In this week’s parashah, Shelach Lecha, 12 scouts are sent to survey the Land of Israel. Ten return with a devastating report: “We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we appeared to them” (Numbers 13:33).

The tragedy of the meraglim was not that they reported giants in the land—it was that they let fear eclipse faith. They forgot who they were and who walked with them. Only Yehoshua and Kalev had the courage to see not just what was in front of them, but what was possible beyond it—the relationships they might be able to build in the land and the resources they might be able to uncover.

This Torah portion echoes loudly today.

It would be easy to see ourselves today, Am Yisrael, as grasshoppers—to be consumed by grief, overwhelmed by global criticism, and afraid of the unknown that this devastating war continues to bring. But Shelach Lecha invites us to ask: What happens if we see ourselves differently? What if, in the face of uncertainty, we choose to act like giants—people of moral courage, faith, and unshakeable commitment to life?

Being a giant doesn’t mean being without fear. It means not letting fear decide who we are. It means holding fast to our values—justice, compassion, truth—even when the terrain is hard and the world’s gaze is harsh.

Kalev says, “Aloh na’aleh... ki yachol nuchal lah—Let us go up, for we surely can”. It is a cry of hope. A refusal to give up on the dream of peace or the power of resilience.

May we, too, walk as giants, believing in what might come next, and holding on to the faith that we can help make this world a better place.