"And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, 'Send men for you,
and they shall spy out the land of Canaan … one
man, every one a leader among them'" (Num. 13:1). In the course of their
second year of wandering in the desert, it was time for the Israelites to
'touch base' with the Promised Land. Twelve leaders of the tribes were therefore
commissioned "to spy it out." These
leaders were singled out individually, as we read in chapter 13:2, 3: “… from each
tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them… all
of them men, heads of the children of Israel.” The Hebrew
is even more emphatic, for “from each tribe… every one…” reads: “one man, one
man” and continues, “Every elevated leader… all of them men, the heads
of the sons of Israel
In the middle of last week's Parashat B'ha'a’lot’cha we read: "And
they set forward from the mount of YHVH three days' journey; and the ark of the
covenant of YHVH went before them three days' journey, to seek out a
resting-place for them" (10:33 italics added). We are thus informed that
before any "touring" could take place, before any human reports could
be filed, it was first and foremost YHVH Himself who did the
"seeking" - "tour" - of a resting place for His people. Let
us now follow this band of twelve on their journey.
Which way will they turn, as they set forth on their "touring" expedition?
Will their mission be marked by genuine exploration and seeking YHVH's
face, clinging to Him when faced with challenges (of which there will be no
shortage in the new territory)? Will they see the land through His eyes, or
will their experience prove to be a mere sightseeing tour, inspecting the
'attractions' of the land and expressing dissatisfaction if their expectations
are not met? And above all, since
these men were singled out so categorically, inferring that each of them was a
strong individual; would they be able to come to agreement at the end of the
day?
When YHVH tells Moshe to send the twelve He says, "shla'ch le'cha,"
meaning "send forth for yourself [or, on your behalf]…"
recalling a similar and a likewise vigorous call many years beforehand. “Lech le'cha," or "go forth (for yourself)"
(Gen. 12:1), were the words which set off Avram from his "land and from
[his] kindred, and from [his] father's house," toward the land which YHVH was
about to show him. Both dispatches were marked by a certain sense of expediency
and urgency to “get going." The first 'send off’ was followed implicitly,
resulting in a successful mission despite a number of setbacks. Although living
as a nomad, Avram/Avraham was no "tourist" in the Promised Land. He
took YHVH at His word, to “rise up, walk through the land, its length and its
breadth, for I will give it to you" (Gen. 13:17). When Moshe heard the
words "sh'lach le'cha," the centuries-old story of the father of the
Hebrew nation must have resounded in his heart. What wouldn't he have given to
be numbered among the twelve?! What, then, does he have in mind when he follows
YHVH's instruction to "sent them to spy out, to examine, to check -
"la'tour" - the land
of Canaan
But regardless of what that intelligence will turn out to be, the
Nation’s leader has a certain end view in mind: "And you shall make
yourselves strong and shall take of the fruit of the land" (v. 20,
italics added). Paraphrased, Moshe's words may sound something like this,
"If you rely on YHVH's strength and on the power of His might, you shall succeed
and partake of the fruit of the land." This appears, then, to be the
nature of the "tour" that Moshe had intended for the dozen leaders.
The Biblical narrative elaborates on the mission, and so we read the
‘headlines’: "And they went up and spied out the land… And
they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days… And
they reported to him… "(13:21, 25, 27 italics added). The faithful messengers apparently did
according to Moshe's bidding, and in addition also found the land to be
"flowing with milk and honey" (verse 27), evidence of which was the
fruit that they had picked and which they were now bringing to their leader,
just as he had asked them to do. So far
so good…
However, what started out as a promising report suddenly came to a
screeching halt: "e'fes!” "E'fes" translated "however"
or “nevertheless” (v. 28), is followed by the envoys' very negative
descriptions. The literal meaning of
"e'fes" is to “cease or come to an end" and hence
"extremity" ("ends of the earth," Deut. 33:17),
"naught or nothing" (Is. 34:12), and "only,"
which is actually the way it is used in our text. "E'fes" turns what promised to be a
positive report into an extremely negative one. One of the characteristics, which the report attributed to the land, was
that it “devours its inhabitants,” or literally “eats up” its inhabitants
(13:32). Verse 30 depicts a conflict of
opinions, as Calev (Caleb) "[stills] the people," assuring them of
their ability to take the land. A little
further Calev and Yehoshua continue to exhort the people: “Only
do not rebel against YHVH, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and
YHVH is with us. Do not fear them” (14:9).
Thus, instead of the land devouring them, they would devour (or consume) their
future enemies, if they would only obey YHVH. Additionally, for “their
protection has departed from them,” the Hebrew says, “their shadow has
departed…” Calev and Yehoshua paint a totally different picture from the one
that was just presented. They counter the description of “men of great stature,
giants” (ref. 13:32,33) with a depiction which ascribes to the enemy “no shadow,”
as if he is of no substance at all, not even casting a (proverbial) shadow.
But when the evil reporting does not cease, "Joshua the son of Nun,
and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who spied out the land, tore
their garments; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel,
saying, 'The land into which we passed, to spy it out, is an
exceedingly good land'" (14:6,7 italics added). The eyes of these two
devoted witnesses had seen something altogether different when they made
their "tour" of the Land
of C’na
By following their own hearts and inclinations these leaders, who had
been granted the privilege of walking ahead of the nation, brought calamity not
only upon themselves, but also upon the entire nation. This type of "going about after
your own heart and your own eyes after which you go astray" (15:39,
italics added) is, once again, defined by the verb "tour." Thus, at the very end of Parashat Sh’lach
Le'cha provision is made against the inherent condition of following, or going
about after one's own heart. Hence the
"tzitzit" (root tz.u.tz, tzadi, vav, tzadi meaning “bloom,
burst out,” and by inference “protrude” of one’s clothing, which
explains the shape of the “fringes”), is introduced "to look at and
remember all the commandments of YHVH, so as to do them… in order that you may
remember to do all My commandments, and be holy to your Elohim” (15:39-40).
Appended to this injunction are the words, "I am YHVH your Elohim who
brought you out of the land
of Egypt
Note:
The English words "turn" and "tour" are derivatives of the
Hebrew "tour," which we have just examined, having found their way to
the English language via the Old French "tourner," meaning "to
turn" (ref. The Word, Isaac E. Mozeson, Shapolsky Publishers, New York
[1] The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown Hendrickson. Publishers,
