Parshat Shelach

But mighty is the people that dwells in the land,

And the towns are fortified and very big,

And also the offspring of the giant we saw there.

(Bemidbar 13:28)

 

"But" - the word 'effes' ['But'] indicates a deficiency or cancellation of something preceding […] so here the intent of the scouts was to say of what benefit is the fact that the land flows with milk and honey, all this is nothing [effes] and worthless, because the people are mighty and the towns are fortified, and therefore it cannot be that we will conquer the land.

(Rabbi Yitchak Shmuel Reggio, ibid, ibid)

 

AND IT FLOWS WITH MILK AND HONEY. They said to Moshe, All the good things of which you spoke in the name of the Lord are indeed to be found, and as we heard so we saw, and this is the meaning of "we came to the land to which you sent us". For were something to have been different, it would seem that this was not the land to which you sent us since some of those things described were lacking. And in addition to your words, it is also a land flowing with milk and honey. But we did discover one inaccuracy in your words, for you had given as a sure and proven sign that the mighty inhabitants dwell in the unfortified communities, and regarding this they said "But the people who dwell in the land are mighty and the towns are fortified and very large". For the term "effes' means 'only' and 'but'. Read carefully and note that they said towns are fortified and very large". In Devarim (1:28) however, Moshe said that the scouts had said "large towns and fortified to the heavens", but we do not find that they had said "to the heavens", but Moshe detected in their words disbelief in the Holy One, for they said, "he is stronger than we", implying that even the owner of the house cannot eject his vessels (Sotah 35a). They are saying that this strength comes from the stars of heaven and their constellations, and this is the meaning of "fortified to the heavens", that their constellations in heaven are stronger than He, as it were. And in the beginning they did not express such heresy explicitly, they just said 'fortified and very large', but when Caleb rose and contradicted them, they spoke explicit heresy "for it is mightier than Him". Their final words reveal that their opening words also contained heresy, as if they had said "fortified in heaven."

(Kli Yakar ibid, ibid)

 

"We shall surely prevail over it"

Elon Langbeheim

The chapter of the meraglim - the spies - is one of those chapters which has become standard fare of adherents to the Greater Land of Israel movement. The plain meaning of the text does not place obstacles in the path of the anonymous commentator who wants to derive messages which support his world view: the ten meraglim are described as demoralizers, cowards and conspirators who implant faintheartedness in the populace. They defamed the land, thereby causing our fathers to wander in the desert for forty miserable and superfluous years. Opposing them were Caleb ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun who swam against the current and inspired the people with faith, men carved from the material of fearless leaders, the finest of our sons. What is the political message to be learned from this parasha? At first glance, the answer is simple: We must believe that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, will assist us in conquering the Land of Israel which was promised us, even though the mission seems impossible. The Jewish people do not fear the long journey...

It is very difficult to neutralize political and ideological tendencies when plain-reading the passages of the weekly parasha; it is very tempting to present the sin of the meraglim in an actual/nationalistic light. But, as Professor Uriel Simon writes: "A contemporary-political reading of Scripture which expresses itself in the enlistment of texts in order 'to prove' the justice of a particular political path, is improper, for it lacks the respect due the Bible and because it is manipulative, impatient, and rushes to gather converts" (Bakesh Shalom V'radfeihu, p. 16). But despite this, the Bible can be relevant. How? Prof. Simon suggests: "We must strive to understand the Biblical values as they are, and only afterwards apply them to contemporary issues, and this with constant awareness of similarities and differences between then and now". If we follow Simon's approach, we will find the central value arising from the plain-reading of the text is, indeed, that of faith and trust which God demanded of the meraglim as he tested them, but this is not the sole value. From the meraglim's biased presentation that first described the good of the land and later negated it with word effes' - 'But..." (13:28), and from the people's hysterical reaction which followed, we can learn much about the power of manipulation. We can conclude from this story the Biblical value of striving for objectivity, relevant in our day, for example, to media coverage. Finally, one can also learn about the importance which the Torah attaches to the minority's (Yehoshua and Caleb) standing up to express its moral voice against the spurious presentation of the majority. This standing fast is also important when the minority's voice is unpopular, when the majority seems overriding and threatening violence ("And the community meant to pelt them with stones" (14:10)). All these values are relevant to various groups, and should not be used to justify a particular political policy.

