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Torah Portion
Those Who Appreciate God
Won't Depreciate Themselves
tion is often flawed. Moreover, when
we see ourselves as smaller than we
really are, we are lacking in our faith
in God. For it is God alone who
knows our essence. We need to
remember that in God's estimation we
are no less than angels.
his week's Torah portion,
Because of the spy's complaints, the
Shelach Echa, tells of the
-Israelites are punished with 40 years of
Israelites in their second
wandering in the dessert — one year
year in the desert after leav-
for each day that they explored the
ing Egypt. Moses sends out 12 scouts,
land. This means that those who were
one from each tribe, to explore
enslaved in Egypt would die in the
Canaan in preparation for its con-
desert and only those who were too
quest. The scouts, gone for 40 days,
young to remember slavery
report to the community.
or who were born in the
"We came to the land
desert would actually enter
you sent us to," they say. "It
the Promised Land. We
does indeed flow with milk
learn another lesson from
and honey, and this is its
this punishment. Not only
fruit (a gigantic cluster of
are we lacking faith when
grapes). However, the peo-
we see ourselves as
ple who inhabit the country
"grasshoppers," we actually
are powerful, and the cities
become enslaved. We need
are fortified and very large;
to let the slave part of our
-moreover, we saw the
psyche
die off before we can
RABBI DEBRAH
Anakites (giants) there.
enter
into
the "land of milk
CO HEN
Amalekites dwell in the
as a free person.
and
honey"
Specia 1 to the
Negev region; Hittites,
I
was
recently
reminded of
Jewish News
Jebusites, and Amorites
this lesson while listening to
inhabit the hill country;
an interview with an
and Canaanites dwell by the sea and
Olympic gold-medallist who had
along the Jordan." (Num. 13: 27-29)
become paralyzed in a ski accident.
One scout, Caleb, pipes up: "Let us
Before his injury his self-conception was
by all means go up, and we shall gain
"as a pair of legs." After he broke his
possession of it, for we shall surely
back he was forced to reinvent his iden-
overcome it." Then, the other scouts
tity and see himself as a whole person.
begin to speak, embellishing their first
He was able to pull himself together,
report of the land: "We cannot attack
compete again as an athlete and raise
that people, for it is stronger than
consciousness on behalf of those with
we...The country that we traversed
disabilities. He will be competing this .
and scouted is one that devours its set-
summer in the mono-ski event in the
tlers. All the people that we saw in it
para-Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
are men of great size; we saw the
Nelson Mandela, the first democra-
Nephilim (the gigantic beings men-
tically elected leader of South Africa
tioned in Gen. 6:4) — the Anakites
who spent many years in prison on
(giants) are part of the Nephilim —
account of his fight for freedom
and we looked like grasshoppers to
expresses the essence of Shelach L'cha:
ourselves, and so we must have looked
"Your playing small doesn't serve the
to them" (Num. 13:30-33).
world. There's nothing enlightened
The midrash (interpretation) on the
about shrinking so that other people
last verse is very interesting: "The
won't feel insecure around you...As we're
Holy One said to the scouts: You don't
liberated from our own fear, our pres-
know what you have just let your
ence automatically liberates others." ❑
mouths utter. I am ready to put up
with your saying, 'We were in our
own eyes as grasshoppers.' But I do
take offense at your asserting, And so
were we in their eyes.' Could you pos-
Why do you think that the
sibly know how I made you appear in
Israelites still lacked faith in God
their eyes? How do you know but that
after a year of miracles? When do
in their eyes you were like angels."
you see yourself as a grasshopper
This teaches us that our self-percep-
(as smaller than you really are)?
Rabbi Debrah Cohen is the chaplain
How do you overcome this? Does
at the Jewish Association for Residential
it help you to turn to God?
Shabbat Shelach
Numbers 13: 1- 15:4 1
Joshua 2:1-24.
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