Tell Me A Lie And I Will Swear, I Will Swear It's True (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Lazy Lightning")

           In a few days, it will be June 6th, D-Day. Seventy-Six years ago, English, Canadian, and American soldiers crossed the English Channel, landed on the beaches of Normandie, and saved the world from the tyranny, fascism, and the heinous authoritarianism of the Third Reich. Nearly a year before D-Day,  OSS agent (The U.S. Intelligence Agency that eventually became the CIA) Walter Langer created a   psychological profile that explained Hitler's grip on power and on public opinion as follows: “His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”   A “Big Lie”  justifies the corrupt megalomaniac's power and his believers’ actions. Whether it is a corrupt anti-democratic dictator from China, Russia, Belarus, or Iran or to dictators of nearly any authoritarian regime of the previous centuries, when people want to retain power or are threatened with losing power, they will resort to their own big lie.

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Shlach Lecha. Parsha Shlach Lecha includes the troubling narrative of the 12 spies and the ensuing report of Eretz Canaan made to Moshe and B’nai Yisroel. However, following the negative report from ten of the twelve spies, God and Moshe realize that this generation is not yet ready to enter the land. This was the reason why B’nai Yisroel would now have to wait nearly 4 decades prior to entering Eretz Canaan. Yet towards the end of the Parsha, Torah makes it very clear, that despite this generation’s lack of faith, returning to the land is inevitable and a covenant that will be fulfilled. Ki Tavo’u El Eretz Moshvoteichem Asher Ani Notein Lachem –God spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you will come to the Land of your dwelling places that I give you…. (Num. 15:2). Meting out punishment did not remove hope, it did not remove inevitability, nor did it mitigate the covenant that God had made with Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, or Moshe Rabeinu at Sinai. This punishment only delayed the inevitable until another generation was worthy enough to inherit the covenant.

Those ancient leaders of B’nai Yisroel, those ancient Princes of twelve tribes were appointed by Moshe. Ten of them were concerned about themselves, their dwindling authority. These ten had little concern for a covenant. In their report to Moshe, these ten first objectively praised the land (Num. 13:27-29). However objective reporting immediately gave way to the subjectivity of opinion (Num. 13:31). After departing from Moshe and Aaron, the spies ignore any objectivity and only offer their “expert” opinion. VaYotziu Dibat Ha’Aretz Asher Taru Otah El B’nai Yisroel Leimor -And they spread an evil report of the land which had been explored to the Children of Israel. The negative report claimed that the land at up its inhabitants, giants or Nephilim occupied the land and as the spies claim Vanhi v’Eineinu Ka’Chagavim V’Chein Hayinu B’Eineihem - and we were in our sight as grasshoppers and so we were in theirs (Numb. 13:32-33) The report played upon the fears of the people. They felt small, exposed, hopeless and they could not imagine entering the land.  Once again, national anxiety and hysteria cause B’nei Yisroel to yearn for Egypt.  Lo Matnu B’Eretz Mitzrayim - Would that we had died in the land of Egypt. (14:3) But this yearning for Egypt was different. This hysteria was not because they were experiencing hunger and thirst, it was based upon the subjective opinion of those then who seemed to have an air of authority about them. So the hysteria and desire to return to Egypt culminated in the following words. VaYomru Ish El Achiv Nitnah Rosh VNashuva Mitzraima -So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egyp” (14:4). In the Talmudic Tractate Sanhedrin 107a, the Sages ask who would have been the leader to bring them back to Egypt? Their answer is incredibly revealing and proved prophetic, an idol. An Idol would have brought them back to Egypt. On the one hand, the sin of the spies was due to a lack of faith in God. On the other hand, the sin of the spies is a warning to all those who listen to “the evil reports” who believe the evil reports, who get swept up in the hysteria and sacrifice their Ruach HaKodesh their divine spirit in exchange for idolatry. 

          No, the idol need not be a statue. Any cult of personality is idolatrous. The sin of the spies was twofold. First were the spies. Their sin was to tell the Big Lie and let the Big Lie fester playing upon the fears of the people. The second sin of the spies was the people’s willingness to give up on Moshe, to want another leader. A leader that would tell them what they wanted to hear, a leader that would placate them, a leader that would have been idolized. In a sense, the people were not only willing to replace Moshe but they were willing to replace God. The Big Lie, the evil report offered by the ten spies, teaches us that, ultimately, the choice to listen to and accept a “big lie” is up to the listener. If the listener’s faith in social institutions, authority, society, is already diminished then that listener is vulnerable and the prime target of a big lie. For B’nai Yisroel, it will take 40 years to rid itself of the stink of the Big Lie. For the nations that have had to deal with their own “Big Lie”, years are required, before it dissipates.  For Caleb, for Joshua, and ultimately for the generation that was born in the wilderness, the Generation that didn’t know slavery, they were immune to this “Big Lie”.

