Shelach – Page 11 – Peninim on the Torah

“Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood.” (15:32)

In directing the spies where to investigate the land, Moshe Rabbeinu instructs them to confirm whether “there are trees in it or not.” Rashi defines the word tree as a reference to an adam kasher, a decent, righteous man who would protect Canaan’s inhabitants through his merit. Eitz, tree, is an allusion to a pious, upright man in whose merit a community, or an individual is sustained. In order to receive the merit of the tzaddik, however, one must be machshiv, recognize, value and appreciate the tzaddik. If he “knocks” every Torah scholar; if he determines who is a scholar…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“Moshe sent them to spy out the land of Canaan.” (13:17)

Yehoshua also sent spies to spy out the land prior to conquering it. He had no problem with his spies. In contrast, when Moshe Rabbeinu, his rebbe, sent twelve distinguished leaders of the Jewish nation, a terrible calamity resulted. The impact of this calamity affected the entire Jewish nation. Wherein lay the difference between the two groups of spies? Perhaps the difference is in the numbers. Doleh U’mashkeh cites the pasuk in Devarim (1:22): “Vatikrevun eilai kulchem”, “And you all came close to me,” when the people requested spies. Yehoshua sent two representatives of the people, whom he felt were…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“Calev silenced the people toward Moshe.” (13:30)

Calev sought to attract the people’s attention, in order to listen to what they were saying against Moshe: “Is it this alone that the son of Amram has done to us?” Calev gave the inaccurate impression that he would now disparage Moshe (here it was a matter of pikuach nefesh of Klal Yisrael). They were wrong. He only wanted their attention, so that he could reveal the wonderful things that Moshe had done for them. Is one permitted to resort to subterfuge, to give the impression that he is not very observant, only to clarify the matter shortly thereafter? The…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so were we in their eyes.” (13:33)

What did the spies want to prove when they said, “And so were we in their eyes”? The Kotzker Rebbe, z.l., said that this comprises, in effect, a major aspect of their sin. The fact that the spies felt small in their own eyes is something we can accept. They saw these giant men, and they felt overwhelmed by them; they felt small compared to them. While a Jew who has faith in Hashem should not have feelings of inadequacy, it is understandable that some of us have a difficult time dealing with pressure. What the Canaanites thought, however, also…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“And the people wept that night.” (14:1)

Klal Yisrael believed the spies’ malignant report of what they saw in Eretz Yisrael. They responded to the report in a manner unbecoming a noble people, a nation that had stood at Har Sinai and was privy to an unprecedented Revelation of the Almighty. What was their response? They cried – and cried. They withdrew to their tents and lamented the terrible “fate” that was awaiting them. They lived through a night of ceaseless weeping, a night of unwarranted weeping. Hashem also responded. The Talmud in Taanis 28a states that Hashem said to Klal Yisrael, “You wept without reason; I will…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“And it will be in front of the eyes of the assembly.” (15:24)

The Torah refers to leadership, the Sanhedrin, as the einei ha’eidah, the eyes of the assembly. Their ability to see far beyond that of the common person; their penetrating insight; their global perspective; their clear vision and comprehension of a situation makes this nom de guerre highly appropriate. Their vision and perception is honed and refined by their constant immersion in the sea of Torah. The eyes that never leave the Gemora are capable of seeing beyond the limits imposed by nature. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, relates that Horav Isser Zalmen Meltzer, z.l., was able to look at a vessel…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5763

“Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood.” (15:32)

In directing the spies where to investigate the land, Moshe Rabbeinu instructs them to confirm whether “there are trees in it or not.” Rashi defines the word tree as a reference to an adam kasher, a decent, righteous man who would protect Canaan’s inhabitants through his merit. Eitz, tree, is an allusion to a pious, upright man in whose merit a community, or an individual is sustained. In order to receive the merit of the tzaddik, however, one must be machshiv, recognize, value and appreciate the tzaddik. If he “knocks” every Torah scholar; if he determines who is a scholar…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5762

“And how is the land – is it fertile or is it lean? Are there trees in it or not?” (13:20)

Rashi comments that Moshe’s reference to a tree is an allusion to a tzaddik, righteous person. He was teaching the meraglim, spies, that if a righteous person was living in the land, he would protect its inhabitants from attack through his merit. In his Sefer Simchas HaTorah, Horav Simcha HaKohen Sheps, z.l., supplements Rashi with another reason for comparing an adam kasher to a tree. In addition to the shade which a tree provides and the fruit which it produces, a tree has a cleansing effect on the ecology. A tree purifies the air by its very existence. It balances the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5762

“They brought forth an evil report on the land that they had spied… ‘it is a land that devours its inhabitants…we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes.’” (13:32-33)

The spies returned from their mission and spread malicious lies about Eretz Yisrael. They said the land was made for huge and robust people, not for ordinary people like the Jews. They failed to realize that they were the beneficiaries of Hashem’s favor. Wherever they went, they noticed funerals going on. Rather than realize that Hashem was sparing them by engaging the Canaanites in funeral preparations, they were quick to charge that it was a land that devours its inhabitants. They felt especially insignificant in the eyes of the giants that lived there. This statement was especially slanderous and pure conjecture….

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5762

“And you shall not go astray after your heart and after your eyes.” (15:39)

In the Talmud Berachos 12b, Chazal interpret the meaning of “straying after one’s heart and eyes.” “Straying after the heart” is a reference to entertaining heretical thoughts, and “straying after the eyes” alludes to permitting lewd thoughts to enter one’s mind. The Torah enjoins us to distance ourselves from places or situations which will inspire such sinful contemplations. We are provided with the mitzvah of Tzitzis as a reminder of our obligation to exercise care in avoiding these spiritual hazards. The Talmud Gittin 55b relates the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, two people in Yerushalayim with very similar names….

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“Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood.” (15:32)

“Moshe sent them to spy out the land of Canaan.” (13:17)

“Calev silenced the people toward Moshe.” (13:30)

“We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so were we in their eyes.” (13:33)

“And the people wept that night.” (14:1)

“And it will be in front of the eyes of the assembly.” (15:24)

“Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood.” (15:32)

“And how is the land – is it fertile or is it lean? Are there trees in it or not?” (13:20)

“They brought forth an evil report on the land that they had spied… ‘it is a land that devours its inhabitants…we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes.’” (13:32-33)

“And you shall not go astray after your heart and after your eyes.” (15:39)

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