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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Shlach Lecha
- 40 days before conception, says Rav Yehuda, a voice announces who this child will eventually marry; - During the great flood in Noach's time, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights; - Moshe was on Har Sinai for 40 days to receive the Torah; - A Mikva must be filled with 40 "seah's" of water to be kosher; - The period from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur, when we ask Hashem for forgiveness, is 40 days long.
What do all these "forties" have in common? Forty represents change, transition, a new beginning. Our sedra also contains a "forty," as the Meraglim, the spies, are sent by Moshe to scout out the Land of Israel for 40 days, in order to prepare for its conquest. This episode - resulting in the greatest sin in all of Jewish history - will bring tremendous upheaval to the Jewish nation, and change our history forever. Almost 600,000 people will be sentenced to die, and the effects of this episode will reverberate forever, into our own days.
There was a Divine plan: We were liberated from Egypt and granted our physical freedom. Then we received our constitution, the Ten Commandments - the Torah. After that, we built the Mishkan, our spiritual center, and appointed Kohanim to lead us in bringing offerings. We had judges, a Sanhedrin, and an army. All that remained was for us to march triumphantly into Israel, led by Moshe and the Ark of the Covenant, singing "Vay'hi Binsoa Ha-Aron."
But alas, it was not to be. The Sin of the Meraglim would throw everything off kilter and establish with apologies to FDR - a day that would live in infamy, Tisha B'Av. What happened?
The answer can be found at the very beginning of the Sedra. "Send out men, Hashem tells Moshe, "to scout Eretz Canaan, the land I shall give to Bnei Yisrael." Now, each of these 12 members of the advance team were princes, the "creme de la creme" of spiritual society, each one, according to Chazal, greater than any Rabbi or Rosh Yeshiva alive today. And they were told right from the get-go that G-d would crown their mission with success, that He would ensure that we inherited the Land. So why did ten of the twelve falter and lose faith? Why did they try their best to convince the nation that we could not successfully take control of our eternal homeland?
The answer, as we said, is in that very first sentence where the Meraglim were told "to scout out the land." "But why should we?! they asked themselves. "If Hashem is all-powerful, then why do we need to see how fortified the 7 nations of Canaan are? Why should we look to see if they live in forts, or in the open? Why do we even care if the land is fertile, or not? Just let Hashem march us straight in, with no preparation, and the nations will scatter like the wind in the face of G-d's awesome power and well live happily ever after!"
But then, you see, they figured it out: This won't be a cakewalk, we won't just glide in on heavenly wings with no opposition. We are going to have to actually fight to win the land. We'll have to use our own strength and smarts and courage, and not depend solely on G-d. And then - if and when we do conquer the land - we'll have to sow it, and till it, and work hard to put bread on our tables. Our ready-made prepared food - the Mahn that now falls conveniently from the sky - will stop, and we'll have to fend for ourselves.
This is what scared them gutless, and made them lose both heart and soul - the realization that we must be active and not passive players in determining our fate. And as great as the Meraglim were, they could not accept that a new era was beginning, one in which both Man and G-d would have to partner together in order to move history forward.
Baruch Hashem, where the Meraglim failed, others picked up the slack, and that is why we have a glorious State of Israel today, a State that is the acknowledged focal point of Jewish destiny.
But every Jew must still ask him or herself: Am I one of the Meraglim, or one of the motivated movers of history?
Parashat Hashavua Unfortunate Disbelief in the Coexistence of Opposites
1988 – from Siach Shaul, p. 388-390
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
