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Parshat Shelach
1997
There are often times in our lives where fear gets confused with mistrust and doubt. In order to succeed we know it is only possible if we have faith that others will do their part as well. Too often, we project self-doubt on to others and make them the problem. We do not realize the problem is our own.
To me, this is the simplest way to understand what happens in this week's parsha. God tells Moses to send out the spies to survey the land. Moses assumes that the leaders of each tribe should be chosen as the representatives and Moses gives a detailed description of how the spies should proceed. It is clear from the parsha that Moses truly asks for a survey of the land and its inhabitants. He does not ask them for an assessment of whether they are capable of conquering the land. That fact is not in question-God has already made His promise. The only question remaining is how this is going to happen.
The spies return and do give a detailed description of what awaits them in Canaan and they volunteer an unwelcome opinion that conquering the land seems impossible. They even "slander" the land that the Lord has given them.
The Midrash tells us that Moses was aware that things may turn out this way, and they learn it from a strange verse in the text. After the Torah lists the names of the spies and their home tribe, a verse is added which states, "And Moses called Hosea Bin Nun, Joshua."
The Midrash says that Moses changes Hosea's name to Joshua, which means, "he will bring salvation" because he sees that there is a big mistake in the offing and he anoints Joshua as the one who will provide the leadership to extricate the people from the inevitable mess.
According to this understanding, Moses suspects that the people are not ready. He may even suspect, or fear, that he is not ready to lead them in the next stage of their liberation. Neither Moses nor the people have enough faith in each other. Neither assumes that the other can hold up his end. Of course, neither of them understands that their lack of faith in the other implies a lack of faith in God. God has determined that it is necessary to survey the land. God has decided that the land will be conquered by natural means. God is the one who requires cooperation among the people in order for this to happen.
Moses and the people seem to fail the test, only to have a new leader emerge-Joshua, the one Moses, himself has chosen. For maybe Moses sees that Joshua and not Moses is more suited to the next task.
The Torah teaches that after the land is slandered, God ordains that this people will not enter the land, but a new generation must emerge. In explaining the reason for an enigmatic holiday, called the fifteenth of Av, a holiday where young maidens would dance in the vineyards in order for young men to woo them for marriage. There is a midrash which sees a connection between the 9th day of Av when tradition says God denied the children of Israel permission to enter the land and the fifteenth of Av. It states:
R. Levi said: On every eve of the ninth of Ab Moses used to announce throughout the camp, 'Go out to dig graves'; and they used to go out and dig graves in which they slept. On the morrow he sent out a herald to announce, 'Arise and separate the dead from the living.' They would then stand up and find themselves around 15,000 short of 600,000. In the fortieth years, they acted similarly and found that nobody died. They said, 'It appears that we have miscalculated and that this is not the 9th day of Av; so they acted similarly on the nights of the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th. When the moon was full on the fifteenth day, they said, 'It seems that the Holy One, blessed be He, has annulled that decree from us all'; so they proceeded to make [the fifteenth] a holiday..." (Eicha Rabba)
The Midrash says, if you cannot have faith in each other to determine your destiny, I, the Lord, will let you determine your destiny alone with Me. Each year you will dig your graves and I will decide whether to complete what you have begun. To trust in the Holy One is to also have faith in the ability of others to carry out the Holy One's designs, for without partners, we will fall into the abyss of doubting others, doubting ourselves and doubting the Holy One as well. Working together means entrusting each other with the ability to make projects succeed or fail. Such a trust is fragile, especially when it has been abused in the past, but without the ability to trust we will always remain in the desert.
Prepared by Rabbi Avi Weinstein, The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel
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