Bemidbar/ Numbers 13:1 -15:41
“Thus
it came to pass that on the Ninth of Av
-- a day which was to bode many tragedies for the people of Israel YHVH
informed Moshe that the generation that received the Torah at Sinai was not fit
to enter the Land of Canaan. He decreed that they shall live out their lives as
wanderers in the desert until a new generation would take up the challenge of
conquering the land of Canaan and developing it as a "Set Apart land”
What Happened?
Virtually
all the commentaries pose the question: What happened? Where did they go wrong?
The
spies dispatched by Moshe were no ordinary individuals: "They were all men
of distinction, leaders of the children of Yisrael" (Bemidbar/Numbers
13:3). Furthermore, in all of history, it would be difficult to find a
generation whose lives were more saturated with miracles than theirs. Mitsrayim/
Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth at the time, was forced to free them
from slavery when "the mighty hand" of YHVH inflicted ten
supernatural plagues. When Pharaoh's armies pursued them, the sea split to let
them pass and then drowned their pursuers. In the desert, miracles were the
stuff of their daily lives: manna from heaven was their daily bread, "Miryam's
well" (a miraculous stone which travelled along with the Yisraelite camp)
provided them with water, and "clouds of esteem" sheltered them from
the desert heat and cold, kept them clothed and shod, destroyed the snakes and
scorpions in their path, and flattened the terrain before them to ease their
way.
For
these people to doubt YHVH's ability to conquer the "mighty
inhabitants" of Canaan seems nothing less than ludicrous. Yet these were
the people whose leaders said, "We cannot go up against these people, for
they are mightier than we" and even He!
Where did they go wrong?
Chassidic
master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains that the problem was one of excess spirituality.
The
daily miracles experienced by the generation of the Exodus did more than
provide them with sustenance and protection -- they shielded them from any and
all involvement with the material world. For the first generation of our
existence as a people, they lived a wholly spiritual life, free of all material
concerns; the very food which nourished them was "bread from heaven."
Indeed,
it could not have been any other way. Our sages have said that, "The Torah
could have been given only to the eaters of the manna." To properly
receive and assimilate the divine wisdom, one must be utterly free of the
responsibilities and frustrations of physical life -- something that is
possible only in the kind of environment which our ancestors enjoyed during
their sojourn in the Sinai Desert.
This
is why, says Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the Spies and their generation were loath to
enter the land. Becoming a people with a land would entail plowing, sowing and
harvesting; it would mean engaging in commerce and levying taxes; it would
require a bureaucracy to run the land and an army to defend it. Their
underlying problem with the land was, as the spies expressed it, that "it
is a land that consumes its inhabitants" -- it consumes one's time and
energy with its corporeal demands and infringes on one's capacity to study the
divine wisdom of Torah and meditate upon its truths. They were unwilling to relinquish their spiritual utopia for the
entanglements of an earth-bound life.”
They would have to live
day by day bearing the yoke of the Torah (Matt 11:29)
“Based
on this, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the Spies' argument that "We
cannot go up against these people, for they are mightier than we,"
notwithstanding the tremendous miracles which YHVH had performed and was
performing for them. We cannot have it
both ways, argued the spies. Either we are to be a spiritual people engaged
exclusively in spiritual pursuits and sustained by supernatural means; or else
we are to enter the natural world of the farmer, merchant and soldier and
become subject to its laws. And under these laws -- which decree that the
numerous, mighty and well-fortified will defeat the few and the weak -- there
is no way we can defeat the inhabitants of Canaan.
They
even went so far as to extend this line of reasoning to the Almighty Himself.
If YHVH wishes for us to live a spiritual life, then, certainly, He can sustain
us with miracles. But if His desire is that we abandon our supra-natural
existence to enter the land and assume a natural life, then He Himself has
decreed that natural law (and Torah) will govern our fate. In that case, He
cannot empower us to miraculously conquer the land, since were He to do so,
this would defeat the entire purpose of entering the "land." So
"they are mightier than He" -- even YHVH cannot help us, if He
Himself has chosen to transform us into a material people!
