Numbers 13:1-15:41 | Joshua 2:1-24 | Mark 14:32-50
This week's edition of The Set Table contains:
Questions and Commentary on Parashat Shelach-lekha
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead
Questions & Commentary on Parashat Shelach-lekha
1. Why did the spies bring back only fruit
from the land of Israel?
Haim
Ben-Haim
In this week's
parasha, we are given the opportunity to receive a glimpse of the
land of Israel - the Land of Promise. We are given the view through
the eyes of the twelve that Moses sends forth. We are soon presented
with the danger that can befall even the best men when they are overcome
with fear in place of trust in the LORD. Moses chooses twelve good men
to go up and tour the land. We read that they are nesi'im (princes)
and rashei (heads) of their tribes. They were leaders who were
sent latur "to travel over or to tour" the land. Later, as
history looks back at them, they will be remembered as spies instead
of tourists. The men returned after spying out the land, thus expressing
a change in their attitude to the land - they saw the challenges instead
of the opportunities.
Ten of the twelve
speak of the bountiful land with its enormous fruit. We read of grapes,
figs, pomegranates, and a few verses later that the land flowed with
milk and honey, thus enumerating the four fruit species of the land.
The sages note that missing from this list of the land's seven species
are the other three species: wheat, barley and olives (see Deuteronomy
8:8). What is the significance of this omission? Rashi says that the
ten spies in fact desire to show that the land is a strange land with
strangely large fruit but lacking in the basic sustenance needed to
live in the land. R. Zev Leff, a well-known rabbi in our times says,
"The people saw that they brought back the dessert, not the main part
of the meal. Like some Jews today would say that Eretz Yisrael is a
nice place to visit - a beautiful vacation spot . . . but it is not
a practical, viable place to live."
At times
in our movement, I have heard this parasha explained with no
connection to the Land. We are told it speaks of the lack of faith of
the Children of Israel. This application emphasizes the need for integrity
and faith of the Jewish people wherever we may reside. We need not be
fearful of the giants in the lands where we live. While I feel that
it is important to apply the parasha to the setting in which
we live, I feel that we are missing a central point. The Children of
Israel looked at the Land through their eyes and understanding, they
did not comprehend it in the LORD's perspective.
The Ramban (Nachmanides;
13th century) says that the change in attitude becomes clear in
Numbers 13:28 where they use the term efes "nothing, zero,
hopeless" to express the insurmountable task that stands in front
of the people in coming into the Land. The people would have to fight
the giants and know that the Land was lacking in some of the basic food
consumed. In vs. 33 they say, "we were like grasshoppers in our eyes,
and so we were in their eyes!". Often our self-assessment is skewed,
and surely does not represent the way that the LORD looks upon us. Can
we truly take to heart the words of our Mashiach Yeshua - Luke 12:6-7
"Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? And not one of them is
forgotten before God. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Therefore do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows."
The descendants of
our father Abraham had been promised to be replanted in a physical land
that the LORD had promised would be theirs. They had been given a prophesy
of the time that they would be dispersed, and yet they could not face
the reality of the LORD's provision when it stood in front of them.
Unfortunately we see
a repitition of this sin during our 2nd exile to Babylon. While again
we are told that it will last 70 years, only a minority of the people
return to the Land with Ezra and Nehamiah.
Are these days any
different? The dispersion has lasted longer, we have become more entrenched
in our temporary homes, to an extent that we feel more comfortable in
the Diaspora. Many doubt whether the LORD will manage to sustain us
in the Land of Israel, and yet our people are losing focus and identity
amongst the Nations.
I believe Jews everywhere,
in the Land and out in the Diaspora, need to beware of the sins of the
children of Israel in the Desert on the way to the Land, primarlily,
the sin of dibbat Ha'aretz "speaking evil of the Land"
and mius Ha'aretz "disdain for the Land" The land
of Israel presents many challenges for its inhabitants, but these are
turned quickly into opportunities, as the LORD uses all of this to make
us a united people, learning anew to walk in his statutes and commandments,
empowered by the Ruach, with a great future in this Land of Promise!
2. What is the major
theme of Parashat Shelach-lekha, and how is it connected to the
reason why God did not allow us to enter the Promised Land?
Joshua
Brumbach
This week's parasha
begins with the sending out of the twelve spies. After reconnoitering
the land God was about to give them, they returned with news that the
land was indeed flowing with chalav udevash, milk and honey.
However, due to their lack of faith in God, they also reported that
there were fierce people dwelling there, and that the cities were fortified
and well protected.
Continuing, the Torah
says, "At this all the people of Israel cried out in dismay and wept
all night long" (Numbers 14:1). They began to grumble against their
leaders, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb; and cried out to return back
to Egypt. The people lost faith that it was possible to enter the land
that God had promised them.
Joshua and Caleb pleaded
with the entire community, "If the LORD is pleased with us, then he
will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land flowing with
milk and honey. Just do not rebel against the LORD" (Numbers
14:8).
