Shelach, Send
Numbers 13:1 to 15:41
Haftarah: Joshua 2:1 to 24
Psalm 30
Apostolic Writings/Newer Testament/Brit HaChadashah: Luke chapter 7 verses 11 to 17
In some traditions this Parsha is called Shelach Lecha, which means send you (or yourself).
At the start of our portion this week Moshe Rabbenu (Moses our Teacher) sends out spies from each of the Tribes; the people chosen were leaders in their respective Tribes. From the Tribe of Ephraim he sent Hoshea the son of Nun. In verse 16 we are told that Moses changed that mans name to Yehoshua or Joshua. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, who lived in northern France, in Troyes. He was born in 1040 and died in 1105. Rashi is one of the best known and highly regarded sages of all time.) says this about this verse:
Moses added the letter - yod- to Hosheas name so that his name would begin with the letters of The Almightys Name - - . This signifies that Moses prayed, May G-d (- ) save () you from the conspiracy of the spies.
It is, of course, also the Name of the Moshiach. There are many variations of the name, even in the Bible.
As the spies went out from the camp they searched the land for 40 days. This is not an uncommon number in the Bible and it usually signifies probation or waiting. Hence Yeshua spent 40 days in the Judean desert, 40 years the Israelites schlepped (a lovely Yiddish word meaning to carry or to drag) through the Sinai desert and so on.
The majority of those sent on the reconnaissance trip came back and declared that we are like grasshoppers compared with them! They said how they had seen the Nephilim. This word has been the cause of a lot of debate as to its actual meaning. As with a good number of ancient words we are not sure of its exact meaning. The word comes from the Hebrew root meaning, fallen ones. Rabbi ibn Ezra says that this was because they caused mens hearts to fall when they saw the size of them. They get their first mention in Genesis chapter 6. Some say that the description of them being the offspring of the sons of god and the daughters of men means that these beings were gigantic because of the mix of angelic and human genes. We dont know for sure. What we do know is that the 10 were wrong in their view and wrong in their reporting. As a result of their reports the people became scared, rather than concentrating on the sacred. The Land causes the destruction of yoshvechahits settlers, they said in verse 32. The 10 said that the Land would kill every Jewish person. The 10 were killed. The rest, all 600,000+ of them, were turned back to the desert. What should have been an 11-day walk was now going to be a 40-year schlep.
So the sentence was set the people of that generation would wander around the desert for 40 years; that is, until all of that generation were dead. Only then, after the doubters were out of the way, would the people enter the Land. The date of the sentence? The 9th day of the month of Av. Shortly after some people saw a man gathering sticks on Sabbath. How did they know not to gather sticks, when the Torah simply says not to work? The Rabbinic answer is that the Torah is not just that which was inscribed, but included and includes the Oral Torah.
One of the Mitzvot (commands) given in this passage is the command for Jewish men to wear a fringe on the 4 corners of a garment. The reason for the fringe is so that, when he sees it, he will remember the covenant between The Almighty and the Jewish people. That was all very well, but as modes of dress changed, the garments worn did not necessarily have 4 corners, so the comparatively modern tzitzitevolved. This is in essence a Tallit Katan, or large shawl. It has been modified so as to form a garment. Thus, when a Jewish man dons a Tallit Katan, he is making a point of observing that Mitzvah. We dont know for sure whether in Yeshuas time the garment had evolved, or if Jewish men had fringes joined on to their existing garments. Either way, Yeshua wore tzitzit.
Incidentally, The Almighty says, When you enter the Land. . . and not If you enter the Land. . .
A really interesting study is to look at the appearances of the names Joshua, Hosea, Hoshea in the different contexts. . . .
With events unfolding in the Middle East it would be remiss of me not to at least mention the flotilla. There have been many differing and conflicting accounts of what happened the other evening off the coast of Israel. I am not going to join any of the voices on either side. As usual the voices are loud and conflicting. As ever more heat than light is coming from the debates.
I shall instead leave you with Psalm 122 verse 6:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem;
those who love you will be serene.
Shabbat Shalom