At the beginning of Parshat VaEtchanan, Moshe pleads with God and asks to be allowed to cross over the Jordan River and see the “good land”, the land of Israel. God responds by saying that you will not physically be able to enter the land of Israel. You will have the opportunity to see the land, but only from the top of a mountain.

In fact, this is what happens at the end of the book of Dvarim. In Parshat VeZot HaBracha, Moshe went up on Har Nevo and God showed him the entire land.

According to Rashi who brings the Sifrei, Moshe was not only able to see what the land of Israel looked like, he was also able to see what would happen in the land of Israel from the time of Yehoshua until the days of the resurrection of the dead. As Rashi states “God showed Moshe all of Israel in its tranquility and the oppressors who are destined to afflict it”. Moshe had the opportunity to see the good times when the first and second temples stood as well as the bad times, when they were destroyed. God gave Moshe a glimpse into the ups and downs that would befall the Jewish people.

During these difficult days in Israel today, it is easy to lose hope and feel as if things are not going as we would like them to and that they are never going to get better. However, we see that each time throughout Jewish history there were ups and downs and we have to focus on the positives and strive for a brighter tomorrow.

Let’s take the time to appreciate the State of Israel, its culture, produce, language and holy sites. Israel is where all Jews anywhere in the world are welcome to come and visit and have the opportunity to immigrate.