Balak - Realise your potential by walking with - (in the truest sense of the word), Hashem

B”SD

PARASHA BALAK

 

This past week’s Parasha gives a tremendous indication of the power of speech and how we need to guard our tongues for good. In it we see the unbelievable kindness G-d had bestowed on us. G-d turns away from seeing our flaws, bestowing on a nation, as a whole unit - abundant kindness.  This  kindness is perpetual and we often do not even know about it.  Had Moshe not written about the attempts of Balak and Bilam to curse our nation in the Torah, the Jewish people would have been none the wiser for it.

Recently a Chosen (Groom) got married at a wedding I attended, at the function he got up and said something exceptional, many special people get up on the day they get married and thank Hashem for his kindness and blessing, which they so rightfully feel on the day, this Chosen took one step back and thanked Hashem for all the kindnesses he has bestowed on him that he knew about and for all the kindnesses he did not know about too – wow this is a level.  Clearly he got one of the messages from the Parashah of Balak.

Yesterday morning I was at another wedding, when giving the bride and groom the blessings, one of prayers we say is the Chosen (groom) should be “Eem” (with) Ha Kalah (the bride).  What is so important is the meaning of the words “Eem”! Rabbi Aurbach explained it means a blessing that the couple be as one, i.e. the marriage should be full of closeness, care and shared values and goals. We will see a reason for this as my introduction a little later.

The Parasha starts with Balak being fearful of the Nation of Israel; he enlists the help of a spiritualist Bilam.  The nation of Israel had no intention and in fact had been instructed not to fight with Moav, despite this, Balak’s unfounded paranoia results in him desiring the curses of the infamous prophet Bilam against Israel.  The Tanchuma says notice the ways of the wicked, when holy people are fearful and scared they request prayers and blessings for protection from great Sages Tzaddikim (righteous people), and they fortify themselves but what does Balak do, he has an evil eye, he before examining our intentions, (Rashi brings about the similar terminology used by both Balak and Pharoh), he is presumptuous (a trait of the wicked) and he seeks out a means to ensure that his perceived enemies should be cursed.  At least he acknowledges the power of words! This is why in our 18 blessing prayer the Amidah that we say three times a day we request the Hashem guard our tongue from evil and that he annul any plans our enemies have against us – it should be so!

Balak  ch22 v 6 “and now, please come and curse this nation for me, for it is too mighty for me, perhaps it will enable us to strike at him, and banish them from the land…”

Rashi points out Balak wanted us out of the Land, that was bad but Bilam wanted to banish us from the world. He also says Bilam tried to use Yaakov’s blessing of the power of the voice, prayer against him.  So in return the Angel of Hashem uses the power of Eisav against him and that is why on his journey the angel carries a sword!

After listening to a Shiur by Rabbi Aurbach I realised this Parsha actually has within it a very scary message for all of us, at least that is how I feel about it, I ask myself what if I am being so self-righteous when I feel loved, how do I know all these wonderful feelings I feel at times, mean that I am acting appropriately with Hashem, we know Hashem is a G-d of love and mercy and he cares for all man kind – but are we reciprocating this kindness appropriately?! Let me explain how Bilam got it wrong: to get this message we need a simple knowledge of Hebrew terminology, it is essential. G-d is One, there is no other as is stated at the giving of the 10 Commandments: I am the L-rd your G-d, have no other gods Before me, with this in mind we do however see scripture describes the One and only almighty G-d with different names based on the attributes he displays at those moments. Elokim is used when we talk about the Master Creator and Judge.  The name YKVK describes G-d as the loving and merciful Father. So here is a quick crash course in understanding that each letter of Torah in Hebrew is significant for example certain verbs like Vayikar (happened on – Rashi indicates the root is keri sourced in impurity) is used to show an unloving appearance or approach.  In the Parasha Vayikra we described the approach or call to Moshe in a soft loving and caring way by adding an Aleph on the end, to get the word  Vayikra.  With this in mind I will highlight what Rabbi Aurbach told us this Shabbat about Bilam.

