Showing posts with label Sin of the Spies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sin of the Spies. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Moshe's Recounting of the Sin of the Spies

In the 3rd Aliyah of Parshat Devarim, Moshe recounts the sin of the spies. As is known, the wording of Sefer Devarim is many times in a way to give reproof to Am Yisrael.

When recalling our sin, the evil report of the 10 spies is not mentioned.

דברים א:כה - ויקחו בידם מפרי הארץ, ויורדו אלינו, וישבו אתנו דבר, ויאמרו טובה הארץ אשר ה' אלקינו נתן לנו

דברים א:כו - ולא אביתם לעלת

Devarim 1:25 - And they took from the fruit of the land, and brought it down to us, and returned to us a word, and said "The land that Hashem our G-d gives us is good".

Devarim 1:26 - And you didn't want to go up (to the land) ...

As Rashi explains there, this is the testimony of Kalev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin-Nun. Moshe leaves out the testimony of the 10 Spies. Am Yisrael went after the majority instead of Truth.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Faith and the Sin of the Spies

The beginning of the book of Devarim has a recounting of the Sin of the Spies from a slightly different perspective, it makes certain implied ideas more explicit.

Moshe says:

דברים א:לב - ובדבר הזה, אינכם מאמינם בה' אלקיכם

Devarim 1:32 - And on this matter, you do not believe in Hashem your G-d.

The basic format of the discussion between Yehoshua & Calev and the 10 tribes is as follows:

  • The 10 spies describe how great the Land of Israel is.
  • They describe how the people are much bigger and stronger than Am Yisrael.
  • Calev ben Yefuneh stresses that we can inherit the land.
  • The 10 spies say that we cannot inherit the land, stressing further how insignificant Am Yisrael is in comparison to the nations currently inhabiting the Land of Israel.
  • The nation sides with the 10 spies.
  • Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun stress how good the Land of Israel is, and that our inheriting it is dependent on Hashem being with us, which He is.
  • The nation still sides with the 10 spies.
  • Divine intervention.

The 10 spies and Calev/Yehoshua argument can be simplified to this:

  • The 10 spies say we can't inherit the land because we are weak.
  • Calev/Yehoshua say we can inherit the land because Hashem is with us.

Calev/Yehoshua do not address the base claim of the 10 spies. They didn't contradict a single claim of theirs, for that matter. They don't dispute the fact that the fruit brought back was abnormally large, that the cities were well fortified, that huge people inhabited the land.

Their only response was "Their protection has left them, Hashem is with us, do not fear them" (Bamidbar 14:9).

  • The 10 spies saw realpolitik
  • Calev/Yehoshua saw Divine Providence

Our forefathers sinned in that they didn't believe in the Divine Providence involved in settling Eretz Yisrael. They did not believe that they would be made successful by the Hand of Hashem. So they decided to give up on the mitzvah settling the land.

Monday, April 28, 2008

The Ma'apilim

After the Sin of the Spies, the Torah records that there were a group of people that decided to try to make up for their part in the sin.

במדבר יד:מ - וישכמו בבקר, ויעלו אל ראש-ההר לאמר: הננו ועלינו אל המקום אשר אמר ה' כי חטאנו
במדבר יד:מא - ויאמר משה, למה זה אתם עברים את פי ה', והוא לא תצלח
במדבר יד:מב - אל תעלו, כי אין ה' בקרבכם, ולא תנגפו לפני איביכם
במדבר יד:מג - כי העמלקי והכנעני שם לפניכם ונפלתם בחרב, כי על כן שבתם מאחרי ה', ולא יהיה ה' עמכם
במדבר יד:מד - ויעפלו לעלות אל ראש-ההר, וארון ברית ה' ומשה לא משו מקרב המחנה
במדבר יד:מה - וירד העמלקי והכנעני הישב בהר ההוא, ויכום ויכתום עד החרמה
Bamidbar 14:40 - And they arose in the morning and went up to the head of the mountain saying: Behold we have come up to the place that Hashem said, for we have sinned.
Bamidbar 14:41 - And Moshe said, why are you violating the word of Hashem, it will not be successful.
Bamidbar 14:42 - Don't go up, for Hashem is not in your midst, and (if you don't go up) you won't be smitten in front of your enemies.
Bamidbar 14:42 - For the Amelekite and Canaanite are there before you and you will fall by the sword, for this is the very reason that you turned from following Hashem, and Hashem will not be with you.
Bamidbar 14:43 - But they acted presumptuously and went up to the head of the mountain, and the Ark of Hashem and Moshe did not leave the camp
Bamidbar 14:44 - And the Amalekite and the Canaanite that dwell on that mountain came down and hit them and beat them until Chormah.

