Prayer for Seeing the Beauty of the Land of Israel and for Overcoming Fear and Living Securely in Our Land

Parashat Shelach Lecha

Prayer for Seeing the Beauty of the Land of Israel

and for Overcoming Fear and Living Securely in Our Land

 

Thank you, Hashem, for letting us live in Your Holy Land of milk and honey.

Thank you for the flowers, the grapevines, and the blue sky that is so sunny.

 

What a privilege to live in the land enveloped by Your presence.

Only in Israel can we Jews truly connect with our inner essence.

 

Here we can be ourselves, no need to wear lipstick or wigs.

Here we can enjoy picking grapes, pomegranates, and figs.

 

A land of strawberries and cherries,

apples, apricots, and mulberries!

 

How they all make the land of Israel so fruity,

 Hashem help us always tune into the beauty!

 

May we believe that the fruit exists inside of its shell!

Let us regard the light of Israel wherever we dwell!

 

May we reflect on the luster

of the succulent cluster!

 

Guard our eyes from being led astray by exterior allure!

Please allow us to do more than watch a tourist brochure!

 

May we overlook the impure and notice only the pure!

Let us travel the land embarking on our journey and tour!

 

Praise Hashem for the land of beaches, lakes, and rivers,

for the land of mountains and valleys that truly delivers!

 

Allow us to swim in the Kineret and ski in Hermon!

Let us tour the land and pray at the Machpelah in Chevron!

 

May our trust in Hashem overcome any kind of fear

of visiting places in Israel whether far or near!

 

May we all feel empowered to live securely in our Holy Land,

with the deepest faith in the protection by Hashem’s mighty hand!

 

Let us believe that the enemy can never be too strong! 

With Divine Supervision how could we ever go wrong?

Based on Bamidbar Chapter 13:

ספר במדבר פרק יג פסוק יז

וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם משֶׁה לָתוּר אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם עֲלוּ זֶה בַּנֶּגֶב וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר:

(יח) וּרְאִיתֶם אֶת הָאָרֶץ מַה הִוא וְאֶת הָעָם הַיּשֵׁב עָלֶיהָ הֶחָזָק הוּא הֲרָפֶה הַמְעַט הוּא אִם רָב:

(יט) וּמָה הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוּא ישֵׁב בָּהּ הֲטוֹבָה הִוא אִם רָעָה וּמָה הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר הוּא יוֹשֵׁב בָּהֵנָּה הַבְּמַחֲנִים אִם בְּמִבְצָרִים: (כ) וּמָה הָאָרֶץ הַשְּׁמֵנָה הִוא אִם רָזָה הֲיֶשׁ בָּהּ עֵץ אִם אַיִן וְהִתְחַזַּקְתֶּם וּלְקַחְתֶּם מִפְּרִי הָאָרֶץ וְהַיָּמִים יְמֵי בִּכּוּרֵי עֲנָבִים: (כא) וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת:ספר במדבר פרק יג

(כב) וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן וְשָׁם אֲחִימָן שֵׁשַׁי וְתַלְמַי יְלִידֵי הָעֲנָק וְחֶבְרוֹן שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים נִבְנְתָה לִפְנֵי צֹעַן מִצְרָיִם: (כג) וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד נַחַל אֶשְׁכֹּל וַיִּכְרְתוּ מִשָּׁם זְמוֹרָה וְאֶשְׁכּוֹל עֲנָבִים אֶחָד וַיִּשָּׂאֻהוּ בַמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם וּמִן הָרִמֹּנִים וּמִן הַתְּאֵנִים: (כד) לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא קָרָא נַחַל אֶשְׁכּוֹל עַל אֹדוֹת הָאֶשְׁכּוֹל אֲשֶׁר כָּרְתוּ מִשָּׁם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

(כה) וַיָּשֻׁבוּ מִתּוּר הָאָרֶץ מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם: (כו) וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל משֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל מִדְבַּר פָּארָן קָדֵשָׁה וַיָּשִׁיבוּ אֹתָם דָּבָר וְאֶת כָּל הָעֵדָה וַיַּרְאוּם אֶת פְּרִי הָאָרֶץ: (כז) וַיְסַפְּרוּ לוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ בָּאנוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר שְׁלַחְתָּנוּ וְגַם זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ הִוא וְזֶה פִּרְיָהּ: (כח) אֶפֶס כִּי עַז הָעָם הַיּשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ וְהֶעָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת גְּדֹלֹת מְאֹד וְגַם יְלִדֵי הָעֲנָק רָאִינוּ שָׁם: (כט) עֲמָלֵק יוֹשֵׁב בְּאֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב וְהַחִתִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי וְהָאֱמֹרִי יוֹשֵׁב בָּהָר וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב עַל הַיָּם וְעַל יַד הַיַּרְדֵּן: (ל) וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת הָעָם אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ: (לא) וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר עָלוּ עִמּוֹ אָמְרוּ לֹא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת אֶל הָעָם כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ: (לב) וַיֹּצִיאוּ דִּבַּת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תָּרוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בָהּ לָתוּר אֹתָהּ אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ הִוא וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ בְתוֹכָהּ אַנְשֵׁי מִדּוֹת: (לג) וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן הַנְּפִלִים וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם:

“Moshe sent them to scout the Land of Canaan, and he said to them, ‘Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain. 18 You shall see what [kind of] land it is, and the people who inhabit it; are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? 19 And what of the land they inhabit? Is it good or bad? And what of the cities in which they reside, are they in camps or in fortresses? 20 What is the soil like, is it fat or lean? Are there any trees in it or not? You shall be courageous and take from the fruit of the land.’ It was the season when the first grapes begin to ripen. 21 So they went up and explored the land, from the desert of Zin until Rehov, at the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up in, the south, and he came to Chevron, and there were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of the giant. Now Chevron had been built seven years before Zoan of Egypt. 23 They came to the Valley of Eshkol and they cut a branch with a cluster of grapes. They carried it on a pole between two [people] and [they also took] some pomegranates and figs. 24 They called that place the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster [eshkol] the children of Israel cut from there. 25 They returned from scouting the Land at the end of forty days. 26 They went, and they came to Moshe and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran, to Kadesh. They brought them back a report, as well as to the entire congregation, and they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They told him and said, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the south land, while the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountainous region. The Canaanites dwell on the coast and alongside the Jordan.’ 30 Calev silenced the people to [hear about] Moshe, and he said, ‘We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it.’ 31 But the men who went up with him said, ‘We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’ 32 They spread an [evil] report about the land which they had scouted, telling the children of Israel, ‘The land we passed through to explore is a land that consumes its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of stature. 33 There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes’” (Bamidbar 13:17-33).