God tells Moses to send in men “latur” to go around, the same word in Hebrew we use for tourist in English. One man per tribe. They were not actually called spies. They were important men of high reputation. Although their names are surprising, three goats, a horse, a camel, a dog and a secret. Moses specifically asked them to…
Parsha Shelah Leha
Facts
The twelve men who were sent into Canaan to decide on a plan of invasion. Ten came back and declared it was impossible and two were in favor. They all saw the same evidence, had the same experiences and yet came to diametrically opposed conclusions. The result then was that the majority turned against the invasion. For all the thousands…
Moses Appeals
God’s anger is so great that He says He will destroy the Israelites and start again with Moses and his family. Moses entreaties God and begs him to change his mind. What will people say? That he took the Israelites out to kill them? That He was incapable of fulfilling His promise? In style, it is very similar to Abraham’s…
Desperation Maapilim
The episode of the spies who returned from Canaan showed beyond doubt that the Children of Israel were not yet ready psychologically to start the invasion of Canaan. A whole generation had to pass before the actual invasion under Joshua. But after they had all crumbled when ten of the spies said they faced the prospect of a hard battle,…
Breaking Shabbat
After the Children of Israel panic at the prospect of invading Canaan, they are sent back into the wilderness for another forty years. Soon afterwards we read about a man (his identity is not revealed in the text though the Midrash names him as Zelopchad) who went out in public to gather wood on Shabbat in contravention of two principles…