AnHeimisheYid

The Discussion Forum for a Heimishe Yid.
 
HomeHome  ­FAQFAQ  ­SearchSearch  ­RegisterRegister  ­MemberlistMemberlist  ­UsergroupsUsergroups  ­Log inLog in  
Post new topic   Reply to topicShare | 
 

 Parshat Shlach-We Shall Surely Go Up and Do It, Because We Can

View previous topic View next topic Go down 
AuthorMessage
Yehudi



Number of posts: 20
Location: Bnei Brak, Israel
Registration date: 2008-03-31

PostSubject: Parshat Shlach-We Shall Surely Go Up and Do It, Because We Can   Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:27 pm

Throughout the generations, illustrations portraying the scouts who went to spy out the Land show them clutching, in bony hands, a stave over which is suspended an enormous bunch of grapes. The difficulty of transporting the huge load is made evident in ancient drawings. (There were no cameras, digital or otherwise, at the time).
Many Jewish vintners over the years have incorporated this illustration in their marketing symbols.
I remember, as a child, looking at the illustration of two men carrying a mammoth-sized cluster of grapes hanging from a stave balanced on their shoulders. The picture was part of a trademark decorating the top of a wine-cork. I simply couldn't stand it.
As I had learned from my rebbeim, I knew that the scouts' entire intention in spying out the Land was in order to find something slanderous to say. ("Just as her fruits are abnormal, so are her people abnormal.") (B'midbar/Numbers Parashas Shlach 13:23 and Rashi, 10.) Therefore, it was hard for me to accept that Jewish-owned businesses used just this particular symbol.
When I grew up, however, I understood that the Land of Israel's production of large and juicy fruits is praiseworthy and is an expression of the superiority of the Land. I understood that Moshe Rabbeinu had told the scouts, "and you will become stronger, and you will take of the fruit of the Land" (B'midbar/Numbers 13:20) because he desired to present evidence of the Land's praiseworthiness to the People Israel. It was the scouts, who, while spying out the Land, chose not to observe the facts correctly. Instead, they decided to claim that the unusually large fruits were evidence of some defect in the Promised Land!
The scouts repeated this mistake on every mission that they undertook from the time they left the Israelite encampment to explore the Land until they returned to the desert. Moshe Rabbeinu had asked them to check whether the residents of the land of Canaan dwelled in scattered, unwalled cities, showing that they did not fear provocative attacks from other mere mortals, or whether they lived behind fortified walls, fearing other people in their vicinity.
When the scouts returned from touring the Land, they told Moshe Rabbeinu "the people in the Land are very strong, the cities are extremely large and fortified, and we even saw the children of the giant there."
The scouts ought to have realized that there was no need to fear. On the contrary, the presence of large, fortified cities indicated that the residents were weak, and could be conquered. Their need for strong fortifications advertised their weakness.The scouts, however, who wished to weaken the will of the people, sought to interpret their findings from their point of view, which was that the dwellers in the Land were strong, and that the Children of Israel would not be able to conquer them.
Had the scouts embarked on their journey with good and worthwhile intentions, they would have been able to discern that the fruits were large and beautiful, that the inhabitants of the Land were fearful and that even the children of the giant could be conquered easily.
As the Gemorah in Sota 43 explains, the verse in the parasha

compares the scouts' departure with their arrival. The verse teaches that just as their arrival was accompanied with evil counsel, so had their departure been made with evil counsel. The entire trip of the scouts who went to spy out the Land had been made with flawed intentions and wicked designs.
Calev, conversely, set out with worthy intentions, and therefore he was able to divert the attention of the incited populace and to declare proudly before them, "We shall surely go up and do it, because we can conquer them."
brought to you by Olam Hatorah Join our mailing list
Back to top Go down
View user profile http://www.torahindex.com
 

Parshat Shlach-We Shall Surely Go Up and Do It, Because We Can

View previous topic View next topic Back to top 
Page 1 of 1

Permissions of this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
AnHeimisheYid :: The Torah World :: A Good Vort-
Post new topic   Reply to topic