The Lord spoke to Moses saying,
send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan
numbers 13:1
the creator of the universe impressed intelligence upon humanity. the creator wished not to dictate everything and be the source of all knowledge and judgment. humanity was intended to use their faculties to navigate through life.
the scouting mission to canaan that god tasked was a disaster. the scouts failed. with the exception of joshua and caleb, the other of the “12 spies” failed their mission; they lacked courage. fear clouded their ability to address intelligently the task. this torah story remains as a stark cautionary tale. nothing can be achieved without having the courage to employ proper and honest intelligence.
thousands of years later, the israeli military leadership has valued the message from the tale of the “12 spies.” their intelligence branch has taken courage to the next level. they did so by committing to employ special needs volunteers as part of the country’s military intelligence directorate.
this year, jns reports that fourteen special needs israel defense forces volunteers received their military intelligence directorate berets and thus became part of the military. jns.org gdolim bamadim (large in uniform), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping special needs youths was responsible for this happening.
with the ceremony to bring them into the ranks, the colonel involved said “and today, no one is more moved than i am to complete an important part of the israeli mosaic. i now feel that this is complete, and that this is the real togetherness.” jns.org
in sum, this story is not about the military but about how a society will act to include individuals with special needs. integrating of individuals is valuable for society. both those with special needs and their co-workers will find that their relationships are mutually beneficial. a society should value the opportunity for the entire spectrum of the population to have meaning, purpose and goals for their lives. to do so is a blessing.
be well!!
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The Ten Commandments Project 