Category Archives: Shelach

5782, Chidushei HaRim, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach

Why Leaders Become Corrupt (Shlach)

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Why Leaders Become Corrupt (Shlach)

Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads. -Charles Caleb Colton

Moses selects twelve men, twelve princes of Israel to scout the land of Canaan, the land God promised to the nation of Israel. The princes are named. Each one was a great leader. Not only were they great leaders, the rabbinic tradition holds that they were also righteous men.

However, between their appointment and their report on what they saw in the land of Canaan, something happened. Something that led them to sin so gravely that they sowed panic and dissension within the nation of Israel. They repudiated Moses’ leadership and God’s omnipotence and brought upon the entire nation the punishment of forty years of wandering in the desert.

The Chidushei HaRim on Numbers 13:2 wonders how this transformation occured. How did ten of the most important men of Israel’s leadership, ten righteous men fall so low, so fast?

He explains that it had to do with the people. It was not only their appointment and the power it represented that corrupted these previously righteous men. It was the people they represented. Somehow, by having some level of representation of the people, the princes picked up on the people’s intentions. The problem was that a certain percentage of the population didn’t want to enter the Promised Land. They had tired of the desert, of Moses’ leadership and of God’s presence in their lives. They wanted to be free of those, and ironically, return to the slavery and the familiarity of Egypt. Those rebellious intentions somehow infected the previously righteous leaders once they were appointed. That tainted the princes’ scouting mission from the start. Their scouting of the land of Canaan commenced with an intention to sabotage the planned entry into the land.

However, two princes were spared from the conspiracy and demonstrated greater strength of character and loyalty. Those were Joshua and Caleb. Before Joshua had departed on the mission, Moses renamed Joshua (in Hebrew, he changed it from Hoshea to Yehoshua) by including a part of God’s name in Joshua’s name. Caleb went to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron to pray at their graves. It seems that by binding oneself so firmly to God that it becomes a part of one’s name and identity, as well as intense prayer calling on the merits of our forefathers somehow deflected the negative influences of the crowd on those two leaders.

May we always seek ways to deflect the corruption and negative influences we may find.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the induction of Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon as the Rabbi of Gush Etzion.

5781, Bechor Shor, Moses, Numbers, Paintings, Parsha, Shelach

The Fallacy of Good Intentions (Shelach)

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The Fallacy of Good Intentions (Shelach)

A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand. -Bertrand Russell

There were multiple crises, challenges, and mistakes that occurred during the journey of the nation of Israel through the desert. Perhaps none were as dramatic and impactful as the Sin of the Spies. Moses chose twelve men, one from each tribe, each one a prince, a man of high character and position. He sent them on what should have been an easy and straightforward mission: Check out the land. Check out the land that was promised to us by our all-powerful God, the God who liberated us from the most powerful empire and army on the planet, the God who revealed Himself to us at Mount Sinai when the entire world shook from His presence.

However, ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative, disheartening report, which struck fear into the nation of Israel, causing them to cry, to rebel against God’s plans. God, in His fury, struck down the ten rebellious spies and decreed the punishment of forty years of wandering in the desert to the rest of the nation.

The mission of the spies should have been just a formality. Why the need to check something God had promised would be a land “flowing with milk and honey”? If God could destroy the largest, most powerful military at the time in Egypt, why would there be any concern over the smaller, weaker vassal Canaanite city-states?

A related question is that with such promises and such Omnipotent strength on their side, why would Moses send spies at all? and once he did authorize such a mission, how could it have led to such calamitous results?

The Bechor Shor on Numbers 13:33 explains that Moses had a significant divergence in his thinking from the ten spies. Moses indeed did not need to send spies, as he had no reason to doubt God’s promise. However, he thought it a good idea to send the spies as a preparatory scouting team. He had every intention of going into the land and the spies were an appropriate step to advance God’s promise, to check out the routes and the practical tactical steps they would take to conquer the land.

However, the ten spies had entirely different motives. Their motivation was to determine if Israel should venture into the land or not. They were less moved by God’s promise, but rather gave in to their fears and let their fears overtake the faith they should have had as direct witnesses and beneficiaries of God’s might.

