Deuteronomy 20:8

וְיָסְפ֣וּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים֮ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־הָעָם֒ וְאָמְר֗וּ מִי־הָאִ֤ישׁ הַיָּרֵא֙ וְרַ֣ךְ הַלֵּבָ֔ב יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִמַּ֛ס אֶת־לְבַ֥ב אֶחָ֖יו כִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃

The officials shall go on addressing the troops and say, “Is there anyone afraid and disheartened? Let him go back to his home, lest the courage of his comrades flag like his.”
 

What does it mean when there is no turning back? In the weeks before entering the Land of Israel, this is the question the Israelites are grappling with. Men, women, and children stand at the edge of the land, preparing physically, mentally, and spiritually for the greatest challenge any of them have ever faced. In the short term, they are preparing for war. In the long term, they must consider how to create the conditions for a spiritually rooted Jewish homeland, one capable of becoming a light unto the nations.

This is not a task for the faint of heart. At the same time, it is a future shared by all. Nobody can be left behind. Yet not everybody is equally prepared for the work of getting their hands dirty, risking their lives, and placing their future on the line for the sake of something larger than themselves. To move forward, to risk what is familiar, and to build something entirely new requires real courage.

For the Israelites, the task was building the Jewish homeland. But the lesson holds true for anyone standing at the precipice of change. We have just entered the Hebrew month of Elul, the month directly preceding the High Holy Days. Elul asks us to begin the spiritual work necessary to bring about real change in the coming year. Our enemies, so to speak, are not the tribes of Canaan. They are our own vices, insecurities, habits, and inner demons – the forces we must confront if we hope to make lasting, positive change. Facing them head-on is no task for the faint of heart. Courage is necessary in this battle as well. Victory is possible. Change is possible. But are we up to the task?