In ch 22 v 8 Bilam says “ Spend the night here and then I will give you an answer according to what YkvK tells me”  this is frightening, Bilam assumes because he feels spiritual and is privileged to talk with Hashem, that Hashem loves him he thus states I will see what YKVK (G-d of mercy) tells me.

Now we go to the next verse V9 bang the truth comes out it says and “G-d – Elokim (the G-d of Judgement ) appeared to Bilam”  you see what scares me here is we have an individual given the gift of communication and power to communicate albeit only at night with the Almighty, this gave him the capability of reaching very high spiritual levels, in fact he may even have been greater than Moshe, had he realised his potential, but he did not. – (heard from Rabbi Tabback). We need to learn a lesson from this and how he messed it up, summed up Bilam is about his own glory, greed and using his powers for wrong  - to curse with an evil eye - this individual uses his potential in a totally misguided selfish way, all the time he thinks because he can communicate with G-d, this means automatic closeness, but when we read the text carefully we see most of the time when G-d did approach him it was not an approach in love at all, but in Judgement.  We see most of the Parsha that the will of Bilam is not really in line with that of G-d at all, he does not disobey but at the same time he wishes to curse, but G-d does not wish him to do so, his mind and will is out of alignment with G-d’s will. He demonstrates he will listen to G-d, but he is not with G-d in motive or thought – this causes distancing from the creator.  The lesson I think is no matter how spiritually close we feel, to endear ourselves to G-d we need to make sure our will is in alignment to his will, we do this through listening closely to what he says in his holy Torah and performing his will in accordance to the words of those scholars who have spent their lives toiling in Torah to seek out the meanings and desire of our creator, in doing so we hope our actions will always be done with love and togetherness of our own and G-d’s will.

In Ch22 verse 12 again G-d (Elokim) talks to Bilam “Do not go with them! You shall not curse this people for they are blessed.” The statement is clearly and firmly stated.

Note in Ch22 verse 13, Bilam does not tell the dignitaries G-d has not allowed him to curse the Jewish people, which would have put an end to their attempts to hire him, but rather he states “But YKVK (the G-d of Mercy) refuses me to go with you.” Rashi indicates he says you, giving an impression he will not go with them but implies he will only go with others greater than those dignitaries – seeking more honour.  He was again being visited in judgement not with the attribute of kindness he assumed and told the dignitaries about.

How do we know Bilam is interested in Glory by the way he speaks to G-d emphasizing Balak the King of Moav desires his service.  He indicates he is greedy when he later says to Balak in V 18 and then later again “Even if you give me silver and gold enough to fill this house, I cannot transgress the word of Ykvk” again when he is speaking he always speaks that his and G-d’s relationship is one of closeness.  G-d has told him he should not go, yet he waits, and when the  greater dignitaries arrive he again despite the clear message he got as per V 12, that the Israelite nation should not be cursed, he again asks these greater dignitaries to stay the night so he can prophesize further .  He let his own self-interests prevent him hearing G-d’s true desire.

 Now that night V20 G-d approaches him again as Elokim (the Almighty judge) He appears to him that night and said to him “if the men have come to call you arise and go with (Hebrew Eetem) them however whatever I will say to you, you will do”. The Vilna Gaon Ztl, points out the Hebrew word used for with is Eetem,  this is in the connotation of accompanying them, but not with closeness, not with the same frame of mind and intentions.  What a beautiful insight the Gaon has given to us to what follows, for if G-d told him to arise and go – why does G-d then get angry?  Let’s look closely into the text:

V21 Bilam arose in the morning saddled his donkey, and went with (EEm in Hebrew) the Moavite dignitaries.