Moses’ tragic error was that he attributed to the spies the same intentions he had. He incorrectly assumed that the spies were looking for practical means to implement God’s will. His assumption of their good intentions proved disastrous.

It’s nice to assume the best of people, but not when there’s reason to believe otherwise.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To all those fighting antisemitism.

5780, Meshech Chochma, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach

Equalizing the Elite (Shelach)

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Equalizing the Elite (Shelach)

Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance. -James B. Connant

By both biblical and rabbinic accounts, Moses is likely the greatest man who ever lived. He confronted Pharaoh, brought the plagues upon Egypt, and took the Jewish nation out of its slavery. He split the sea, spoke to God like no person ever has or will. He received the Torah and relayed it to the People of Israel. The Torah also declares that he was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets. We can’t even imagine the type of person he was, his caliber, his sanctity, his righteousness, his wisdom, or his nobility.

Yet according to the Meshech Chochma on Numbers 15:37, God puts Moses on an equal footing with every Jew when he presents the commandment of Tzitzit.

Tzitzit are the ritual fringes that every Jewish male is meant to wear on an item of clothing that has four corners. From a young age, boys usually wear the Tzitzit under their shirts, some with the fringes sticking out, others with the fringes tucked in. From Bar-Mitzvah age, and at the latest, once a man is married, there is the related custom to wear a Talit, the prayer shawl, an outer garment with the fringes on the four corners, for morning prayers, or if someone is serving as the Chazan, the leader of the prayer service.

The passage regarding the commandment of Tzitzit is so important, that it was incorporated as the third section of the twice-daily reading of Shema, which we recite in our prayers.

What is interesting about the passage, the Meshech Chochma points out, is that it gives part of the rationale for the commandment of Tzitzit: “so that you shall not go after your hearts and after your eyes.” It is a warning, a reminder, even protection, against inappropriate thoughts and intentions.

It would be reasonable to assume, that those of a high moral character, the spiritual leaders of the generation, those with little to no presumption of sin or even inappropriate thoughts, would be exempt from the need for Tzitzit. Why would a great sage whose thoughts are constantly dwelling on the holy and sacred need a coarse physical reminder of the Tzitzit to “not go after your hearts and after your eyes?”

The Meshech Chochma explains that God is saying that not only do “the great” need to wear Tzitzit but even the singular Moses, the greatest prophet, the one whose mind was as close to regular communion with God as possible, even Moses needed to wear Tzitzit.

May we appreciate the depth of the many commandments God has bequeathed to us, whether we are among the elite or not.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

On the marriage of Yakira and AJ Baumol. Mazal Tov!

5779, Berdichever, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach, The Times of Israel

When Heaven and Hell meet (Shlach)

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When Heaven and Hell meet (Shlach)

How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man. -Johnny Cash

After the sin of the spies and the devastating punishment of forced wandering in the desert for forty years, Korach leads a rebellion against Moses. Korach seeks the priesthood, for himself and his followers, though that honor, of being a Kohen, had already been assigned by God to Aaron and his descendants.

The rebellion suffers a catastrophic and fatal failure when at Moses’ behest, God causes the ground to open and swallow Korach’s followers “alive into Sheol (hell).”

The Berdichever addresses the question as to why the members of Korach’s rebellion should have received such a particular and unusual punishment of going “alive into hell.” Why not just kill them as God had done and would do for multiple other infractions and rebellions? Why have them descend while they are alive to the realm of death?

He explains that it had to do with the complex nature of their sin. On one hand, Korach’s crew sought the priesthood. They wanted the privilege of serving God, of being the intermediaries in dealing with the ritual and spiritual needs of the nation of Israel. It is an honorable role and the fact that they wanted it indicated their desire to become more connected to God, to the source of life. On the other hand, that role had already been given to Aaron and his sons by God’s direct decree. To covet and seek that role was to go against God’s express desire, to detach themselves from God, to seek death.

