers who come out of the Gaza battlefields during truces and are exposed to the discourse in many of the major media outlets stand amazed at the gap between reality and the atmosphere that these channels create.
While on the ground we see the successes and achievements, which, although bought at a high and painful price, are clear and unequivocal, the media is pumping out a spirit of despondency and failure.
Instead of raising the morale of a people whose sons are at war, instead of instilling hope and faith - they constantly explain why it is impossible, why we are floundering, and why we have no choice but to surrender and accept the dictates of the enemy.
The fact that they are repeatedly exposed in their shortsightedness, when their frightening predictions are repeatedly shattered in the face of the miraculous successes of our soldiers, who are blessed by heaven in their war - does not make them stop for even a moment and recalculate their course. They simply cannot break free from the fixation of defeatism and low spirits, and will always look for ways to blacken and how to walk in terror.
It is especially difficult to see those with a security background leading the charge and the spirit of the oppressed. And suddenly you understand why we have heard in the past repeatedly 'security elements' explaining that 'it is impossible to defeat terrorism,' and that the only way is to fold, retreat, and surrender, wrapped in beautiful words like 'a political process.' At the same time, reality has proven the opposite - the 'political process' brought us a burst of bloodshed, while a stubborn fight against terrorism, such as Operation Defensive Shield, has restored calm and security.
A small-big victory
A small but important expression of the awakening of the Jewish spirit was the struggle of the Yudkin family from Kfar Chabad to mark the initials "Yid" on the tombstone of their son, Captain Israel "Yid", who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Defense objected, because why should we suddenly talk about "the name" and "the universe of his blood.".
How sad it is that we had to fight for fundamental values that were clear to Jews for thousands of years, including that when a Jew is killed for being a Jew, they write on him, "God will avenge his blood.".
But the determination and strength of the Yudkin family defeated the system, and last Friday the Minister of Defense personally went to the grave with the family, declaring that the family's demand was more than justified, and that from now on every family of a fallen soldier will be given the opportunity to mention the "Yad" next to the name of the fallen soldier.
In the end, the Jewish spirit will prevail!