Points to notice in the story of the Ma'apilim.

  • Hashem wanted Am Yisrael to go up to Eretz Yisrael and inherit the land for all generations, to fulfill the Divine Will that we be a Holy Nation. The Spies caused the nation to not want to inherit the land. Due to the punishment, and the guilt over the sin, the Ma'apilim were willing to fight. They wanted a do-over without actually fixing the base problem. Their intentions were simply impure.
  • Moshe points out, essentially, that the Spies were right on one point. The nations that Am Yisrael feared indeed were stronger than Am Yisrael and would beat them, if Hashem were not on our side. Therefore when Hashem decreed that we stay in the desert for 40 years, it was not just a commandment that we could listen to or not. Hashem stated that He was unwilling to suspend the laws of nature for this generation.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Kol HaTor: Repairing the Sin of the Spies

Preface: The following is a particularly sharp (and lengthy) critique of Jews who oppose moves towards Kibbutz Galuyot. It should be understood the seeming rage of the author, Rav Hillel, came from frustration in fulfilling his holy mission and his desire to do only good for Am Yisrael. If you believe that you would react negatively to critique on the matter of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, please do not read this post. I did not spend time translating this to cause anger.

The Tikkun of the Sin of the Spies: By Building Yerushalayim

Kol HaTor chapter 5, page 129

The Sin of the Spies in the Desert in the days of Moshe is one of the greatest general sins that attaches itself to Am Yisrael in all the generations until today. According to the midrash of our sages, a weeping from generation to generation was decreed because of the Sin of the Spies, weeping for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the destruction of Yerushalayim, and the desolation of the land. In a large part, Am Yisrael has suffered and suffers in all the generations the pains of the bitter exile due to the Sin of the Spies. A large portion of the punishment of this sin was brought down in the days that the sin occured during the generation in the desert, as explained in the Torah, but the remainder of the punishment was divided up to pieces that were put upon all generations, G-d save us.

A great tikkun for the Sin of the Spies can come by way of the redemption and building of Yerushalayim, and by way of actions of gathering in the Exiles, according to the known principle of "G-d made this opposing that", and measure for measure, for merit and also for sin, fix what you broke, to fix everything according to the place, according to the time, according to the action, and according to the publicity. And behold the Sin of the Spies which brought weeping for generations according to the explanation of our sages on the verse "And the people wept on that night", that night was the night of Tishah b'Av, on which the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. We find that the tikkun for the Sin of the Spies needs to be by building the Beit HaMikdash, and before the building of the Beit HaMikdash, there needs to be the building of Yerushalayim, as explained according to our Rabbi (the GR"A) according to the verse "Yerushalayim will be built and the Sanctuary founded" which is said on the final Atchalta DiGeulah like in the days of Koresh.