Although plain-reading of the parasha demands unbiased reading, the tool of midrash provides the opportunity to express personal and moral leanings, not remaining on the level of loyalty to the written word. So, for example, Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, author of "Meshech Chochmah", utilizes a midrash in order to weave the sin of the meraglim into the Biblical confrontation with idolatry. In an attempt to explain the words "about [lit. 'to'] Moshe" in the passage "And Caleb silenced the people about Moshe" (13:30), the Meshech Chochmah writes: " The people were afraid, because they had heard Eldad and Medad prophesying 'Moshe will die and Yehosuha will lead into the land' (according to Sanhedrin 17a), and they saw that Moshe did not protest nor rebuke them. If that be the case, to enter a fortified land and to do battle with Amalek without Moshe would be suicidal! … Therefore does it say : 'And Caleb silenced the people' inasmuch they were attributing everything to Moshe - saying, do not speak so nor even imagine that victory and miracle are contingent only upon Moshe". The Meshech Chochmah explains the root of the people's ostensible deficiency of faith, of lack of faith in a people who had been witness to all the miracles in the desert, is indeed strange. He argues that the Children of Israel had not yet liberated themselves from their belief in Moshe as a god, a belief which, in its time, had led to the idolatry at the sin of the calf. Aside from his motivation to solve the difficulty of the words "about Moshe", the Meshech Chochmah is here trying to cope with the problem of accusing the meraglim - chosen of the people - of complete distrust. The motivation of fear of entering the land is much more comprehensible in his eyes within the wider context of the sin of the calf and the decline into idolatry.

A yet farther reaching explication is suggested by the philosopher Emanuel Levinas in his lecture "Promised Land or Permissible Land". Basing himself on the Talmud in Tractate Sotah 34a, he argues that "it is possible to understand the meraglim, that they had pure motives. They asked themselves: By what right are we going into this land? What moral advantage do we have over the inhabitants settled in this country?" (Nine Talmudic Readings, P. 77). Levinas argues on the basis of the Talmudic explication of the words "And Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt" (13:22). He claims that the parenthetical statement regarding the historical precedence of the establishment of Hebron over the building of Zoan, raises the question of our right to expel the inhabitants from their homes. Caleb's answer, according to the Talmud, is: "He said to them; and is this all that ben Amram did for us?… He took us out of Egypt and he split the sea for us and he fed us the manna. If he should say to us, make ladders and climb to the heavens, would we not obey him?" Levinas reads Caleb's statement as an attempt to implant faith in Israel's moral right to inherit the land: "Moshe took us out of Egypt, our history begins with the act of liberation. He split the sea for us, he overwhelmed the forces of nature… Is it conceivable that under his leadership we should conquer a country like one conquers a colony? Can our act of conquest be an imperialistic act? We are going - and here the text is extraordinarily explicit - we are going towards this land in order to experience celestial life. "We shall ascend to heaven!" We will not possess this land as it is usually possessed; we will found a just community in the land".

Even though Levinas's midrash is a bit far-fetched, almost bordering on the avant-garde, he turns the argument between Caleb and the meraglim into a profound debate with practical ramifications. It is not the conquest itself that the meraglim fear; they have no doubt that they will succeed. They are apprehensive about inability to cope with the ethical challenge to follow. Levinas lights up an imaginary aspect in the internal debate taking place among the meraglim regarding the moral right to conquest of a land and the ethical compass which should direct life in it. The lecture "Promised Land or Permitted Land" was delivered in 1965, in the twilight years of the social and principled ideal which the settlement pioneers had formulated and exemplified. Since then, the ideal has dissipated. The words which Levinas placed in the mouth of Caleb ben Yefuneh who believed in the ability of the Jewish people to conquer the land and to establish a just society - are silent. They have been replaced by a shallow reading of the text: "Let us rise up and we shall inherit it, for we shall surely prevail over it" How shall we prevail over it? With force, and, if necessary, with deviousness and 'combinations'. Last summer saw the beginning of a spontaneous social movement which instilled in us hope for the possibility of a return to ideals, to the vision of creation of an exemplary society, one cooperative and just. Let us not follow the disparaging counsel of the meraglim… let us not appoint a head and return to Egypt. "We shall surely prevail over it."

Elon Langbeheim is doctoral candidate and teaches physics.

 

 

An attitude of respect for the land requires an attitude of respect for people

It has been taught, Said Rabbi El'azar ben Parta: Come and see, from the story of the meraglim, how great is the power of slander. If [such was the punishment] for the spies who slandered only trees and stones, then libel of one's fellow, all the more so!! As is written: "The men died, those bringing a report of the land, an ill one"- because of the slander of the land which they spoke.

 (Yalkut Shimoni, Vayikra 14, 659)

 

"Brings forth" 'dibah' and "brings" 'dibah'

Know that he who "brings forth 'dibah' " (Proverbs 10:8) is like a fool who speaks falsely, but he who tells a truthful [bad report] is called "one who 'brings' dibah," as it is said, "and Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father" (Genesis 37:2). It was for this [false report] that they were punished by death through a plague, as it is said, "And those men who 'brought forth' an evil report of the Land died by the plague before G-d" (Numbers 14:37).

(Ramban Numbers 13, 32)

 

"It is a land that eats up its inhabitants": reciprocal relations between human beings and the earth

"It is a land that eats up its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great stature." If a land is bad and has scanty and poor water so that the Land miscarries (II Kings 2:19), it does not sustain men of great [physical] stature and its inhabitants are weak and flabby, small in size and lacking in strength! [So the question appears in what way is the spies' statement that the Land produces men of great stature an evil report?] But the evil report of the spies consisted in saying that the Land has an overpowering atmosphere and a heavy nature and its water and fruits are thick and heavy, so that [the fruits] grow to a very large size, such that people of an average temperament cannot bear them, unless they are giants and men of powerful build who are naturally strong and exceptional in their height and stature. Therefore the Land supports very tall men but brings [premature] death to the rest of the people, as is the nature of coarse foods.

(Ramban Numbers 13, 32)

 

"And so we must have looked to them"- Falsehood, Wild Imagination, or Reality?

Said Rav Mesharsheya: The spies were liars. For it is understandable that they said, "and we were in our own eyes as grasshoppers" - that is very well! But the statement "and so we were in their eyes" - how could they have known that? [Evidently they were liars!). But it is not so [argues the Gemorrah. The spies did not lie] - for when [the Amorites] would serve the mourners' meal, they would serve it beneath cedars. When the spies saw them [the mourners] coming, they were afraid, so they climbed up and sat in the tress. They heard them [the Amorites] saying "We see men that are like grasshoppers sitting in the trees."

(Bavli, Sota 35a)

 

And if Moses had Sent Women to Scout the Land?

He specifically mentioned [that] men [would be sent to scout the Land] because the Sages said (Yalkut Shimoni Pinhas 5773: 27) that the men hated the Land and [this is evident since the men] said let us make a leader and return to Egypt (Bamidbar 14:4), while the women loved the Land and said, give us a holding (27:4). And so, God said: To my mind, I see from future events that it would be better to send women who love the Land, for they would not speak badly of it. But [God told Moses]: [Send ] yourself [men] - that is, in accordance with your own opinion, for you think that they are fit and that they love the Land. [Go ahead!] send men! That is why [it says] yourself, i.e., according to your opinion, but in My opinion, it would be better to send women.

(Keli Yakar Bamidbar 13:2)

 

Eretz yisrael can sprout physical heroes or giants of the spirit

In the land of Israel, then, there remained remnants of the giants of the pre-deluge period. This fact well suits the position (Zevahim 113a) that the flood did not affect Eretz Yisrael, and therefore all the original vitality of the land was preserved. But in equal measure, this strength can make the land appropriate for God's people, for this nation will observe God's Torah and thus will the world return to its days of youth, and the earth will be like the Garden of Eden. Let us not forget the dictum of Chazal to the effect that health and physical strength are among the conditions necessary for supreme spiritual development (Shabbat 92a).Perhaps we will not err when we say that this is the relationship between the strength of the land and the attributes of its inhabitants; Wherever spiritual endeavor is suspended, the earth has the power to grow giants of great physical stature; but if the dwellers of the land are of a spiritual inclination, the vigor of the earth will be exploited for spiritual activity and not for the giant body stature.

 (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch, Bemidbar 13:33)

 

Do not Follow Your Hearts: Two Perspectives on Human Nature

Look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord (Bamidbar 15:39): Remember that you are servants of Blessed God, and that you received His commandments with a vow and oath. When you see the tzitzit, which is like a king's seal upon his servants, you will stop following after your hearts' inclination to gain wealth and honor, even through theft.

(Seforno Bamidbar 15:39)

 

Man's soul and its powers were created upright, and the heart naturally tends towards the good. However, man spoils his nature, devising evil in his heart. That is why it could not simply say velo teilkhuaharei levevkhem (do not go after your hearts), but rather velo taturu aharei levavkhem (literally: do not go scouting after your hearts). If one were to walk according to the paths paved by the heart in its original nature, his ways would be good and straight.

(Malbim on Bamidbar 15:39)

 

Regarding Torah and "Natural Morality"

Morality, in its natural state, in all the depths of its glory and its great power, must be imprinted in the soul, and be a seedbed for those great influences which evolve from the power of Torah. All Torah matters must be preceded by Derech Eretz (proper comportment). If it is a matter which is consonant with natural intelligence and integrity, it must proceed on the straight path, with the heart's proclivity and the assent of the pure desire imprinted in man.

The Torah was given to Israel so that gates of light - which are clearer, wider, and holier than all the gates of light of man's natural intelligence and spirit of natural morality - be opened to us, and through us, to the entire world.

(From "Orot HaTorah", Rav Kook, 69-71)

 

 

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