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Notes:
| Parashat Shelach |  |
This is the Parsha for Shabbat 12th July 2006 / 16 Tamuz 5766 The main subject of Parsha Shelach is the well-known story of the spies, who were sent to scout the land of Israel and came back with a critical and false report. Rashi comments on the juxtaposition between these events and the narrative of Miriam’s slander against Moses (in last week’s Parsha, Beha’Aloscha). As Rashi states, Miriam was punished for the slander which she uttered against her brother and these “evil people” (the spies) witnessed this yet did not learn a lesson from it. Miriam slandered Moses and the spies slandered the land of Israel. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik builds on Rashi’s comments and draws an illuminating analogy between Miriam’s slander against Moses and the spies’ negative report about Israel. Miriam and Aaron failed to understand the absolute uniqueness of Moses. In speaking ill of him, they did not recognise the special relationship between Moses and Hashem and his superior and transcendent level of prophesy and spirituality. Similarly, the ten spies, in slandering Israel, failed to understand the complete uniqueness of Israel and the special relationship between the Jewish people and Israel, which could not be compared with the relationship between other nations and their lands. It was the historical destiny of the Jewish people to inhabit Israel, originating in the covenant between Hashem and Abraham and promised to Moses as the culmination of the exodus from Egypt. Caleb understood the deep connection between the Jewish people and Israel. In 13.22, it is stated: “They ascended in the south and he arrived at Hebron…” Rashi analyses the apparent grammatical peculiarity of this sentence by explaining that Caleb alone went to Hebron, where he visited the tombs of the patriarchs and prayed there. In doing so, he was not only distancing himself from the other spies’ intention to discredit the land of Israel but also establishing a link with the patriarchs and the covenant with Hashem. The consequences of the negative report of the spies were devastating and far-reaching. The children of Israel were condemned to wander in the wilderness for another thirty-nine years or so and the entire male population, with the exception of the virtuous spies Joshua and Caleb, was punished by not being permitted to enter the land of Israel. Moreover, the date of the night on which the people wept on hearing the slanderous report of the spies was the Ninth of Av. The Gemara relates that Hashem said: “They wept for no good reason, therefore will I establish that day as one for weeping throughout their generations.” (Taanith 29a). Tisha B’Av is the date on which both the First and Second Temples were destroyed and other tragic events have befallen the Jewish people. We can draw connections between the story of the spies and the present time, now that we again have a Jewish state. Unfortunately, there are many Jews who fail to appreciate the unique and special relationship between the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael. The events of this parsha remain of continuing relevance and have much to teach us in the modern day. Perry Gold
11 June 2006 |
