Parshat Shalach: Bringing
Godliness Into The World
By ITZIK SHALOM
deep in the hollow under the trees.
The pilot saw nothing.
Suddenly Rami had an idea,
"We forgot about Azit. Let's call her
in."
"Azit?" asked a new
paratrooper. "Who's she? Your
girlfriend?"
The men burst out laughing.
"Azit is a special rescue dog.
She has saved many of our boys,"
Rami told him. "If anybody can find
Hayyim and Ruthie, Azit can."
A short while later Azit's master,
Dr. Haruvi, received an SOS call
from paratroop headquarters.
"We have a job to do, Azit,"
said Dr. Haruvi to his big German
shepherd dog. Azit's ears perked
up, and her tail wagged. They
hurried to the airport, where a
paratroop carrier waited. Rami had
put some of Hayyim's and Ruthie's
clothing aboard the carrier for Azit
to sniff.
Dr. Haruvi put a special
parachute on Azit. Then she trotted
eagerly up the ramp into the plane
and settled down between two rows
of seats. Dr. Haruvi fastened her
safety belt and attached an intercom
set to her collar through which he
would speak to her after she
jumped.
The plane soon reached the
search area and began to circle.
The paratroopers could be seen on
the ground below.
"Arik speaking," the pilot spoke
into the intercom. "Azit is here. Do
you have a jump area? Over."
"Rami speaking," came the
answer from below. "We found
tracks. The drop path should be
west to east. We'll put down a red
smoke marker. Over."
"Good," the pilot replied. "We'll
make the drop in five minutes. Over
and out."
The jump-officer released Azit's
safety belt. He attached the
parachute's strap to the bar which
ran the length of the plane. Azit
understood that it was time to jump.
Her body tensed, her legs braced,
and she yawned a deep, long yawn.
Dr. Haruvi kissed Azit on the
nose. "Azit, you're a good dog," he
whispered in her ear and hugged
her.
A red light blinked over the
door.
"Get ready!" called the jump-
officer. He moved Azit to the
doorway. Above the door the light
suddenly turned green. "Jump!"
roared the jump-officer and tried to
push Azit out. But Azit was already
gone. She had leaped far out into
the open air.
A strong wind hit Azit and
rocked her from side to side. The
parachute cords tightened, and the
parachute opened wide. Azit
wiggled her legs until the parachute
steadied itself. Then she began to
float slowly down. Her legs soon
touched the ground. The parachute
was automatically released, and Azit
was ready for action.
"Azit," called Dr. Haruvi through
the intercom, "go and search."
She began to run in great
circles sniffing the ground and
seeking the smell she knew from
Hayyim's and Ruthie's clothing.
The paratroopers watched Azit
eagerly. The circles grew, but Azit
had not yet found the trail.
Suddenly she stopped and
began to sniff around one place.
She moved away and then came
back. Then, with small steps, Azit
began to move along the path that
Hayyim and Ruthie had taken.
In less than an hour Azit
reached the well. She jumped onto
the well platform, ran across it, and
found Hayyim and Ruthie lying in
the hollow on the other side.
Azit barked loudly. But the
children seemed to be asleep.
Azit licked Hayyim's face and
eyes. Hayyim opened his eyes and
cried out in terror, "What's this?"
"It's an animal!" Ruthie cried,
sitting up. Azit didn't move. She
kept licking and making friendly
little growling noises.
Suddenly Hayyim saw the
name "Azit the paratroop dog" on
the bag that hung from her neck.
"This is our Azit," he cried
happily. "Azit the paratrooper."
And immediately the voice of
Dr. Haruvi cracked out of the
intercom, "Hayyim and Ruthie,"
shalom! In the package you'll find
medicine and water. Do your hear?"
"Yes, we hear. We're okay. Only
Hayyim's leg is broken," Ruthie
called.
"Rami and the other
paratroopers will reach you in a little
while," Dr. Haruvi told them.
"Thank you," Ruthie and
Hayyim cried happily.
"Say thank you to Azit,"
laughted Dr. Haruvi. "She's the one
who found you. We'll drop you
some food. Be sure to give her
some of it. She's entitled."
Reprinted from A Kids
Catalogue of Israel, written and
illustrated by Chaya M. Burstein.
This week's Torah portion,
Parshat Shalach, tells about the 12
spies — prominent men and leaders
of the 12 Tribes — hand-picked by
Moses to investigate the Promised
Land.
When the spies returned from
their mission, 10 reported that the
country was unconquerable because
of the strength of the people and
the land. The report frightened the
How is it possible that 10
chosen wise men would
give such a negative
report of Israel? Did they
not know that God
promised the Holy Land
to the Jews?
Jews and they wanted to return to
Egypt.
God was angered and said the
present generation would not be
permitted to enter Israel, but would
have to remain in the desert for 40
years. Only then could their children
go into the Promised Land.
How is it possible that 10
chosen wise men would give such a
negative report of Israel? Did they
not know that God promised the
Holy Land to the Jews? Had they
not witnessed God's great miracles
in their redemption from Egypt, the
10 plagues and the splitting of the
Red Sea?
The answer is found in the
Chasidic teachings. There it is
explained that the spies made a
fundamental mistake. Their desire
was to remain in the desert
permanently.
Why not? They had manna
from heaven, heavenly clouds to
protect and guide them and clothing
which grew near them. They were
not occupied with worldly matters
and could spend all of their time in
studying the precious Torah. What
could be more satisfying than to be
totally immersed in Torah studies
without any worldly distractions?
What did the Jews stand to
gain by entering Israel? First, they
would have to conquer it by war.
Then divide and set up the country
among the tribes. Certainly not an
easy task. With no more manna,
they would have to plant crops. Why
trouble themselves if they could
have a spiritual paradise in the
desert? This was the spies'
fundamental mistake.
God created the world for a
specific purpose: that mankind
should make this world a dwelling
place for godliness. Non-Jews
would accomplish this through
observance of the seven Noahide
Laws (the laws governing humanity)
and the Jewish people through the
observance of 613 mitzvot.
By practicing the mitzvot in a
physical world and coming into
direct contact with worldly matters,
the Jewish People could bring
holiness into it. They could not
accomplish this by isolating
themselves in a desert and avoiding
the world lest they be influenced by
it.
The task of the Jew is to
influence the world through the
observance of mitzvot and to set an
example of righteousness, justice,
honesty and trust for the rest of
mankind.
Dealing with worldly matters
began when the Jews entered
Israel. The lesson is clear. First, we
must build Israel, both materially
and spiritually so that it can be an
example to the rest of the world.
For Jews not yet living in Israel,
their obligation is to influence the
place in which they live to help
bring the holiness of God into every
aspect of the world.
ltzik Shalom of Yavne is project
manager of Detroit's Project
Renewal program.
j
ekt
41' ,fre Peace Issue
e bb For Yavne
Many residents of Neot Shazar,
and some in Yavne, are immigrants
or descendants of immigrants who
suffered generations of persecution
in Arab lands. Most of them were
expelled from these North African
and Asian countries after Israel
became a state. How would you go
about changing deeply ingrained
attitudes and skepticism about
peaceful co-existence with the
Arabs, who apparently are
considered "hostile enemies" on
Israel's borders?
Remembering that the
Sanhedrin (Jewish Court of Law)
flourished in Yavne immediately
after the destruction of the Second
Temple, how do you think the re-
establishment of this type of court
today would affect life in Israel and
in the Diaspora?
—Submitted by
Murray Grant,
Marketing Consultant,
Herzliya, Israel
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
L-9