RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5784&5785
  • Sefer Shemot 5784&5785
  • Sefer Vayikra 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5784 &5785
  • Sefer Devarim 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

6/24/2019

Parashat Shelach Lecha 5779, 2019: "Spies and Tears"

1 Comment

Read Now
 
Picture

 
Rabbi David Etengoff 
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world. 
 
Imagine that we live in a world of universal peace and harmony, in which war is simply unknown and there is no avodah zarah (idol worship). Moreover, picture a time when the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) stands in all its glory, Israel is governed by Jewish Law (Halacha), the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court) renders ultimate judgment and anti-Semitism is not even a thought. As Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) teach us in multiple sources, the beginning of our parasha offers the possible fulfillment of these messianic visions. In theory, Moshe could have been Mashiach (the Messiah), led our people into Eretz Yisrael and built the eternal Beit HaMikdash. Then, the entire world would have recognized the truth of monotheism and our people’s singular role as Hashem’s chosen nation.   
 
What exactly took place that brought these magnificent plans to a screeching halt? In his Commentary on the Torah, the Ramban zatzal (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) suggests that this was a direct result of the people’s reaction to the Meraglims’ (Spies’) report concerning the seeming impossibility of conquering Eretz Yisrael as found in our parasha. In addition, we must remember that Chazal teach us that this poignant episode transpired on the night of Tisha b’Av:  

The entire community raised their voices and shouted, and the people wept on that night. All the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the entire congregation said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this desert. Why does the L-rd bring us to this land to fall by the sword; our wives and children will be as spoils. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” They said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!” (Sefer Bamidbar 14:1-4, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
Rabbi Isaac ben Moses Arama (known as the Akeidat Yitzhak, 1420-1494) was a great Spanish exegete. In his Torah commentary on our parasha, Akeidat Yitzhak, Rav Arama suggests that the final verse of our passage contains the key for understanding the completely negative valence of our forebears’ response: 

They [the people] rejected the Land of Divine promise. It is this rejection of the land which has been our undoing throughout the ages. On account of it, we were exiled from our country, divorced from our soil, and became a reproach to our neighbors, a scorning and a derision to those round about us. There is no way of restoring our integrity other than by returning unto it. (This and the following translations, Aryeh Newman in, Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, pages 145-146) 
 
At this juncture, Rav Arama asks, and answers, a powerful question as to why our ancestors’ behavior eventuated in the permanent ban on the men of this generation — though not the continuously loyal women — from entering Eretz Yisrael. In so doing, he helps us understand our seemingly never-ending years of Galut (Exile): 

What was the reason for the terrible wrath of the Almighty in giving forth this irrevocable decree? What should it matter to the Holy One blessed be He that they rejected a goodly land, a land flowing with milk and honey? Surely all these goods are only transitory! 
 
But the truth is that it was not [only] these earthly things that they rejected, rather they rejected Hashem, they despised the Holy One of Israel who granted them life and its joys, surrounded by the precepts of the Torah...They retreated saying, “We cannot go up,” implying that they did not desire to scale the heights of spiritual perfection, the ladder to which was the Holy Land itself, but preferred to choose a leader and go back to Egypt, descending to an impure land. (With my emendations) 
 
Based upon Rav Arama’s trenchant insights, we can now summarize the two-part sin of the Meraglim and the people’s response to their report: the rejection of the Land of Divine promise, and the repudiation of Hashem and His holy Torah. In a very real sense, our forbears’ rejection of the land represented the worst form of kafui tovah — rejection of the good. Finally, the moment was at hand and Eretz Yisrael was all-but in our grasp. Hashem’s beneficence was boundless, and His rachamim (mercy) unending, yet we rejected both our Creator and His unlimited chesed (kindness).  
 
Beyond a doubt, our ancestors cried for no reason, and it is precisely these causeless bitter tears that have stained our relationship with the Almighty until today. May the Master of the Universe help us truly appreciate the untold wonder of our beloved land, and give us the wisdom to once again cry unto Him: “Cause us to return to You Hashem so that we may return, and renew our days as they were in earlier times.” (Megillat Eichah 5:21, translation my own)  May this time come soon, and in our days, v’chane yihi ratzon.   


Shabbat Shalom 


Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org  
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.  
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected]. 

*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd  
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link. 
 

Share

1 Comment
Shirley Anne Cutcliffe
7/3/2019 06:17:19 pm

Thank you so much for your insight 🙏 👌 Rabbi‼️
Please add me to your mailing list, and once again, thank you 😊

Reply



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5784&5785
  • Sefer Shemot 5784&5785
  • Sefer Vayikra 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5784 &5785
  • Sefer Devarim 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770