HAGOPIAN Did someone make a mess? Let Hagopian make your home fresh and clean! CARPET & FURNITURE CLEANING 3 ROOMS $79.99 $59. 99 2 ROOMS 7' SOFA OR 2 CHAIRS $ 59.99 some restrictions apply Power vs. Weakness Parshat Shelach Lecha: Numbers 13:1-15:41; Joshua 2:1-2:24. p arshat Shelach Lecha holds a lesson on the dangers of power and the corrosive nature of weakness. The Torah portion and its haftorah hold a mir- ror to us first when we are powerless and then when the world bends easily to our will. In these readings, we see the complexity of being human. Thucydides, the ancient Greek historian, wrote, in reference to two opposing foes, "The strong do as they can, and the weak suffer what they must:' Here, in the Torah and haftorah, our people fulfill both roles separated by 40 years. In the Torah, the people, after a long two-year journey, have arrived at the edge of the Promised Land. God com- mands Moses to shelach lecha, look for yourself, at what lies ahead in the Land of Israel. An elite group representing all 12 tribes is assembled and charged with spying out the land. They return with a difficult report. The land is perfect, too perfect. The spies are frightened beyond belief. Even the narrator is frightened. He reports that the fruit carried back by the spies was really gargantuan, grapes the size of grapefruit. Honestly, impos- sible. And the spies, themselves, tell tales of giants. Finally, they confess to feel- ing like grasshoppers. They profoundly lack belief in their destiny. They, indeed, are but grasshoppers, inas- much as it is their self-identity. The weak do suffer. Fast forward four decades. Now, in the haftorah, we are again ready to enter the land with a new group of Israelites. God's imposed 38-year wait, a wait for the death of every adult Israelite of that generation who weakly feared the land, had finally ended. Once again, spies are dispatched. Once again, they encounter the land and its people. However, this time, they are the emboldened strong. And the strong do as they wish. After checking out the countryside, the spies decide to actually enter one of the fortified cities that so frightened the previous generation. There, they check into a brothel owned and operated by a woman named Rachav or "Wide' However, the evening of relaxation is interrupted by soldiers who have come looking for the spies. With Rachav's help, purchased with a conditional promise of safety for herself and her family, the spies escape and return to the Israelite camp with a good report. One generation of spies is too frightened to hold on to their destiny. Their fears, while rational, delude the community to believe that they are impossibly weak and that the foe is unbelievably powerful. These Israelites are stuck. The weak do suffer. The next generation of spies is liber- ated from this overwhelming fear and lives in the space of the conqueror. They intend to party with the locals, and when shown kindness, they strike a bargain with Rachav in which Rachav saves them in exchange for the possible rescue of her family. The strong do as they wish. We, like our ancestors, have so recently experienced both profound weakness and potentially excessive strength. ❑ Robert Levy is the rabbi at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor. _1 41. 4 . 11 1-800-HAGOPIAN 4si 697•nn 1-800-HAGOPIAN (1-800-424-6742) www.originalhagopian.com BOOK ONLINE TODAY! OAK PARK BIRMINGHAM NOVI UTICA ANN ARBOR LET'S TALK ABOUT LIVING WITH RELAPSING MS Join us for an MS LIVING EVENT. Hear from MS experts and others who are living with MS. Plus, get some answers about dealing with MS and information on an oral treatment. When: Thursday, June 11, 2015 6:30 PM Eastern Where: Ginopolis Restaurant 27815 Middlebelt Road Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Expert Speakers: William Boudouris, D.O., F.A.C.N Neurologist, Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders (M.I.N.D), Farmington Hills, MI A MEAL WILL RP Dnntrill-NCrl ICI rr Call 1-866-703-6293 to reserve your space or register at mslivingevents.com . EVENT ID: TR291304 S X .14.03.014 2011370 From the rkeart" ,t vintage NEW CD RELEASE xebx . • • . • , • DETROIT'S OWN Elaine Serling Elaine Se inS - Vintage Yiddish & Hebrew & ng ish Origt *a musical journey with inspiring, soul-stirring vocals * TO ORDER: website: www.Elaineserling.com email: Elainekay@aol.com 1-800-457-2157 VISA-MASTERCHARGE - $14 INCLUDES TAX I SHIPPING - $2 June 11 • 2015 2010970 35