PARSHAT SHELACH, NUMBERS 13:1–15:41,
AND THE SPIES, PART 2
A Message for Today:
Last week’s Parshah ended with Miriam being punished for speaking disparagingly about her brother, Moses, and his black wife, Zipporah. This week’s Parshah begins with ten of our leaders having negative opinions regarding conquering the Land of Israel.
Many commentators seek a connection: Miriam is punished for her unkind words and likewise our leadership die in a plague. Personally, I do not like making these kind of connections.
However, look at what Miriam said at 12:1:
“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman”.
וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה, עַל-אֹדוֹת הָאִשָּׁה הַכֻּשִׁית אֲשֶׁר לָקָח: כִּי-אִשָּׁה כֻשִׁית, לָקָח
A Chushite is an Ethiopian, hence a black woman.
In this particular instance “A Black Life Does Matter”.
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MAX’S PARSHAT SHELACH QUIZ QUESTIONS
1-WHY IS THE PORTION ABOUT THE SPIES NEXT TO MIRIAM'S TZARAAT?
2-WHY WERE THE TRIBE OF LEVI EXCLUDED FROM SPYING THE LAND?
3-WHY DID THE MERAGLIM SPEAK NEGATIVELY ABOUT THE LAND?
4-WHICH FRUIT DID THE SPIES BRING FROM THE LAND?
5-HOW BIG WERE THE FRUIT?
6-WHERE DID KALEV RUN TO PRAY FOR SUCCESS IN HIS MISSION?
7-WHY IS THE 15TH OF AV IS CELEBRATED WITH A LOTS OF JOY?
8-HOW MANY TIMES DID THE ENTIRE JEWISH NATION KEPT SHABBOS?
9-HOW DOES THE TZITZITS REMINDS US TO KEEP ALL MITZVOTS?
10-WHY DID JOSHUA SEND 2-SPIES TO REPORT ABOUT THE LAND?
11-WHY DID SPIES DISGUISED THEMSELVES AS POTTERY SALESMEN?
12-WHAT DID MOSHE MEAN "TO CHECK IF THERE WERE TREES"?
13-WHICH MITZVAH HELPS YOU REMEMBER YOUR LEARNING ?
14-WHICH MAJOR CALAMITIES HAPPENED ON TISHA B'AV?
15-IN WHICH MITZVAH WILL YOU GET TO WEAR FINE CLOTHING ?
16-WHY WAS KALEV GRANTED HEBRON AS HIS TERRITORY?
17-HOW TALL WAS THE GIGANTIC GOLIAS?
18-WHO FELT SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT AS ANTS AND GRASSHOPPERS?
19-WHICH TEN OCCASIONS DID JEWS UPSET HASHEM IN JOURNEY?
20-WHICH PARTS OF THE BODY SERVE AS MERAGLIM ?
21-HOW SHOULD TZITZITS REMINDS US OF EXODUS FROM EGYPT?
22-WHICH MITZVAH CAN SAVE ONE FROM LOSING HIS EYESIGHT?
23-WHAT SEGULOS ARE MENTIONED REGARDING TZITZITS?
24-WHO BUILT HEBRON?
25-HOW IS THE MITZVAH OF CHALLAH DIFFERENT FROM OTHER MITZVOT?
26-WHAT IS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF CHALLAH TO GIVE TO KOHEN?
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What I like best in the Parshah is the dialogue between Moshe and Hashem that takes place after Hashem calms down after visiting the plague on the nay-sayers, and after Hashem has condemned the current generation to die in the desert for having rebelled against Him. At 15:2-27 Hashem instructs Moshe in detail regarding bringing sacrifices when we enter and are domiciled in the Land:
כִּי תָבֹאוּ, אֶל-אֶרֶץ מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי, נֹתֵן לָכֶם.
