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ועשו להם ציצית על כנפי בגדיהם לדרתם ... וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ד' ועשיתם אתם

They shall make for themselves Tzitzis on the corners of their garments … that you may see it and remember all the mitzvos of Hashem. (15:38,39)

The mitzvah of Tzitzis is of such primary significance that it enables the Jew to remember all the Torah’s precepts. The corners of a garment are seen and accessible; otherwise, they cannot serve as much of a reminder of the mitzvos. Why is the reminder specifically on one’s garments? Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl (Michtav MeiEliyahu), explains that clothing is a person’s vehicle for presenting himself to the world, highlighting the role that he wants to play and the manner in which he wishes to be perceived. Thus, it is important that the garments be sanctified with reminders about Hashem,…

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ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זנים אחריהם

And not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray. (15:39)

Rashi explains that the heart and eyes are like the body’s spies, catalyzing a gravitation toward satisfying his animal nature. Human cognition is selective. As a result, it is influenced by improper thoughts. When one wants something, it suddenly becomes permissible. Desire has a way of limiting one’s ability to think properly. The heart and the mind procure for the body. The eye sees, the heart desires, the body follows through when it commits the sin. Having said this, we wonder why the heart’s desires precede the eye’s perception. The pasuk should have instructed us not to explore/probe after the…

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ויציאו אותו כל העדה אל מחוץ למחנה וירגמו אתו באבנים

The entire assembly removed him to the outside of the camp, they pelted him with stones. (15:36)

The Torah uses the plural of stone, avanim, which implies that a group participated in the execution of the mekoshesh eitzim, wood-gatherer. He was not the only one incarcerated at the time. The megadef, blasphemer, was also awaiting execution. Concerning his punishment, the Torah writes, Vayirgemu oso even, “They stoned him to death,” with the word even written in its singular form (Vayikra 24:23). Apparently, a difference existed between the manners of their individual executions. The Maharam Lublin, zl, was asked this question when he was a young child. He replied that, concerning the mekoshesh, some contended in his favor…

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ויהי בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו איש מקושש עצים ביום השבת ... ויניחו אתו במשמר כי לא פרש מה יעשה לו

Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood on Shabbos day…They placed him in custody because what should be done with him had not been clarified. (15:32,34)

Rashi explains that, in fact, they knew that one who desecrates Shabbos is liable for the death penalty. They did not know, however, which one of the four punishments should be meted out for chillul Shabbos. While they waited for Moshe Rabbeinu to issue his ruling, the perpetrator was remanded into custody. Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, quotes Horav Aharon Katzenelbogen, zl, who presents an insightful exposition concerning the mekoshesh’s lockup. Earlier in the parshah, the Torah relates the nation’s reaction to Yehoshua and Calev’s support of Eretz Yisrael. They disputed the other ten meraglim, spies, and contended that Eretz Yisrael…

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שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan. (13:2)

The chet ha’meraglim, sin of the spies, is one of the most difficult passages in the Torah to grasp. These were men of distinction, princes of their individual tribes who had earned their eminence. It was not just arbitrarily accorded to them. How did such great leaders fail? As an aside, I think that one powerful lesson may be derived: no one is immune to failure; no one is perfect, with no sign of weakness. People have flaws which they gloss over or address and overcome. Those who are unable to ferret out their individual issues are, for the most…

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והאנשים אשר שלח משה לתור את הארץ וישבו וילנו עליו את כל העדה להוציא דבה על הארץ...וימתו האנשים מוצאי דבת הארץ רעה במגפה לפני ד'

But as for the men whom Moshe sent to spy out the Land, and who returned and provoked the entire assembly to complain against him by spreading a report against the Land. (14:36)…The men, the ones spreading an evil report about the Land died in a plague before Hashem. (14:37)

The preceding pasuk already mentioned that the spies had spread an evil report about the Land. Why does the next pasuk, which relates their punishment, reiterate their slander of the Land? The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh attributes this to their slandering Eretz Yisrael. “How can one declare a completely beautiful Land to be bad?  How can a human being be so brazen?… As a result of this insurrection, Hashem’s anger flared against them, and He killed them immediately.” We derive from here that speaking negatively of Eretz Yisrael is a grave sin. It is unnatural because it is contrary to the…

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ויקרא משה להושע בן נון יהושע

Moshe called Hoshea Bin Nun Yehoshua. (13:16)

Moshe Rabbeinu added the letter yud to Yehoshua’s name, so that his name would begin with the letters of Hashem’s Name (Yud, Kay). The Hebrew name Yehoshua means Hashem saves or Hashem will save, which conveys that Moshe prayed for Yehoshua. Kah yoshiacha mei’atzas meraglim; “May Hashem save you from the conspiracy/counsel of the spies.” Why did Moshe pray for Yehoshua and not for Calev? Moshe had greater reason to be concerned for Yehoshua, for he feared that Yehoshua’s yetzer hora l’shem Shomayim, evil inclination would convince him to act egregiously because, ultimately, it would be for the sake of…

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שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan. (13:2)

The incident of the meraglim, Jewish spies – who left the wilderness as tzaddikim, wholly righteous individuals, and returned spewing slanderous statements against the Land – is one of the greatest tragedies recorded in the Torah. I use the term tragedy because the transformation that occurred in these men, the ripple-effect that it had on the nation, and the ultimate disastrous punishment that resulted are nothing less than tragic. Obviously, the Torah records this incident due to the lessons we are to derive from it. The first and foremost question that must be resolved is: How did this happen? Shlach…

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שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan. (13:2)

At the beginning of the parshah, Rashi focuses on the juxtaposition of the incident of the meraglim upon Miriam speaking inappropriately about Moshe Rabbeinu, and the punishment she received. On the surface, the two incidents do not seem to have a common thread. Rashi explains that Miriam’s comment was considered lashon hora. Concerning the meraglim, he says: Reshaim hallalu ra’u v’lo lakchu mussar; “Those wicked ones saw what happened to Miriam and did not take a lesson.” In other words, they too spoke negatively. Indeed, Miriam spoke against Moshe; they spoke against the Land. Apparently, a parallel exists between the…

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ויאמרו איש אל אחיו נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה

So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader, and let us return to Egypt.” (14:4)

The chet meraglim, sin of the spies, was the transgression that put an end to the possibility that the Jews of that generation would settle in Eretz Yisrael. This was a generation that had survived the Egyptian bondage, were privy to the miracles of the Ten Plagues, were liberated from Egypt and experienced the Splitting of the Red Sea; later, they stood at Har Sinai and witnessed the greatest Revelation in history, as they received the Torah. Yet, this generation was barred from entering Eretz Yisrael. It would be their children, instead, who would enter and settle in the land….

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