 Peace,
Rav Yitz

Let's See With Our Heart These Things Our Eyes Have Seen (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Blues For Allah")

          Our grade 12 daughter just participated in her high school graduation. Covid -19 forced her, her classmates, and the school to re-adjust what a graduation ceremony would look like. My wife and several other mothers reached out to the school and pointed out other high school graduations that would be more than picking up a diploma at the school parking lot, or sitting in front of a computer on a Zoom graduation ceremony. So we decorated our minivan, drove to a drive-in movie theatre, and along with her classmates, as well as a live stream audience of extended family members (including her oldest sister, her grandparents, aunts uncles and cousins watched, listened, cheered and honked our car horn as our daughter received her diploma as well as an award. Certainly, we are proud parents. Mostly however we recognize that she is about to embark on the next chapter of her life as she continues to develop life skills and, in a sense, leadership skills.
          This week's Parsha is Shlach Lecha. Several disparate events occur in this Parsha. First, we read the story of Moshe sending Twelve Spies (one representing each tribe) into Eretz Canaan. Their mission was to ascertain the lay of the land, the strength of the inhabitants, and the fertility of the land. Except for Joshua and Caleb, the remaining ten spies returned with a negative report. The people heard this and wanted to return to Egypt. As a result of both the report and B'nai Yisroel's response, this generation was prohibited from entering the land. Next, we read about the laws concerning the taking of Challah, a fire offering, a burnt offering, feast offering. We read about the offering required for unintentional sin. After this brief discussion about ritual, B'nai Yisroel is reminded about the ethical treatment of native members of the community or proselytes. Then we read about who desecrates Shabbat by gathering wood on Shabbat.  Like the person who acts high handedly, this man was removed from the camp and punished with death. The Parsha concludes with a familiar passage that we know as the 3rd paragraph of the Shemah. We are commanded to wear tzitzit in order to remind us of three ideas: God's commandments, not to follow our eyes and our hearts (which will lead us astray), and God brought us out of Egypt (Num. 15:37-41).
          While reading the spies report, Numbers 13:27-29, and 13:31-33., we find out that the land is flowing with milk and honey and plenty of fruit. We find out that the native tribes dwell in fortified cities. We are told the names of the indigenous tribes and their geographical location. The tone suggests that these tribes are quite strong.  In the second part of their report, we are told that these spies do not think that B’nai Israel is physically capable of conquering this land and these indigenous tribes, for they are giants “and we were like grasshoppers in our eyes and so we were in their eyes (13:33) One spy, in one verse 13:30 publicly expresses disagreement with the spies. Caleb is the voice of dissent, Caleb speaks out. Caleb is heroic and inspiring.  However the Talmudic sages in the Tosefta comment that the first part of the report: “We came to the land and it flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit” was offered by Joshua. The rest of the report, except for 13:30 was offered by the other 10 spies.  Why do the Talmudic sages bring Joshua into the narrative and by doing so diminish Caleb’s powerful and passionate heroic voice? Indeed Joshua was Moshe’s choice. We know that one of the spies received special treatment from Moshe. Joshua was one of the spices and Moshe had renamed him. Clearly Joshua was Moshe’s eyes and ears on this mission and we know that Joshua will be one to assume the mantle of leadership. Even at this time, Joshua was being groomed for leadership. However, the dissenting opinion was not offered by Joshua; it was offered by Caleb. Caleb was the spy who went off on his own and went to Hebron to the Caves of the Machpela to “visit” the ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. Caleb the same letters that make the word K’LeiV like the heart, Caleb speaks passionately from the heart. Also the same letters KLV which means dog. A dog barks when something appears or smells wrong, or dangerous. Joshua represents leadership within the system, cool and thoughtful, and endorsed by the establishments: Moshe and the Talmudic Sages.  Caleb represents leadership outside the system, passionate, inspiring, and challenging the majority and a voice of dissent. The Talmudic Sages bring Joshua into the text because the Talmudic Sages understand that both types of leadership: Cool and Passionate, working within the system and a voice of dissent; both types of leadership are required depending upon the situation.
         For our daughter, as she graduates during a time when people have taken to the streets to express a desire for social justice while other leaders deal with the cold analysis of numbers and fighting a pandemic, we see both styles of leadership are vital. Whatever the style, both types of leadership require a desire for truth, a desire to improve make society better, and a desire to care for society’s most vulnerable. As our daughter begins the next phase of her life, we hope that she incorporates both types of leadership so that way she remains true to herself, her values and strives to make the part of the world that she touches a better place.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

And At Last It's The Real Thing Or Close Enough To Pretend (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Saint of Circumstance")