Wow the same Hebrew word used in the Blessing to the Groom and Bride discussed in the introduction – Bilam went with then not to accompany them, but rather his intentions were in line with the dignitaries, he went with them with closeness, with the same intentions, he wanted to still curse the Jewish nation, his will ignored the words of Elokim.  His sense of self- importance pushed him further from G-d.  G-d is a merciful G-d so he sends an angel of Ykvk to direct him back onto the path of recognising his true will.  When bad things happen (G-d forbid there should be a need), we never know why but we must always see it as those obstacles and painful or frustrating experiences are Hashem reminding us to look deep and turn back on course in finding Hashem’s true will.

In Ch 23 V 3 Bilam still talks to Balak indicating to him that G-d (of mercy) YKVK would perhaps appear to him.

In Ch 23 V 4 we see that that G-d in Judgement again appears but not in the manner he expects - of YKVK, but as Elokim.  Here the Hebrew word used is Vayikar, it means chanced upon him, i.e. in an unloving cold way as opposed to the approach to Moshe in Vayikra meaning a soft loving call, a call of wanting to be together.

The verse also says YKVK put a message in Bilam’s mouth, and he goes on to turn all the ill-intentioned curses into the most beautiful blessings and below some excerpts or messages for our people refer to Numbers Ch23:

V9 “A people which shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations” – Why? Not because we are better, but because we need to maintain a high standard of holiness and not mingle with those who will bring us down.  We are in fact instructed to love all nations and those righteous gentiles are guaranteed a place in the world to come. A fascinating insight we are taught you need not be Jewish to be righteous, even if you are not a Jew you are not threatened with damnation.

V10 “May my soul die the death of the righteous and my end be like his” We see from this first parable if we follow the will of G-d our end will be bliss, this was a desire of Bilam on being shown the Jewish nation at the end of days.

We now see after this first blessing, Hashem still chances on Bilam (VAYIKAR) but now for the first time with the attribute of YKVK, he has been used as an instrument expressing Hashem's will so now for the first time G-d with the attribute of Mercy is attributed to this encounter, even though it is still not a meeting of Vayikra a calling out of common love, it is an approach by our merciful father. In the parable Bilam says

V19“G-d is not like man that he should act falsely nor is he mortal that he should change his mind.”

Ch24 v 5 my favourite “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov your dwelling places Yisroel. They say he saw the Jews tents were placed in a way that was modest and respectful of each other’s privacy, that we were steeped in Torah learning and even though as individuals we may have had shortfalls the common respect for each other compensated for these shortcomings, we were being judged as a unit a nation.  That is why it is so important we come together to pray, to ride on the dovetails of the righteous!

And finally in Verse 17 Bilam gives off his last prophesy to Balak, a promise that in the distant future the nation would be redeemed “I see it but not now, I perceive it not in the near future; a star has gone forth from Yaakov, a staff has arisen from Yisroel.

V19 a ruler shall come from Yaakov” A redeemer is promised to us a man that will rule the world from oceans to ocean and over the Lands. Rabbi Weinberg indicated he learnt from his Rebbe, the Lubavitcher Rebbe a reference to oceans indicates he will rule over the hidden aspects of existence as well as those that are revealed. (the oceans hide what is beneath them)

….Amalek was the first among the nations and his end will be total destruction!  Oh how we long for this day, when knowledge of G-d will cover the world like waters cover the oceans and when those people who bring evil and denial of G-d almighty into the world will be destroyed, no more, murder, rape, theft or disease and death.  What a world that would be, if only we do our part to make it so.

Mandela was/is such a person, a righteous Gentile we should know that, he lies sick in ICU at the moment he suffered so much, he was imprisoned – but he came out with a message of peace and love, he was a Tikkun Olam, a fixer of the world –he I presume will have a blissful spot awaiting him, when the creator decides it is his time.  He was one man, we all need to be as he is/was to bring the final redemption, we need to be a community of builders and fixers. We all need to love and care, and of course as holy people align our will to that of our G-d as agreed to in our covenant at Sinai, after all Bilam said who is G-d that he should change his mind, he never ever intended to abolish the Law, the Law is an instruction of G-d's will.  In fact Torah means - Instruction!

