Through the Eyes of G-d
Israel has always been one of my greatest passions. I love this country in an almost irrational way. Oftentimes, I try to express how I feel, but as anyone fortunate enough to love understands, words will always fall short.
I have always been a practicing religious Jew who prays daily. In our prayers, we speak with love and yearning for the land. This land is like no other. It was promised to us by G-d. It is a place where we can connect to the Divine in ways that are only understandable experientially. When I look outside my window and see the glorious mountains, I feel connected with the past, and somehow that matters. When I walk the streets, I swell with pride. Every stone, mountain, tree, and bird seems to sing the glory of the land.
To begin to appreciate this land, we need to turn to the Torah.
G-d told Avraham to go to the land that “I will show you.” It seems odd that he didn’t simply say “go to Canaan,” but instead chose to say the land that he would show him. The reason for this is the secret key to unlocking the hidden treasure that is to be discovered in Israel.
When G-d says the land that I will show you, he is expressing that we need to see it, perceive it, with eyes that are directed by G-d. How people see things is based on their perceptions, preconceived ideas, fears, hopes, dreams, and more. If we look at the land as G-d shows it to us, what we see will be Divine. We will begin to grasp the miraculous nature inherent in it.
The spies sinned because they failed to go with G-d. Instead, they went and looked to confirm their worst fears.
Seeing and fearing share the same root word—yud, reish, alef—and both of these words appear in the story, indicating that they were a classic case of confirmation bias. Moshe blessed Yehoshua with an added yud to his name. This indicated that he, Hoshea, went with G-d (yud). He had then incorporated the knowledge and faith that G-d would grant them success. Caleb stopped at Chevron to pray at the burial place of the patriarchs, to whom the land of Israel was promised. This act was a display that he, too, had faith that G-d would see through His promise to our forefathers and safely deliver us into the land.
The land of Israel is named for Yaakov, who was renamed Israel. Israel is a composite of two words: Yashar (straight) and Kel (G-d’s name). If we walk straight morally and ethically together with G-d in this land, we will be blessed with peace and prosperity. We will be whole and experience no lack. The way we see everything in this country will then be as if it is shown to us by G-d—perfect. Perfect in a way we cannot yet understand. I pray for the day when we all walk together with G-d and see the land G-d wants so desperately to show us.