If the
"generation of the desert" would have themselves been capable of
making the transition into a people of the land, the transformation of the
material world into a home for YHVH would have been fully and perfectly
achieved in that very generation. If they would have believed in their divinely
granted capacity to "have it both ways," their sanctification of the
land would have combined their ultimate apprehension of the divine truth with a
full involvement with the natural reality.
The
generation of the desert failed to actualize the unique opportunity which
presented itself at that particular juncture of our history: for there to be a
single generation which straddled both worlds, a single generation which first
inhabited a world of utter spirituality and then proceeded to apply it to a
life on the land. Instead, they fell prey to the tendency of man to
"compartmentalize" his life, to label his experiences and attainments
as "material," "spiritual," "sacred,"
"mundane," "natural" and "supernatural," thereby
delegating and confining them to their respective domains. (Christians cannot
stop speaking about heaven)
What was the reason that the
Spies, who were leaders of Yisrael and men of lofty stature, did not want to
enter the Land?
The
explanation of the matter is as follows:
A
great majority of the physical mitzvot can be implemented only in the Land of
Yisrael, especially the agricultural laws and the laws of the offerings brought
to the Beit Ha Mikdash (Temple)... The Spies, who were on a most lofty
spiritual level, did not wish to lower themselves to the level of physical
action, preferring to remain in the desert, where they received all their needs
from above, and related to YHVH by means of the loftier levels of thought and
speech (i.e., study of Torah and prayer). They desired to draw down all the
Divine emanations into the "Land of Yisrael" that exists in the realm
of Malchut, the world of Divine speech, where there also is a
"Yerushalayim" and a "Set Apart Temple." Regarding the
physical Land of Yisrael, they said: "It is a land that consumes its
inhabitants"--if the Divine light were to be drawn down into the physical
world, our entire existence would be nullified.
But
Yehoshua/Joshua and Calev/Caleb said, "The Land is very, very good."
It is specifically in the Land of Yisrael down below, and specifically by means
of the mitzvot implemented by physical action, that the truly infinite light of
YHVH is drawn down--a light that includes both the spiritual and the material,
which is why it is "very, very" good.
(Rabbi
Schneur Zalman of Liadi)
Based
on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson
Sadly in our modern era
Christianity has been defined as the “opiate of the masses” (Karl Marx). This
definition confirms the over spiritualizing our lives at the expense of walking
a Torah obedient kind of life. We see this illustrated in the dietary laws, today
many Christians believe the dietary laws have been done away with and now we
need to see food in a more spiritual
light and we are no longer subject to physical
dietary laws stipulated by YHVH.
A modern day prophetess
was recently quoted as saying that the church is totally unprepared for the
physical reality which is about to manifest itself on the earth in the coming
days. She went on to say that there was an increase in demonic activity that is
presently establishing itself on the earth in our days that would bring great
harm on many believers in the last days.
Rev 13:7 And
it was given to him(the anti messiah) to fight with the set-apart ones and to
overcome them. And authority was given to him over every tribe and tongue and
nation.
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam,
asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch
atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us
from among all the peoples,
and
have given us your Torah. Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Torah Readings:
1. 13:1-20
2. 13:21 – 14:7
3. 14:8-25
4. 14:26 – 15:7
5. 15:8-16
6. 15:17-26
7. 15:27-37
8. Maftir 15:38-41
Haftarah: Yehosahu/Joshua 2:1-24
Significance of Number 37
We cannot enter (stay) in the land with our flesh and
hearts uncircumcised.