May all these prophesies foretold by Bilam come swiftly in our time when we can all see the death of Evil and a total recognition of G-d, may our wills be aligned with his.  May he correct our faults and remove any false perceptions of spirituality and closeness, so we can come to know the attribute of YKVK in its truest sense. May he always continue to protect us his nation, even in hidden ways, and may we always recognise his kindnesses those we see and those we do not.

We are coming up to the saddest time in the Jewish year, the removal of G-d’s temple from the world, and in so doing the departure of the revealed Shechina, his revealed light in the world. As we come into the month of Av, we are taught this month is called Av which means father, it is a time to take all our pain and suffering and utilise it to draw closer to our Father in Heaven, and beg him to return and once again reveal his hidden light and presence to us and all the nations of the world.

Have a good week, G-d Bless

Michael

Korach -Despite the fact we are all holy, we need know our place and accept G-d’s will

B”SD

Korach

Despite the fact we are all holy we still need to recognise those individuals greater than us.

 

There are arguments for the sake of heaven like that of Hillel and Shammai and then there are arguments for one’s own needs and desires, these goals are not always synonymous with Hashem’s will and in fact are often a form of denial of Hashem’s will.  Hashem is the ultimate giver, he created the world to give to us, so we could recognise and appreciate all he bestows on us, we are all individuals with unique abilities and talents, but sometimes we loose sight of this and we want something that is not meant for us, and as a result we allow ourselves to  feel we deserve something, even if it has not come to us with G-d’s blessings. We end up taking for ourselves, even that which is not rightfully our blessing and thus usually at the cost of another.  The verse Numbers chapter 16 states

“Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took along with Dathan and Abiram” The Tanchuma indicates this is a hint to his self-interest, he took!

V2 They confronted Moses together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute.

V3 They assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the L-rd is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the L-rd's assembly?"

 

Rabbi Aurbach spoke on why the Parsha of Korach was placed next to the chapter of Tzitzit.  There is a Midrash that tells us that Korach and his assembly approached Moshe wearing four cornered garments made entirely of the majestic Blue threads (reminding us of the Heavens and the vast oceans and thus a vision of G-d's Kingship) but the garment they wore contained no fringes, this was against the teaching that Moshe had instructed them, we are commanded through Moshe’s instruction from Hashem to wear fringes containing a blue thread on all four cornered garments, Korach argued to his assembly and to Moshe: “You see Moshe if our entire garment is of this blue wool the fringes are not needed.” Moshe insisted that despite their fine garments being made of this majestic blue wool they still needed the fringes, but Korach scoffed at him and said “You make up the Law, it is your own desire, not Hashem’s, your argument is not Logical, why do we need the fringe if the entire garment is made of the Blue holy fibres (The Midrash is hinting at Korach’s frame of mind - the idea is if we are all Holy why focus on the individual threads that protrude from the rest of the Garment).  On a deeper level he was arguing all Jews are holy and therefore why did Moshe and Aharon place themselves before and above the rest of the people.  In doing so he discounted Moshe's greatness and the fact that Hashem had selected him for his humility and loyalty, and leadership.  Korach should have been happy he was part of Kohas the tribe privileged to be allowed to carry the Ark of Hashem, but Korach wanted to be number 1, he wanted a better place than the one he had been destined to hold, so Ego took over.  We learn from Chazal the jealousy arose when he had not been made head of the tribe of Kohas, his father’s younger brother’s son Elitzofon Ben Uziel had been given this honour. This caused him upset, his emotions got in the way and led to a denial of the greatness of Moshe and this was Korach’s downfall because Moshe and Aaron represented what  G-d wanted. He was thus in a fight against G-d not the Leaders. 