Hence the reason why Korach and company went “alive to hell.” They sought to do a Mitzva via a sin. They sought to get closer to God, but in the same act, to separate themselves from God. They sought the source of life and the source of death. Therefore, their confused desires led to the unusual but reflective punishment of being both dead and alive, of being alive in the realm of death.

May we always have the clarity and the ability to distinguish between the sources of life and the sources of death; and choose life.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the memory of Rabbi Aaron Tirschwell, z”l. May the family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

5778, Numbers, Parsha, Rabbeinu Bechaye, Shelach, The Times of Israel

A Father’s Responsibilities (Shlach)

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A Father’s Responsibilities (Shlach)

One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. -George Herbert

The people of Israel had just been punished with a decree of forty years of wandering in the desert. After the people’s lack of faith following the spies evil report about the Promised Land, God had had enough. The people whom He had taken out of Egyptian slavery, the people whom He revealed Himself to at Mount Sinai, the people whom He had cared for miraculously through their sojourn through the harsh desert had rebelled, had complained and had tried God’s patience one time too many. That generation would die in the desert. Only their sons, the next generation, would merit to enter the Promised Land.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the people of Israel were crushed and despondent due to God’s punishment. Immediately after the narrative regarding the harsh forty-year decree, God transmits a seemingly unconnected set of laws. He starts talking about when they will come to the land and types of sacrifices they will bring.

Rabbeinu Bechaye on Numbers 15:2 (Shlach) explains that God is comforting the people of Israel after His harsh decree. He is promising them that the next generation will enter the Promised land, that the sons will inherit the land that their fathers were supposed to conquer.

Rabbeinu Bechaye goes on to explain that God was consoling the sons and looking after them as a father. He gives examples as to the different ways that God took care of the children of Israel as a father takes care of his son. Rabbeinu Bechaye takes the opportunity to discuss a father’s responsibilities to his son and goes on to enumerate what those five responsibilities are:

  1. To perform the Brit Mila (circumcision).
  2. To teach him Torah.
  3. To redeem him from the Kohen (only applicable to non-caesarian firstborn sons of non-Levite descent).
  4. To teach him a trade.
  5. To marry him off.

To perform the Brit Mila and to redeem his son from the Kohen are straightforward one-time events. To marry off a child is also generally a one-time event though it takes much more time and effort. To teach a trade is for (hopefully) a limited period, the purpose of which is to lead the son to financial independence. However, there is one obligation that can endure for the life of the father-son relationship: that of teaching the son Torah. The Torah is endless, and hence the obligation to teach one’s child Torah is one that can last a lifetime.

It is not dependent on the age or the circumstances of the son. The son can be an adult with his own children and grandchildren, yet there would still exist that obligation, that divinely ordained responsibility to stay connected to our children through the teaching of Torah.

May we have divine assistance and success in fulfilling all of our parental responsibilities.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the memories of Milly Buller, as well as Prof. Baruch Brody. Each was a parent of exceptional children. May their families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

To the engagement of our son, Akiva, to Orelle Feuer of Netanya. Mazal Tov!

5777, Hirsch, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach, The Times of Israel

Clothes make the human

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Clothes make the human

Modesty is the conscience of the body. -Honore de Balzac

In order to understand the Mitzva of Tzitzit, the commandment for men to wear fringes on the four corners of a garment, Rabbi Hirsch on Numbers 15:41 takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden, to Adam and Eve, and the sin of the forbidden fruit.

Eve took the fruit because it seemed pleasurable. Adam and Eve ignored God’s direct warning and let their instinct for physical gratification supersede the spiritual reality they were a part of. That is when they lost their innocence. That is when they demonstrated the strength of their animalistic nature and the weakness of their human resolve. That is when they realized that their nakedness was a source of shame and embarrassment, for they proved themselves no better than animals, though they were blessed with a divine spirit, intellect, intelligence, free will. That is when they are exiled from the Paradise of Eden.

That is when God gives them clothing.

