111JJJ lil n11w1 - Koschitzky VBM Parsha Digest, Year Ill, Parashat Shelach 5781 Selected and Adapted by Rabbi Dov Karoll Quote from the Rosh Kalev wages a tenacious, head-on confrontation against the spies, bringing about a public kiddush Ha-Shem (san ctifi cation of God's Name); for this he receives a reward from the Almighty for himself and his offspring for all time. Yehoshua, on the other hand, calculated his steps such that he could rehabilitate the nation and lead the next generation in the aftermath of the crisis. Through the efforts of both, an absolute chillul Ha-Shem (desecration of God's Name) was avoided, allowing for the infrastructure that would facilitate the entry of the next generation into the land. -Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein Parashat Shelach Consolation after the Sin of the Spies Based on a Sicha by Harav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"I

Based on: https://etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-bamidbar/parashat-shelach/consolation-after-sin-spies

The lion's share of our parasha is devoted to the sin of the spies and its effects and ramifications. However, near the end of the paras ha we find a series of halakhic units, including the details of the libation offerings, the separation of cha Ila, and the sin offerings brought in the case of unwitting idolatry. Ram ban explains why these units appear specifically here, following the sin of the spies: Having promised that the younger generation would come to the land, [God] conveyed to them the rest of the sacrificial laws, namely, that they should offer libation offerings when they come to the land. Perhaps this was [conveyed to them] at this point to comfort them and to reassure them, for they were despairing, saying: "Who knows what will happen in all that time, until 40 years are over? What if the younger generation, too, will sin?" Therefore God saw fit to comfort them, for by commanding them as to the commandments that apply in the land [of Israel], He was reassuring them that it was revealed to Him that they would come and possess the land. (15 :2) Ramban explains that Moshe chose to convey these parashot to Bnei Yisrael specifically at this time, in order to comfort and encourage them. Moshe taught them some of the commandments related to the land, in order to reassure them : You will indeed die in the desert, but your children will enter the land and will merit to offer libation offerings and to separate challa. There is some light at the end of the tunnel; there is a future towards which you can hope and aspire. At first glance, this would appear to provide only partial comfort. There is no real reassurance here for the older generation; all that is promised to them is that the younger generation will enjoy a better fate. In general, we are concerned not only with the future, but also with the present. It is not sufficient for a religious person to think about the special existence that awaits him in the World to Come; he must also ask himself every day to what measure he has succeeded that day in coming closer to God. A person must aspire to constant progress in his Divine service; he should not nonchalantly rely on the fact that, ultimately, his spiritual achievements will be deemed worthy of reward. What, then, of Moshe's words of encouragement, which seem to pertain only to the future? Do they perhaps also contain some measure of comfort and consolation to the generation that is doomed to die in the desert? Every time I reach Parashat Shelach, I am struck anew by Moshe's words. Just a moment ago, Moshe announced to Bnei Yisrael that they will die out in the desert- and already he presents them with mitzvot that are meant to be fulfilled only in the land, as though there is no significance at all to the question of whether his audience will ever actually perform these mitzvot. Simply learning and internalizing Torah imbues a person with special power - even if the subject of his study is not something that he is ever going to be able to fulfill. The Torah is God's word; it consoles man and brings him relief, whether he is able to perform it or not. The Gemara (AZ 17a) discusses the special severity of the sin of minut, heresy. It then goes on to assert that if one is excessively devoted to a particular sin, it is like mi nut. Mori ve-rabbi Harav Yitzchak Hutner zt"I explained that the very fact that a person thinks that he cannot live without a certain experience, and that that is what gives him the power to go on - that itself is heresy. A person is entitled to engage in many things, and to enjoy his involvement in them, but under no circumstances may he allow himself to cleave to them and to think that it is they that allow him to live. A person must cleave only to God. Only God should be a person's support and comfort when all appears lost: "Were it not for the Torah in which I delighted, I would have died in my affliction" (Tehillim 119:92). The parashot that appear after the sin of the spies, then, present a dual comfort. First, there is the promise that the younger generation will enter the land. Second, the very fact that Bnei Yisrael are now engaged in these halakhic issues is itself a consolation and source of encouragement - even if the current generation will never merit to fulfill them. Though the current generation would not enter the land, their engagement in Torah was itself ennobling and purifying. [This sicha was delivered at seuda shelishit, Shabbat Parashat Shelach 5763 (2003). Summarized by Shaul Barth, Translated by Kaeren Fish.]

