A Look at Parashat Shelach Lecha

פרשת שלח לך

 במדבר Numbers 13:1 to 15:41

Chapter 13 – Dispatching the twelve scouts (Verses 1 through 20)

Shelach Lecha – note comparison to “Lech Lecha” (Genesis)

Rabbis and commentators have long debated if this means “You (Moses) should send (for your information and reassurance) or “Okay, if you really need to, you could send them”. As we will see in Deuteronomy (chapter 1, verse 22), Moses will claim, or perhaps accuse the Israelites of insisting that he send scouts (לתור is better translated as “to scout” rather than “to spy”) and he merely complied with their wishes.

Remember that in the previous parashah, we saw that Moses appeared faltering and is no longer at the top of his game.

Into the second year of the Exodus, Israel was poised for  the military  Invasion of, and the occupation of Canaan. As a first step, twelve scouts (one from each tribe) were to be sent out to learn the layout of the land, and the strengths and weaknesses of the inhabitants.

Why does Moses even need to dispatch scouts when G-d is in charge? The message may be that even though one prays for G-d’s help and guidance, and perhaps miracles, we must not rely on divine assistance or intervention, and make maximum preparations and take maximum precautions. Curiously, while he does charge the scouts to report if the towns are fortified, the rest of Moses’ instructions deal with the nature and productivity of the land, essentially a “real estate report”, not the information that a military tactician would need to plan a campaign.

Are the people ready for the task before them and the challenges that lie ahead?

The scouts report their findings (Verses 21 through 33)

The scouts’ report was probably objective and quite sobering. The physical descriptions of a land of “milk and honey” and the size of the cities and fortifications, etc. may have been part of a reasonably objective scouting report that should warn of difficulties to be expected and planned for. Caleb appears to be irresponsible or reckless, promising a “cake walk” against a formidable foe. Sadly, aside from Joshua and Caleb, the remaining ten scouts let their fears and lack of faith get the better of them and went beyond objectivity into the realm of hyperbole when they spoke of a land that devours its settlers and the great size of the inhabitants (“We looked like grasshoppers”). They succeeded in spreading panic and fear among the Israelites who listened to their reports. Still, we must cut them some slack! They were recently released from slavery, and their positions, the lowly of the low, must have left considerable scars and traumas, and certainly low self-images.

Each of the scouts is described as being a leader in his respective tribe (כל נשיא בהם). Is it possible that they intentionally wanted to panic the people so that they would insist on returning to Egypt so they can maintain their positions and authority, whatever that is, under slavery?

Curiously, the Rabbis of the Talmud (Megillah 23B) credit the unanimity of these ten scouts as one of the reasons why a minyan is composed of ten men.

Plaut noted that the reference to “giants” in 13:22 (ילדי הענק) is possibly a mistranslation, meaning “long necks”. What should we understand about the giant fruit (13:23)?

Chapter 14 – The Israelites are disheartened (Verses 1 through 10)

Once again, faced with the present hardships, the Israelites long for Egypt and are on the verge of rebellion once again.

Note verse 5: Moses and Aaron “fell on their faces” (ויפול משה ואהרון על פניהם). Is this a colloquial expression equivalent to the contemporary “threw up their hands” (הרימו את ידיהם), that is, abrogated leadership? Another interpretation (that I do not subscribe to) is that at the time this was the method to pray for help and guidance in a trying situation. This expression has made its way into contemporary Hebrew slang. על הפנים (on the face) is used to describe somebody (or an organization) that finds itself in a bad situation.

Were the Israelites right to be fearful and intimidated or discouraged as to their chances of conquering  and occupying the land?

Moses mollifies G-d’s wrath (Verses 11 through 19)

As in the story of the flood, G-d, seeing that the people did not measure up to his expectations, wants to destroy most of them. Moses mollifies G-d’s wrath; not appealing to His Mercy, but to His ego, using a technique worthy of Dale Carnegie. He said in effect “What will the goyim think?  You will lose your street cred.”

Verse:18: Here Moses partially quotes G-d’s own words (See Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 and 7 – after the incident of the golden calf) in order to remind G-d of his self-proclaimed attributes – “Slow to anger and abiding in kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression …”). This was Moses’ method to plead that He act accordingly with the Israelites. Verse 18 continues – “… visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, upon the third and fourth generation”. Do the children and descendants bear the blame for the iniquities of their forefathers or can עון better be translated as responsibility, that is, warning their descendants to monitor their actions knowing what their forefathers were capable of committing (think of present-day Germans or Japanese)? Note that verse 19 and the following verse 20 have been incorporated into the Yom Kippur liturgy, following the Kol Nidre supplication.