37 times the words 'circumcision' and 'uncircumcision'
(Torah, first Writings and Prophets) appear in the Tenakh. YHVH made a covenant
with our father Avraham in B'reshith 17 involving circumcision. Those who were
circumcised became part of the covenant and those who refused were cut off from
the covenant. This is analogous to receiving the word of YHVH and your desire
to be part of the covenant. ‘Yehudah/Judah' where Yahshua was born appears
thirty seven times in the scriptures. The golden lampstands in the Tabernacle
appear thirty seven times in scripture as well.
Aliyah Rishon 13:1-20
Num 13:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
13:2 “Send – (“Shelach lecha” – send! You send) men to spy out the land of Kenaʽan, which I am
giving to the children of Yisra’ĕl. Send one man from each tribe of their
fathers, everyone a leader among them.” Num 13:3 And by the command of יהוה Mosheh sent them from the Wilderness of
Paran, all of them men who were heads of the children of Yisra’ĕl. (Paran is believed to be the same place as
modern day Petra)
Midrash – a Messianic scholar recently stated that this
verse implied that the spies were sent out to see how desperately overwhelming
the circumstances were in the land. The implication is that only a series of
major miraculous interventions from YHVH would be able to save them from being
completely destroyed by the inhabitants of the land. The inhabitants of the
land were not only physically intimidating but were also steeped in occultic
power and practices which caused great fear to come into any potential enemy.
Today we too need to trust YHVH to show us the true
reality of what is happening in our world and that only His miraculous powerful
intervention will be able to save us. I personally believe the situation in our
world is far more serious than what most of us realize.
Vs 4-15 give the names of the leaders of the tribes. The
tribe of Levi is excluded because YHVH was their inheritance. We must remember
that these leaders did not bring back false reports, what they saw was real,
they failed however to believe that YHVH would be able to deliver them, in
spite of all the miracles they had witnessed in the wilderness.
Num 13:16 These
are the names of the men whom Mosheh sent to spy out the land. And Mosheh
called Hoshĕa the son of Nun, Yehoshua.
This is the first time a “yud” is added to “Yoshua's/Joshua’s”
name. His name becomes “Yahoshua/Yehoshua” the same name Hebrew name was used
for our Messiah. This name means that “YHVH” will save or help.
Num 13:17 And
Mosheh sent them to spy out the land of Kenaʽan, and said to them, “Go up here
into the South, and go up to the mountains,
Num 13:18 and see
what the land is like, and the people who dwell in it, whether strong or weak,
whether few or many,
Num 13:19 and
whether the land they dwell in is good or evil, whether the cities they inhabit
are in camps or strongholds,
Num 13:20 and
whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are forests there or not.
And you shall be strong, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time
was the season of the first-fruits of grapes.
Aliyah Sheni 13:21-14:7
The
scouts spent forty days spying the land. They returned to the Yisraelite
encampment with specimens of Canaan's produce, and with an ominous report. They
conceded that the land flowed with milk and honey, but they warned that its
population was mighty and the cities well- fortified and impossible to conquer.
Only Calev/ Caleb and Yehoshua/Joshua, the scouts representing the tribes of Yehudah/Judah
and Ephrayim/Ephraim, dissented. They argued that the land was magnificent, and
there was no reason for concern because YHVH could surely bring the Yisraelites
victory in battle. The Hebrew people
spent that entire night wailing, expressing their preference to return to Mitsrayim/Egypt
rather than be defeated in battle by the Canaanites.
Num 13:21 So they went up and spied out the land from
the Wilderness of Tsin as far as Reḥoḇ, near the entrance of Ḥamath.
Num 13:22
And they went up through the South and came to Ḥeḇron. And Aḥiman,
Shĕshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anaq, were there. Now Ḥeḇron had been
built seven years before Tsoʽan in Mitsrayim.
Num 13:23
And they came to the wadi Eshkol, and cut down from there a branch with
one cluster of grapes. And they bore it between two of them on a pole, also of
the pomegranates and of the figs.
Num 13:24
That place was called the wadi Eshkol, because of the cluster which the
men of Yisra’ĕl cut down from there.
