shlach2022

Hearts and Eyes – Shlach

 

The story of the מרגלים is one of the most tragic and unfathomable in our history.

It is impossible for us to conceive the greatness of the דור המדבר, termed by Chazal דור הדעה. That generation witnessed HKB”H directly on Yam Suf and again at Har Sinai. They lived in a reality governed by constant, overt miracles. The Sefer Kuzari says that davka the fact that the Torah enumerates their sins (ten) is a sign of their elevated spiritual level – only ten sins in the entire generation (compared with the innumerable transgressions in later generations).

Not only was their spiritual stature unimaginable, but also their physical stature. The Gemara (Bechorot 44a) gives Moshe Rabbeinu’s height as 10 amot (5m). Another Gemara (Bava Batra 73b) tells the story of Rabba bar bar Chana who saw the graves of the מתי מדבר – those who died every Tisha Be’Av and were buried in the desert. Because of their elevated spiritual stature, their bodies were perfectly preserved, thousands of years later and Rabba bar bar Chana said they were lying on their backs with smiles on their faces and one had his lower leg bent at the knee. Rabba bar bar Chana’s guide managed to ride on a camel holding a lance (3m high in total - the camel, man and lance) and still fit under the arch of the knee. Using a little trigonometry, the height of the person’s knee alone was 4.24m! Compared to him, Moshe was a shorty!

Rav Yonatan Eybeschutz in his sefer Yaarot Dvash (חלק א, דרוש ב, ט' טבת) says since the generation of the Midbar, there has not been a generation to parallel it and there will not be until the generation of the Mashiach. As Rebi Zeira said (Shabbat 112b) “If the first ones were like angels, then we are like people. And if the first ones were like people then we are like donkeys and not like the donkeys of Rebi Chanina ben Dosa and Rebi Pinchas ben Yair “, (but that’s another story).

It is impossible for us to give critique on that generation, a generation who were totally connected to and whose sole purpose was getting closer to HKB”H. However the Torah details certain incidents so that we may learn a מוסר השכל from them, even more so when the מוסר השכל is practically applicable in our current generation.

In this shiur I would like to bring some chiddushim on the story of the מרגלים and a totally different way to look at this incident. Some are from the ספרי הקבלה and others from my sefer (מאיר פנים, פרק טו).

But first a short introduction -

 

סנהדרין לח, ב	פרקי דרבי אליעזר יא, ז	אבות דרבי נתן א, ח	ויקרא רבה כט,א	פסיקתא דרב כהנא כג, א	מדרש הגדול בראשית קמז	שעה
הוצבר עפרו	הוצבר עפרו של אדם	הוצבר עפרו	עלה במחשׁבה	עלה במחשבה	עלה במחשבה	1
נעשה גולם	גבלו	נברא צורתו	נתיעץ עם מלאכי השרת	נמלך במלאכי השרת	נמלך במלאכי השרת	2
נמתחו אבריו	רקמו	נעשה גולם	כנס עפרו	כינס עפרו	כינס עפרו	3
נזרקה בו נשמה	נזרקה בו נשמה	נתקשרו אבריו	גּבלו	גיבלו	גיבלו	4
עמד על רגליו	קם על רגליו	נתפתחו נקביו	רקמו	ריקמו	ריקמו	5
קרא שמות	קרא שמות	נתנה בו נשמה	עשאו גלם	העמידו גולם על רגליו	העמידו על רגליו	6
נזדווגה לו חוה	נזדמנה לו חוה	עמד על רגליו	נפח בו נשמה	זרק בו נשמה	זרק בו נשמה	7
עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה	נצטוו על פירות	נזדווגה לו חוה	הכניסו לגן	הכניסו לגן עדן	הכניסו לגן עדן	8
נצטווה שלא לאכול מן האילן	עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה	הכניסו לגן עדן	נצטוה	ציוהו	צוהו	9
סרח	עבר על צוויו	צוהו	עבר	עבר על ציוהו	עבר על ציוויו	10
נידון	נדון	סרח	נדון	נידון	נידון	11
נטרד והלך לו	נתגרש	נטרד והלך לו	יצא בדימוס	יצא בדימוס	יצא בדימוס	12

There are different opinions of what occurred on the sixth day of Creation, when HKB”H created Adam Harishon (listed in the table above). They are basically the same. Some add extra stages (like HKB”H first having the “idea” to create Adam, consulting with the angels) and there is one point of contention – whether Kayin and Hevel were born on the sixth day or not. It is not these discrepancies that concern us in this shiur but rather the general picture, which I will paraphrase below (from sefer Meir Panim).

