Our fortitude as a nation and our hold on Eretz Yisrael are closely bound to learning our holy Torah and to fulfilling its mitzvot, as it says:
Our sages accordingly taught that when a child is learning to speak, his father should speak to him in Hebrew and teach him Torah, as it says, "Teach them to your sons and speak about them, when you sit in your home and when you go on your way, when you lie down and when you get up.... [If you do this,] you and your children will long endure in the land that God swore to your ancestors, [promising that] He would give it to them as long as the heavens are above the earth.? (6:7; 11:21)
If they do so, they will long endure. Otherwise, they will not. Not only will G-d lengthen our lives in the land of our life's blood, but our enemies will fear us and will fall before us:
We have to return to our roots; we must look back on the patriarchs and learn from them. We must learn the holy Torah, which strengthens the nation and their hold on the Land, as Isaiah said: ?Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many." (Isaiah 51:2) And through this, may we merit the great solace of the verse that follows:
Safeguard the entire mandate that I am prescribing to you today, so that you will be strong and come to occupy the land that you are crossing to occupy. You will then long endure in the land that God swore to your fathers that He would give to them and their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.? (Deuteronomy 11:8-9)Furthermore, the way to strengthen the nation begins with education in general; but specifically, with educating children very early on: "Teach them to your sons and speak about them, when you sit in your home and when you go on your way, when you lie down and when you get up." (6:7) Rashi comments, "As soon as a child knows how to speak, teach him, 'Moses taught us the Torah.' (33:4) Let this be his speech training."
Our sages accordingly taught that when a child is learning to speak, his father should speak to him in Hebrew and teach him Torah, as it says, "Teach them to your sons and speak about them, when you sit in your home and when you go on your way, when you lie down and when you get up.... [If you do this,] you and your children will long endure in the land that God swore to your ancestors, [promising that] He would give it to them as long as the heavens are above the earth.? (6:7; 11:21)
If they do so, they will long endure. Otherwise, they will not. Not only will G-d lengthen our lives in the land of our life's blood, but our enemies will fear us and will fall before us:
G-d will drive out all these nations before you. You will expel nations that are greater and stronger than you are. Every area upon which your feet tread shall belong to you. Your boundaries shall extend from the desert to the Lebanon, from a tributary of the Euphrates River as far as the Mediterranean Sea. No man will stand up before you. G-d, your Lord, will place the fear and dread of you upon the entire area you tread, just as He promised you. (11:23-25)Today, our national strength and fortitude, and our ability to vanquish our cruel enemies who long to destroy the State of Israel, do not depend solely on having a large, strong army. Rather, we must also infuse our nation, our army and its officers with a profound spirit and a strong faith in our right to exist and to live in Eretz Yisrael as a people rising to rebirth in their land. We are here not only to eat and to drink and to rest from the suffering of the exile, but to fulfill the great vision of the prophets of Israel and to become what Abraham, father of our people, was promised we would become: "I will make you a great nation... you shall be for a blessing.... All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you." (Genesis 12)
We have to return to our roots; we must look back on the patriarchs and learn from them. We must learn the holy Torah, which strengthens the nation and their hold on the Land, as Isaiah said: ?Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many." (Isaiah 51:2) And through this, may we merit the great solace of the verse that follows:
For G-d has comforted Zion; He hath comforted all her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the L-rd. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.