The Israelites are condemned to wander (Verses 20 through 35)

G-d is only partly mollified. He does not destroy the people but condemns them to wander forty years through the desert recall that the scouts’ mission lasted forty days – One year of wandering for each day of the mission) until the entire generation that knew slavery in Egypt, at least all those over the age of twenty (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) die out.

Later Midrashim postulate that the date of the Israelites loss of faith is pegged at Tisha Be’Av. This date on the Hebrew calendar, by tradition would be marked as a day that great tragedies would befall the Jewish people, such as the destruction of both Temples, the expulsion from Spain, etc.

Note in verse 24 that Caleb will be rewarded for his faithfulness. Joshua’s name is omitted. Why?

The ten scouts meet their fate (Verses 36 through 45)

The ten scouts who caused the despair in the camp died in a plague.

The people could only succeed in conquest when they had the support of G-d. After admitting that they were wrong, they went off on their own initiative, and against Moses’ warning, to attack the Amalekites and the Canaanites. As G-d was not with them, they were soundly defeated.

The idea of the forcible conquest of the land and destruction or exile of the inhabitants grates against our modern sensitivities. The morality of the act is never raised in the Torah. Warfare is seen as a natural aspect of life and the natural way of migrating peoples. G-d does not reveal his reaso ns for allowing the conquest of Canaan.

With that, the occupation of the land was seen as a moral trust. When Israel proved unworthy, they were conquered and expelled. While G-d may have granted the land to Israel, it is up to them to prove worthy to continue to inhabit it. Failing that, in exile, Israel must prove worthy of the right of return. Present day extremist sects such as Naturi Karta use these verses to justify their rejectionist theology that the establishment of the modern-day State of Israel is against the will of G-d.

Chapter 15 – Ceremonial offering upon entering the land (Verses 1 through 13)

Detailed instructions for the ceremony of a burnt offering upon entering  the land. Begs the question as to why this detailed instruction when the adults were just informed that they will die out in the desert and not enter the land? Isn’t this rubbing salt into an open wound? Alternatively, perhaps it was a way of consoling the generation that left Egypt. While they will not merit entrance into the promised land, they are secure in the knowledge that their children will have the opportunity that was denied them.

Burnt offering presented by a resident alien (Verses 14 through 16)

The Torah now deals with the laws of sacrifice as they would pertain to a permanent resident who is not an Israelite. Once again the Torah stresses that there is but one law, both for Israelites and for the resident alien (גר). Some traditional texts translate גר as a convert.

Setting aside a portion of the bread for the priests (Verses 17 through 21)

When baking, a portion of the bread (“challah”) is set aside for the priests. Kosher bakeries preserve this tradition by removing a portion of the unbaked dough and burning it (הפרשת חלה כדין). This custom is preserved not just in Israel but also in the diaspora.

Inadvertent and intentional inobservance and consequences (Verses 22 through 36)

The law differentiates between unintentional failure to observe a commandment and intentional lapse. The former, whether committed by an individual or by the community as a whole may be forgiven by way of a sacrificial ceremony. The later needs to be punished, sometimes severely , as we now see.

While gathering firewood on Sabbath is a clear violation of the law, why is the punishment so severe – death by stoning. There is no consideration as to whether there may be mitigating circumstances. Although, from the context, it is unlikely that the unfortunate fellow may have forgotten that it was Sabbath.

The fringed inner garment (Verses 37 through 41)

Origins of the fringed inner garment (tzitzit – ציצית ) codified in the Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך). From verse 39 (“That shall be your fringe, look at it …”) the rabbis of the Shulchan Aruch interpreted that the fringes must be externally visible and not tucked in. This ruling also applies to the prayer shawl or tallit (טלית). Also, later day Rabbis decreed that the tallit should be worn during the morning (Shacharit) service but not requisite for the evening (Maariv) service. An exception is the Yom Kippur Kol Nidre service, which begins shortly before dusk.

A single thread of blue or azure color (פתיל תכלת) should be attached to each corner of the garment. The Talmud explains that this color thread is to remind us of the sky, where presumably G-d’s throne lies. Both the tzitzit and the tallit are intended to serve as a reminder of our role as Israelites and perhaps also as an external sign to society at large as to who we are.