Parashat Shelach Objective Truth By Rav Alex Israel

Based on: https://etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-bamidbar/parashat-shelach/shelach-objective-truth

The dramatic story that this parasha tells is another story of crisis, rebellion and devastating failure. We hear of a national delegation of 12 tribal leaders - representatives of all 12 tribes of Israel - who enter the Promised Land. Over a 40 day period, they are to tour the length and breadth of the land and return with a comprehensive report of its people, agriculture and fortifications. The delegation report back to Moses and the nation, but their words sow the seeds of panic in the camp of Israel. They proclaim (13:31-14:4): "We cannot conquer this nation for they are stronger than us ... :'The entire community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites railed against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in the land of Egypt... why is the Lord taking us to that Land to fall by the sword?" Two of the delegation - Caleb and Joshua - insisted that it can be done (14:7-8): The Land that we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land, if the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into that land ... But to no avail. The rebellion has already gained momentum, and God's punishment arrives swiftly. God decrees that the entire generation die in the wilderness and that only their children - the next generation - would enter the Promised Land. For 40 years the would wait to enter the Land, a year for each day of the mission of the 12 "spies:'

SLANDER A frequent question raised by the classic Torah commentators relates to positioning of passages. The great commentator Rashi asks why this account of the rebellion by leaders and nation against the Land follows on directly from the story of Miriam's slander against her brother Moses. The final passage of last week's parasha tells of a negative comment made by Miriam in reference to her brother. Miriam is immediately summoned by God Himself, accused of improper talk regarding Moses - the leader and prophet - and emerges from her encounter with God plagued with Leprosy, the traditional punishment for slander - Lashon Hara. What connection may be found between that story and this? Rashi (13:2) opens his commentary to this epic story of the "spies" with the following comment: Why is the story of the spies juxtaposed with the passage about Miriam? Because she [Miriam] was stricken on account of the slander that she spoke regarding her brother. These evil men [the spies - the delegation to Canaan] witnessed it all but did not learn the lesson. Rashi then feels that the sin of these national representatives that he calls "spies"was an act of slander against the Promised Land. Apparently, they blackened its name and maligned its reputation. The result was that the people of Israel turned their backs on that Land. But can we really speak of slander when it comes to a Land, to earth, rocks, mountains and rivers? We can slander a person. He gets offended, he blushes and is embarrassed, he cannot show his face in public. That is slander. But how can one slander a land? Can one slander a building? a valley? a town? Does the Land squirm and turn red? Does the building suffer pain?

2 FORGIVENESS The above question was posed by the revered head of the , Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt"I, but he adds a second question which is more troubling. It is well recorded how God punished Israel after this episode by barring them from entering the land for an entire generation. This is as severe a punishment as one might imagine. It would appear that God is furious with his "stiff-necked;' obstinate rebellious nation, and short of destroying them completely, he selects a punishment of extreme proportions. Yet the way the punishment is phrased is strange and puzzling indeed. Immediately preceding the proclamation of this devastating punishment, we read a statement of divine forgiveness: "And the Lord said, 'I pardon, as you have asked'." (14:20) In the first, tense moments of Yorn Kippur, at the start of the Kol Nidrei service, the community chants this verse 3 times. We take hold of this statement - of God's complete forgiveness of Israel, of God's wiping the slate clean of our past wrongdoing - and ask God to repeat his act of the past once again. This verse, a mantra of supreme forgiveness originates here, as God tells Moses how he "pardons" the nation. But does the nation gain its pardon? Seforno (on 14:20) comments: "I have forgiven you to the extent that I will not destroy you (v.12) .... I will not annihilate the nation at once; however I will kill you off in stages, year by year, and not one person will enter the Land:' So are the people forgiven or are they not? Why would God tell us that we have been pardoned, let off the hook, when the next verse explicitly issues a punishment (14:21-23): "Nevertheless, as I live and as the Lord's presence fills the whole world, none of the men ... shall see the Land that I promised on oath to their fathers, none of those who spurn Me shall see it...:' So we have 2 questions. The first relates to the nature of slander. Can we slander a land? The second: If the nation was forgiven, then why are they not allowed to enter the Promised Land?

