Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 18 Sivan, 5784
Parsha Shelach-Lekha – “Send For Yourself”: (Numbers 13:1 – 15:41)
Second Portion: Numbers 13:21 – 14:7

Good morning! It’s a Monday! A lot of transitions are happening for our family.  One child is graduating elementary school. One child is graduating middle school. Next year we will have a senior, a freshman, an eight grader, and a sixth grader.  Plus two kids still in elementary school.  Lots of change is in the air. This is the time for us as well.  Two years ago, reading this passage, I quoted Rabbi Schneerson regarding what we are going to read today:

The spies’ mistake was that the fulfillment of God’s command is not dependent on finding a practical solution. We must “not rely on a miracle” to exempt us from trying to find a natural means through which God might send salvation. But if no such means can be found, then we must indeed rely on a miracle, because the alternative is that God’s command will not be carried out, and that is unacceptable.

We know Hashem will take care of us. We must “not rely on a miracle” and avoid our role in finding natural solutions. As we transition and change we need to work our part and trust Hashem for the rest. Remember, the first camp was about craving. The second camp? Ego. It would seem this camp is all about courage. Courage to do our part while at the same time trust the safety net of Hashem. Let’s dig in with these thoughts!

21So they went up and explored the land, from the desert of Zin until Rehov, at the entrance to Hamath.

22They went up in, the south, and he came to Hebron, and there were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of the giant. Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan of Egypt.

23They came to the Valley of Eshkol and they cut a branch with a cluster of grapes. They carried it on a pole between two [people] and [they also took] some pomegranates and figs.

24They called that place the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster [eshkol] the children of Israel cut from there.

Ok. So this doesn’t sound too problematic does it? What we get? “Descendants of the giant.” And grapes, pomegranates and figs.

Let’s keep going:

25They returned from scouting the Land at the end of forty days.

26They went, and they came to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran, to Kadesh. They brought them back a report, as well as to the entire congregation, and they showed them the fruit of the land.

27They told him and said, “We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

Good news! The land is what Hashem told us it would be!  And yet. There is a problem. Moses gave them directions. As a reminder from yesterday, here’s the direction he gave:

Moses sets them out with a purpose. Here are the questions to ask:

• • What does the land look like?
  • Who are the people who live in it?
    • Are they strong or weak?
    • Few or many?
  • What is the land like?
    • Good or bad?
    • The Cities? Are they fortresses or camps?
  • What is the soil like?
    • Fat or lean?
    • Trees?

He tells them to take fruit from the land. Be courageous.

They started with the last direction first. They are backwards.

28However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant.

29The Amalekites dwell in the south land, while the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountainous region. The Canaanites dwell on the coast and alongside the Jordan.”

Then they went into the people.  The people were mighty. The spies were scared. Caleb couldn’t stand it. He had courage:

30Caleb silenced the people to [hear about] Moses, and he said, “We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it.”

Caleb had courage. He knew Hashem had their backs. The other spies? They did not trust as much:

31But the men who went up with him said, “We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.

32They spread an [evil] report about the land which they had scouted, telling the children of Israel, “The land we passed through to explore is a land that consumes its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of stature.

33There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.

This has gotten way out of control.  Fear does this, doesn’t it? Causes us to veer from the directions given.  Where was the report on the soil conditions? The trees? The other spies did not see Hashem’s backing. Caleb did.  They even went so far as to spread gossip and rumors to the people – weakening their resolve and trust in Hashem.  There was no discussion it would seem – “what are we going to do about this? How will we approach the people?” Just – telling the people they were DOOMED! And here is the response:

14:1The entire community raised their voices and shouted, and the people wept on that night.

2All the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the entire congregation said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this desert.

3Why does the Lord bring us to this land to fall by the sword; our wives and children will be as spoils. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?”

4They said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

Wow. Talk about a tantrum.  They were safe. The people were safe. Hashem had brought them through the sea on dry land. He had taught them about their cravings. He had taught them about their ego. And still? They were struggling with courage. They wanted to GO BACK to being SLAVES!

5Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the entire congregation of the children of Israel.

6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had scouted the land, tore their clothes.

This was the sign of grief. Two of the spies tore their clothes in grief. This was done when a family member died. Caleb and Joshua were in the land. This lack of courage on the part of the people was devastating. They spoke:

7They spoke to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “The land we passed through to scout is an exceedingly good land.

It is interesting this is where we stop today. It would seem they went back to Moses’ directions – “What does the land look like?”  And they answered it. Courage. They had courage to speak to the people – against the other 10 spies.

This is courage.