The clothing served two purposes: one, to cover the nakedness, to demonstrate that they are indeed human, distinct from animals, that there is such a concept as modesty, that our instinct for physical gratification must be controlled, channeled, even sanctified. The second purpose is to protect them from the environment. The world outside of Eden is one of thorns and thistles, where weather, the elements, the surroundings are no longer idyllic.

The language of the command of the Tzitzit warns not to go after “your heart and after your eyes,” exactly the error and language used to describe the sin of Adam and Eve. The Tzitzit is a direct reminder as to the primal purpose of clothing: We are humans, not animals. Do not give in to animalistic urges. We are spiritual beings encased in flesh and bone. The body, that source of potential physical pleasure, needs to be clothed, needs to be modest; physical pleasures need to be partaken in specific, healthy, constructive ways.

When we forget the lessons of Adam and Eve, when we “go after our hearts and after our eyes,” when we forget the concept of modesty, when we forget the intrinsic nobility of man, then we risk becoming little more than sophisticated animals, driven and controlled by our urges.

May our clothing ever be dignified.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

In support of Rabbi Joseph Dweck, a modest and dignified leader.

5776, Numbers, Parsha, Sfat Emet, Shelach, The Times of Israel

Vision of the Blind

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Vision of the Blind

There’s none so blind as they that won’t see. -Jonathan Swift

blindThe darkness was complete. “I am your guide,” the disembodied voice stated. We were totally dependent on that voice and then the attached hand that guided each of us individually from time to time. We were in the “Blind Museum” in Holon, Israel. Our guide had a distinct advantage over us by the fact that he was blind. He could sense our positions from the sound of our voice. He could navigate the dark rooms and corridors easily. He was at home. We were strangers in a strange land.

The Sfat Emet on the Torah reading of Shelach for 5631 (1871) states that what we see can often deceive us. We must focus instead on the inner reality of each person, each thing and each situation. The outer layer that is visible to the eye often hides a much deeper and more meaningful reality.

Our sojourn through the darkness of the Blind Museum highlighted this reality. Just by the sound of our voice, the guide could tell something about our personalities, our concerns, our predicaments, besides our locations. We in turn got a sense of his kindness, his intelligence, his sense of humor, without laying eyes on him.

The Sfat Emet explains that the Sin of the Spies was that they let their eyes deceive them. They saw the outward impressive military might of the Canaanite kingdoms. This caused them to lose faith in God and His power over all of reality. If they would have ignored the sight of their eyes and understood and believed in the true inner reality, they would have had faith and they would have succeeded in their conquest of Israel.

Sometimes it’s better to ignore the evidence of our eyes. Sometimes the blind man sees more than we do.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Gabi, our guide at the Blind Museum, “Dialogue in the Dark,” at the Israel Children’s Museum in Holon. Extremely recommended visit.

5775, Baal Haturim, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach, The Times of Israel

The Power of the Few

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First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shlach-the-power-of-the-few/

Baal Haturim Numbers: Shlach

The Power of the Few

Friends, I agree with you in Providence; but I believe in the Providence of the most men, the largest purse, and the longest cannon. – Abraham Lincoln

risk-board-gameOur individualistic society likes to give importance to the difference one person can make. We have innumerable accounts of how one person, standing up to many, overcomes public opinion, resistance, and ridicule and with faith and perseverance, triumphs against the odds of the many.

However, there is one area of human activity where most are of the opinion that numbers have a direct impact on results: War. Napoleon consistently overruns professional soldiers with masses of conscripted Frenchmen who marched over their well-ordered but fewer enemies. Though the Spartans held the Persians at the legendary Battle of Thermopylae for seven days, eventually superior Persian numbers won the day.

There are obvious exceptions. The battles of modern-day Israel have consistently pitted larger forces against smaller ones, with results that surprised the world. If we go back further in Jewish history we recall the victory of the humble Maccabeans against the mighty Syrio-Greco Empire in memory for which we still celebrate Chanukah more than two millennia later.