SPEAKING AND LISTENING Let us begin by examining a statement from Maimonides in his code of Law - Mishneh Torah - where he outlines the laws of slander and evil talk (Lashon Hara). There he states (Hilkhot De'ot 7:3): "The Rabbis state, evil talk kills three: the speaker, the listener (lit. the receiver) and the object of their slander; the listener more than he who speaks:' This is a strange comment. We can well imagine that the person who spreads gossip is culpable and at the same time, the object of the slander is maligned. A person's life can be ruined by rumor and slander, and the perpetrator of that gossip is guilty. But what of the listener? Why does Maimonides include the person who hears the slander as someone who is "killed" by the information he hears? We might suggest that in fact, the person most affected by slander IS the listener. When one hears something negative about a person, one's perception of that person changes. The way one relates to the object of gossip is transformed the moment that one receives that information. After this moment, the relationship is going to be different for ever. Has this ever happened to you? You hear a piece of information about someone. The next time you meet that person, you can't look them in the face without this item floating to the surface. When you meet, you view that individual strangely; "Did he really do that? Did that really happen to her? How could he?" Now, we can only see that person through the prism of our newfound information. Maimonides is accurate in his choice of language. It is not simply that listening to gossip affects us. It is more than that. It penetrates deep, it seeps in. The gossip is received by the listener and it never leaves him.

ALTERED PERCEPTIONS Can we talk of slander about a land? We most definitely can. We can have slander of a school, a synagogue, a community, anything! How so? Whenever we hear some information which affects our image of something, our mind has been poisoned, we have become a victim of slander. If we hear something bad about a particular school, a scandal that took place in a certain community, we will look differently at them from this moment forth. With a school, a child will now not be able to learn as he did before, with a synagogue, we will be unable to receive the spiritual power, the opportunity for prayer and religious growth that we might have found before that moment when we heard that gossip. Our perceptions and our consciousness are altered forever. The was to offer the Jewish nation a unique opportunity. It was to become the place where they would live out a dream. It would be a place where they could fulfill the values of ethical monotheism, the legacy of God's law. The question is, whether the people are receptive to the land. Are they open to that which the land can offer? Is the Promised Land seen as a land of promise? Until this episode, the Land seemed good, it lay "flowing with milk and honey" in the collective consciousness. Until that auspicious day when the delegation returned from the land with the first eyewitness reports of the territory that this fledgling nation would have to conquer. The people knew that they were going to war, but they trusted the fact that God would not send them on a mission impossible. But then, the "spies" returned. The respected leaders came back with talk of giants and Amalek (13:31-33):

