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PARSHAS SHelAcH 22 SIVAN 5767 9 JUNe 2007
Parsha Perspectives OZER
ALPORT
ץראה רמאל לארשי ינב לא התא ורת רשא ץראה תבד ואיציו
(13:32) אוה היבשוי תלכא ץרא התא רותל הב ונרבע רשא
They brought forth to the children of Israel an evil report on the
land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we
have passed to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants.’”
The episode of the sin of the spies is one of the most tragic in Jewish
history. The entire nation was in the wilderness, poised to enter
and conquer the promised land of Israel, only to have it all taken
away from them because they believed the negative report of the spies. The
Gemora (Sanhedrin 104b) cryptically explains that the spies sinned by preceding
their mouths to their eyes and reporting facts which they didn’t actually
see. How is this to be understood, and what lesson can we take from it?
Rabbi Moshe Shapiro explains that
in any encounter, a person is able
to see or find what he is looking
for. Even before he fully takes in
and evaluates the new situation, he
will likely already have rendered a
conclusion. He will then proceed to
find evidence to support his conclusion.
Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein explains
that the primary sin of the spies was
their character trait of תונגרנ. This
refers to a person who is constantly
full of complaints and has nothing
positive to say about anything. Since
the spies had already decided that
they didn’t want to live in Israel,
they interpreted everything they saw
through a negative lense and returned
with a report shaped by their bias
The importance of how we view
a situation and interpret events is
illustrated by the following story. In the
early 1950s, a large shoe company with
stores across North America wanted to
make more money by expanding to
new markets. They sent two salesmen
to Africa to explore the prospects
of opening branches throughout
the large and untapped continent.
Less than a week had passed when the
first agent sent back a disappointing
telegram. He wrote, “I’m coming home
at once. No money can be made
here. Nobody even wears shoes!”
After receiving the bad news, the
management felt that they had no
choice but to explore other potential
options for growing their business.
Just as they were preparing to send
agents to scout out another distant
region, they received an important
lesson in the power of one’s perspective.
More than a month after his partner
had quickly despaired, the firm received
a cable from the second salesman:
“Ship 15,000 shoes immediately to
fill my five stores. Africa is a land filled
with great opportunity – nobody has
shoes, and everybody needs a pair!”
The Arizal teaches that each month
is mystically associated with an idea
that we are supposed to rectify during
that month. He writes that our mission
in the month of Tammuz is to rectify
the concept of הי–יאר – how we view
things. Not coincidentally, Parshas
Shelach is read just before this month
begins, and it revolves around the
story of the spies which, as our sages
explain, led to the eventual destruction
of the Holy Temple-the mourning
period for which begins in Tammuz.
The spies sinned by seeking out the
bad in every encounter. We would
do well to learn from their mistakes
and adopt a perspective of seeking
out the good in every life situation.
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Talking Points parshas shelach r a b b i el a z a r me i s e l s
1. Choose Your spies
WiselY
“And Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, ‘Send,
for yourself men, and have them scout the
land of canaan, which I am giving to Bnei
Yisroel…’” 13:1,2
Send For Yourself - According to
your opinion [you may send them.] I do
not command you [to send them]. If you
wish, send [them]. Because the Jewish
people came and demanded, ‘let us send
men before us,’ as it is said, ‘all of you
approached me, etc.’ Moshe conferred
with the Shechinah. Hashem said, ‘I told
them that it is good, as it is said, ‘I will bring
you up from the suffering of Egypt, etc. (to
a land flowing with milk and honey)’ By
their lives! I’ll give them an opportunity for
error with the report of the spies, so that
they will not inherit it.” – Rashi
Send For Yourself Men - The last letters
of the words, “Shelach Lechah Anoshim”
[Send for yourself men] are Ches, Chof,
and Mem, which spells “Chochom” [wise
man]. This teaches us that Hashem
instructed Moshe to send only Chachomim
[wise men]. – Baal HaTurim
The obvious question is why Hashem
would agree to send spies when He
clearly wasn’t in favor of the idea. There
are numerous explanations but one that
stands out is an idea suggested by the
mystics, which paints Moshe, and possibly
the Jewish people, in a more favorable
light. Moshe was not for sending the spies-
he knew full well that it was a terrible idea-
but he recognized that there was little he
could do to prevent the people from acting
upon their wishes. Hashem’s advice for
Moshe was that he himself should select
the spies from among the greatest and
most righteous of the nation, in the hope
was that these people would be less likely
to seek to appease the public and present
negative information about Eretz Yisroel.