There is an unusual account in the Torah of a particularly unsuccessful Israelite battle. It occurs immediately after the Sin of the Spies, when the representatives of the Twelve Tribes returned from spying the land, gave a frightening report as to the strength of the Canaanite enemies and in turn caused panic and hysteria amongst the people of Israel. God punishes that generation of men to die in the desert and the entire Israelite nation to wander in the wilderness outside of Canaan for forty years.

However, after the punishment is decreed, men repent and issue a war cry, stating that they are not afraid and will proceed with the invasion of Canaan, as planned previously. But it is too late. Moses warns them that God is no longer with them and that they will fail. They ignore Moses’ warning. They attack and are soundly defeated by the Canaanites.

The Baal Haturim on Numbers 14:40 states that we are talking about an Israelite army of 600,000 that was not able to defeat a much smaller enemy. However, he goes on to recall how biblical Jonathan (son of King Saul) with just the assistance of one lad was able to rout an entire Midianite army. God has no qualm to save with many or with few.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the upcoming wedding of Andrea Klotnicki and Bruno Zalcberg. May they always triumph against all odds.

5774, Netziv, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach, The Times of Israel

Coward’s Failure

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First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shelach-cowards-failure/

Netziv Numbers: Shelach

Coward’s Failure

“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.”  -Napoleon Bonaparte

Experience shows a direct correlation between courage and success on one hand and fear and failure on the other. That is not to say that fear is not normal or doesn’t have its place, but it certainly worsens the odds of any victory.

Shortly before what was meant to be the historic and divinely-assisted conquest of the Promised Land, Moses sends twelve princes of Israel, a representative of each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan, Ten weak-hearted amongst them see giants in the land and are terror-stricken.

When these spies return to Moses and the Jewish people to report the results of their mission, they make a curious remark: “We were in our eyes as grasshoppers and so we were in their eyes.”

As poorly as they thought of themselves, that is how the fearful spies appeared in the eyes of their enemies. Their fear became their reality and redefined them, not only in their own perception, but in the perception of the world. The Netziv on Numbers 13:33 explains that with fear it is impossible to win. So while the spies’ attitude was unfortunate and led to the punishment of forty years of wandering, in a sense they were correct that the young Jewish nation could not win. Their fear insured that there was no chance they would conquer the land in their time.

May we overcome our fears, take courage and experience victory.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the athletic warriors competing in the World Cup. Good luck!

 

5773, Ibn Ezra, Moses, Numbers, Parsha, Shelach, The Times of Israel

Jewish Anger Management

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[First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shelach-jewish-anger-management/]

Ibn Ezra Numbers: Shelach

Torah Reading of the Week: Parshat Shelach, Shabbat June 1, 2013, Numbers Chapters 13-15

Jewish Anger Management

“Whoever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul.”  -Francis Bacon

In what seems like an almost incredible statement, Moses tells God to calm down. In the notorious story of the spies, the Children of Israel have upset God one time too many and He is ready to destroy them. Moses jumps into the fray and beseeches God to show “strength”:

 And now, I pray Thee, let the power of the Lord be great, as You have spoken, saying: The Lord is slow to anger, and plenteous in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. Pardon, I pray Thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, and according as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.’ And the Lord said: ‘I have pardoned according to thy word.’ Numbers 14:17-20

According to the sages and well-codified by Maimonides (see here for announcement of upcoming Montevideo lecture series on this monumental Jewish sage) – anger is one of the worst traits possible and we must work hard to mitigate its expression.

Ibn Ezra explains how God was able to “overcome” His anger and what He needed to “strengthen”. God, among His infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and other omni-traits is extremely patient (infinitely patient? Not sure about that one).

According to Ibn Ezra, God, because of the great level of patience that He possesses was able to “break” his anger by strengthening further, with Moses’ cajoling, His patience. His anger was abated (somewhat) and instead of wiping out the people of Israel, He instead castigated the spies directly and doomed that generation to die slowly in the desert over the course of forty years of wandering, prohibited them from entering the promised land, leaving it instead for a less infuriating generation.

May we learn to strengthen our own levels of patience and break our anger whenever it rears its ugly head.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the complete and speedy recovery of Yosef Yehoshua ben Gila.