In Parashat Shelach, we learn the story of the spies’ journey to scout out Israel. After going through the list of the spies who were sent their mission is explained. “URe’item Et Ha’Aretz Mah Hi Ve’Et Ha’Am HaYoshev Aleha HeChazak Hu HaRafeh HaMe’at Hu Im Rav”, “And see what kind of country it is Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many?” (Numbers 13:18). The spies are told to scout and get some basic information.  Is it a good country? Are they strong? How’s the soil? It makes sense to get all this information. But when they come back, they give more than the basic report they were supposed to get. When they get back, the Pasuk says “VaYeilchu VaYavo’u”, “They went and they came.” (Numbers 13:26). Rashi asks: Why does the Pasuk say they left? He answers that they left the same way that they came. Not only did they come back with evil reports, the whole time their plan was to talk bad about Israel! Of course, the spies were punished for this and Bnei Yisrael was even punished for listening and being convinced. As we know, their punishment was an extra 40 years in the desert with no Israel. 

Around this time of year, many Yeshiva students are coming back from Israel. As a Madrich in Yeshivat HaKotel, my brother-in-law Eli Waltuch would always tell them the following: When you leave Israel and go back home, you are in the same position as the spies, and it is up to you to decide if you are going to speak badly about the land or if you will speak positively about it. But what is the lesson for many of us who are not leaving Israel? All around us, there are people who hate Israel and wish for its destruction. But it is up to us to decide if we want to be with or against Israel. But it’s not just about being with Israel. We need to be active and loud supporters and share the truth with the world. And as we know from the spies the stakes are really high. They had their exile entended for speaking badly about Israel so how much longer will our exile be extended if we speak badly about Israel?