The Bible instructs us to take three steps when entering the Land of Israel. They are; we must nominate a king, eradicate the tribe of Amelek and build a sanctuary.All the commandments/instructions in the Torah-Bible are a lesson to each individual in his own small world. “The world was placed in his heart.” Our own lives are a microcosm of the world at large.
Once a student came to his teacher and said he wanted to go to Israel. The teacher told him, “Make your own environment an Israel.” Everyone can and must make his own little world a Holy place where G-d would be comfortable to dwell.
When the Bible commands the Israelites in the wilderness to build a sanctuary, the words are, “And I will dwell in them.” It does not say “I will dwell in it” but “in them.” Our sages tell us, this comes to teach us that everyone can and must make out of their own lives a sanctuary for G-d to dwell in each of our own lives.
How exactly do we accomplish that? The first step is to establish a king. A king is the ultimate arbitrator and judge. A person must not allow himself to be swayed in every direction he is blown into. There must be an ultimate value system and authority who rules in a person’s life.
Emotions are very scattered and fragmented. The mind, in which the G-dly soul resides, is considered the king in the life of a human being. We must be aware of our habits, our desires, our pressures in life and with our mind decide, is this choice good for me or not. Is this decision in line with my values and goals in life?
The next step is to eradicate the evil tribe Amalek. In Hebrew, this word has the same numerical value as “doubt,” and the word itself can also be understood as meaning cold and unenthusiastic. The moment a person establishes a king in his life comes around this nuisance and negative energy that cools our enthusiasm and creates doubt. Then questions start cropping up: Maybe it’s not right for me; maybe it’s not the right time; maybe it’s too much for me; maybe I will fail at this and look like a fool. Anything and everything to dampen our progress forward.
Therefore, we are told to eradicate this pest. Where do we find the strength to do that? One of the very important statements in the Bible that in the merit of reciting this verse, the soldiers were assured to win their war is, “Listen Israel the Lord our G-d the Lord is one.” FAITH. The knowledge that G-d is everywhere and he is the same one in the war field as he is back home. He is the one that made each one of us and gave us the mission and guaranteed us success. Strengthening our faith is the antidote to cold, confusing doubt.
Enthusiasm, is faith manifested. Excitement, passion, zeal and zest come from a mind and heart that knows failure is not an option. If any soldier had fear he would be sent home because “fear is the beginning of defeat.”
Once a person’s loyalty and commitment to his king – his values and his mind is established and fear, doubt, coldness is eradicated by strengthening one’s faith, we come to the last step and that is building a sanctuary out of our lives. How is that done? King Solomon tells us, “in all your ways know him” and “all you deeds should be for the sake of heaven.” By infusing all that we do with a G-dly purpose, we make our lives a dwelling place for the miraculous and blessings.