FIRST THINGS FIRST · Sukkat Shalom B'nei Noach

As Moses was about to lead the Jewish people into the Promised Land, they requested to first send an advance party of spies. G-d consented, and Moses directed the 12 chosen spies to determine the strength of Canaan’s inhabitants and the quality of the land. After 40 days, the spies returned, and ten of them reported, “It is a land of milk and honey…however the people are very fierce, and the cities are large and well fortified.”

Suddenly, Caleb, the 11th spy, cut them off proclaiming, “We should go up immediately and occupy the land because we can surely prevail!” The spies, however, insisted that the land couldn’t be conquered because its people were too powerful. Accepting this gloomy report exposed the nation’s lack of faith, and G-d condemned them to perish during 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Da Gott die Aufklärungsmission genehmigt hatte, ist seine harsche Reaktion auf den Bericht der Spione schwer nachzuvollziehen. Was hatte Kaleb nach dem ersten Bericht der Spione zu seinem heftigen Ausbruch veranlasst? Sie hatten doch lediglich ihre Erkenntnisse mitgeteilt.

Der Midrasch beschreibt diejenigen, die an dem Land verzweifelten, als eine “verdrehte Generation” (Numeri Rabba 16,5). Der Lubawitscher Rebbe erklärte, der Fehler der Kundschafter habe darin bestanden, die Reihenfolge dessen, was Mose ihnen zu ermitteln aufgetragen hatte, umgekehrt zu haben.

Moses’ focus was on carrying out G-d’s will that the land of Canaan be conquered, so he directed the spies to the first report on the strength of its inhabitants. When the spies returned and began to describe the quality of the land, Caleb suspected that their interest centered on the material benefits of Canaan. He feared they would weigh the effort and danger needed to take the land versus the potential payoff and decide that the project was not worthwhile. Hoping to nip them in the bud before spreading their seeds of doubt to the people, Caleb hastened to silence the spies.

The incident of the spies is followed in the Torah by the commandment to attach tzitzit, ritual fringes, to the corners of a garment. The connection between these passages is not simply their proximity. The Torah uses some form of the word latoor 11 times in describing the mission of the spies. Significantly, the Torah uses this same word to describe the effect of looking at the tzitzit, “…You shall not go astray (tatooroo) after your hearts and after your eyes…”

Laut Rabbi Mendel Lewittes besagt die Tora hier, dass Sünde ein Prozess ist. Oft wird angenommen, dass unsere Augen von etwas gefesselt werden und unser Herz es dann begehrt. Die Tora hingegen lehrt, dass dieser Prozess in unserem Herzen (unseren innersten Werten) beginnt, welche bestimmen, was unsere Augen wahrnehmen. Zwei Menschen sehen einen wertvollen, verlorenen Gegenstand auf der Straße; der eine betrachtet ihn als eine Mizwa und versucht, den Besitzer zu finden – der andere sieht ihn nur in seinen Taschen.

The problem with the spies stemmed from how they viewed the land of Israel. Moses, Caleb, and his colleague Joshua were focused on implementing G-d’s plan for the Jewish people to conquer it. Therefore, their concern was to determine how strong its defenders were in order to formulate a plan of attack. The other spies viewed the land as a potential source of material benefit, and so they concentrated on its qualities.

The commandment of tzitzit addresses the spies and all who err like them – attitude affects perception. The faith of the spies slipped because they placed self-interest above the will of G-d. The tzitzit calls us to cast our gaze on them, draw us to meditate on the path of Torah, and gently guide us to envision the world in line with the Divine.

Von Rabbiner Michael Skobac

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