Shelach – Page 13 – Peninim on the Torah

“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, 5760

“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, 5759

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

“Anashim” is not a word to indicate plain men; rather, it is a description of the men. They were distinguished men, people of stature, breeding – truly tzaddikim worthy of leading their respective tribes. What went wrong? How did tzaddikim go off the derech, correct path, virtually overnight? In fact, this is not the only instance where noble men, leaders of the Jewish People, “lost it.” In the previous parsha, we learned about the “asafsuf“, complainers, who “lusted a lust.” There is a difference of opinion in the Midrash Tanchuma as to the identity of these malcontents. One opinion is…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5759

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

This parsha follows immediately after the incident in the previous parsha, in which Miriam’s criticism of Moshe Rabbeinu led to her punishment. Rashi explains that the meraglim should have learned the effects of malicious gossip from Miriam. Regrettably, they did not, and they returned to Moshe with vicious slander of Eretz Yisrael. It would seem from Rashi’s explanation that the primary fault of the spies was that they neglected to take heed of what had happened to Miriam. Their error was not their disregard of the general laws of lashon hora, slanderous speech, but rather that they did not derive…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5759

We arrived at the land…And indeed it flows with milk and honey…But the people that dwell in the land are powerful. (13:27,28)

Realistically, did the meraglim really lie? They simply recounted what they saw. If they related the truth, why were they punished? The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, explains that the fact that a statement is not a lie does not necessarily validate it as the truth. Just because one does not actually lie, he is not necessarily a man of integrity. Truth and faith emanate from the deep recesses of the heart. One does not acquire the truth by looking at it. He must conjure up courage from within to look beyond that which he sees visually. The meraglim saw a powerful…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5759

We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes…the people wept that night. (14:12)

The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, explains that this was one of their sins. It is one thing to be bothered by their own lack of self-image, but why should they care what the pagans thought of them? This criticism remains with us to this very day. We are bothered by what others think of us. Why? We have a mission to accomplish in this world – to serve Hashem and be His emissaries to the world community. This position demands that we act in a manner becoming Hashem’s People. Why would we be concerned with what others think of us –…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5759

In this wilderness shall they cease to be, and there shall they die. (15:35)

The final punishment was death in the wilderness. There was no reprieve, no suspension of sentence; they were simply not leaving the midbar. For every other sin, Hashem forgave them. When they rebelled with the Golden Calf, He forgave them. When they complained for no reason, Hashem forgave them. When they sinned when they followed Korach in contesting Moshe and Aharon’s leadership, Hashem forgave them. The only sin for which there was no room for forgiveness was the chet ha’meraglim, sin of the spies. They slandered; they were punished. Why? They cried that night, a weeping that was called a…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5759

Speak to the Bnei Yisrael and say to them that they shall make tzitzis on the corners of their garments. (15:38)

There is an inconsistency regarding the manner in which the mitzvah of tzitzis is introduced. The term “dibur,” speak, is lashon kasheh,strong form of the verb, while “amirah,” saying, is lashon racah, the soft form. Why would the mitzvah of tzitzis be presented through two opposite expressions? Kol Yehudah explains that there are two aspects to the mitzvah of tzitzis. First, there is one who wears a four cornered garment. He must put tzitzis on the four corners of his garment. Regarding him, the Torah speaks – “You must put on tzitzis.” There is another situation which is what we…

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Moshe Marcovich In Shelach, 5758

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan…They brought forth to the Bnei Yisrael an evil report on the Land that they had spied out. (13:2, 32)

One of the most difficult narratives in the Torah to understand is the incident of the meraglim, spies. They went to Eretz Yisrael on an ill-fated mission, to slander the land, Moshe Rabbeinu and even Hashem. The Yalkut Shimoni refers to these meraglim as “kesilim,” fools. They were actually the nesiim of their respective tribes, men who were gedolim, great leaders, whose reputation until that moment had remained untarnished. What happended? What transpired that suddenly changed a tzaddik into a “kesil“? Chazal cite the pasuk in Mishlei 10, “One who slanders /spreads lashon hora is a fool.” They say that…

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Moshe Marcovich In Shelach, 5758

They said to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael…the land which we traversed …the land is good, very, very much so…(14:7)

The sin of the meraglim is, indeed, difficult to understand. After all, the meraglim did not really tell any lies about Eretz Yisrael. The testimony that it is a land that “eats up its inhabitants” certainly appeared to be true, considering the many funerals that they had witnessed. Veritably, they even recounted that it was a “land flowing with milk and honey.” So, why were they punished to such an extent? The Yismach Yisrael cites his father, who posits that the meraglim were aware of the superiority of Eretz Yisrael. They felt the kedushah, holiness, everywhere they travelled. The…

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“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)

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

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

We arrived at the land…And indeed it flows with milk and honey…But the people that dwell in the land are powerful. (13:27,28)

We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes…the people wept that night. (14:12)

In this wilderness shall they cease to be, and there shall they die. (15:35)

Speak to the Bnei Yisrael and say to them that they shall make tzitzis on the corners of their garments. (15:38)

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan…They brought forth to the Bnei Yisrael an evil report on the Land that they had spied out. (13:2, 32)

They said to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael…the land which we traversed …the land is good, very, very much so…(14:7)

YEARS

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