3 They spread slander among the Israelites about the land they had toured saying, "The country that we traversed and scouted is one that devours its settlers. All the people that we saw in it are men of great size .... we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them:' The people heard this and panicked They cried all night long; "Why is the Lord taking us to that Land to fall by the sword?" (14:4). They are gripped by terror and an image of a land which means imminent death for all who enter its borders. The shouts of Caleb and Joshua fall on closed ears. Ten spies return with a negative report, who will listen to the 2 who are for God's plan? The people rally against God and His plan. They refuse to enter the Land, they propose a return to Egypt. After this event, after Moses has prayed and the crisis is over, and God has pardoned them, what remains? The indelible mark of this episode still casts its stain over the public in their perception of the Land. A nation who has cried all night will never be able to relate to this land as a positive land offering opportunity and promise. It will always have an image, lurking in the shadows, of this land as a land of death, an image which will readily surface at the first sign of defeat, at the first setback. Have the people been forgiven? Yes. Can they enter the Land? They cannot enter. If they did, the entire enterprise would be doomed to failure from the opening step. The first war, the first crisis, the first defeat would have everyone crying again. Like the wounds of a trauma victim, the psychological wounds of this traumatic incident will not be easily removed from the national subconscious.

CONCLUSION So the slander did not affect the object. It affected the listener. In the words of Maimonides, the listener, the one who received the information into his heart and mind, was affected in the most extreme way. The Children of Israel, impressionable just like children (aren't we all?) could not erase their negative perceptions of the land from their minds and hearts. Their not entering the land was not a punishment. Rather, it was a direct outgrowth of the incident. Yes they had been forgiven, but only the next generation, free of the haunting images of the land "which consumes its settlers," would go into the Promised Land. They would be able to take the land for what it was. They would not have the Emotional scars of a night of tears. Even today, we frequently speak disparagingly about Israel. Let us be reminded and cautioned. Let us not spoil what Israel might offer us by our careless words. Let us ensure that the Holy Land remain in a position that it can offer us spirituality, national promise, a sense of collective identity. Let us be careful lest our words destroy the opportunity, for us, our children, communities and associates, to receive the promise from the Promised Land, even today. Shabbat Shalom Avodat Hashem - Foundations of Divine Service #22: Loving God (XII): Cause Him to Be Beloved By Harav Baruch Gigi

Based on: https://etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/practical-issues-philosophy/loving-god-xii-cause-him-be-beloved

Two Ways to Cause God to Be Beloved There is an additional tier to the mitzva of loving God that arises from the Sifrei"s commentary on the verse, "You shall love the Lord your God": Another interpretation: "You shall love the Lord your God" - Make Him beloved to humanity, as did our father Avraham in the matter referred to in the verse, "And the souls that they had acquired in Charan" (Bereishit 12:5). But is it not true that if all the creatures in the world were to convene in order to create just one gnat and endow it with a soul, they would not be able to do so? Hence we learn that Avraham converted people, thus bringing them under the wings of the Shekhina. (Deva rim #32) The midrash learns from Avraham that one must cause God to be loved by His creations. This gives rise to the understanding that the mitzva to cause God to be beloved can be fulfilled by spreading the knowledge of God's existence and God's ways. As we have seen in previous shiurim, Rambam's approach is that the love of God is achieved through knowing God - "a greater amount of knowledge arouses a greater love." Consequently, one who wishes to cause God to be loved by His creations must first know God on his own and bestow this knowledge upon those who surround him . This way he can succeed in causing others to love God and bringing them under the protection of the Shekhina.

