As the war in Ukraine continues, prices continue to rise, and the stock market trends downward, it seems that the world continues to struggle with a sense of chaos. Chaos reared its ugly head in Israel as the governing coalition consisting of Arabs, secular Jews, and Orthodox Jews were unable to remain united against the intense political pressure of Netanyu’s minority coalition. As a result, Israelis will participate in the third election in 5 years. Polls show that Israel is fundamentally a divided nation and the numerous parties will have to find ways to coalesce around issues that unite in order to win an election. These parties can coalesce around a leader that unites people based upon fear or parties can coalesce around a leader that unites people based upon hope and a better future.
This week’s Torah portion is Parsha Shelach Lecha. The Torah portion begins with the narrative of Moshe gathering up twelve spies, one corresponding to each of the twelve tribes, and giving them the mission. The spies are told to investigate the quality of the land – fertile or barren, its inhabitants - warlike or peaceful, the nature of cities –fortified or open? The spies go and investigate and return. Ten spies offer a negative report and two, Caleb and Joshua, offer a positive report. B’nai Yisroel listen to the ten spies with the negative report and fell utterly overwhelmed at the prospect of entering the land that Hashem promised them. Hysterical, the people beg to return to Egypt. Hashem wants to wipe them all out immediately but Moshe defends the people just like he did after the Golden Calf. So rather than wiping out an entire people Hashem punishes B’nai Yisroel by prohibiting this generation from entering the land. Eventually, when the slave generation has died out, the generations born in freedom will enter Eretz Canaan. The people hear the punishment and decide they are ready to enter the land. Moshe explains that it is too late since their entry into Canaan is ultimately premised upon faith. Then Moshe begins teaching B’nai Yisroel laws specifically that assume the inevitable settlement in the Canaan. First, Moshe teaches the Libation Offering as well as Challah. Next, Moshe teaches the laws of public atonement of unintentional idolatry, individual unintentional idolatry, intentional idolatry, a reminder about violating Shabbat, and finally the laws of Tzitzit.
The ten spies whom B’nai Yisroel chose to believe did not really bring such a negative report. They explained that the land was fruitful, fertile, full of trees, and quite beautiful. The problem with the report was that it revealed more about the spies and B’nai Yisroel than the land itself. When seeing some of the inhabitants and the physical size of some of those inhabitants. The Ten spies said Vanhi V’Eineinu Ka’CHaGaVim V’Chain Hayinu B’Eineihem – we were like grasshoppers in our eyes and so we were in their eyes. (Num. 13:33) How do the ten spies know how the Nefilim (the Giants) perceive them? Did they ask the Nefilim? The answer to both questions is “No”. No, they don’t know how the Nefilim perceive the Ten Spies, and “No”, the Ten Spies did not ask the Nefilim. The spies feel small because, from their own perspective and self-image, they are small. When they look in a mirror, they see slaves. They don’t see people who stood at Sinai and received the Torah. They don’t see people who carry a Mishkan with Hashem protecting them and scattering their enemies. They don’t see a people worthy of Hashem’s daily miracles of Manna, and water. Instead, they carry with them the burden of two centuries of slavery and being slightly less than human rather than being slightly less than angels. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (The Kotzker Rebbe) explained that this was the root of the spies as well as Bnai Yisroel’s sin. They had no right to consider how others viewed them, nor should they have been at all concerned. How could they consider how others viewed them? The Spies had no perspective or they had a rather limited perspective. They should have all been spiritually strong enough to realize and accept that they were “priests to the nations” and “chosen by God”. After a couple of centuries of slavery, they lacked an accurate sense of self-perspective. The fact that such spiritual awareness was still lacking even after all the miracles and promises that God made; meant that problem lay with B’nai Yisroel. These former slaves were not ready for the responsibility of land and peoplehood; they lacked a healthy sense of national self-perspective.
Perspective affects not only how we see ourselves but how we deal with the rest of the world. The Talmudic Sages taught us is that both perspectives are important in order to render a judgment because both majority and minority perspectives were presented in the Talmud. Dictatorships and fascist regimes only need to worry about the perspective of the ruler. In a Democracy, everyone has a vote, and each voter has his/her own perspective and opinion. The health and vitality of a Democracy depend upon the perspective that each voter has regarding Democracy and the democratic institutions that protect it.
Rav Yitz