And due to our many sins, there are many who are sinning the great sin of "they despised the desirable land", also many that keep Torah do not know or understand that they are caught up in the Sin of the Spies, they are attached to the Klipah of the Sin of the Spies in all sorts of nonsensical, lying arguments, also covering up their logic with the rejected opinion that there is no mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz at this time. This opinion was already rejected by the geniuses of the world, the Rishonim and Acharonim. These Spies want to be bigger than our rabbis the Tanaim and Amoraim that set that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael is equal all the other mitzvot in the Torah, and our rabbi the Ramban zya"a that set that the mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz is a positive commandment of the Torah from "and you shall inherit it and settle it", and our rabbi the writer of Tosefot Yom Tov that before the Geulah there will be an Atchalta like in the days of Koresh in the days of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash and also our rabbi the Shla"h HaKadosh (in Sha'ar HaOtiot) explains the greatness of the mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, that at no time does the holiness of this mitzvah cease, even for an instant. And who is greater for us in all the last generations than our rabbi the GR"A, the holy of Israel, that with firey words urged his students to move to Eretz Yisrael and to work in the Ingathering of the Exiles, and urged his students greately to start the Keitz Meguleh to bring forward the Keitz of the Geulah by way of settling Eretz Yisrael. Almost every day our rabbi spoke to us with great emotion that "In Tzion and in Yerushalayim there will be refuge", and not to delay the appointed time. Who can speak or describe the great worry of our rabbi as he spoke to us with words like these with his holy spirit and with tears in his eyes, and also explained to us many times that the opinion of Rav Yehudah (Ketubot 110) that said that someone who moves to Eretz Yisrael from Bavel violates a positive commandment, even according to Rav Yehudah, this is only said regarding Bavel and not from the rest of the lands. And also Aliyah from Bavel of Rav Yehudah, it is a opinion of a single authority, and it is rejected from its base in the Gemara there and in the commentaries. This and more: Rav Yehudah bases himself on the verse "To Bavel they will be brought and there thay will be until the day of My rememberance" (Yirmiyahu 27). What is the meaning of "until the day of My rememberance"? Behold during the Aliyah of Ezra and Nechemiah was from Galut Bavel and any rememberance from Heaven needs to have first a rememberance in the Awakening from Below, and as our rabbi said to us in many places that the rememberence in the Footsteps of Moshiach will be first like in the days of Koresh in the days of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash from the Left Side, the side of Din meaning the Awakening from Below.

How great is the pain of the fact that many of our brothers Bnei Yisrael and among them many wealthy Jews in the state of Russia who eagerly prepared to come to Eretz Yisrael by the mitzvah of our rabbi the GR"A, and were cooled off davka by some who keep the Torah that don't know and understand. And this is what our rabbi wrote that during the ingathering, the Other Side will be strengthened, G-d save us, and this is what it says in the midrash that when Israel goes out of the Galut, Amalek is made ready for them on the way. And that is the strength of the impurity about which it says "that cooled you off on the way". And see how strong the power is of the satan that put this deceiving opinion also in those that keep the Torah to delay the Geulah, for behold the Spies themselves were amongst the greatest of Israel and the satan enticed them, G-d save us.

In addition to this, amongst the obstacles in the Diaspora, there are also those that interfere in the sending of financial support for the strengthening of the settlement in Eretz Yisrael. We hear from our emissaries a few such horrible stories. For example: On the day of the GR"A's Yartzheit, one of our emissaries gave the drash in the synagogue in the city in favor of supporting the settlement in Eretz Yisrael. After him, the Gabbai of the community came up to the bimah and said that the Gabbai's of the community in Yerushalayim have created a new business, it is not enough that they request donations for food for the poor but also donations for the building of Yerushalayim to buy fields, etc. in order to expand the settlement, and other dreams like this. And if it were really a time of desire in front of Hashem, said this Gabbai, to bring the Geulah, then there would be no need to buy fields, etc. And behold this Gabbai that has no idea about the ways of the Geulah and doesn't know or doesn't want to know about the words of the prophet "Fields with money will be bought in the land of Binyamin and in the surroundings of Yerushalayim" (Yirmiyahu 32), and the words of the prophet "Expand the place of your tents" that all these were spoken about the Atchalta DiGeulah as I have explained in prior chapters. And also what our sages said that thus is the Geulah of Israel, little by little it comes, like Ayelet HaShachar, etc, and all this was said about the Atchalta DiGeulah like a poor person on a donkey, as long as we have not merited the full Geulah on the clouds of heaven, speedily and in our days. And the GR"A speaks in many places about the first Geulah from the Servitude of the Nations by the first Moshiach, the Moshiach of the Atchalta, Moshiach ben Yosef, who is responsible for Kibbutz Galuyot in the Awakening from Below. And what is the meaning of the First Moshiach and the First Geulah in the words of the GR"A? It is the preparations that come before Moshiach ben Dovid. And what will those people with their deep explanations say regarding the words of our sages"When Yerushalayim is built, ben Dovid comes" and on the verse "And there will come to Tzion a redeemer" (Yeshayahu 59), about which the Midrash and Rashi say "As long as Tzion isn't built, the redeemer doesn't come". And indeed it is (akin to) the hyssop in the wall coming to defeat the (mighty) Cedars of Lebanon, this is nothing but the Klipah of the Spies speaking from within their throats, indeed this is what our sages said that in the Footsteps of Moshiach, the truth is hidden and chutzpah increases, chutzpah also against the holy words of our prophets and visionaries, chutzpah against the earlier Gedolei Yisrael, and against the opinion and holy command of the holy of Israel, our rabbi the GR"A, and we pray that all those that have the spirit of Amalek dwelling within them will repent from their evil ways, and He is merciful and atones sin.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Tu B'av

