“Out of the Upheaval”: Faith, Warfare, and the Divine Presence in Parashat Beha’alotcha

“מִקְדַּשׁ מֶלֶךְ עִיר מְלוּכָה, קוּמִי צְאִי מִתּוֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָה; רַב לָךְ שֶׁבֶת בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא, וְהוּא יַחְמוֹל עָלַיִךְ חֶמְלָה”
"Sanctuary of the King, royal city, arise and go out from amidst the upheaval; too long have you sat in the valley of tears, and He will shower compassion upon you."

These words, sung each Friday night in Lecha Dodi, echoed with particular urgency this past Shabbat. We have lived through upheaval, through heartbreak, horror, and uncertainty. From the trauma of Simchat Torah a year and a half ago, we have struggled to find our footing. It was unclear where we were heading or how we would recover.

And now, a year and a half later, we can sense that something is beginning to emerge from within that upheaval. God is guiding us out of the chaos.

רַב לָךְ שֶׁבֶת בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא— too long have you sat in the valley of tears

וְהוּא יַחְמוֹל עָלַיִךְ חֶמְלָה— and He will shower compassion upon you

And indeed, we are still in need of great compassion. There is much that remains unresolved. We continue to pray for the grieving, the wounded, and the captive. There are so many people who need God’s Divine mercy.

“Whoever is Wise Will Take Note”

There are moments in Jewish history that demand poignant reflection.

The Psalmist writes:
"מִי חָכָם וְיִשְׁמָר אֵלֶּה; וְיִתְבּוֹנְנוּ חַסְדֵי ה'"
"Whoever is wise will take note of these things and contemplate the kindnesses of God" (Tehillim 107:43).

We are living in one of those moments. It is a time of historic transition, when the veil lifts just enough to reveal the Divine hand that has been quietly moving the pieces all along. These are the times to “take note,” to pause, breathe deeply, and absorb the meaning of what is unfolding before our very eyes.

Last Thursday night, we glimpsed the culmination of decades of preparation. For years, quietly and without fanfare, hardworking individuals have been building Israel’s defense infrastructure, carefully developing strategies, not knowing if and when they would become operational. Now, for a brief moment, the curtain is drawn back. With deep humility and awe, we can catch a glance of their hard work and the Divine providence that guided every step of the way.

More striking, though, is the broader picture. Since Simchat Torah 5784, we’ve walked through a fog, uncertain of where we were headed. In truth, we still don’t fully know. There are still heavy costs, deep pain, and many unanswered prayers. But we’re beginning to see a pattern: first Lebanon, then Syria, and now, for the first time in history, Israel holds open airspace all the way to Tehran. Systems that seemed immovable have collapsed in sequence, like dominoes. Who can “take note of these things” and not be moved?

“מִי חָכָם וְיִשְׁמָר אֵלֶּה”

Even more astonishing is the role Israel plays on the international stage. This small, embattled nation has become the moral front line of the entire world, standing where global superpowers fear to tread.

This is not a local conflict. It is a war against cruelty, against regimes that deny the Divine image in man, that abuse their own citizens, that erase God’s name from the world. By fighting against this evil, we are doing nothing less than inscribing God's name onto His world.

And perhaps, who knows, we will yet see a day when this evil disappears entirely.

This alone should stir our spirits. It is a moment of הרם קרן ישראל עמך, an exaltation of Israel’s mission in the world.

The Enemies of God and Man

Parashat Beha’alotcha speaks directly to this moment. It beholds the Torah’s vision of Israel on the move, both physically and spiritually:
"וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה: קוּמָה ה' וְיָפֻצוּ אֹיְבֶיךָ, וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ"
"When the aron set out, Moshe said: Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered; let those who hate You flee before You” (Bamidbar 10:35).

Rashi explains that “those who hate You” refers to the enemies of Israel, because to hate the Jewish people is to hate the God of Israel. But the Pesikta goes further: anyone who hates humanity itself is also an enemy of God.

The regime we face today fits both descriptions. It is not only an enemy of the Jewish people. It is an enemy of human dignity. A cruel and dehumanizing force whose existence desecrates the name of God. When we go to battle against it, we are not merely defending ourselves; we are restoring holiness to the world.

“Arise, O Lord”: When Israel Leads

How should we understand our spiritual posture in a moment like this?

Some remarked to me recently:

"ה' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון"

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall be silent.”

I responded: “That’s not the case right now.” This time, we are fighting, and God is fighting alongside us.

The Pesikta offers a profound insight into the words “קוּמָה ה'”. It notes that there is a certain tension in the text: Sometimes it says the Jewish people moved “by the word of God,” and other times “by the word of God through Moshe.” Which one is correct?

The answer is astonishing: When Moshe cried “Arise, O Lord”, the cloud would rise, and the people would follow. In other words, the initiative began with Moshe. Moshe initiated, and God responded.

Perhaps this describes the moment we find ourselves in right now. There are times in history when Am Yisrael steps forward and says to God: “We’re moving, come with us.” There are things that must be done. The world is desperate for us to bring about these changes. And God responds in kind. He travels with us, protects us, guides us, and affirms the justice of our cause. Israel leads, and God walks beside us.

When the Aron Runs Ahead

But it doesn’t always feel this way. Another Midrash teaches that the aron sometimes sped ahead, too fast for the people to follow. Sparks would emanate from between the keruvim, incinerating serpents and scorpions, while the scent of holiness radiated through the world. But the people couldn’t keep pace. In those moments, Moshe would cry out: “קוּמָה ה'” Stop. Wait for us. Let us catch up.

This has been our experience since the outbreak of the war. Over the past year and a half, we’ve pleaded with God: We don’t understand where this is going. We can’t see the way forward.

But now, something has changed. We’re ready to say: “קוּמָה ה'” Rise, go forward with us.

Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah: Holding Two Truths

This is a moment of profound gratitude, as well as a time of deep tension. In times of war, we sound the chatzotzrot, the trumpets. But, as Chazal teach, we surround every teruah, every broken sound, with the strong and solid note of tekiah. This is emblematic of how we view the world. Brokenness is surrounded by stability. It’s part of the greater whole. On the one hand, we are living through moments of great kindness, of sudden leaps forward. But we are also living in uncertainty, surrounded by unanswered questions, fears, and real danger. We are still in a time of ambiguity and pain.

That’s why the suggestion to recite Hallel now feels premature. Be’ezrat Hashem, we will yet sing Hallel. But today, we must hold onto the duality of hodaya (thankfulness) and za’aka (outcry). Gratitude for the miracles that we have seen and heartfelt pleas for the danger that looms ahead. We are still in the middle of a war.

“The People Did Not Journey Until Miriam Returned”

Parashat Beha’alotcha offers us one more essential message. In the nation’s journey, two elements stand out: The aron travels at the heart of the people. And everyone travels together, me’asef lechol hamachanot, gathering all the camps.

That’s how Israel moves: no one is left behind. And when we move that way, the aron travels with us.

When Miriam is exiled from the camp on account of her sin, the Torah says:
"וְהָעָם לֹא נָסַע עַד הֵאָסֵף מִרְיָם"
"And the people did not travel until Miriam was brought back in". (Bamidbar 12:15)

But wasn’t the journey dependent on the cloud as opposed to the people? What difference does Miriam make?

The Torah is teaching us that Am Yisrael has internalized the message. We don’t leave anyone behind. The journey only continues when the entire nation moves forward together. If even one individual is missing, we wait.

That’s our challenge now: to remember that we need every Jew. That the aron only travels with us when we all travel together. What unites us is not our politics or our pain, but the presence of God at the center of our camp.