4 As we read in Rambam's Sefer Ha-Mitzvot (Asei 3): Our Sages also said that this mitzva includes calling out to all mankind to serve God, exalted be He, and to believe in Him. This is because when you love a person, for example, you praise him and call out to others to draw close to him. Similarly, if you truly love God - through your understanding and realization of His true existence - you will certainly spread this true knowledge that you know to the ignorant and the foolish. As the Sifrei states: "'You shall love the Lord your God' - Make Him beloved to humanity, as did our father Avraham .... The meaning of this is that Avraham, as a result of his deep understanding of God, acquired love for God, as the verse testifies, "Avraham, My beloved" (Yeshayahu 41:8). This powerful love therefore caused him to call out to all mankind to believe in God. So too, you shall love Him to the extent that you draw others to Him. The Talmud (Yoma 86a) cites a beraita that expounds upon the verse "You shall love the Lord your God" as well. The beraita also views this verse as the demand that a person cause God's name to be beloved to humanity, but it seems that the implied direction of the beraita is different from that of the Sifrei: "You shall love the Lord your God," that is, that God's name be beloved because of you. If one studies Scripture and Mishna and attends on the disciples of the wise, is honest in business and speaks pleasantly to persons, what do people then say concerning him? "Happy is the father who taught him Torah; happy is the teacher who taught him Torah; woe unto people who have not studied the Torah ." For this man has studied the Torah; look how fine his ways are, how righteous his deeds! Of him does Scripture say: "And He said to me: 'You are My servant, Israel in whom I glory"' (Yeshayahu 49:3) .... The beraita's approach is different from the Sifrei's approach in 2 respects. First, while the Sifrei addresses the person directly and demands that he take action in order to make God's name beloved, according to the beraita in Yoma, one must merely focus on one's own divine service, without relating directly to other people. In addition, the Sifrei's approach includes an obligation toward humanity and one's surroundings. One must call out to them and encourage them to engage in divine service by informing and teaching others about knowing and comprehending God. In contrast, according to the beraita, one is not expected to turn to others and encourage them to pursue faith and divine service. One must only mold one's own behavior to that which is expected of a divine servant. Doing this will cause others who see him to appreciate his character, virtues, and behavior, thereby causing God's name to become beloved. The focus of the beraita seems to be to demonstrate to all of humanity that divine servants are righteous people, whether in their direct relations with God or in their interactions with the society that surrounds them. One who sees a divine servant falls in love with his way of life because of the results it engenders, and he may even choose to adopt this way of life as well. Rambam addresses such a person, in Hilkhot Yesodei Ha-Torah (5 :11), in the context of the mitzva of sanctifying God's name, explaining that one who follows behaviors similar to those described in the beraita thereby sanctifies God's name. A person's behavior - between him and his Creator and between him and his fellow - can influence an observer significantly. It can generate feelings of identification and sympathy in others, and possibly even love and the desire to imitate this behavior. In Sefer Ha-Mitzvot (Asei 9), in his discussion of the mitzva of sanctifying God's name, Rambam explains that this mitzva establishes the power of faith in the oneness of God and the love of God in the world. Through self-sacrifice, we publicize our faith to the masses. The more willingness there is to cling to faith and love, even in extreme cases of mortal danger or religious persecution, the more God's existence and oneness in the world is publicized. It seems that this distinction is rooted in the language of the Tanna'im in the various beraitot. In the Sifrei, the expectation is that one will "make Him beloved to humanity" by engaging in direct actions to cause God to be beloved to His creations. As Rambam emphasizes, through one's love of the truth, he will feel the need to broadcast this truth to all of humanity. In contrast, according to the beraita in Yoma, one is expected to direct his efforts inward - "that God's name be beloved because of you." This means that the love of God will be the result of your personal, day-to-day behavior. Through your actions, an observer will be able to understand the power and beauty of faith. Apparently, Rambam only incorporated the position of the Sifrei - imparting the true religion and the correct belief system to all of humanity - in his discussion of the mitzva of loving God. In contrast, the position of the beraita in Yoma is cited there only as part of the discussion of the mitzva of sanctifying God's name, the most important part of which is to publicize God's name and the truth of our faith in Him to the masses. If an observer wants to cling to this path, he will need to begin on his own to learn, know, and comprehend the One who spoke and brought the world into being.

5 In practice, even the matter of sanctifying God's name is made up of 2 aspects: sanctifying God's name by sacrificing one's life rather than violating the most severe transgressions (see discussions in Avoda Zara and Sanhedrin); and sanctifying God's name through one's normal daily human behavior (see the beraita, Yoma 86a). With respect to sanctifying God's name through avoiding the most severe transgressions, one's perspective is mainly directed outward. It involves displaying one's faith in God outwardly, so that others can see the power of faith and love. Even within this perspective, there are different levels of visibility - both public and private types of self-sacrifice (see Rambam, Yesodei Ha-Torah 5:1-2). In contrast, with respect to sanctifying God through one's basic behavior, one's perspective is mainly directed inward. When a person acts in the proper way, those surrounding him observe and appreciate him, and the faith that drives him and his actions.