 

Korach was correct all the nation was holy, but Hashem in his wisdom chose within the nation other’s that he in his infinite wisdom knew to be correct for the job - holy individuals that stood out in spirituality and knowledge, they were not all equal, that was Korach’s mistake G-d made individuals, he blessed them with their own uniqueness and ability to grow. People develop at different paces.  Only G-d almighty truly knows how great and suited a person he is, and thus bestows the gifts and honour accordingly.  Korach had seen enough to know objectively that Moses was chosen, yet he let his emotions and his own visions of grandeur deny the fact. Even great people need to recognise and accord honour to those even greater than they.  Korach at the outset was righteous, he was learned and held and kept all the Mitzvahs, but his heart and eyes led him astray.  Jealousy within resulted in him picking a fight with the greatest of all prophets in Israel being Moshe. We learn here a very serious sin it is to disparage those who are righteous and learned – no matter what, when you are dealing with holy people act very carefully.  This led to his eternal suffering and ruin!  Even the babies went down with him, how tragic is strife and those it surrounds. 

It was not without warning  - Moshe had warned the wicked assembly, stating bring an offering in the Morning (giving them time to reflect and repent) but Korach continued to encourage them against Moses, who falls on his face – he had prayed for the Nations survival after the Sin of the calf, again after they complained about food and a third time after the incident of the spies, the Tanchuma said now his leadership was being challenged Korach was challenging Hashem, as a leader Moses was weakened, he did not have the power to intercede once again for individuals, (I think this is a good reason to never separate yourself from a righteous community,) after all the nation had seen, but Moses does try something, he buys them time to repent – he does so by telling them do not bring your offering to Hashem until morning, then they would see the one who Hashem favours.  Remember the assembly had seen what had happened to Nadav and Avihu when they brought an incense offering, not commanded by Hashem directly.  But alas they do not hear the message, without wisdom they suffer a terrible end, all because of an individual who created strife, due to wanting to be something he was not destined to be!  Rabbi Aurbach stated how do we know if an argument is for the sake of Heaven, in such a case the people communicate and talk to each other, we try and convince each other for the sake of Hashem. When it is selfish desire, or power seeking that drives people, people often refuse to talk, they just stir the pot, and slander the opposition, often leading to tragic events.  Our actions should always be for the sake of Heaven and please G-d we should always respect and appreciate those greater than us for this is truly wisdom that G-d desires if he it to dwell among us.

Have a good Week

Michael

Parasha Shelach Don't follow your heart and eyes astray - a Lesson in faith

BS”D

 

Parashah Shelach – To send

 

Numbers Ch13 V 2

Send for yourself men, and have them scout/spy (Hebrew=Tooroo) out the land.

 

We see from the above verse that Hashem did not himself want the Israelites to go spy out the land, he had already told them it was a good land, but if they liked, they were permitted to go out and spy the land, they had seen Hashem come to their aid in Egypt and again in the desert with their needs, this is why it says “send for yourself.”, (as if to say for yourself as you desire to seek it out, but I know it is not necessary, for I have given the land over to you.) The implication was already a lack of faith by some of the leaders at the outset.

 

Moshe new this was not a good idea as we see he even adds a yud to Joshua’s name to protect him prior to their departure, he foresaw the spying out the land came with risk, especially with a focus on self or physical aspects of the expedition without a spiritual faith or a good eye, that eventually led to slandering Hashem and the promised land – Faith was found wanting!  My friend Martin also pointed out that Joshua was from the tribe of Joseph who we see also spoke of his brothers in an inappropriate way when he was young, thus Moshe new he may of been susceptible to bringing an evil report due to his lineage.

 

 

 

http://ohr.edu/2224

The Biggest Bribe In The World

"These are their names" (13:4)

Look at the order in which the Torah lists the spies in this weeks parsha. Calev is listed fourth and Yehoshua is listed fifth. The Ramban says that the Torah lists the spies according to their greatness. In other words, it cannot be that what saved Calev and Yehoshua from the mistake of the other spies was their greatness, for at least two of the spies were greater people than them, and they still failed. What was it then that allowed Yehoshua and Calev to avoid the disastrous pitfall of the sin of the spies?

