Rabbi's Sermons

Shabbat Shalom!

Both the first part of this week's Torah reading portion, Parashat Shelach Lecha, as well as the Haftara, deal with espionage: the twelve spies, who were sent by Moshe to scour the land, returning with the famous bunch of grapes (which became, by the way, the classic logo of Israeli wine producers: "Carmel Mizrachi"). And in the Haftara, there is the story about the two spies who were sent by Yehoshua, who stayed at Rahab's house, in the city of Jericho.

The word for "spies" in Hebrew is - MERAGLIM, that is derived from the word – REGEL, which means "leg", and its essence defines “those who walk" through the fields, to get an idea of the nature of it. However, in the description of the book of Numbers, it is not just the legs, but the eyes as well, which stand out. In fact, it is natural that the experience of the spies is conveyed, initially, through the sense of sight. The visual sense exists, not only in this first part, which deals with the spies, but connects all the other parts of the Parasha. The eyes and vision are repeated in the words of Moshe, and in God's response to the report given by the spies. Moshe asks the spies to see: "¹⁸ And SEE the land, what it is, and the people who dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many". Perhaps, that is why the punishment given to the children of Israel, to pilgrimage forty years in the desert, is understood as - "measure for measure", as described in the verses of Numbers 14, which mention, three times, the verb - "to see": "²² Because all those men who have SEEN My glory and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times and have not hearkened to My voice. ²³ surely they shall not SEE the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of those who provoked Me SEE it". In the same way, according to the text that we recite in the Shema Israel, regarding the fringes or Tzitzit, it says - “Ureitem oto - and you shall SEE it”, which indicates the necessity there is, to actually SEE the Tzitzit.

From the spies' brief description of their journey in the Promised Land, one is left with the impression, that they did their work in a technical way, based on the fact that they brought a bunch of grapes with them. Their opinion of the land can only be learned from what they reported upon their return from their quest. The report is very simple, in fact, they did not even describe what happened on their trip, and they said very little about the land itself, although they indicated that - "milk and honey certainly flow", their report focuses on the inhabitants, which implies that the people who listened to them had no idea what the land itself was like, nor what its inhabitants were like. The spies chose what to see, therefore the description you get from them is completely subjective.

The degree of subjectivity of the spies’ perception can be learned from the phrase that most reflects their attitude towards the inhabitants of that land: "³³ And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight”. What does it mean "In our own sight"? It is definitely a subjective perception. After all, the spies came back with a large bunch of grapes, so large that it took two people to carry it! Which indicated that it was a fertile and good country! However, they chose to focus specifically on the terrifying: "It is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof"; or when they said: "³¹ We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we".

Especially remarkable, is the comparison of the people's response to Moshe with the response given by the two spies of the next generation, sent by Joshua to Jericho. In the book of Joshua, chapter 2, the spies summarize their mission in a short and very clear sentence: "²⁴ Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land, for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us".

The most significant thing about the message of the spies to Moshe is the ending: "as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight". How could they possibly say that? How could the spies know how the inhabitants of the land perceived them? It is a deep and even unconscious understanding: The spies understand that the way a person perceives oneself has a decisive influence on the way others perceive him. The power to face life and problems does not come from external factors, but from the way you see them yourself, internally. The environment only responds to what the person transmits. That is why we value the determination of some so much, who against all odds, follow their faith, so if we believe in our own actions, the rest of the world will have to be carried away by that belief. If we become grasshoppers in our own eyes, we will also be grasshoppers in the eyes of others.

The paragraph which handles the Tzitzit of the Tallit gives another dimension to the same topic of SEEING: The mitzva asks us to SEE the tzitzit and find physical forms that constantly remind us who we are. When we SEE the Tzitzit, we will remember it. And if we remember, our eyes will not search for things which go against our Jewish spirit and identity. In Genesis 3, God forbade man to eat from the tree of knowledge, and thus, created a man who did not see, neither himself, nor his God. But after eating from the tree of knowledge, it is said that: “⁵ the eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Our eyes are now open, which allows us to look in the mirror, see ourselves and answer the question: Who are we?

Only when we look at the cultural, ethical, moral and traditional components of our identity, is when we understand them, so we can change them, develop them, or we just may hope that those who are close to us and those who come into contact with us, will receive and understand them. Let us learn to see in that mirror and be able to answer the question: who am I? And what do others close to me, expect from me? Or what does the divinity expect from my existence? Those who enjoy the gift of vision, thats a blessing! may appreciate the world with each image: ans perhaps, by seeing the Tzitzit, but even more, by seeing a forest, a sunset, the stars at night, seeing a baby, or the smile of a loved one, or appreciate the colors, distances, then each time will not only see, but appreciate as a gift to our existence and our spirituality. The way we see life will be the way life responds to us. It is a lesson from this Parasha, which we must never forget.

Shabat Shalom!

June 20^th, 2025

Rabbi David Laor