Here's my chidush for Tu B'av:

In Talmud Yerushalmi Masechet Taanit, chapter 4, halachah 7, we have an opinion as to why we celebrate Tu B'av. Translation is my own:

Rabbi Abun says that in it (Tu B'av), the digging was cancelled. And Rabbi Levi says (explaining the statement of Rabbi Abun): Every Tishah B'av Moshe would send out an announcement in the whole camp and say "Go out and dig! Go out and dig!" And they would go out and dig themselves graves and sleep in them, and in the morning they would stand up and find themselves missing 15,000 and change (the word is protrot), and in the last year they did thus and found themselves whole (i.e. no one died). They said "perhaps we made a mistake in our calculations, and thus on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. And because the moon was full they said that it appears that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has nullified that harsh decree from us, and they stood up and made a Yom Tov celebration.

The story is difficult. How could it be that Moshe tells them to go lie down and that no one passed away the last year? Korban HaEidah and Pnei Moshe explain that the Gemara is precise. Moshe didn't say to go out the last year, but "they", meaning the people, did so at their own volition, without an order from Moshe.

These people were in essence part of the collective group of people that did not have faith in Hashem when the Ten Spies came back from Eretz Yisrael. The next day some of them went to battle against the Emori and Amaleki, against the command of Hashem via Moshe. They were punished for lack of faith and not listening to Moshe.

Now here they are, essentially being freed of the punishment for this sin. Moshe didn't tell them to dig their graves. So what do they do? They dug their graves!

But even after that, they stay in the graves straight through the 15th of Av! Did they not know that every year the punishment was on the 9th of Av? The Gemara says that they got up on the 15th of Av, because only then the moon was full.

But the 9th of Av is the 9th of Av. The 9th of Av is the ninth day starting from Rosh Chodesh. There is no doubt as to the date. Even if for some reason they think they counted wrong, all they had to do was walk over to the Sanhedrin and ask them the date, and that was the end of their doubt. But they didn't. Only on the 15th did they feel confident enough to celebrate. On the 15th, they had non-Torah confirmation that they were safe.

Shaar HaGilgulim Hakdamah 20:

..also then, in the last generation, the entire Generation of the Desert, including the Erev Rav, will be reincarnated...

This is the test of our generation. Faith. The Generation of the Desert, according to their level, had open miracles to prove Hashem's Hand in this world, and yet they couldn't translate their faith in to action. So too we see in our generation. Countless miracles occurred since 1948. However we have seen a consistent pattern, especially since the early 1990's, of running away from the consequences of these miracles.

It is my prayer that we speedily move towards a complete rectification of this fault and we begin to view our faith as a practical matter that is to be reflected in our daily and national lives.