Calev was married to Miriam, and one of the best protections that a man can have is a righteous wife. Yehoshua had the advantage that Moshe prayed for him to be spared from the spies conspiracy. Moshe changed Yehoshuas name from Hoshea by adding a yud at the beginning of his name. This made the first two letters spell one of G-ds names. It also changed the meaning of his name to "G-d will save." However, maybe Yehoshua and Calev had more than just these advantages going for them.

One of lifes amazing facts is that that two people can hold diametrically opposed opinions and yet cite the identical fact as proof to their opposing opinions. How is it that we can look at the world so totally differently from one another? How was it that Yehoshua and Calev saw a Land that was "very, very good" (14:7) whereas the other spies saw a "Land that devours its inhabitants"? Surely both cannot be true.

The Rambam says that the first mitzvah is to know and believe that there is a G-d. How is it possible to command belief? To whom is this mitzvah addressed? If someone already believes, then he doesn't need a commandment, and if someone doesnt believe, all the commanding in the world isnt going to make him believe. Another thing. Judaism expects every 13-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl to believe in G-d. How is it that, at their tender ages and with their limited intellects, they are expected to accomplish something that even Aristotle, one of the all-time brightest people who ever lived, wasnt able to attain? The Rambam says that Aristotle was on such a high intellectual level that he was just one step below being a prophet. And yet, Aristotle, for all his brilliance, was not able to arrive at a belief in G-d. So how can we expect the comparatively feeble mind of a teenager to achieve belief in G-d?

The answer is that belief in G-d isnt something that requires tremendous intellect. There once was an atheist who challenged Rabbi Akiva: "Who created the world?" "G-d," replied Rabbi Akiva. "Prove it!" said the atheist. "Who wove your cloak?" asked Rabbi Akiva. Replied the other, "The weaver." "Prove it!" said Rabbi Akiva. Just as the cloak testifies to the existence of the weaver, so too the world testifies to the existence of G-d.

So if belief in G-d is something so obvious, what stops so many people from believing?

Bribery.

The Torah tells us "a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise". Even the wisest person loses his objectivity when faced with a bribe. Obviously the degree of bias will vary depending on the intellect of the person and the attractiveness of the bribe. However, even the smallest bribe has some kind of influence on even the greatest intellect. Whats the biggest bribe in the world? The biggest bribe in the world is to do what I want to do when I want to do it without the slightest feeling of guilt. Judaism says that your life isnt your own. You were born against your will and youll die against your will. Our lives are not our own. Ah, but if I dont believe in G-d then my life is mine! I can do exactly what I want! (Provided of course that I dont get caught.) And I dont have to worry about some "Celestial Big Brother in the Sky" watching every move I make and every step I take.

Atheism isnt logical. Its psychological.

If there were a mitzvah in Judaism that you had to travel around the world eating at the best treif restaurants in the world, a lot more people would be observant.

The spies knew that they would very possibly lose their positions as leaders when the Jewish People entered the Eretz Yisrael. It was this unconscious bias that caused them to speak unfavorably about the Land. Rather than say what they saw in the Land, their eyes saw the subconscious prior agenda that they had already dictated for themselves. Their eyes saw the agenda of their mouths, for a bribe blinds the eyes of even the wisest and the greatest.

 ......................................................

It is interesting to note that when Hashem asks Moshe to send leaders to spy out the land the word used is “Tooroo”, Rabbi Aurbach points out this word is mentioned at the end of the Parashah again in the Passuk dealing with the commandment of  Tzizit refer to Numbers ch 15 V 39

“And it will be for you fringes and you will look upon it and you will remember all of Hashem’s commandments and you will perform them; and you will not search (TaTooroo) after your hearts and your eyes which cause you to go astray!

 

We see that Hashem is giving us all a very important message about the dangers of spying and searching out, and this is the theme I would like to highlight today.