Where do we need courage this week? Where do we need to explore natural strategies for success, while at the same time trusting Hashem (the Universe) to support us and provide safety? Where do we need to be reminded that we are safe. We do NOT need to run back to slavery? This is the focus for us in the week ahead!

Let me know YOUR thoughts!

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 23 Sivan, 5783

Today we study the spies journey into the promised land.  As I study this portion today, I am struck with this notion of sending spies within ourselves to check on where we are at with our own spiritual liberation journey.

We’ve been wandering in our lives – to live in this moment. Where do we seek shelter on the journey?  Where is our tabernacle?  What if the tabernacle is within us?

And what if Hashem wants us to send “spies” within us to seek out where the land is – with these questions to ask ourselves within us:

1. What kind of person am I? Strong? Weak? Within me, is it sparse? Or are there a lot of “voices” within me.
2. What kind of “land” am I?
   1. Do I have springs that give forth nourishing water for others? Or are the wells within me “bad” and taking away from others?
   2. Do I keep my heart protected and guarded? Or is my heart able to be trampled by anyone and anything? Do I have walls around my heart? Or do I have gates? How are my boundaries?
   3. What kind of “soil” is within me? Do ideas and concepts grow and develop? Or do they wither out and die?
   4. What kind of fruit can I show myself?

These are some fundamental questions to ask ourselves, no? And we learn at the end of the portion, they entered the land in the season when “first grapes ripen.”

And what season are we currently in? Shavuot is a holiday of the first fruits. We just left this holy day that commemorates the first fruits.  So we are in the perfect time of the year to be exploring these spiritual questions.  This is the time to dig within.  We have one week to go before the new moon.  Then we enter into the months of Tamuz and Av. These are tumultuous months for us.  Full of chaos and blessing. Paradoxical months.  In Tammuz, we learn to “see in the dark” so that we can continue to be light.  In the month of Av, we have the Tisha (9th) of Av – which is one of the saddest spiritual days on the calendar – because a number of disasters have occurred that day. (BTW it starts the evening of July 26th).  But on the 15th of Av, that all turns around and is the day of Love and Rebirth.

So now is the time to send “spies within” to answer these questions for ourselves.  What are you finding?  I’d love to hear!

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 21 Sivan, 5782

Good morning! Before we dig into todays portion on the spies, I had some thoughts inspired by a meditation lead by Matthew Hepburn in the 10% happier app (thanks Michael Takahara for the continued gift of meditation!)

He was guiding us to find an internal refuge when we face the storms of anxiety, stress, and being overwhelmed. He likened it to getting caught in a rain storm and seeing a bus stop shelter to take cover under). He asked us to create in our minds a place similar to this shelter; and I immediately thought about the tent of meeting we’ve been studying.

I’ve been reflecting on how on this journey from slavery to freedom, Hashem has brought us to a place where we have access to a tent we can seek Him and feel safe. For a long time, we’ve been stationary, but as we have been moving now; packing up the tent and taking it with us, we have the ability to stop and set this up anytime we’d like; to take shelter from the storm around us.

I am not good at this, yet. But it’s something I’ve been reflecting on, and wanted to share it with all of you.

As we’ve been studying in the Torah, Moses was sending the spies into the promised land. On one hand, this would be an exciting time; here the Jews were soooooo close to go to the promised land; but on the other, they were going to have to venture far from the tent of meeting. Where would they take shelter in the land? This is risk.

So let’s dig in!

Todays portion has the spies going up and exploring the land. And what is the first thing they do? Caleb went to Hebron to pray at the graves of the Patriarchs not to be enticed by the advice of the spies. Caleb knew he needed shelter, and he found that place.

They found giants there; but Hebron was the rockiest part of Israel, yet was seven times more cultivated than Zoan (which was the best part of Egypt).

Then they went to the valley of Eschol and cut a branch with a cluster of grapes, and they carried it on two double poles. They also took pomegranates and figs.

Then they returned to the camp after 40 days.

They (the spies) went to Moses and Aaron with “bad intentions” in the desert.

The spies showed the people the fruit they brought back. They reported the land was flowing with milk and honey.

Rabbi Samuel Edels writes how this was deceptive on the part of the spies. Moses asked them to bring a report back on the soil conditions- fertile? Barren? And by showing Moses the fruit, they were indicating the main produce of wheat, barley and oil (which was sustenance) was lacking from the land.

This is an interesting take.

The spies then shared how the people in the land were powerful – the cities were huge and well fortified, and there were giants there. Amalek lives in the south of the land, and it is surrounded by enemies.

