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on the yahrzeit of her father,
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(R’ Yosef Leib ben Harav Yehuda a”h)
In this week’s Parashah, we read about the Spies and their bad report about Eretz Yisrael. R’ Meshulam Roth z”l (1875-1962; rabbi of Czernowitz, Romania; later a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council) writes: Ramban z”l asks why the Spies are criticized. Doesn’t Moshe Rabbeinu himself say later (Devarim 9:1-2), “Today you cross the Jordan, to come and drive out nations that are greater and mightier than you, cities that are great and fortified up to the heavens, a great and lofty people, children of giants . . .”?
R’ Roth explains: We read (Devarim 7:17-18), “Perhaps you will say in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how will I be able to drive them out?’ Do not fear them! Remember what Hashem, your Elokim, did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt.” R’ Yitzchak Abarbanel z”l (1437-1508) comments: When you know your own weakness and place your trust in Hashem, you have no reason to fear the enemy. But, if you trust in your own strength, then you should worry. Therefore, writes R’ Roth, Moshe wanted Bnei Yisrael to know that they faced a formidable enemy so that they would trust in Hashem. The Spies’ sin was not in reporting the truth, it was in saying (13:31), “"We cannot ascend to that people for it is stronger Mimenu!” The word “Mimenu” can mean “than us,” but it also can mean, “than Him,” referring to Hashem.
R’ Roth adds: We find seemingly conflicting teachings regarding a person’s battle with the Yetzer Ha’ra. The Gemara (Yoma 38b) teaches that once most of a person’s years have passed without sin, he can be confident that he will not sin. But, in Pirkei Avot (2:4) we read, “Do not trust in yourself until the day you die!” The answer, R’ Roth writes, is that if a person attributes his not sinning solely to himself, he had better not trust in himself as long as he lives. On the other hand, if a person recognizes that Hashem assisted him in remaining righteous, then he can be confident that Hashem will continue to assist him and he will not sin. (Raglei Mevaser)
“Moshe called Hoshea son of Nun ‘Yehoshua’.” (13:16)
Rashi z”l explains: “Yehoshua” is a compound of “Kah” and “Hoshe’a” / “G-d may save.” In effect, Moshe prayed for him, “May G-d save you from the evil counsel of the spies.” [Until here from Rashi]
R’ Yisroel Garber z”l (1921-2019; New York and Yerushalayim) asks: Why did Moshe pray for Yehoshua and not for Calev?
We see, R’ Garber writes, that Yehoshua and Calev sometimes acted together, and sometimes separately. On the one hand, we read (14:6), “Yehoshua bin Nun and Calev ben Yefuneh, of the spies of the Land, tore their garments.” And they both said (14:7), “The Land is very, very good.” On the other hand, we read (13:30), “Calev silenced the people,” while Yehoshua is not mentioned. And, we read (14:24), “But My servant Calev, because a different spirit was with him . . . ,” while Yehoshua is not described as having a different spirit. Why these similarities and differences?
R’ Garber answers: Moshe prayed for Yehoshua because Moshe understood that Yehoshua’s nature was to try to keep the “team” together for the sake of the Tzibbur / congregation. As such, Yehoshua was at risk of being influenced negatively by his sinful colleagues. In contrast, Calev had a “different spirit.” He was more of a loner, as evidenced by the fact that he left the group and went to pray at the graves of the Patriarchs. As such, Calev did not need Moshe’s prayers to protect him. In the end, both Yehoshua and Calev resisted the Spies’ plans and contradicted their reports, but they came to it differently--Yehoshua because of Moshe’s prayer, and Calev because of his “different spirit.” (Tal Le’Yisrael)
“In this Wilderness Yitamu / they shall cease completely to be, and there Yamutu/ they shall die!” (14:35)
R’ Moshe Chaim Luzzato z”l (Ramchal; Italy and Eretz Yisrael; 1707-1747) notes that the words “Yitamu” and “Yamutu” share the same Hebrew letters. He explains:
Bnei Yisrael in the desert were supposed to correct the sin of Adam Ha’rishon, thus returning the world to its original perfection. Indeed, they accomplished this at the time of the Giving of the Torah, but it did not last, and they soon made the Golden Calf. Had Bnei Yisrael succeeded in their mission, death would have been abolished forever, for death was introduced into the world only due to Adam’s sin. This is the significance of the fact that the words “Tam” (“תם”) / “complete” or “perfect” and “Met” (“מת”) / “deceased” share the same letters, but in reverse order.