“When you will come to the Land that I am giving to you, your settlements…”
For me the focus is on the word מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם …your settlements, abodes, residences, domiciles, the places where you sit. Hashem, despite all, does not give up on us.
And as an aside: I live in Nahariya which adjoins the Moshav Shavei Tzion. Come visit.
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At Numbers 16:2 Moses is told by Hashem to speak to the B’nai Yisrael telling us a number of things that we must do (now and forever) upon entering the land that is now called Israel. These “rules” are not only for the Jew and/or the convert, but as per 16:14 - אוֹ אֲשֶׁר-בְּתוֹכְכֶם, “…or whoever is among you…”
People of The Book squeeze meaning out of the text. That’s what we
do. Don’t be bashful; go ahead and give
it a try. But how?
In my opinion the way to start is to look to how the best of the best of Biblical Commentators went about making interpretations. Hands down, that would be the 11th century commentator on the Torah, par excellence, Rashi. What was his interpretive method? And even though we sorely lack Rashi’s knowledge, wisdom and capacity, can we give it a try without thoroughly embarrassing ourselves?
I think so, and I will go so far as to speculate that Rashi would encourage us to do so. Quoting from Avram Grossman’s 2012 book “Rashi” on his interpretive method: “According to Rashi, every biblical verse – and in particular, every verse in the Torah – bears a significance and message that go beyond merely conveying information. Accordingly, one must do more than interpret the literal meaning of the words”.
Try this on for size:
The opening words of the Haftarah portion read: וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, “Joshua sent…”
Who is Joshua? We have a tradition that you can tell something about a person by delving into the meaning of his name. In this case, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ means “God saves” or rescues or delivers. Perhaps we have a foreshadowing of what the two spies are going to encounter.
The root of the word וַיִּשְׁלַח when used as a noun has the connotation of an emissary or agent. So maybe, we have here: “God’s saving emissary”. This could point to either Joshua or the two men or Rachav. My money is on the later.
Joshua sends out two men. They are spies. What kind of spies are they? The text says שְׁנַיִם-אֲנָשִׁים מְרַגְּלִים חֶרֶשׁ. The possible answers may focus on how you interpret the word חֶרֶשׁ. If חֶרֶשׁ is being used as an adverb, then they were sent out secretly. But why the need for secrecy? An obvious answer, and one that relates to our world today, is to avoid intelligence leaks. This is a clandestine secret mission, fraught with danger. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Was there possibly a spy from Jericho in the Israeli camp?...maybe, maybe not, best not take a chance.
חֶרֶשׁ can also mean silently. That’s an easy one; silence or stealth goes without saying. However, חֶרֶשׁ has an implication of being deaf. There is a commentator who suggests that the spies should pose as being deaf. This is so because then the inhabitants of Jericho thinking that they are deaf will talk openly around them, and perhaps reveal secrets.
And perhaps a “deaf” person has difficulty in speaking. By not speaking, the spies won’t be revealing their lack of facility with the Canaanite language.
חֶרֶשׁ can also signify earthenware or clay pots. There is another commentator who suggests that the spies should pose as merchants selling clay pots. This would be their cover when question by the city’s gatekeeper: “What is your business here?” “We’re here to sell our pots”. Likewise, חֶרֶשׁ can also mean a carpenter, and another cover story: “We’re just here to erect some scaffolding for the city’s walls”.
Spies want to blend in. They do not want to be remembered. They do not want to call attention to themselves. A pair of deaf people, pottery salesmen or carpenters are sure to be remembered. And those commentators who are surely heads and shoulders above us laypeople would have benefited if they had read Graham Greene or John LeCarre, both of whom worked for MI6.
Falling back on Rashi, the master of interpretation, I suggest that חֶרֶשׁ refers to the word plow or plowman. The B’nai Yisrael are nomads. At this juncture they are not farmers. I’m thinking that the two spies changed out of their herdsman attire, got rid of the pungent odor of the flocks by taking a good bath and donned a farmer’s clothing. If asked, they tell the gatekeeper that they are in town to buy seeds for next year’s planting. I think it will fly, not only in the sense of a good cover story, but in the literal sense of the text.