That the people agreed to Moshe choosing
is to their credit, and indeed, had the
people sent their own choices, the results
would have been far worse. At least these
spies reported on the positive aspects of
the land, as well.
2. it Matters Not What
theY thiNk
“There we saw the giants, the sons of the giant,
from among the Nephilim, and we were like
grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their
eyes.” 13:33
And So We Appeared In Their Eyes –
“We heard them say to each other, ‘There
are ants in the vineyard like people’” -
Rashi
On the surface, this statement sounds
innocent enough. After all, it’s most
intimidating to hear giants speak of how
insignificant you are to them. Certainly, it
couldn’t have inspired much confidence in
them. Yet, the Kotzker Rebbe viewed this
little exchange as emblematic of all that
went wrong with the spies. As emissaries
of the Jewish people who’d been promised
Hashem’s direct protection, they had no
business worrying about what others
thought of them. They were on a national
mission, and their personal feelings should
not have been factored in whatsoever.
By giving credence to the humiliating
words of the giants, they betrayed the
trust the people had vested in them and
demonstrated their inadequacy for their
role.
3. GoiNG hoMe isN’t that
easY
“They awoke early in the morning and went
up to the peak of the mountain, saying, ‘We are
ready to go up to the place of which Hashem
spoke, for we have sinned.’ They defiantly went
up the mountain peak…The Amalekite and
the canaanite descended…and they smote and
crushed them until chormah.” 14:40-45
This tragic episode reveals how sensitive
the issue of conquering Eretz Yisroel really
is. Regardless of how passionate we may
feel toward the land, it simply cannot be
had on our terms. Our ability to acquire
the land is predicated upon Hashem’s
permission to do so. Regardless of our
strength or dedication to this ideal, we
will not be successful in capturing it until
He allows us to do so. Conversely, when
Hashem decides that the time is ripe for
the Jewish people to control the land, our
military prowess or lack thereof will not
be a factor either. Under the leadership of
Yehoshua, the people occupied the land
with minimal effort. Rashi [Devarim 1:8]
writes that had the sin of the spies not
occurred, even that minimal effort would
not have been necessary.
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l’chaim to all rabbi elazar meisels
Dear Rabbi: Sometimes I attend a local synagogue and following the service they often serve minor
refreshments, consisting of some cake, herring, and a drink of liquor over which they enthusiastically
bless each other, “l’chaim.” every time I ask about this custom, instead of an answer, I get invited to
have another drink. Would you mind explaining to me why “l’chaim” is wished over alcohol? Arnold D.
Arnold,
Thank you for your question and welcome
to the “spiritual” side of Judaism.
The word “L’chaim” literally means “to
life,” and although nowadays we proclaim
it over all alcoholic beverages,
the original custom was to do so over
wine. Why this was the case will become
clearer once I explain the many
sources of this custom. Keep in mind,
however, that one is not required to
reach a state of inebriation in order to
wish others “L’chaim”.
There are many explanations offered
for this custom. What follows is a limited
selection that I think you may find
interesting:
1. The Talmud [Eiruvin 65a,] writes:
“Rav Chanina said, ‘Wine was created
in order to comfort mourners [through
its gladdening properties]…as it is written,
‘Give wine to those of embittered
soul. [Mishlei 31:6]’”
Since the custom was to give mourners
a drink of wine to help them cope with
their sorrows, it became standard practice
that when imbibed at other occasions,
the words L’chaim were shouted
out to emphatically declare that this
intake of wine was in no way related
to mourning.
