Praising ourselves – Sh’lach L’cha
The ten pessimistic spies “spread an evil report of the land which they had spied out” (Num. 13:32).
What a shame it is that people are still doing the same thing these days.
There are more than enough negative and distorted reports of Israel in the world media, in the academic unions, among the general non-Jewish public.
Unfortunately there are also some Jews who can not say a good word about Israel.
Not just about the security dangers when bombs and missiles are constantly lobbed into Israeli homes and cities, not just when Israel is accused of denying fuel to the Gaza Strip and yet the Gazans who complain are the ones who disrupt the supplies, not just when Palestinians seem to prefer hurting their own people and not creating the infrastructure for independent living.
But failing to see the quality of the nation and the culture that have been built in Zion and the inspiration they represent for Jews everywhere.
The ten spies were unfair. So are their present-day descendants.
There are times for Jews to praise themselves for what they have achieved. Those who do otherwise only demean and diminish themselves.