The reality however turned out to be that their cover must have been blown from the start. It did not take very long before the King’s henchmen to catch on to them. But for the quick thinking of Rechav, the mission would have been a disaster.
But going beyond the literal sense of the text, consider what a plow or plowman does. It or he turns up the dirt which is exactly what the two spies have been tasked to do. And incidentally, one verse later, that is what they will be accused of, “digging” into the land”, לַחְפֹּר אֶת-הָאָרֶץ.
I could go on and explain
how and why Rachav is sometimes referred to as an innkeeper and not a hooker,
but by now you get the gist of making interpretations. Try it yourself. Run your commentary past your Rabbi or maybe
your wife or husband. Put a smile on
Rashi’s face.
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Squeezing a little bit more from the text:
In general terms what were the men that Moshe sent out commanded to do?
Were they
spies?
In this Parshah and in Sefer Devarim they are not called by any term.
But, there is a clue as to what they are is found in what they are commanded to do:
In verse one and two , Hashem told Moshe to send out men, and they will וְיָתֻ֨רו the Land…
The infinitive is לתור which means to tour, explore or to survey and is found in verse 17. A person who surveys, looks carefully and thoroughly at someone or/and somethings, so as to do an appraisal of them.
These men are
charged to collect information about their enemy who they intend to battle and
report on the Land in which they will reside. A person who engages in
this activity is a מרגל, a spy.
As an aside: It is interesting
to note that without the vowels, וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ becomes יתרו, Moshe’s father-in-law.
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At the conclusion of the Parshah at 15:39 we are commanded regarding the wearing of tzitzes:
“…and you shall not lust after your heart and after your eyes
after which you are going astray”.
וְלֹא-תָתוּרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם, וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-אַתֶּם זֹנִים, אַחֲרֵיהֶם
The translation
is a little difficult, but you are already know that
זֹנִים is a reference to harlotry, and תָתוּרוּ
has something to do with
checking things out. However, לְבַבְכֶם, “your hearts”,
brings up another issue. In the Chumash,
heart does not have a romantic connotation.
The function of the heart to the biblical person thirty five hundred
years ago comes most close to the function of the mind. There is no word for “brain” in the
Chumash. In Egypt at that time, the
brain was just a waste product to be discarded in preparing a mummy. The gist of the commandment goes to not exploring
lustful thoughts that will get a man into trouble.
In effect, the tzitzes are akin to a male chastity belt.
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MAX’S PARSHAT SHELACH QUIZ
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Max has come up with a quiz that relates to Parshat Shelach. Attached are his questions and answers. How did you do? Maybe you have to study more; I do.
1-WHY IS THE PORTION ABOUT THE SPIES NEXT TO MIRIAM'S TZARAAT?
MIRIAM & THE SPIES DID NOT COMPREHEND THE SPECIAL STATUS
OF MOSHE RABBENU AND
THE HOLY LAND OF ISRAEL
2-WHY WERE THE TRIBE OF LEVI EXCLUDED FROM SPYING THE LAND?
THEY DID NOT RECEIVE A
SHARE IN THE LAND
3-WHY DID THE MERAGLIM SPEAK NEGATIVELY ABOUT THE LAND?
THEY WERE CONCERNED
THEY MAY LOOSE CURRENT STATUS POSITIONS
4-WHICH FRUIT DID THE SPIES BRING FROM THE LAND?
CLUSTER OF GRAPES , A
PROMEGRANATE AND A FIG
5-HOW BIG WERE THE FRUIT?"
IT TOOK 8-MEN TO CARRY
THE CLUSTER OF GRAPES
6-WHERE DID KALEV RUN TO PRAY FOR SUCCESS IN HIS MISSION?