In Shema we say do not follow after your heart and eyes that lead you astray.  It is important to reflect on one’s own biases.  Rabbi Taback’s Rebbetzin pointed out that in the book of Ruth when Ruth is gleaning from the field of Boaz he tells her to follow her heart and eyes, the difference she stated, was Ruth was coming from a place of unselfishness and purity, she was a true follower of Hashem.

The spies start out saying the land is good, and Rashi states this was mixing truth with their own untrue perceptions, I read on the Ohr Somayach website that we see the Hebrew word Emet (truth in English) starts with an Aleph; then has a Mem  a letter from the middle of the Hebrew alphabet; and ends with a Tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet – Truth is not truth unless every aspect is taken into account, start, middle and end.  The spy’s had their own interests at play, also they forgot, due to their own agenda that Hashem was all powerful and had assured them they would succeed, this lack of faith, the not listening was a serious sin, made even worse is that after the sin, G-d said due to the lack of faith, they are not to go up any longer... and some people further disobeyed and this misplaced faith and non- adherence to commands ended in tragedy.  Later an account of the Sabbath breaker also speaks about this denial of G-d and his power and the importance of adherence to an all knowing’s Kings words’ once revealed.

Rabbi Taback stated that the Chasom Sofer points out the root of the sin of the 10 men who brought back evil reports was they focussed on the physical aspects of what they saw, instead on what G-d had done for them and had told them in the past, they had experienced magnificent miracles, thus the expectations of them were very high, we all have a physical eye, this eye see’s this world alone, what the eyes see the heart desires and what the heart desires the eyes seek out, and evil actions may follow.  On the other hand we also all have a spiritual eye, a pure eye, rooted in the holy soul, this is the eye that recognises the divine hand in the world, the miracles and unexplained “coincidents” in our lives, with these we recognise G-d, and this leads to faith, we could not have been redeemed from Egypt had it not been for miraculous divine intervention, it is the eye of looking to the past, present and belief in the future, reflecting on the fact that there is in fact a G-d in this world guiding us and protecting us, saving us and shielding us (in the beginning of the Amidah we recognise our G-d the G-d of Abraham as Ozer (helper);Umoshia (saviour) O Magen (shield) and with this faith, doubt disappears and fear is subdued knowing G-d is on our side, hence the next Passuk Ch 15 V 40 states we wear the fringes “In order to remember and perform my commandments and you will be holy to G-d, I am Hashem your G-d who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d, I am Hashem your G-d.”  He is reminding us not to forget, if we do we may just lose that divine protection. If the spies had reflected on all that G-d had done, they may not have fallen, having pure eyes is what saved Joshua and Calev – their spiritual eye remained intact hence their good reports.

 

I was thinking when we lust after the world be it wealth or when we look at the world's immodesty with impure eyes, running after our own desires we then allow ourselves to be led by animalistic drives, we are thus forgetting G-d in the world, we lower ourselves to the drives of base animals debasing the holy soul and letting the physical body override our holy selves (G-d forbid) we should always be shielded from such things.  Prior to the original sin with Adam and Eve, the couple saw only the spiritual souls of each other, only after the sin did they realise they were naked.  Rabbi Tatz compares them to a lit light bulb prior to the sin, the soul's light shone so bright, you do not see the glass bulb (body) just light.  After the sin they saw the naked bodies, and G-d then gives them clothes due to the embarrassment they felt.

 

In ch 13 verse three, Hashem refers to all the spies as Anashim – i.e. men of distinction Roshey (leaders) of their tribes, before the spying out these were distinguished men, leaders!

