Parsha Paragraphs
Rabbi Naftali Moshe Kassorla
Shelach 5779
Leading from In Front Above
The D’var Torah for this week is dedicated for the urgent Refuah Shleimah of:
אליהו בן שרה גיטל
To sponsor a D’var Torah in honor or in memory of someone, or for any occasion, please email: ParshaParagraphs@gmail.com
This week’s parsha contains the episode of the spies. The Meraglim were sent to scout the Land of Israel, for the future settling of the Jewish People there. Hashem comes to Moshe saying: “Send forth for yourself men, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan” (Bamidbar 13:2). Noting the interesting additional phrase לך (for you), Rashi quotes the Midrash Tanchuma which says that the idea to send out the spies was not a commandment from Hashem; rather, it was a response to the people’s request to do so.
When the spies return, all of them (aside from Yehoshua Bin Nun and Calev Ben Yefuneh) deliver negative reports of Eretz Yisrael. Thoroughly scaring Klal Yisrael, the Meraglim cast doubt in the hearts of the people about entering the Land.
The Torah recounts the entire response of Klal Yisrael:
The people wept that night. All the Children of Israel murmured against Moshe and Aharon and the entire assembly said to them, “If only that we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only that we had died in the wilderness! Why is Hashem bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and young children will be taken captive! Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה – “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt!” (ibid. 14:1-4).
Distressed upon hearing Klal Yisrael’s emotional response, Moshe and Aharon “fell on their faces before the entire congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel” (ibid. 5).
There seem to be two parts to Klal Yisrael’s reaction to the Meraglim’s report: The Nation first responds by speaking directly to Moshe and Aharon – questioning why Hashem would bring them out to the desert to die, saying, “Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?” That is the first stage.
In the second stage, they speak amongst themselves, expressing their doubts to each other saying, “...Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt!”
Now, in looking at Moshe and Aharon’s reaction, which stage were they responding to? One might expect that Moshe and Aharon would react immediately to the first stage – to the blasphemous statements uttered by the people. However, it seems clear from the verses that when falling on their faces, Moshe and Aharon did so directly after B’nei Yisrael said, נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה – “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt.”
Seemingly, the fact that B’nei Yisrael doubted Hashem did not immediately elicit the great distress of their leaders. Rather, only once the people expressed their desire to appoint a new leader, did Moshe and Aharon respond strongly. What was it about this second stage that so greatly shocked Moshe and Aharon – more than the outright blasphemous statements said earlier?
I would like to suggest that the initial פחד of Klal Yisrael was not only understandable, but maybe even justifiable. A feeling hysteria in regards to the terrifying reports would only be natural. This instinctive response was clearly not what triggered the distress of Moshe and Aharon.
Rather, perhaps what caused such an intense response from Moshe and Aharon was the underlying idea expressed in the People’s emotional state with the suggestion of: נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה – “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” The implication that one can appoint leaders for themselves to carry out the people’s bidding, and not vice versa, was a shock to Moshe and Aharon.
Judaism has a unique system of leadership which differs greatly from other forms of government. At its core, Judaism is a G-d-centered religion. This is expressed in the laws and commandments which are wholly unique in that their underlying justification and authority is ultimately established by the omniscient Hashem Who decreed them. (This is true even for those mitzvos which can be understood or even deduced logically.) They are infused with the unchanging wisdom of the Creator of the Universe; this divinity makes them applicable for all generations.
Taking this idea further, it logically follows then that our leaders and prophets would need to be “chosen” by Hashem, rather than be elected or appointed by the people. And in fact, we see throughout the Torah that all the great Prophets in our history have been “called upon” to carry out their tasks. Beginning with Noach, continuing with Avraham and Moshe, all the way down to Yirmiyahu HaNavi, all were appointed from On High to their tasks. This shows us that the true leadership of the Jewish people is directed by Hashem himself.
Therefore, this suggestion נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה attacked the very foundation and future guidance of Klal Yisrael, and if this suggestion were to be carried out, it would corrupt the prevailing message that Judaism espouses: Hashem is intimately and actively involved in this world and in our lives. From the laws given to us, to the leaders who guide us, all are under the auspices of Hashem’s wisdom, which far exceeds that of any human being.
The threat posed by the people’s suggestion required a vociferous response from Moshe and Aharon. The people’s fright – that could be dealt with later; minds could be cooled and fears could be allayed. But to let them act on those fears, and to allow worries to corrupt the central message of Judaism? No – that could not go unanswered; that needed to be addressed.
Though we live in times where the guiding light of prophecy has dimmed, and we often feel bereft of direction, we are still left with this lesson for all times: to seek people of high spiritual caliber to guide us, not for us to guide them.
The idea that a community can view the holy task of appointing a leader for themselves as a means to fulfill their own desires – to, in a sense, give a “hechsher” to act however they please – completely flies in the face of a Kehilla which desires to grow and be uplifted. The community doesn’t direct the leader! Rather it must be the leader who directs and steers the people.
Let us pray for the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days, with the full return of prophecy, to guide us properly on Hashem’s path for all of our days. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom
