D’var Torah, Shelach

What is a D’var Torah? It is a talk on a topic relating to a section (or Parsha) of the Torah; typically the weekly Torah portion. Here is the D’var I gave at MJE (Manhattan Jewish Experience) Gramercy Loft Synagogue on Saturday, June 16, 2012.

A dream lives within a people's mind for centuries. It begins as a promise to Abraham, 

"to your children I will give this land."

It continues through to Isaac and Jacob, and sustains a nation through two-hundred and ten years of slavery. This is the dream of a land, a land that G-d has chosen as his own, flowing with milk and honey, blessed with seven fruit. It is the land that holds the holiest city on earth, the land that holds the future site of the Holy Temple. It is the Land of Israel.

In this week's Parsha, Shelach the Jewish people had received the Torah on Mt. Sinai and were ready to enter the land of Israel. There is a mixed reaction to the news. On the one hand they are happy that Hashem's promise to Abraham is about to be fulfilled. On the other hand, the land of Israel is occupied by seven nations whose armies can probably clobber B'nei Yisroel (the children/people of Israel).

Hashem will take care of everything. All He asks for is a little faith. 

The Jews get a brainstorm: send spies to check out the land and see if it's worth fighting for and feasible to conquer. Moses (Moshe) is caught by surprise. He knew that the Almighty's promise to give the Land included a guarantee to conquer it. He asks Hashem what to do. Hashem isn't too happy with the idea. But He commands Moses to pick 1 man from each tribe. Moses sent out the princes of the tribes (12 men of the highest caliber, distinguished, important men) to scout out the land of Israel so that when G-d has finally told them that they are ready to enter it, they can conquer it swiftly and easily.
Moses and the Jewish people had different reasons for sending spies into the Land. Moses trusted G-d completely, he had no doubt that the land was good; he merely wanted to define its energy, learn how to prepare in the best way. The Jewish people, on the other hand, had a different motivation. They were wary of entering unknown territory, even though it had been Divinely promised to them. They were primarily interested in investigating the physical and material nature of the Land.

The spies' challenge was whether to carry out Moses's mission or the Jewish people's. Whose agents were they going to be? Would they be guided by Moses's perspective, and look at the land through spiritual eyes, or would they instead see the Land from the physically-oriented perspective of the Jewish people? 

The Almighty allows each of us the free will to go in the direction we choose.

So, they gather samples to bring back, cutting down a vine of huge grapes. It takes eight of them  to carry the cluster. One more man carries a pomegranate and still another balances a giant fig. But the spies have no intention of coming back with a good report because, in a word, THEY are chickens. They are scared to go to war with the nations of Canaan and will say whatever it takes to keep Bnei Yisroel from entering the land. 

At the end of last week's parsha Miriam spoke Lashon Hara (spoke evil) about her brother and was punished by being sent out of the camp for 7 days - and suffered public humiliation. She was a great woman, who out of concern for her brother Moses went to Aaron (her other brother), thinking it was a mitzvah. The spies could have learned from what happened to her although their sin was not slander, rather it was not trusting in G-d.

Forty days later, on the 8th of Av, the spies return. They go straight past Moses's tent and immediately broadcast their report to the entire nation. They start out by saying that the land really does flow with milk and honey and that the land grows huge fruits of gigantic proportions.So far so good, but, then the spies turn against Moses and discouraged with lots of reasons not to even attempt to enter the land of Israel, rallying the people against going up to the land. There's no place for a sneak attack; There are giants living there; There's disease and plague wherever you go...The crowd is in an uproar! 

Moses tries to remind them that Hashem who created world and took us out of egypt will do the real fighting but they don't want to hear it! Joshua and Caleb also tried to stem the rebellion, they proclaimed the land was wonderful and tried to assure the Jewish people that they could defeat the inhabitants; but they did not succeed.

Darkness has fallen and the spies have doomed Bnei Yisroel to remember Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av) as the day of gloom for all of time. Hashem says to Moses, "How much longer will it take for Bnei Yisroel to trust me? They've seen signs... they've experienced wonders. They should have faith that I will make them victorious over the Canaanim and give them the land of Israel! I am ready to wipe them all out and start over with you, Moses!"

Hashem then accepts Moses's tefilah (prayers) with a couple of conditions. Even though He would not wipe out Bnei Yisroel, He would wipe out this generation. The Jews would not enter the Land of Israel, just a 3 day march from here. Instead, they will remain in the desert for 40 years, 1 year for each day they spied in the land of Israel, until the entire generation is gone. G-d was "angry" at the spies for speaking negatively about the land, and decreed that the entire generation "will die in the desert" (Numbers 14:35). The next generation will enter Land under the leadership of Joshua & Caleb.

As part of the deal, the spies who spoke Lashon Hora die a horrible death. *WARNING GRAPHIC NATURE* - [Their tongues stretch down into their stomachs. Then worms crawl down into their bellies, causing them to die.] YUCK!

Upon hearing the words of Hashem, the people realize that they have been selfish and faithless. They immediately do teshuva (repent).

This happened on the 9th of Av, a date noted throughout Jewish history for tragedy - the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain amongst them. Obviously, the incident with the spies was considered to be a grave error.

Finally, Hashem wants to ensure that the younger generation of Bnei Yisroel knows He still intends to give them the Land, so He gives them Mitzvot that will only apply when to the Bnei Yisroel that will enter the Land of Israel. Among them was tne Mitzvot of Challah, keeping Shabbat and Tzitzit (commanding all Jewish men to attach a set specific strings to any garment the has four corners).

Why did the spies not trust in G-d?In our own lives, whenever we do a mitzvah, we must ask ourselves why we are doing it. Whose mission are we carrying out? Whose agents do we want to be? Are we doing the mitzvah for ourselves, or for G-d? Our focus makes all the difference. If we do a mitzvah for the right reasons with the right motivation, we grow in the right direction. If we do the same mitzvah, but for our own selfish motives (money, power, honor, etc.), we move in the wrong direction.

What happened that the Jewish people that they were convinced to lose faith in G-d and believe the 10 spies? 
There’s a social phenomena to listen to who speaks first, they become a leader of sorts who influence a group. The other group members reaffirm each others ideas. This reminds us to think before we speak AND think for ourselves - even if it is coming from a respected person.

Early, G-d's response to Moses, "Shlach lecha" (literally, "Send for yourself"). The Talmud interprets the word "lecha" as meaning "from your perspective [Moses's] ." In other words, G-d excludes the perspective of the Jewish people from His command, implying that the spies should not go on their mission for the people's reasons.

We should strive to speak encouraging and intelligent words and others are more likely to echo the spirit of optimism & clarity of thought. Pay it forward, every mitzvah (commandment or good deed) counts - like the chabads message says. Another lesson is telling something positive first.... I also believe in leaving on a positive note too... hide or leave the ‘constructive criticism' in the middle.
The Jewish people were never forgiven for the sin of the spies. The punishment reflects how stringently G-d views a negative attitude toward the Land of Israel. If we cut ourselves off from the Land of Israel, we cut ourselves off from the extraordinary spiritual advantages that the land has to offer and all the opportunities for growth that it provides. Severing ourselves from this potential defeats the entire purpose of our existence.

Most of the spies saw only the physical, external aspects of the Land, and many things seemed strange to them. Because they saw only these superficial elements, and failed to see the land's inner spiritual beauty, they concluded that Israel was a bad and dangerous place to live. Visitors to Israel today are the "spies" or ambassadors of this generation. 

The Torah forbids speaking slander, anything derogatory or that can dirty someones reputation or business... even if you mean it lightly in a casual story. You should only speak about people with a positive reason. Rambam explains that words can hurt or damage. That is the Torah’s definition of ‘lashon hora’: words that hurt or damage, recognizing the potential force or impact of words and power of speech. We should attempt to share information without an agenda, think about what we say; guard our tongues and work on our filters.
May we all be blessed to go in the ways of the righteous, and follow the ways of G-d, in order to ensure that all of our actions are done for the right reasons. 

Shabbat Shalom!

THANK YOU & DISCLAIMER:

Torah Tots (my first stop when Molly/Daniel ask me to do the weekly D’var - TY Tami and family), Aish HaTorah (my second stop), Howie for sharing Rabbi Sholom Schapiro from NY Torah Center’s D’var.

Please accept my sincere gratitude and know I shared your words with the best of intentions.

A final special thank you to the incredibly talented spiritual Chazzan Avi and Roy – along with the entire community MJE Gramercy community!

Also, in case you missed the Israel concert at Shearith Israel on 6/6/12 you can watch it on my youtube channel (subscribe - shout-out to my one subscriber Bible Raps) or here compliments of Jspace: HATIKVAH