>> Torah portion
10 YEARS
OF DISTINGUISHED DEDICATION...
TODAY, YOU ARE THE HEADLINE.
All the scouts, but for Joshua and Caleb, are punished for their lack of faith.
Parshat Shelach: Numbers 13:1-15:41;
Joshua 2:1-2:24.
T
his week's Torah portion,
Shelach, contains the narra-
tive of the scouts, their lack
of faith and their influence on the
entire nation. Our portion (Numbers
15:1) indicates that God
commanded Moses to
send the scouts, but the
version in Deuteronomy
(1:22-23) shows that
sending the scouts was
a request of the people
that both Moses and God
agreed to.
It seems to me that
Moses agreed in order to
"encourage" the people
to undertake the con-
quest of "the good land."
God agreed because He
gives human beings free will and
He doesn't prevent their mistakes.
Secondly, He wished to prove to the
people that they were not prepared
to invade the land.
It is clear from the verses later in
the Torah (Deuteronomy 8:2-6, 14-18)
that the trek through the wilderness
was to train the nation to trust God
and to realize that He provides for
them and will aid them.
In fact, the behavior of the people
during 40 years in the wilderness is
a metaphor for God's provision for
all human beings, on the one hand,
and for mankind's general lack of
acknowledgment of, trust in and grati-
tude to God on the other hand.
Thus, the lack of faith and con-
fidence of the people is manifest
in their acceptance of the faithless
report of the 10 scouts. They even
threatened to kill (Numbers 14:10)
Caleb and Joshua, who urged them
to trust God.
The 10 scouts, when confronted
by Caleb and Joshua, contradicted
their previous statements (Numbers
13:27) and actually lie to exaggerate
the negatives of the land (Numbers
13:32-33). The scouts are faulted for
their lies and are punished by God
(Numbers 14:37).
The rest of the people are told
they will die in the wilderness —
not as a punishment, but simply
because they — the gen-
eration of slaves — are
not yet ready for the con-
quest of the land. In fact,
in spite of God's threat to
destroy them as a way of
showing the seriousness
of their faithlessness, and
to demonstrate His mercy,
the Torah never says that
God is angry at the people.
(When Moses accuses
their children — the next
generation — of angering
God as their parents did
(Numbers 32:8-15), the Midrash says
that Moses' accusation was a sin
(Yalkut Shimoni 421).
Thus, God tries to train the Jewish
people to appreciate His goodness
and the wonderful world and our
very lives that He granted us, but
realizes our weaknesses. He contin-
ues to shower us with His blessings
in spite of our disobedience and
ingratitude, with the knowledge that,
ultimately, we will return faithfully to
Him (Deuteronomy 30:1-16).
Eliezer Cohen is rabbi of Congregation
Or Chadash in Oak Park/Huntington
Woods and teaches at Yeshivat Akiva in
Southfield.
Conversations
• Is there proof of the existence
or non-existence of God?
• What is the basis of one's faith
or lack of faith?
• How can one Strengthen one's
faith in God?
Extending my heartfelt
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June 14 2012
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