2. The Talmud [Sanhedrin 43a] and
Midrash [Tanchuma Pikudei 2,] write
that in ancient times, a glass of wine
was given to a person as he was led
out to his execution, in order to dull his
senses. This too, provided the impetus
for the custom to recite L’chaim when
drinking wine, to differentiate between
drinking wine for execution and any
other purpose.
3. Daas Zekeinim [VaYikra 10:9] explains
that this is related to the original
sin of Adam, which some attribute to
the wine that Adam drank at his betrothal
ceremony to Chava. This led to
the decree of death for all mankind. In
fact, there are many Midrashim, which
highlight the detrimental effect that
wine has historically had on mankind,
leading to sins of the worst variety. In
order to remind ourselves that we must
not fall prey to the negative effects of
wine, we proclaim “L’chaim- to life!”
while partaking of it.
4. You write that you encounter this in
the synagogue following services. I’m
going to hazard a guess that a member
of the synagogue sponsors the refreshments
on a date coinciding with
a Yahrtzeit in his family. Dayan Weiss
z”l [Minchas Yitzchak 6:135] suggests
that the L’chaim blessings are really intended
specifically for the sponsor. This
is because the day of a Yahrtzeit is considered
a day of misfortune in that per-
son’s life. We therefore bless him that
he should merit only life on that day
and not suffer further misfortune.
5. In addition to the synagogue, there
is another place this custom occurs
with regularity. Many people have a
custom to “drink a L’chaim” at the Friday
night meal, between the gefilte fish
and chicken soup. I believe this may be
related to the prohibition mentioned in
Shulchan Aruch [Y”D 116:2] that one
should not consume meat and fish together
for health related reasons. Rather,
one should eat and drink something
following the fish in order to clean out
the mouth before proceeding with the
meat. Although it is not clear when,
and if, this prohibition still applies [see
Magen Avraham O”CH 173:1,] there
are many who are still careful in this
regard.
Perhaps by partaking of a small alcoholic
drink after the fish, one has effectively
cleaned out his mouth, and
he now may partake of the chicken
soup without worrying about potential
danger to his health. Thus, we proclaim
“L’chaim” while enjoying this drink, because
it truly is a life-giving measure.
L’Chaim to all!
Best Regards,
Rabbi E. Meisels

parshas shelach
Moshe sends one scout from each
shevet (tribe) to investigate the
land of canaan. He instructs them
to prepare a report of canaan’s strengths and
weaknesses. The scouts (meraglim) return with
samples of the unbelievably large fruits of eretz
Yisroel, and they report that the people who live
there are equally gigantic.
They are pessimistic about
the chances for victory against
such opponents. The people
are demoralized. Two of the
spies, Yehoshua and Calev, try
to convince the people that
Hashem will vanquish their
enemies, but these efforts fail.
Hashem threatens to destroy the
nation, and only Moshe’s fervent
prayer for them averts disaster.
However, the national lack of
trust in Hashem is punished by
a decree that Bnai Yisroel must
spend 40 years in the midbar
(desert). Only the new generation
will be privileged to enter Canaan.
The ten scouts who counseled a
return to Egypt perish in a plague.
A group of people decide to
remedy the sin of the nation
and demonstrate their trust in
Hashem by entering Eretz Yisroel
by force. Moshe urges them
not to be foolhardy; Hashem is
not with them. However, they
refuse to listen and are totally
destroyed by the Canaanites.
Hashem teaches Moshe about
nisachim (libations) which are
to accompany the korbanos
(sacrifices) and about the
mitzvah of giving a portion of the
baking dough, called challah, to
the kohanim. Instructions are
given for attaining forgiveness
should the nation or an
individual err regarding idolatry.
One man is found violating the
Shabbos. He is warned of the
consequences but refuses to
listen. Hashem commands
that he be put to death.
The mitzvah of putting tzitzis on
the corners of a four-cornered
garment is explained. The tzitzis
will remind the wearer to be
holy and serve Hashem always.