Num 13:25
And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.
Num 13:26
And they went and came to Mosheh and Aharon and all the congregation of
the children of Yisra’ĕl in the Wilderness of Paran, at Qaḏĕsh. And they
brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the
fruit of the land.
Num 13:27
And they reported to him, and said, “We went to the land where you sent
us. And truly, it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
Num 13:28
“But the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are
walled, very great. And we saw the descendants of Anaq there too.
Num 13:29
“The Amalĕqites dwell in the land of the South, while the Ḥittites and
the Yeḇusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains. And the Kenaʽanites
dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Yardĕn.”
Num 13:30 And Kalĕḇ silenced the people before Mosheh,
and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are certainly able
to overcome it.”
Num 13:31 But the men who had gone up with him said,
“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”
Num 13:32 And they gave the children of Yisra’ĕl an
evil report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through
which we have gone as spies is a land eating up its inhabitants, and all the
people whom we saw in it are men of great size.
Midrash - “land eating up its inhabitants” implies that
there is not enough produce to support everyone.
Hag 1:5 And now, thus said יהוה of hosts,
“Consider your ways!
Hag 1:6 “You have
sown much, but brought in little; eat, but do not have enough; drink, but you
are not filled with drink; clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who
earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
Hag 1:7 Thus said יהוה of hosts,
“Consider your ways!
Num 13:33 “And we saw there the Nephilim, sons of Anaq,
of the Nephilim. And we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were
in their eyes.”
Num 14:1
Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the
people wept that night.
The Hebrew word “nephilim” means “giants” the root verb of this word is
“naphal” which means to fall. The Hebrew language kindly translates the word
for giants as ones that must and will fall.
Num 14:2 And all the children of Yisra’ĕl grumbled
against Mosheh and against Aharon, and all the congregation said to them, “If
only we had died in the land of Mitsrayim! Or if only we had died in this
wilderness!
Num 14:3 “And why is יהוה bringing us to this land to fall by the
sword, that our wives and children should become a prey? Would it not be better
for us to turn back to Mitsrayim?”
Num 14:4 And they
said to each other, “Let us appoint a leader, and let us turn back to
Mitsrayim.”
Num 14:5 Then Mosheh
and Aharon fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of
the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 14:6 And
Yehoshua son of Nun, and Kalĕv son of Yephunneh, who were among those who had
spied out the land, tore their garments,
Num 14:7 and they
spoke to all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, “The land we
passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
Aliyah Shlishi 14:8 – 25
The Yisraelites
rejected the pleas of Yehoshua and Calev, and decided to stone them. YHVH intervened,
His Esteem appearing over the Tabernacle. YHVH informs Moshe of His decision to
instantaneously wipe out the Yisraelites in a massive plague due to their
persistent lack of faith. Moshe successfully invoked YHVH's mercy and pointed
out that this mass execution will cause a mammoth scandal on YHVH's name.
"People will assume that YHVH lacked the power to defeat the Canaanites in
battle, so He instead slaughtered His people," Moshe argued. Although YHVH
agreed not to immediately wipe out the Yisraelites, that generation would not
enter the Land. YHVH instructs Israel to reverse course, and to head back to
the desert.
Num 14:8 “If
יהוה has delighted in us, then He shall bring us into this land and
give it to us, ‘a land which is flowing with milk and honey.’
Num 14:9 “Only, do
not rebel against יהוה, nor fear the people of the
land, for they are our bread. Their defense has turned away from them, and יהוה is with us. Do not fear them.”
Num 14:10 But all
the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the esteem of יהוה appeared in
the Tent of Meeting before all the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 14:11 And יהוה said to
Mosheh, “How long shall I be scorned by these people? And how long shall I not
be trusted by them, with all the signs which I have done in their midst?
Num 14:12 “Let Me
smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and make of you a nation
greater and mightier than they.”