Beit Midrash

  • Torah Portion and Tanach
  • Shlach Lecha
קטגוריה משנית
To dedicate this lesson

The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of

Asher Ben Haim

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Sometimes a person gets what turns out to be a "booby prize." Calev, the hero of our parasha, seems to be a case in point. Calev went with the meraglim (spies) through southern Israel but went alone to Chevron (Hebron). There, he prayed by our forefathers’ graves that he should not be involved in his counterparts’ plot (Sota 34b). Because of his righteousness, he received a special portion of land, Chevron (Devarim 1:36; Shoftim 1:20). But what do Chazal say about Chevron? It was the rockiest, least desirable place in Eretz Yisrael (Ketubot 112b). So why did Calev get "stuck" with it?

Let us ask another "heretical" question. Could it be that Calev really went alone to Chevron? After all, he avoided things that would reveal his opposition to the meraglim until the last minute. There is room to suggest that the Torah and Chazal are hinting at something else. All of the meraglim came to Chevron, physically. But they experienced different things. The sinners saw fearful giants, who were reasons to refuse to enter the land. Calev, upon seeing physical giants walking on the land, turned his attention to the spiritual giants who were buried in the land. Rashi (Bereishit 23:2) tells us that Chevron was called Kiryat Arba (the City of Four) either after the four giants who lived there or the four couples who are buried there. It is not a contradiction, as both facts are true. But some people are sensitive to the significance of one fact while the other fact impresses others. Calev realized that it was due to the virtue of those buried in Chevron that Bnei Yisrael had been promised the Land and would be successful in capturing it despite the Land’s topography and the size of its inhabitants.

Perhaps Calev’s name hints at this capacity to perceive what is happening underground. The name, without vowels, can be read as kelev (dog). Whose nature is it to sniff out that which is covered up or under ground? The dog (see Pesachim 8a). While dogs search for things that smell, Calev searched ... and found ... encouragement and spiritual inspiration.

Now we can understand why Calev got the piece of land that he did. Others may not have been happy with a present of Chevron. There are obstacles there, whether they are ancient giants, rocky terrain, or the troubles we are experiencing in our times. But for people like Calev, who have a ruach acheret (Bamidbar 14:24), a different type of spirit, which enables them to appreciate that which others cannot, such a present can be fully appreciated and cherished.

The world is full of what some consider obstacles and others consider challenges. May we merit to use the sensitivity we received from "those who slumber in Chevron" to identify those goals which deserve our efforts to achieve and to have the courage to take on the worthwhile challenges and turn them into priceless, realized opportunities.

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Lessons
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    Beha'alotcha

    The Consolation of Lighting the Menora - Rav Kook at the Third Shabbat Meal

    15 Sivan 5784
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    Beha'alotcha

    Why Was Miriam Punished?

    Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon | 5777
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    Prayer

    ?How we should dress for Prayer

    Chapter five-part two

    Chapter five-part two

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    Prayer

    Who Can Be Counted in a Minyan?

    Chapter Two-part three

    Can every ten men be a Minyan or are there other conditions?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    P'ninat Mishpat

    Historical View of Rav Mordechai Yaakov Breish (Chelkat Yaakov)

    Various Rabbis | 5775
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    Happy Occasions

    Fasting and Feasting on a Yahrzeit

    “My father’s yahrzeit falls during the week of sheva brachos for my grandson. May I attend the sheva brachos?” "My yahrzeit falls on Shabbos this year. Do I fast on Friday or Sunday instead?" "I usually fast on my father’s yahrzeit, but someone is honoring me with sandaka’us on that day. Do I fast, and do I need to be matir neder in the event that it is permitted to eat?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
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    Revivim

    Halakha on Abortion of Fetuses with Severe Abormalities

    A fetus is considered a living entity in regards to certain laws, but there is no penalty of death for taking its life. What do the rabbinical decisors say?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    Jewish Holidays

    The Twentieth of Sivan

    "I noticed that the back of my siddur contains a large section devoted to selichos for the 20th of Sivan, yet I have never davened in a shul that observed this day. What does this date commemorate?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Sivan 17 5780
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    The Giving of the Torah

    The Day of the Rains and the Giving of the Torah

    According to our Sages, The Day of the Rain is as great as, or even greater than the day of the Giving of the Torah. The basis for this comparison is discussed in depth, as well as additional aspects of the connection between the rains and the Torah.

    Rabbi Uzi Kalchaim zt"l | 5770
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    The Torah Perspective

    Secular Zionism in the Eyes of Rav Kook.

    How can we understand the rebellion against religion over the past century? What does the world gain spiritually from this rebellion which was foreseen in the mishna 1,800 years ago as part of the period preceding the mashiach? Only after we understand the rebellion can we glean the benefit and relate to our brothers properly.

    Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769
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    Redemption - Geula

    When Moshiach Comes

    A summary of the different Brachot we will bless when the Moshiach will walk through the door.

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Iyar 5768
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    Marriage and Relationships

    The Role of Parents in Marriage

    Today, parents can fulfill the commandment of marrying off their children by providing them with a good education at prestigious schools, supporting them so that they be able to learn a profession, and clothing them in attractive attire.

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5764
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