As long as we have not returned the world to its original perfection, death must still exist. In this light, writes Ramchal, our verse can be read: “In this Wilderness Yitamu / they were meant to become complete, but instead, there Yamutu/ they shall die!” (Tikkunim Chadashim #28)
“So that you may remember and perform all My commandments and be holy to your Elokim.” (15:40)
Rabbeinu Yonah Gerondi z”l (1210-1263; Spain) writes: Midrash Sifrei teaches that wearing Tzitzit increases a person’s holiness, as our verse says, “So that you may be holy to your Elokim.” Though one is not obligated to have Tzitzit if he is not wearing a four-cornered garment, and one who does not have such a garment is not obligated to buy one, nevertheless the Gemara (Menachot 41a) teaches that Hashem punishes a person in times of trouble (see below) for not coveting the beauty of the Mitzvah and its reward. Therefore, a person should buy a four-cornered garment so that he will be obligated to wear Tzitzit. (Sha’arei Teshuvah 3:22)
The Gemara (Menachot 41a) relates: An angel saw the sage Rav Ketina wearing a garment that was exempt from Tzitzit, and he said, “Ketina! Ketina! If you wear these garments, what will become of the Mitzvah of Tzitzit?”
Rav Ketina asked the angel, “Does the Heavenly court punish a person for neglecting a Mitzvat Aseh / positive commandment?”
The angel answered, “Yes, in a time of anger there is a punishment.” [Until here from the Gemara]
R’ Chanoch Zundel z”l (Poland; died 1867) explains: Ordinarily, Hashem does not punish a person for failing to perform a Mitzvat Aseh, for it is punishment enough that he will not receive the eternal, infinite reward that he could have earned. The scope of that reward is learned from the Gemara (Chullin 142a), which teaches that there is no reward for Mitzvot in this world, because, commentaries explain, this world is not big enough to contain the reward for a single Mitzvah. Nevertheless, some inkling of the greatness of the reward for a Mitzvah can be gotten from the Gemara (Sanhedrin 96a) which teaches that Nevuchadnezar merited to rule over most of the known world simply because he ran three paces in honor of Hashem. Notwithstanding the above, at a time when the Divine Attribute of Strict Justice reigns in the world because of our other sins, Hashem punishes also for failing to perform a Mitzvat Aseh. (Etz Yosef)
R’ Gershon Edelstein z”l (1923-2023; Rosh Yeshiva of the Ponovezh Yeshiva) writes: The primary complaint against one who does not go out of his way to wear a garment that obligates him in the Mitzvah of Tzitzit arises when he does go out of his way to seek out material pleasures. According to this understanding, the “time of anger” to which the Gemara refers is a time when one exhibits greater love for material pleasures than for Mitzvot. (Peninei Chizuk Al Sha’arei Teshuvah)
Shabbat
“Bo’ee v’shalom” / “Enter in peace, crown of her husband, even in Simchah / joy and good cheer . . .” (From the Friday night poem, Lecha Dodi)
R’ Aryeh Finkel z”l (1931-2016; Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Modi’in Ilit, Israel) asks: Regarding all Mitzvot, we are commanded (Tehilim 100:2), “Serve Hashem with Simchah.” And, the Torah foretells terrible punishments, G-d forbid, “because you did not serve Hashem, your Elokim, amid Simcha and goodness of heart” (Devarim 28:47). Why, then, do our prayers single out Shabbat as a time of Simchah?
R’ Finkel explains: The unique Simchah of Shabbat relates to the fact that the day is “a taste of Olam Ha’ba / the World-to-Come.” Our joy is not, however, over the reward that we will receive in Olam Ha’ba; after all, we are taught in Pirkei Avot (1:3), “Do not be like servants who serve the master in order to receive reward.” Rather, our Simchah arises from the fact that Hashem loves us so much that He has promised us eternal reward for our Mitzvot.
R’ Finkel continues: One of the foundations of our faith is the belief that Hashem keeps His promises, and Shabbat strengthens that belief by giving us a taste of the bliss we will experience in Olam Ha’ba. The Spies in our Parashah lacked that belief. Hashem had promised that Eretz Yisrael is better than any other land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He also promised them that they would be able to conquer the Land. But they did not believe, as Hashem says in our Parashah (14:11), “How long will this people provoke Me, and how long will they not have faith in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?”
R’ Finkel concludes: The fact that we are still around after 2,000 years of exile is proof that Hashem does keep His promises. The Simchah of which we speak in Kabbalat Shabbat is the joy of knowing that Hashem keeps His promises, and that He does so because He loves us. It is because of that love that He will bring about our redemption in this world and also reward us in Olam Ha’ba, as we say in Lecha Dodi: “Your G-d will rejoice over you as a groom rejoices over his bride.” (Yavo Shiloh p.481)
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