The "Pilot Trip" That Went Very Wrong, Parshat Shlach Lecha

This week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week Shlach Lecha is basically about a "Pilot Trip" to the Holy Land that ended up being a disaster.

Gd had instructed Moshe to send out a very distinguished delegation of tribal leaders to divvy up the Land in advance of the big return. Today it's called a "pilot trip." Potential olim, those Jews moving to Israel, are encouraged to send an "advance team or delegate" to choose a suitable location, schools and even arrange housing. Of the twelve tribal leaders Moshe had sent, only Calev followed instructions exactly.

24But as for My servant Caleb, since he was possessed by another spirit, and he followed Me, I will bring him to the land to which he came, and his descendants will drive it[s inhabitants] out.

כדוְעַבְדִּ֣י כָלֵ֗ב עֵ֣קֶב הָֽיְתָ֞ה ר֤וּחַ אַחֶ֨רֶת֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וַיְמַלֵּ֖א אַֽחֲרָ֑י וַֽהֲבִֽיאֹתִ֗יו אֶל־הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣א שָׁ֔מָּה וְזַרְע֖וֹ יֽוֹרִשֶֽׁנָּה:

Their mission wasn't to judge the pros and cons of entering the Land, just to be pragmatically prepared.

Today it's the same. Israel in just over seventy years has become one the most advanced countries in the world. Gd has helped us win our wars, because Gd wants all Jews to live here. Don't make the mistake of the ten tribal leaders who sinned. Be like Calev and Joshua. Pack your bags and stake out your place in the Holy Land, The Land of Israel.

Parshat Shlach, The Majority Voted "No"

I must admit that this week's Torah Portion of the Week, Parshat Shavua, Shlach Lecha, Numbers 13:1–15:41, is one of my favorite. It's not as simple and optimistic as my all time favorite Lech Lecha, but there's just so much to talk about.

Numbers Chapter 13

1The Lord spoke to Moses saying,		אוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־משֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר:
2"Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father's tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst."		בשְׁלַח לְךָ֣ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אִ֣ישׁ אֶחָד֩ אִ֨ישׁ אֶחָ֜ד לְמַטֵּ֤ה אֲבֹתָיו֙ תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ כֹּ֖ל נָשִׂ֥יא בָהֶֽם:
3So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran by the word of the Lord. All of them were men of distinction; they were the heads of the children of Israel.		גוַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח אֹתָ֥ם משֶׁ֛ה מִמִּדְבַּ֥ר פָּארָ֖ן עַל־פִּ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה כֻּלָּ֣ם אֲנָשִׁ֔ים רָאשֵׁ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵֽמָּה:

In Lech Lecha we have one person, Abram (later called by Gd Abraham) who is told by Gd that he is to go live in a certain place which Gd will show him. That ends up a very straight forward story, since Abraham consistently does whatever Gd says.

But a few generations later, Abraham's descendants aren't as obedient.

• Although the Land is beautiful and fertile, they are distracted by the residents. 
• Although Gd had just rescued them from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt and rescued them from Pharaoh's army, they feared confrontation with those in the Land Gd was sending them to.

Of the twelve tribal heads, only two, Joshua and Caleb, trusted that they could really live in The Land. The majority voted "no."

The Jewish People, recently freed from slavery followed their tribal leaders and then were condemned to wait another generation, forty years, before entering the Land.

I've been living here in Israel longer than forty years. We're soon to celebrate forty-eight 48 years since our aliyah. One of the best things, OK the best thing, we ever did was to make aliyah right after our wedding. Many of our friends talked about it, and some also came soon after getting married or finishing university or even just came without any degree or spouse. But there were many friends who took their parents' advice to "first..." and are still in America. In some cases their children and grandchildren are here in Israel, but others have found themselves still enslaved.

The crucial words in Gd's instructions are:

וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel

Gd commanded that each tribal leader choose an area in which to settle his people. I translate and explain וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ as to "stakeout" choose where you want to settle and claim it. Today, we'd call this a "pilot trip." Most Jews from the western world schedule and budget in a pre-aliyah trip to Israel to choose where they will live. That's what Gd commands the tribal leaders to do in Parshat Shlach.

They weren't commanded at all to discuss the merits of living in the Land, the pros and cons. They were shown a large present and told to divide it up among themselves.

Why, davka, do I like this  Torah Portion so much? It's because it's so relevant to modern day. Living in the Holy Land is as much a Mitzvah/Commandment today as it was then. Considering that the Israel of today is one of the most advance/modern in the world, the old rationales/excuses for not living here aren't relevant. And considering that Israel is a vibrant and ever-changing democracy, whatever complaints you have can be worked on when here.

The worst thing would be to act like the ten tribal leaders who sinned and refuse to come, rationalizing like they did. That's why this Torah Portion is known as "The Sin of the Spies."

Parshat Shlach, The "Mother of All" Pilot Trips Gone Bad

One of the big "misnomers" in Jewish Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week is calling this week's parsha, Shlach-Send "The Sin of the Spies." The very large and honorable delegation sent off to scout out, or more accurately to stake out the Holy Land weren't called מרגלים miraglim, spies in the Biblical narrative. That's because they weren't spies!