Caleb was listening, and didn’t interrupt it would seem. He allowed the spies to finish their report; but then silenced the people.

He told Moses – “we will definitely go up, we will take possession of the land, for we are certainly capable of conquering it!”

So. Let’s pause. One question here is “why Caleb?”. Joshua was Moses’ bestie (give or take); why didn’t Joshua speak up?

Rabbi Schneerson writes about this:

Why did Caleb speak up and not Joshua? The children of Israel had just heard Eldad and Medad’s prediction that Moses would pass away, to be succeeded by Joshua (Rashi to 11:28). Hearing this, they could not imagine how, without Moses’ leadership, they would be able to conquer the heavily fortified cities that the spies had described. “Caleb silenced the people,” telling them that it would be an error to attribute all the great miracles they had witnessed to Moses himself. God performs miracles for the sake of the Israelites, so they would be able to conquer the Promised Land even without Moses- “We will definitely go up! We will take possession of (the land).”

Caleb, not Joshua, needed to be the bearer of this message. Had Joshua said it, the people-after hearing Eldad and Medad’s prophecy- might have suspected Joshua’s motives in down-playing Moses role, because Joshua was Moses’ appointed successor (Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk, 19th-20′ century).

In Moses’ briefing to the spies, he had instructed them first of all to evaluate the power of the enemy (‘Are the people who inhabit it strong or weak? Are there a few of them, or many?”-v. 18), since conquering the land was their immediate concern. Secondly, Moses told them to collect information about the fertility of the land (“What is the soil like? Is it fertile or barren?” – V. 20), so the people would know what their reward would be after the conquest was complete.

But when the spies gave their report they switched the order: First they mentioned the quality of the land (“It is flowing with milk and honey -v. 27), and only then did they progress to discuss the enemy (“The people who live in the land are (extraordinarily) powerful” -V. 28).

From this, Caleb immediately sensed that the spies had corrupted their priorities. Moses had prefaced the effort (conquest) before reward (the land’s fruit); but the spies were primarily interested in the rewards, so they stressed that first.

On noticing this, Caleb immediately “silenced the people,” for Caleb understood that focusing on the reward would lead them to calculate whether it was worth the effort, which would soon develop into a full-blown rebellion. (End quote)

Interesting thoughts here.

So Caleb gives his report; and the other spies immediately said “we are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than us (and our God)!”

Once again Rabbi Schneerson talks about this:

The sin of the spies was not, as it may first seem, their report that the land of Israel harbored a formidable enemy “The people who live in the land are (extraordinarily) powerful. The cities are huge and well fortified (13:28).” For they were sent by Moses to collect information, and what they reported was true.

Rather, their sin was the conclusion That God’s command to conquer the land was, in their opinion, not possible, We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than us’ (Rabbi Elijah Merahi.).

God’s promise to enter the land was going to come true, regardless of whether the Jewish people would enjoy a natural or a supernatural victory. The command “not to rely on a miracle” (Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 64b) means that the Jewish people were required to make logistical and tactical plans for their war, in case God wished to send them a victory garbed in nature. And this necessitated the sending of spies, to gather information.

The spies’ mistake was that the fulfillment of God’s command is not dependent on finding a practical solution. We must “not rely on a miracle” to exempt us from trying to find a natural means through which God might send salvation. But if no such means can be found, then we must indeed rely on a miracle, because the alternative is that God’s command will not be carried out, and that is unacceptable.

This is a fundamental premise upon which our approach to observing all the commandments should be based: God’s command includes an implicit promise that it will be possible to carry out that command. (end quote).

In our journey to freedom, how often to we not take action because we are too afraid? And we

Just want God to perform a miracle? We must prepare ourselves for a natural solution on our own while at the same time trusting God’s process as well.

So. after this exchange, the people rebelled. The children of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. The elders spoke out wishing they had died as slaves in Egypt. Or died in the desert. They would rather have died as slaves, or wondering the desert than live in courage and freedom.

The leaders began discussing plans to go back to Egypt.

The portion today ends with Moses and Aaron falling on their faces before the congregation.

Caleb and Joshua tore their clothes (which was a Jewish sign of grief).

Caleb and Joshua speak to the entire congregation. The portion cuts off their speech after the first line: “The land we passed through to explore is a very very good land.”

It is risky to go to a good space. We have to decide whether we have the courage to do it.

What about us? Do we have courage to keep going on our journey? Do we have courage to trust the land is good and God will provide for us? Do we have courage to work on natural solutions to issues instead of “waiting on a miracle?” Those are the questions we should be asking.

What are your thoughts?