As we have watched the James Comey, the former Director of the FBI, testify before a Senate hearing, and then watched Attorney General Jeff Sessions testify before the same Senate hearing, we have been hearing more and more about Fake News. Yes, Fake News, it is just another thing to make me roll my eyes and teach my children critical reading and reasoning skills to recognize fake news, ignore fake news and prevent it from skewing attitudes. Now I have to remind my children that it’s not enough to listen, they must always be mindful of the source, who broadcast it, where did they get the information? When their friends repeat something far-fetched or ridiculous because they heard it or their parents heard it on some right wing or left wing news show; my kids have to learn to ignore their friends.  My kids will now have learn how to determine if a story true or is a very small percentage of it true and the rest merely an extrapolation based upon assumption and conjecture? Whose bias is satisfied, whose agenda is expressed by such a story? Fake news only works if people listen to it and think of as news as opposed to the trash that it really is.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Shlach Lecha. Parsha Shlach Lecha includes the troubling narrative of the 12 spies and the ensuing report of Eretz Canaan made to Moshe and B’nai Yisroel. Until this point, the plan was that B’nai Yisroel was to head towards Eretz Canaan. Certainly, God and even Moshe had grown steadily angry at B’nai Yisroel as their complaints from the previous parsha, B’haalotcha, began to sound like a lack of faith. Despite the complaints, God had not yet prohibited this generation from entering into the Land. However following the negative report from ten of the twelve spies, the people follow the majority opinion, and God and Moshe realize that this generation is not yet ready to enter the land. This was the reason why B’nai Yisroel would now have to wait nearly 4 decades prior to entering Eretz Canaan. Yet towards the end of the Parsha, Torah makes it very clear, that despite this generation’s lack of faith, returning to the land is inevitable and a covenant that will be fulfilled. KI Tavo’u El Eretz Moshvoteichem Asher Ani Notein Lachem –God spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you will come to the Land of your dwelling places that I give you…. (Num. 15:2). Even at that point while punishment was meted out, the punishment did not remove hope, it did not remove inevitability, nor did it mitigate the covenant that God had made with Avraham, Yitzchak Yaakov or Moshe Rabeinu at Sinai. Rather this punishment delayed the inevitable and waited for another generation that was worthy enough to inherit the covenant.

After the ten gave their report, Caleb one of the two with a positive report (Joshua being the other) simply stated his opinion. Caleb did not disagree with the majority report that it is a land flowing with Milk and Honey, and the cities are fortified etc. Rather Caleb first silenced the other spies: VayHas Caliev et Ha’Am El Moshe Vayomer – Caleb hushed the people toward Moshe and said Aloh Na’Aleh V’Yarashnu Otah Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah – We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it (Num. 13:30). How did Caleb silence them? What does it mean that he silenced them towards Moshe? What possessed Caleb to be so optimistic and not the other ten spies? Beginning with Caleb’s faith in God while the others’ faith wavered; Caleb also had a deep respect for the current institutions of leadership and a profound faith in Moshe’s leadership. Rashi, the 11^th century French vintner, Rabbi, and commentator, offers his insight:  His belief in the inevitable was a result of his experience at Sinai. The spies were already biased against Moses Lishmoah Ma ShYidabeir B’Moshe Tzavach v’Amar, V’chi Zo Vilvad Asa Lanu Ben Amram –To listen to what he (Caleb) would say against Moses, and Caleb cried out and said, Is it this alone that the son of Amram has done to us. HaShomeiyah Haya Savur Sh’ba L’Sapeir Bignuto The one who heard this was under the impression that Caleb was about to speak in disparagement of Moses. For Rashi, the issue is not the ten spies’ negative report per se. Rather it is the fact that people listened to it rather than dismissed it. The people wanted to believe the spies, they were ripe for a negative report because their faith was already wavering. The report merely justified their perception and lack of faith. For Rashi, the people the people already had were predisposed to the spies’ negative report. So the spies pandered to the people.

We all struggle with our faith.  And while we intellectually understand the importance of maintaining an optimistic attitude in life, sometimes we can only see hardship difficulty and impossibility. Because of our own bias, and perhaps our desire for simplicity and simple answers, we can easily become susceptible to fake news, to misinformation, to a bad report that, on the surface is completely logical. However upon further examination, upon further thought we might learn something else. Fake news, or a negative report such as what the ten spies offered, teaches us that, ultimately, the choice to listen and accept fake news or the spies’ negative report is up to the listener. If the listener’s faith in social institutions, authority, society, is already diminished then that listener is vulnerable and the prime target of and consumer of fake news. For Caleb, for Joshua and ultimately for the generation that was born in the wilderness, the Generation that didn’t know slavery, they were immune to this fake news.

Peace,

Rav Yitz