Trusting in their
insecurities, Israel rebelled against the LORD and thought it would
be better to return back to Egypt (the place of enslavement). This lack
of faith ignited God's anger, and he appeared before all the people
and threatened to destroy us.
During one of the
most beautiful sections of the Torah (Numbers 14:13-19), Moses pleads
with God to reconsider and forgive his people. God agrees, but with
the condition that the generation who had the opportunity to enter the
land but rebelled and lacked faith would not see the promise fulfilled.
The generation that rebelled against God was forced to return to the
desert to wander for forty years.
The concluding verses
of the parasha describe the commandment to wear tzitzit
on the corners of our garments. These verses are the origin for the
mitzva of wearing a tallit. God instructed that the wearing
of tzitziyot was meant to be a reminder for all generations,
that we must look upon them and remember our relationship and covenant
obligation to God. Why? "So that you shall not follow after your own
heart and eyes after which you go astray" (Numbers 15:39).
The wearing of
tzitzit is meant to serve as a safeguard against our lack of faith,
to be a constant reminder of not only God's commandments but also
to his loving faithfulness to each one of us. All too often we focus
on the negatives we are faced with each day and forget the many times
we have seen God act on our behalf, the many miracles God has done for
us, and the deliverance from that which we all have been set free. Just
like our ancestors, we often lack faith. We know God's promises for
our lives, but we often cower when faced with fierce opponents and well-fortified
lands. It is so much easier to hide behind our insecurities and cry
out to return to our own individual Egypt - the place of our individual
enslavement. Why do Jewish people wear tzitzit? Because
we need reminders of our faith and our constant devotion to God, so
that we, like our ancestors, will have the faith to enter the Promised
Land.
Mark 14:32-50 - The Full
Besora
Yitzhaq ben Benoni
The story in Mark
14:32-50 takes place in an orchard of olive trees, called Gethsemane,
which in Hebrew means "oil press." Yeshua senses that his time is
near and decides to pray. His prayer was not a liturgically fixed prayer
like the Shemoneh Esreh. This was a moment of crisis when formulated
prayers could not replace the personal need for a private audience with
the Most High. Of course, Yeshua was not against liturgy, the so-called
Lord's Prayer was taught by himself to his talmidim (Matthew 6:9-13;
Lukek 11:2-4). Fixed prayers have their place. They help us go through
the daily rituals of life providing us with instruction on how to pray.
They give us words when we can find none. They force us to pray even
when we do not feel like it.
But fixed prayers
alone are not enough. In this instance, Yeshua's prayer was a very
intimate one: "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove
this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want" (Mark 14:36).
The Reb Nahman of Bratslav taught his disciples to take time each day
for individual prayer (hitboddidut) where each could talk to
God in his own language about his needs and concerns. Like a Hassidic
Rebbe, Yeshua reminds us to follow his example, complementing ancient
formulated prayers with our own spontaneous pleas directed toward Abba.
In antiquity, it was
customary for students to imitate their teachers' behavior. Students
were not only supposed to learn from books or scrolls but observe and
repeat the actions of their masters. The relationship between teacher
and student could be very intimate, taking precedence at times even
over family. In Judaism, the Torah was not merely a scroll; it was lived
and expressed through the life of the sage. Sometimes, rabbis could
even determine the halakha through their actions. In the Tosefta
tractate Berekhot 1:4, it is said that Rabbi Ishmael on one occasion
stood up to recite the Shema while Rabbi Eleazar b. Azariah reclined.
Why two different customs? One of the answers to the question was provided
by R. Ishmael: "So that the disciples should not see [both of us reclining
to recite] and enact the halakha
permanently in accord with your views!" [i.e., Rabbi Eleazar's].
Here a halakhic issue could be decided by a simple bodily action.
Unfortunately, in
the moment of crisis, the talmidim of Yeshua were not following their
rabbi. Yeshua's question to Cephas only highlights the shock that
one could have felt when hearing this story in antiquity: "Shimon,
are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?" (Mark 14:37).
In the meantime, another of Yeshua's followers, Judah, was busy preparing
his arrest. Yet even in Judah's betrayal, his identification of Yeshua
as "Rabbi!" (Mark 14:45) inadvertently reminds us that Yeshua is
not only our Messiah and Lord but also an expounder of the Torah who
was "day after day in the Temple teaching" (Mark 14:49).
The Besora
is not only a message of crucifixion and resurrection but also the record
of the teachings of the greatest rabbi. Yet his message has often been
reduced to a mere creedal confession. By neglecting his teachings found
in his parables, beatitudes, sayings, and sermons we join the rest of
his talmidim who "deserted him and fled" (Mark 14:50). Not only
belief in Yeshua but also the belief of Yeshua should function as an
integral component in the formation of a Messianic Judaism whereby we
as talmidim of Yeshua seek to emulate his conduct.
NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT QORACH
Numbers 16:1-18:32
1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
Mark 14:53-72
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