In ch13 verse 20 Moshe says something very strange “how is the land is it fat, or lean does it have a tree or not”, Rashi brings down that the word used for Tree is Eitz (in the singular i.e. a tree not trees), why would Moshe say to them does the land have a tree, surely they knew there were trees, they had been told it was a good land flowing with Milk and date honey, and why a tree in the singular!  Rashi informs us that Moses was saying to them a tree refers to a well rooted and righteous person, for when going to war with G-d on your side, the biggest threat comes from the protection of righteous individuals within the enemies cities. As King David states in Psalm 20 v 8“Some rely on chariots and with horses, but we in the name of Hashem our G-d call out” the king and prophet is telling us, we should not rely on the physical alone, but rather on our faith, once we have Hashem on our side we will not be defeated, this was the mistake of the ten spies.   G-d knows man needs security and his faith is often lacking so he gave the go ahead for the spies activity, but they failed because they had said 'We were like grasshoppers in our and their eyes'.  This angered Hashem how could they know what the “giants” thought of them, the spies were projecting their own fears, and forgetting G-d’s promise to them.

 

In Ch 13 V25 says “They returned from spying the land and then V26 says again “They went and came to Moshe and Aharon” there is not a wasted word in the Torah so Rashi explains why is repeats they went (which we already know from prior words that they had gone), it could have just said they returned, he states this verse teaches us, that even at the outset of the spying trip their attitudes were already negative.

Ch13 v 33

There we saw giants… and we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we appeared in their eyes”

 

We also learn out from this whole episode, that Hashem is held back from destroying the people through Moses heartfelt appeal, he uses parts of the prayer we use during the high holy days to arouse the Mercy of our only King Master of heaven and earth G-d Almighty. Ch 14 V18-20.

 

Ch 14 v 27 Until when will this wicked congregation provoke me.  We learn from this verse that Hashem considers a group of 10 a congregation, and from here our rabbis learnt out the best way to pray is in a congregation of ten men coming together. (A group of ten men i.e. over Barmitzvah.)  Psalm 82 v 1 states “A Psalm of Asaph.G-d standeth in the congregation of G-d” we learn from here the divine presence rests amongst 10 who come together to worship him and him alone.

 

Rabbi Aurbach taught us why the severity of the punishment was so extreme: the evil spies all died and Bnei Yisrael had to traverse the desert 40 years, why because, Hashem knows a person may be in spiritual decline on a personal level.  He even knows people have doubts, but this nation had seen the miraculous redemption out of Egypt, G-d revealing his Torah on Sinai, the spiritual existence of the desert, they had just seen Miriam struck with a spiritual disease for talking against Moses.  Despite whatever negativity they felt, they caused others in their environment to doubt G-d as well, a lesson: if time’s are tough, you may suffer, but if you start taking it out on those around you, those close to you and then even demotivate the wider community the retribution will be very harsh!

 

We learn in Ch14 V 29

That the punishment fell on men of 20 years and older. The rabbi’s learnt from this that G-d withholds punishments from children until the age of 20. Though we also learn a child is accountable for their sins from the age of Bar and Bas Mitzvah.

Ch 14 v 32

Your corpses – yours, shall fall in this desert. Your children, they shall be wanderers for forty years.

 

V34 According to the days you scouted out the land forty days a day for a year, you will bear the burden of your iniquity for forty years and you will know my displeasure.

V37 Those men died, who spread the slander against the Land in a plague before G-d.

 

In consolation in the final chapters of Shelach Hashem shows us he still loves us and gives us commandments and principles and antidotes to the flaws of the spies, who lost faith in him these include: laws of offerings when we will finally enter the land, as well as the mitzvahs, of challah (A mitzvah reminding us the G-d is control of our livelihoods, and we thank him by offering the first of our sustenance – the bread we eat); Tzitzit a reminder not to let our heart and eyes stray and to have faith and follow all the laws that were given to us.

 

I was at a wedding last week and the groom Justin Swaine suggested if the implication of slandering our holy land (stone and trees) prevented us from entering into the land of Israel, as a fix, in order to hasten the redemption and to hasten our return to the land we should all build the faith of those around us, we should rather motivate those around us as Joshua and Calieb tried to do, and fix the error of the evil ten others reported, we should show those in despair, G-d’s hand in the world where possible, and in so doing may we all be worthy of seeing the ingathering of the exiles speedily in our days. Amen!

 

HAVE A GOOD WEEK

MICHAEL