After a harrowing 12-day war with Iran, the phrase “existential threat” is no longer a distant idea for Am Yisrael; it is something we have just lived through together. The vulnerability, the anxiety for our future, and the desperate prayers for our soldiers and loved ones are still fresh in our hearts. Yet, amid the storm, the hand of God – what our tradition calls “yad Hashem,” could not have been more visible. We witnessed miracles large and small, and felt the magnetic pull of Eretz Yisrael drawing us together as one.
This moment in our national life echoes a powerful scene from our history.
When the Children of Israel stood on the bank of the Jordan River, ready to enter the Land of Israel, they faced an existential threat on every level. The river, overflowing, became a formidable and even life-threatening barrier for an entire nation – children, elders, and all their possessions (Joshua 3:15). On the other side waited fortified cities and powerful enemies.
Even more daunting, they were about to leave behind the miraculous protection of the wilderness – the clouds of glory, the daily manna, the well of Miriam – and step into a reality where their survival would depend on their own unity, courage, and faith. Spiritually, they stood at a crossroads: Would they maintain their identity and unity without Moses, without the open daily miracles that had sustained them?
It was at this moment of profound vulnerability that God performed a unique miracle. At Joshua’s command, the entire nation gathered to hear the word of God, and then – impossibly – every member of the people stood together in the narrow space between the two poles of the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 3:9-10; Rashi ad loc; Leviticus Rabbah 10). The ark was not large, certainly not big enough for an entire nation.
This miracle, “the small containing the many,” was not only about fitting a nation into a limited space; it was a powerful expression of spiritual unity and expanded capacity.
When the Jewish people are truly united, their potential grows; boundaries dissolve, and what once appeared impossible becomes attainable. Just as the ark miraculously made room for everyone, so does our unity create space for resilience, strength, and the presence of the divine among us.
Why was this miracle necessary, especially when the splitting of the Jordan River was already such a dramatic sign from God? The Talmud teaches that the ark is the place where the Shechina, “divine presence,” rests within the world. And where the Shechina is manifest, there are no restrictions of nature (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 21a). Wherever ten Jews are gathered, the Shechina is present (Berachot 6a).
Entering the Land of Israel required more than courage or faith. It demanded that the nation unify “as one person with one heart” (Rashi, Exodus 19:2). Only through this unity could the people merit entering the land and overcome the existential dangers they would face.
Accepting responsibility for one another
Our sages explain that even before crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites accepted mutual responsibility for one another. They understood that the entire nation is a single soul, and that an injury to one affects all.
As the Maharal teaches in Netivot Olam (Netiv HaTochacha 2), all the Jewish people are “responsible for one another” because we are, in essence, a single “body.” Division weakens us, while unity strengthens and protects us.
The miracle at the Jordan River was a visible demonstration of this truth: only when the people are united can they receive the blessing of the land and the divine presence.
This is not merely a lesson from the past. In recent weeks, as sirens blared and uncertainty loomed, we saw this magnetic pull in action. Our soldiers, families, and communities were drawn together by a force stronger than fear or division. The yad Hashem was visible in every act of bravery, every shared prayer, every moment of resilience.
The existential threat we faced was not just military or political – it was spiritual. It tested our ability to come together, to see ourselves as one family, and to support one another in the face of danger. The unity we witnessed was not theoretical; it was lived, in the streets, in the bomb shelters, in the prayers whispered by parents and children alike.
As we look to the future, the lesson remains clear. Eretz Yisrael – the Land of Israel – is not just a place on a map. It is the heart of our identity as a nation and the source of our collective strength. When we embrace this unity, we invite the divine presence to dwell among us. In that presence, we find protection, hope, and the power to overcome any challenge.
Adapted from Eretz Yisrael Yomi Torah Lesson: “Unity of Am Yisrael: Pre-Condition for Receiving Eretz Yisrael.” https://eretzyisraelyomi.com/en/shiur/unity-of-am-yisrael-pre-condition-for-receiving-eretz-yisrael