HE WENT TO ME'ARAS HAMACHPELAH NEAR THE AVOS TO PRAY
7-WHY IS THE 15TH OF AV IS CELEBRATED WITH A LOTS OF JOY?
JEWS STOPPED DYING ON
THAT DAY, FINAL FORGIVENESS
8-HOW MANY TIMES DID THE ENTIRE JEWISH NATION KEPT SHABBAS
ONLY ONCE , FIRST WEEK
AFTER MATAN TORAH
9-HOW DOES THE TZITZITS REMINDS US TO KEEP ALL MITZVOTH
GEMATRIA OF TZITZIT IS
600, PLUS 8 STRINGS, AND 5KNOTS =613
10-WHY DID JOSHUA SEND 2-SPIES TO REPORT ABOUT THE LAND?
PEOPLE SHOWED TRUST
AND HARMONY AMONG THEMSELVES
11-WHY DID SPIES DISGUISED THEMSELVES AS POTTERY SALESMEN?
TO DRAW LARGE CROWDS
TO COLLECT INFORMATION
12-WHAT DID MOSHE MEAN "TO CHECK IF THERE WERE TREES"?
IF THERE WAS A TZADIK
WHOSE MERIT MAY PROTECT THE ENEMY
13-WHICH MITZVAH HELPS YOU REMEMBER YOUR LEARNING ?
GUARD YOUR EYES FROM
IMMODEST THINGS (15:39)
14-WHICH MAJOR CALAMITIES HAPPENED ON TISHA B'AV?
BOTH TEMPLES DESTROYED, JEWS FROM EXODUS PERISHED
BEITAR WAS MASSACRED ,
AND JERUSALEM WAS PLOWED OVER
15-IN WHICH MITZVAH WILL YOU GET TO WEAR FINE CLOTHING ?
WHEN YOU MAINTAIN YOUR
TZITZ IN CLEAN ORDER
16-WHY WAS KALEV GRANTED HEBRON AS HIS TERRITORY?
FIRST JEW FROM EGYPT
TO PRAY AT THE RESTING PLACE OF AVOS
17-HOW TALL WAS THE GIGANTIC GOLIAS?
HE WAS ABOUT SIX AMOS
AND A SPAN (12-FEET TALL)
18-WHO FELT SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT AS ANTS AND GRASSHOPPERS?
THE MERAGLIM HAD A
VERY LOW ESTEMM DURING THEIR MISSION
19-WHICH TEN OCCASIONS DID JEWS UPSET HASHEM IN JOURNEY?
YOM SUF, MARAH, SINAI DESERT, LEFTOVER MANN, MANN SEARCH
ON SHABBAT, REFIDIN
WATER, HAR CHOREN, TAVAEIRA, KIVROS,PARAN
20-WHICH PARTS OF THE BODY SERVE AS MERAGLIM ?
THE HEARTS AND THE
EYES
21-HOW SHOULD TZITZITS REMINDS US OF EXODUS FROM EGYPT?
4-CORNERS OF GARMENTS
REMINDS US OF 4-STAGES OF GEULAH
22-WHICH MITZVAH CAN SAVE ONE FROM LOSING HIS EYESIGHT?
PLACING YOUR TZITZIT
OVER YOUR EYES DURING SHEMA
23-WHAT SEGULOS ARE MENTIONED REGARDING TZITZITS
AYIN HARA, LENGTH OF
LIFE, SAVE FROM GEHINOM , REVIVAL IN FUTURE
24-WHO BUILT HEBRON?
CHAM
25-HOW IS THE MITZVAH OF CHALLAH DIFFERENT FROM OTHER MITZVOTH
IT IS OBSERVED AS SOON AS WE ENTER THE LAND, NOT TO WAIT
FOR POSSESSION
26-WHAT IS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF CHALLAH TO GIVE TO KOHEN?
HOUSEHOLD TO GIVE 1/24, BAKER GIVES 1/48
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