This Week In The Torah.



Parsha Devorim Devorim/Deut.Ch.1-3/22


by Rabbi Yechezkel Fox

Control Freaks in the Wilderness

You approached me, all of you, and said,"Let us send men ahead of us, and let them spy out the land and bring back word to us: the road on which we should ascend, and the cities to which we should come." Ch.1/22

At this point in our parsha Moshe is reviewing the sin of the spies.

Rashi comments on the words all of you:

As a rabble. But further on (when Moshe was reviewing the events at Mount Sinai), it says. "And you approached me, all of the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said: 'Behold G-d, our Lord, has shown us,' etc. That approach was proper. And the elders honoured the heads by allowing them to go ahead of them. But here,"You approached me, all of you," as a rabble, with the young pushing the elders, and the elders pushing the heads.

Moshe was reminding the people, not so much of their lack of respect for their superiors, but of their lack of faith in G-d. They were in a state of panic. Pushing and shoving to get their word in, they showed that their faith in G-d to take them safely into the land had been broken.

The next verse tells us of Moshe's reaction:

The matter was good in my eyes, so I took from you twelve men, one man for each tribe.

How could this show of panic be good in my eyes?

People want to feel in control. Whether it's our standard of living, or health, or keeping an enemy at bay, we seek control. Otherwise, panic and depression could take over. How do we deal with a shaky economy or a bad medical report? We find ourselves in situations in which we feel our control slipping away. Momentous choices confront us. We can strengthen our faith, reminding ourselves that G-d is control; we can intensify our efforts to regain control; or we can try for something in the middle. However, one thing is for sure: panic is an indication of lack of faith.

So, when Moshe saw the people panicking at the prospect of entering the land without any preparations for conquest, he knew that his first priority was to restore their feeling of control. Faith cannot be forced on people. By granting their request for spies, he enabled them to regain their equilibrium. That was good in his eyes.

Sources: Emes LeYaakov

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Sitting On The Fish

You shall command the people, saying, "You are passing through the boundary of your brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will fear you, and you shall take great care." Ch.2/4

There is a very important and highly relevant lesson in this verse. If our non-Jewish neighbours fear us, it is a time for great caution. One could be deluded into thinking that if they fear us we are more secure; but it is not so, and sadly we have paid heavily for this mistake through the ages till today.

Rabbah bar bar Channah taught a series of fantastic parables in the Talmud. One of them goes as follows:

Once we were going in a ship and we saw a certain fish. Sand settled on its back and a meadow sprouted on it. We thought it was an island of dry land and we went up and dwelled there, and we baked and cooked on it. When it became hot it turned over and if not for the ship that was nearby we would have drowned.

The commentators of the Talmud reveal the hidden message of Rabbah bar bar Channah. Once we were going in a ship---this is the Jewish people moving around the world in exile...and we saw a certain fish---a place to settle down. Although we could see the dangers involved, it was worth trying to make a stop there...Sand settled on its back and a meadow sprouted on it---But we had a lot of material success. So much so that...We thought it was an island of dry land and we went up and dwelled there---We forgot that it was a dangerous place, and became convinced that it was a safe haven....and we baked and cooked on it---We became so confident that we actually hurt, either physically or psychologically, our non-Jewish neighbors...When it became hot it turned over---our non-Jewish neighbors couldn't suffer this humiliation anymore, and attacked us...and if not for the ship that was nearby we would have drowned---If not for our strong faith in G-d and the coming redemption, we would not have been able to bear all the suffering that followed.

Rabbah bar bar Channah has summed up for us the Jewish experience in exile. In a nutshell: Not to live an illusion and think that we are the masters over the "fish." This will only cause them to fear us and to throw us off their back.

As we approach Tisha B'Av and we remind ourselves that we are still in exile, we should also remind ourselves that, wherever we are in the world, we are still sitting on Rabbah bar bar Channah's fish.

May we see speedily in our days the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash (The Holy Temple).

Sources: The Bear Yoseph; The Vilna Gaon and the Nesivos"s commentary to Bava Basra 73b

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The Long Education of Yaakov Avinu

You shall not provoke them, for I shall not give you of their land even the right to set foot, for as an inheritance to the children of Esov have I given Mount Seir. Ch.2/5

Esov and his family had been living at Mount Seir ever since Yaakov and his family went down to Egypt, as it says in the Book of Yehoshua:

To Yitzchak I gave Yaakov and Esov. To Esov I gave Mount Seir to inherit, and Yaakov and his sons went down to Egypt. Ch.24/4

At first glance, this doesn't seem very fair: Esov goes off to settle down and establish his family and kingdom; and Yaakov, who is described as the choicest of the forefathers, is remanded to Egypt for a dose of exile and bondage.

In the animal kingdom, let us take a calf, for example, within a few days it is already walking and eating on its own; whereas for man nothing comes easy. In fact, it may not be till he is in his teens that he reaches maturity and independence. And if he is training to be a doctor or architect, he might not be ready to support himself till his late twenties. Why is this?

Whatever/whoever has a higher purpose in this world, has to undergo a longer and more difficult training to reach that purpose. So it is only "natural" that man must prepare for his goal many more years than an animal, for he is the purpose of creation.This, then, is what the verse in Yehoshua is teaching us: Esov's purpose in this world is in the physical realm, so his training didn't take so long, and he can go off to Mount Seir and settle down. But Yaakov, whose purpose is in the spiritual realm, still has a long time to go. He must undergo vigorous and extensive training in Egypt to prepare his family for the Giving of the Torah and to become the Chosen People

Sources: MiShulchan Gevoa




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