Numbers Chapter 13

1The Lord spoke to Moses saying,		אוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־משֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר:
2"Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father's tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst."		בשְׁלַח לְךָ֣ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אִ֣ישׁ אֶחָד֩ אִ֨ישׁ אֶחָ֜ד לְמַטֵּ֤ה אֲבֹתָיו֙ תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ כֹּ֖ל נָשִׂ֥יא בָהֶֽם:

The tribal heads had been sent on what's now called a pilot trip, to stake out, choose the best location for the tribe to settle once they all arrived.

For the past few decades it has been highly recommended that potential olim, immigrants to Israel come a few months or year before their actual immigration date to check out locations, schools etc. Nefesh B'Nefesh and AACI along with other immigrant organizations assist in planning these visits to facilitate an easier more successful aliyah.

17Moses sent them to scout the Land of Canaan, and he said to them, "Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain.		יזוַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אֹתָם֙ משֶׁ֔ה לָת֖וּר אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֗ם עֲל֥וּ זֶה֙ בַּנֶּ֔גֶב וַֽעֲלִיתֶ֖ם אֶת־הָהָֽר:
18You shall see what [kind of] land it is, and the people who inhabit it; are they strong or weak? Are there few or many?		יחוּרְאִיתֶ֥ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־הָעָם֙ הַיּשֵׁ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ הֶֽחָזָ֥ק הוּא֙ הֲרָפֶ֔ה הַמְעַ֥ט ה֖וּא אִם־רָֽב:
19And what of the land they inhabit? Is it good or bad? And what of the cities in which they reside are they in camps or in fortresses?		יטוּמָ֣ה הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ ישֵׁ֣ב בָּ֔הּ הֲטוֹבָ֥ה הִ֖וא אִם־רָעָ֑ה וּמָ֣ה הֶֽעָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּהֵ֔נָּה הַֽבְּמַֽחֲנִ֖ים אִ֥ם בְּמִבְצָרִֽים:
20What is the soil like is it fat or lean? Are there any trees in it or not? You shall be courageous and take from the fruit of the land." It was the season when the first grapes begin to ripen.		כוּמָ֣ה הָ֠אָ֠רֶץ הַשְּׁמֵנָ֨ה הִ֜וא אִם־רָזָ֗ה הֲיֵֽשׁ־בָּ֥הּ עֵץ֙ אִם־אַ֔יִן וְהִ֨תְחַזַּקְתֶּ֔ם וּלְקַחְתֶּ֖ם מִפְּרִ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ וְהַ֨יָּמִ֔ים יְמֵ֖י בִּכּוּרֵ֥י עֲנָבִֽים:

They weren't sent out to discuss the pros and cons of living in the Holy Land. They just needed to prepare realistically. And they were supposed to bring back souvenirs, like the grapes, to show their tribes how wonderful the Land is.

But except for  Calev and Yehoshua they failed miserably. They sinned and in that they were punished by Gd, and only the next generation was allowed to enter the Land.

The Bible So Timely, Parshat Shlach

For thousands of years, we have had our Tanach/Bible. As my teacher, Dr. Yael Ziegler, Matan, always reminds us:

"The Tanach is not is history book; it's a book of theology."

The Tanach aka Jewish Bible has so many stories that resonate today. Yesterday on Shabbat we read/heard Parshat Shlach שלך לך Send. Bamidbar - Numbers - Chapter 13:

1The Lord spoke to Moses saying,		אוַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
2"Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father's tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst."		בשְׁלַח לְךָ אֲנָשִׁים וְיָתֻרוּ אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ אֶחָד אִישׁ אֶחָד לְמַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו תִּשְׁלָחוּ כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם:

There's a keyword, one (the linguistic root)  that repeats in a variety of forms throughout the parsha, Torah portion, וְיָתֻרוּ yaturu. I do not agree with the accepted translation and meaning as "scout." And also, although this episode is known as the "sin of the spies," "חט המרגלים" I wish to remind you, thanks to Atara Snowbell, that the term does not appear at all in this parsha.

Twelve distinguished men traipsing around together gathering fruit and observing things are "tourists," not spies. Actually their assignment was more like a modern pre-aliyah "pilot trip," in which they were supposed to choose the areas in which they each wanted to live with their tribes, like the Early Americans who would "stake out" boundaries in order to claim land.

When Moses sent them out, he had expected them to each return ready to promote a specific portion, an area of the Promised Land, for his tribe. Unfortunately, only one, Caleb did that. He stated that the area of Hebron, the location of the Ma'arat Hamachpela, Cave of the Patriarchs' Burial Tombs, was what he reserved for his tribe of Yehuda/Judah.

I can just imagine Moses's shock when instead of twelve enthusiastic tribal heads promoting their new homes, ten out of twelve, the majority, insisted that although the Land was nice and the fruit delicious, there was no way that the Jewish People could actually live there. The two in the minority were Caleb and Joshua, who were rewarded for doing the job properly, as the ten naysayers all died during the four extra decades of exile in the Wilderness for the Jewish People.

My husband and I, unlike most of our Zionist friends in New York, made aliyah right after our wedding in 1970. A few followed, but the vast majority ended up staying away. All of us who did make aliyah are happy we did so. We can't imagine living any place else, and we live all over the country today. Many of the friends who stayed in America or other places still try to excuse their lack of aliyah and/or still dream of coming here.

No doubt we're all shaped by our environments. I certainly consider the thirty-five years we've been in Shiloh to be a great influence on who and what I am today. Thank Gd, we now live in an era when individuals can come, and we're not required to follow the majority of Jews.