The Desire to Inform Others About the True Religion Rambam writes in Sefer Ha-Mitzvot (Asei 3): "This powerful love therefore caused him to call out to all mankind to believe in God. So too, you shall love Him to the extent that you draw others to Him ." From this statement, one might think that one can fulfill the mitzva of loving God merely by drawing others to love God. However, in light of what we have learned above, one's obligation is not complete until he actively informs others about God's name and teaches them the principles of faith and divine service. This notion was emphasized in the passage from the Sifrei cited above: "Hence we learn that Avraham converted people, thus bringing them under the wings of the Shekhina." The Sifrei's source is the verse, "And the souls that they had acquired in Charan" (Bereishit 12:5), understanding that to mean that Avraham converted them. Therefore, we must explain that Rambam's intention in Sefer Ha-Mitzvot was to outline an obligation to draw others to God. This obligation also includes the willingness and desire to inform others about the true religion. This approach is also expressed in the description that Rambam presents in Hilkhot Avoda Zara (1:3), where he describes the process from Avraham coming to the realization of God's existence, up until the formation of the Jewish nation. Regarding Avraham especially, he emphasizes his personal odyssey and the individuals he brough to the realization of God's existence by calling out in the name of God. He then explains how this was transmitted to Yitzchak and Yaakov, and down through the generations, "until there became a nation within the world that knew God." Rambam raises a fundamental distinction here between the reality that existed from the time of the patriarchs to the time of Moshe and the reality that began to exist from the time God chose Moshe as a prophet. The patriarchs' initiative of invoking God's name was the fruit of their desire and understanding. From the depths of their love of God and the recognition of the truth that burned within their hearts, they strove to broadcast this truth and this comprehension of God to their surroundings. However, when God chose Moshe, He commanded him through prophecy to impart the knowledge and comprehension of God to the people. Thus, it was expected of Moshe to invoke God's name before the people of Israel. As Rambam explains in Moreh Nevukhim (1:63), while God had appeared to the patriarchs, it was not with a prophecy for them to relate, but rather with a personal communication for themselves. The prophecy to Moshe, which was to be a message for the entire nation, thus needed to begin by establishing his authority as God's representative, and then he could be the one to impart His message. Moshe was commanded to impart his message to Israel, but at its core, the command is much broader; it includes informing all of humanity about God's name. Our goal and aspiration is that a day will come when all of humanity will call on God's name. R. Yerucham Fishel Perlow, in his commentary on R. Saadia Gaon's Sefer Ha-Mitzvot (Asei 19), recorded a fascinating insight on this matter in connection to the obligation to accept a convert. R. Yitzchak Albargeloni enumerated this obligation as a distinct mitzva, while others included it within the mitzva of loving the convert. However, R. Perlow connected it to the mitzva of loving God: And in my view, it must be said simply that according to the enumerators of the mitzvot, it rests on the mitzva of loving God. As explained in the Sifrei, "'You shall love the Lord your God' - Make Him beloved to humanity, as did our father Avraham in the matter referred to in the verse, 'And the souls that they had acquired in Charan' .. . Hence we learn that Avraham converted people, thus bringing them under the wings of the Shekhina." And it was cited in Rambam's Sefer Ha-Mitzvot (Asei 3); and he added to it, writing: "The meaning of this is that Avraham, as a result of his deep understanding of God, acquired love for God, as the verse testifies, 'Avraham, My beloved."' This powerful love therefore caused him to call out to all mankind to believe in God. So too, you shall love Him to the extent that you draw others to Him . Translated by Daniel Landman To subscribe, or for comments, questions or sponsorship opportunities, please write us at: [email protected]

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