For many Jews today, all eyes are on Israel.
This week’s Torah portion tells us the famous story of the twelve tribe leaders sent to scout the Land of Israel. What should have been a quick, fact-finding mission turned into a crisis. Ten of the twelve spies returned with fearful reports, swaying the people, and triggering 4 decades of wandering in the desert.
It’s tempting to shake our heads at their poor choice. However, this story isn't just about those people back then. Like everything in Torah, it's just as relevant to us, every day.
Life is filled with choices. We choose how to react to what we see. We choose whether to live with faith or fear. We choose whether to focus on obstacles or opportunities.
Here's the thing: making good choices doesn’t mean choosing perfectly.
Ever watch a toddler eat? Most of the food ends up on the floor, chair, walls, and maybe even in their hair. Despite very little getting into the mouth, the meal is worthwhile as the child still gets nourished. That’s growth; messy but meaningful.
Sometimes we approach spiritual life expecting it to be clean and polished, like a calm meditation retreat. Yet, the Torah doesn't ask for perfection. It asks for effort. G-d doesn’t demand that we get it right the first time. He wants us to be involved and engaged. To be present.
The Land of Israel is not just a holy space. It’s also a land with grapes, fields, armies, neighbors, taxes, etc. It's where spirituality meets responsibility. Where divine purpose is lived through physical action. It's where the spirit meets the ritual. Where the divine and the physical merge. Where heaven and earth kiss.
The spies feared this merger. They liked the comfort of the desert where manna fell from heaven and Moses handled the hard stuff. But Judaism isn’t meant to stay in the clouds or on a mountaintop. It belongs on the ground; your ground, your world, your life.
Even if things don’t go perfectly, whether it’s your prayer that is distracted, your learning is interrupted, or your mitzvot are messy, keep going. The food is still getting in! The nourishment is real. The choices you make, even imperfect ones, shape your journey toward a fully holistic life. One where spiritual and physical, soul and body, heaven and earth unite.
Have a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman