BaYamim HaHeim U...
The shul that I grew up in, had a 9:00 o'clock minyan on Shabbat morning in the main sanctuary (as it was called) and a 7:30am Hashkama minyan in the Beit Midrash. In those years, it was not uncommon to find that many of the early minyan goers went to open their stores after they davened. This is not meant as a criticism of many Jews in New York who felt compelled to work on Shabbat. But I always used to wonder what they felt when they heard any of the twelve portions in the Torah about Shabbat observance. Did any of them cry in anguish and shame? Maybe. I don't think that they all did.

My father z"l used to wonder the same thing about Parshat Shlach. How do some people hear about the Meraglim, their terrible punishment, and the ramifications for the Generation of the Midbar. The "some people" are those who behave EXACTLY like the Meraglim of 3312 years ago. "I just came back from Israel. Great place. Beautiful this time of year. But the intifada... Well, you have to be out of your mind to live there. Or send your kids to yeshiva there..." Kalev and Yehoshua did not deny or belittle the problems that the People would encounter in Eretz Yisrael. But they said that the Land they had "toured" was indeed very, very good. If G-d wants us and He is bringing us to this Land and giving it to us... then just don't rebel against Him. G-d is with us and we have nothing to fear.

When Kalev and Yehoshua spoke that way, the people wanted to stone them. When people say those things today, when people try to encourage others to come on Aliya, many people don't want to listen. 

Well, hear this, Meraglim who recommended that the people return to Egypt or remain in the Midbar... and hear this Meraglim of today bad-mouth Eretz Yisrael and prefer to have your perfect Jewish lives in Boro Park and Monsey and Teaneck and Kew Gardens Hills and _________ (fill in the community of your choice - no specific offense was meant to the communities named) — Israel has always been the intended venue for Torah life. And it still is. And always will be. And if it is not practical for you to pick up stakes right now and come, then think about it seriously, make plans, and don't wait too long. With you here, our Situation will continue to improve. Don't hesitate to quote Kalev and say ALO NA'ALEH!"