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Weekly Reading Insights:
Shelach Lecha
5781 |  |
Overview
of the Torah Reading To
be read on Shabbat Shelach -25 Sivan 5781 /June 5
Torah:
Numbers 13:1-15:41; Haftorah: Joshua 2:1-24 (the two
spies sent to Jericho)
Pirkei
Avot: Chapter 3 Shelach is the 4th Reading
out of 10 in Numbers and it contains 5820 letters, in 1540 words,
in 119 verses Overview:
Shelach begins by relating how Moshe sent the 12 spies to explore
the Promised Land. Ten of the spies subsequently gave an evil report which influenced
a majority of the people. Because of the Jews’ apparent disbelief in G-d’s ability
to conquer the Land, the adult men of that generation were decreed to perish in
the desert during the next 38 years (see the Book of our Heritage for a detailed
account). Despite the decree, a group of Jews defiantly attempted to enter the
Holy Land but were defeated by Amalekites and Canaanites. The next section describes
the details of meal and dough offerings, and communal and individual sin offerings
for committing idolatry inadvertently. Next is the story of a man caught gathering
sticks in violation of Shabbos and his death as consequence. The Reading concludes
with the mitzva to separate challah from dough, to wear fringes (tzitzis) with
a special strand of blue on four cornered garments and not to be drawn after your
heart and eyes.
 An
Essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, Director of Ascent
(for
a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
This week's Torah portion, Shlach, is primarily
about the Meraglim (the spies). This far-reaching episode happened in the
second year after leaving Egypt. It was after the plagues, the splitting of the
Red Sea, receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, building the Tabernacle and the institution
of regular sacrificial offerings to G-d, after receiving the Manna and even after
the Sin of the Golden Calf. The time had finally arrived to enter the land promised
to our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and conquer it. They were only
eleven days journey from entering the land.
Moshe said to the people, See,
G-d has placed the land before you, go forth and occupy it! But the Israelites
answered, Let us instead send out men to explore the territory for us. But why
do you need to scout the land? Moshe asked. They answered, G-d promised us all
the wealth of Canaanites immediately upon entering the land. The Canaanites know
we are coming and will try to hide their wealth. Let us go and scout out everything
in advance to see where they are hiding their treasure. The idea not only made
sense to Moshe, it appealed to him. It was a new level of initiative that would
be necessary when the people moved from the desert where G-d took care of everything,
to the land of Israel, where they would have to rely almost entirely on their
own resources.(Paraphrased from the Torah Anthology)
About the return of
the spies after the expedition, the verse says, "But the men who had gone
up with him [with Caleb the son of Yefuna, one of the two spies who did not lose
faith] said in reply, 'What difference does it make if G-d is on our side? We
cannot go up against this people, for they are stronger than Him. G-d himself
cannot overcome them!'"(Bamidbar/Numbers 13:31), (From the Chumash, published
by Kehot).
Tragically, almost all the people sided with the spies. The
end of the story was that G-d decreed (that ten of the twelve spies would die
immediately and all the rest of that generation would die over the coming forty
years, one year for each day the spies scouted out the land (Bamidbar/Numbers
14:33-37).
What exactly was the terrible sin of the spies to receive such
a harsh punishment? At first glance, isn't this what they were sent for, to scout
out the situation and report back?
One of the explanations is that they overstepped
their boundaries. Like a soldier on a mission, they should have just described
the situation in the land and left the conclusions to Moshe, their commander in
chief. When they insisted that, "We can't go up!!!", they sinned by
denying G-d's omnipotence.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot that is not
clear here. Just the fact alone that that the spies were sent to scout the land
and its inhabitants gave the impression that G-d was taking into consideration
the natural circumstances and gave credence to the situation. If this was not
the case, why were they sent at all? Moshe should have told them not to go. Why
did they need to go if G-d was going to conquer the land for them, in a miraculous
way? According to this logic, they were right in saying, WE CANT GO UP! According
to nature, it was true. The fight was impossible!!
The truth is, understanding
the sin of the spies is to understand an eternal principle of being an observant
Jew and fulfilling our whole relationship with Torah and its commandments.
As
Jews, each of us has to believe and know that if G-d commanded us to do a certain
commandment, there can be not even the tiniest of doubts that it is possible to
fulfill it. This is one of the principles of Torah (Midrash Rabah Bamidbar), that
G-d only asks of us according to our abilities and strengths. We. have to make
vessels in a natural worldly way, even to struggle and search for the appropriate
opening in the vagaries of reality (like the Talmud teaches, "not to rely
on a miracle" - Kiddushin 39b).
It is not, G-d forbid, that G-d's power
is limited and that nature really is some independent force to impact on whether
or not we can fulfill a commandment. Rather, this is exactly what G-d wanted,
that the fulfillment of the commandment does not disrupt or destroy nature. Instead
the Divine desire was that the life of a Jew should be fulfilled within the limits
and boundaries of the way He created the world. This is part of the Divine plan
to purify and elevate the natural order and make for G-d a dwelling place in this
lower world. (Midrash Tanchuma, Parshat Bechukotai. Section 3).
Now we
can understand the sin of the spies. These were leaders, as the verse says "…all
of them, men, leaders of the Children of Israel (Bamidbar/Numbers 13:3). They
should have known that their entire mission was to check what was the easiest
and most effective way within the natural order to bring G-d's promises to fruition
that would bring the Jewish people to their promised land, a promise that without
question would happen.
(Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Likkutei Sichot("Collected
Talks"): An Anthology of Talks. Kehot Publication Society. Volume 13. Page
39ff. FromLikrat Shabbat. Reprinted in Dvar Malchut)
A businessman from
London who faced a financial crisis once visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe for his
counsel and blessing. "I had hoped to meet under different circumstances,"
he said to the Rebbe, handing him several papers outlining his business problems.
After
reading through the report, the Rebbe gave the man some practical advice and then
turned the conversation to spiritual matters.
"Do you know what emunah
is?" the Rebbe asked.
"Yes", said the man, "faith in G-d."
Do
you know the difference between emunah - faith, and bitachon - trust?"
"No."
replied the man.
"Allow me to explain," said the Rebbe. "Trust
is not simply a higher form of faith. It's something quite different.
"When
a person with faith is confronted with a problem, he believes G-d will help him
overcome it. But a person with trust doesn't see his difficulties as problemsin
the first place, because he trusts that G-d doesn't send problems, only challenges."
(Mendel
Kalmenson. Seeds of Wisdom. Volume 2)
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul.
(for
a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For last year's essay by Rabbi
Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.
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