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After telling us that seeing the tzitzis
will cause one to remember the
mitzvos of Hashem and keep them,
the verse continues with a command: ורותת אלו
םהירחא םינוז םתא רשא םכיניע ירחאו םכבבל ירחא ,
and you shall not spy after your hearts and after your
eyes, after which you stray.
Rashi, citing Tanchuma, explains
that the Torah uses the
word ורותת, spy, to describe
the actions of the heart and
eyes because this is often the
progression of sin: The eye
sees something forbidden,
the heart desires it, and then
the body commits the sin.
Thus, the eyes and the heart
are, in a sense, scouts for the
yetzer hara (evil inclination)
By telling us this, Rashi is revealing
a great truth about the
way to avoid sin. When a person
attempts to meet temptation
head-on and triumph over
it, he is fighting a battle that will
most often be lost. The yetzer
hara is more deeply entrenched
than he is, and has much more
experience at leading people
astray — this is his expertise,
after all, and he never tires or
gives up. Moreover, while we
are in this world, the neshamah
(soul) of a person is subservient
to the body and forced to
fulfill its needs, while nothing
compels a person to fulfill the
needs of the neshamah. There
are no ``hunger pangs” if one
does not do mitzvos. Once a
person’s physical urges are inflamed,
it is very difficult to subdue
them. How, then, can one
triumph over the yetzer hara?
The words of Rashi provide
a key to answering this question.
The body does not simply
go to sin; first, its scouts have
to report back to it that a sin
is available and ready for the
taking. If a person succeeds in
controlling the scouts — the
eyes and the heart — so that
they do not send back the
message to the body that sins
are available, the battle may
not have to be joined, for the
urges will not be awakened.
This short-circuits the yetzer
hara’s plans at the outset.
Critical to this plan of action
is that the oft-heard idiom of
the nations — ``it doesn’t hurt
to look” — is absolutely and
completely false. It does hurt
to look — very much so. Looking
causies thinking, thinking
causes desiring — and desiring
causes sinning. We must realize
constantly that the compulsion
to just ``look” is itself a
ploy of the yetzer hara, and if
we are successful in refraining
from doing so, we can protect
ourselves much more effectively
from the clutches of sin.

TABle TAlK
For discussion around the Shabbos Table
the sin of the spies a
lack of trust and belief in
א)Was
Hashem or a deficiency in
their love for the land of Israel?
Torah forbids (15:39)
one to sin by straying after
ב)The
his heart and eyes. The
Gemora in Berachos (12b) understands
the prohibition against following
one’s heart as an admonition
against heresy, and one’s eyes as an
injunction against forbidden thoughts.
Why is heresy associated with one’s
heart and not with one’s mind, from
which it presumably originates?
Hey, I Never Knew That!
Amazing Insights About the Weekly Parsha Ozer Alport
QIt is mind-boggling to contemplate the abrupt about-face on the part of the Jewish people. At the beginning
of the parsha, they were planning to enter and miraculously conquer the land of Israel. Nevertheless, upon
hearing the negative report of the spies, they abandoned their dreams and their plans, despairing of the
possibility of ever conquering the fierce inhabitants of the land. They expressed their desire (14:2-3) to die in the
wilderness or even return to egypt rather than attempt to enter the land of Israel. Yet upon hearing Hashem’s decree
that they will be forced to wander and die in the desert without the ability to ever see or enter the land of Israel, they
immediately changed their attitude and expressed their plans to ascend to the land of Israel. They were so strong in
their newfound convictions that they even attempted to do so over the warnings of Moshe, ultimately paying the
price for their efforts with their lives (14:44-45). How can this radical change in attitude be understood?
ARabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, often referred to as the Alter of Kelm, answers that the nature of humans is to rebel
against authority and commands. Rabbi Yaakov Emden explains that it is for this reason that the Gemora in Kiddushin
(31a) states that a person who performs a mitzvah that he is obligated to do will receive more reward
than somebody who performs the same mitzvah but isn’t required to do. Because the former knows that he must do the
mitzvah regardless of his desire to do so, he will feel constrained and will encounter much more internal resistance in his
attempts to perform the mitzvah than will the latter, who knows that he is free to opt out of the mitzvah at any time. If
the former nevertheless succeeds in overcoming his internal opposition and performs the mitzvah, he is indeed deserving
of a greater reward. We may therefore explain that in the beginning of the parsha, the Jewish people knew that they were
commanded to enter and conquer the land of Israel. As excited as they were for the ultimate conclusion to their redemption
from Egypt, they nevertheless harbored frustration and resistance to the fact that they were commanded to do so. As soon
as they had an excuse to believe the spies’ negative report and rebel against Hashem’s instructions, they were only too eager
to do so. However, upon hearing that Hashem not only wouldn’t make them go to Israel but in fact decreed that they must die in the wilderness, effectively forbidding them from entering
Israel, the exact same dynamic which had caused them to rebel against the command to go to Israel now caused them to want to defy the new instructions and enter Israel immediately.
QThe Torah discusses a person who scorns the word of Hashem and breaks His commandments, declaring that such a person will be cut off from Hashem and his sin will
be upon him (15:31). The Gemora in Sanhedrin (99a) understands this verse as referring to a person who studies Torah but neglects to teach it to others. Although
there is a positive mitzvah to teach Torah to others, it is difficult to understand why the failure to do so should be judged so harshly?
ARabbi Avrohom Yaakov Pam explains that the very fact that a person is able to keep his learning to himself reveals that he doesn’t grasp the sweetness of
the Torah that he studies. If he appreciated and personally experienced its beauty and depth, he would literally be unable to contain it within himself. As
proof for his claim, Rabbi Pam quotes the Chasam Sofer, who writes that Moses was the only human who understood the mysteries of the purification of
the red heifer. Nevertheless, the fact that he wasn’t permitted to share it with a single person caused him so much agony that he would have actually preferred
not to be privy to the secret! Similarly, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz was wont to quote an earlier source who writes that if angels appeared to a person to reveal to
him Divine secrets, he would have no pleasure from the intrinsic knowledge until he was able to share it with others. In light of the above, we now understand
that if a person studies Torah and feels no burning need to teach it to others, he doesn’t appreciate the value of the Torah that he studied. This is indeed the
ultimate fulfillment of “scorning the word of Hashem,” and is deserving of the most severe of punishments!
Due to a typographical error in last week’s edition, Beh’aloscha, we are reprinting the following Q&A for our readers.
QThe Jewish people complained to Moses that they remembered the fish which they were able to eat for free in egypt (11:5). On this verse, the Medrash cryptically
remarks תבשב תורנ ןיקילדמש ןאכמ – from our verse we may derive that one is obligated to light candles on Shabbos, a mitzvah which has no apparent connection
to our verse whatsoever. What does the Medrash mean?
Parsha Partner tm
ARabbi Avrohom Yaakov Pam explains that the very fact that a person is able to keep his learning to himself reveals that he doesn’t grasp the sweetness of
the Torah that he studies. If he appreciated and personally experienced its beauty and depth, he would literally be unable to contain it within himself. As
proof for his claim, Rabbi Pam quotes the Chasam Sofer, who writes that Moses was the only human who understood the mysteries of the purification of
the red heifer. Nevertheless, the fact that he wasn’t permitted to share it with a single person caused him so much agony that he would have actually preferred
not be privy to the secret! Similarly, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz was wont to quote an earlier source who writes that if angels appeared to a person to reveal to him
Divine secrets, he would have no pleasure from the intrinsic knowledge until he was able to share it with others. In light of the above, we now understand that if
a person studies Torah and feels no burning need to teach it to others, he doesn’t appreciate the value of the Torah that he studied. This is indeed the ultimate
fulfillment of “scorning the word of Hashem,” and is deserving of the most severe of punishments!
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