Also it is not clear if an “hour” referred to in these sources is the same “hour” we are familiar with today, or whether the passuk in Tehilim (90, 4) כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבֹר applies, i.e one of HKB”H’s days is like 1000 years for us (if so, an hour for HKB”H is like 41.6 years for us).

Let’s go back to the sixth day. After Adam Harishon was up on his feet and functioning, HKB”H presented Chava to him and commanded them not to eat from the eitz hada’at. It is what happened between this juncture and when they sinned, that concerns us for the purposes of this shiur. 

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 70a) brings three opinions what kind of tree the eitz hada’at was – grapes, wheat or figs. In Meir Panim I bring a principle that it was not either/or, but all three. Not that grapes, wheat and figs were all fruit of the tree, but that all three had some part in the sin. The grapes were the prelude, the wheat was the actual sin and the fig leaf was the aftermath. This is based on the numerous רמזים in the psukkim for all three, (using the different סוד analysis methodologies גימטריא, ר"ת, ס"ת, אתב"ש וכו', where the highest frequency of hints is wheat related). Also the order of the opinions in the Gemara hints to this fact.

The Torah details the conversation between the נחש and Chava, prior to the sin. The million dollar question is – “Where was Adam Harishon while the נחש and Chava were chatting?” Surely if Adam was around and compos mentis, he would not have allowed the נחש anywhere near his wife!

The Zohar Hakadosh (חלק א, לו, א) gives us a hint - הא תנינן סחטה ענבים ויהבת ליה. Prior to the sin of the eitz hada’at, Chava “squeezed grapes” (made wine) and gave Adam to drink and he became intoxicated. While the repartee with the נחש was taking place, Adam was asleep!

It was in this interim that the נחש tricked Chava, using the “eyes” (וְכִי תַאֲוָה הוּא לָעֵינַיִם.. בראשית ג, ו) to take the wheat – the fruit of the eitz hada’at – grind it into flour, mix it with water and make it into a chametz bread, in a similar way that HKB”H had created Adam Harishon – using dust of the earth soaked in water into which HKB”H breathed נשמת חיים.

After they both ate from this chametz bread, they acquired דעת טוב ורע and were ashamed, so they took fig leaves to cover themselves. Why davka fig leaves? The gematria of תאנה is - מצורעים. Just as the נחש was punished with blemishes on his skin for speaking lashon harah against HKB”H, so Adam and Chava covered themselves like מצורעים using תאנה leaves, for listening to the lashon harah of the נחש. In this way, the grape, the wheat and the fig were all participants in different stages of the sin.

That is the first part of the introduction. Now for the second -

The Zohar Hakadosh on parshat Shmot (2,2) וַתִּצְפְּנֵהוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה יְרָחִים - regarding the birth of Moshe Rabbeinu – says that of the twelve months in the year, the יצר הרע (also known as the סיטרא אחרא or ס"מ) managed to gain control over three months – טבת, תמוז, אב. The Mefarshim say that Yaakov manage to “wrestle” the second half of Av back from the יצר הרע the angel of Eisav.

The month of Tammuz is under heightened control of the יצר הרע and is also called the “month of the eyes” because many disasters that occurred to Am Yisrael were related to the eyes. The Radak (יחזקאל ח, יד), quoting the Rambam says that “Tammuz” was originally a form of avodah zarah, which, through trickery, its priests managed to give the illusion that the idol was crying - from its eyes.

After that introduction we can begin the shiur.

Let’s read the parsha of the מרגלים again now, through the perspective of what we learnt above and you will see some amazing patterns emerge.

The parsha begins listing the 12 people sent to “tour” (not spy) Eretz Yisrael. The names were not listed in the order of the tribes, but in order of importance – the bigger tzaddikim first and the lesser last. Interestingly Kalev and Yehoshua are not at the beginning of the list, they are further down (3 and 5). When they set out, Kalev and Yehoshua were not the biggest tzaddikim in the group, there were people of higher spiritual מדרגה than them!

Moshe felt it necessary add a yud to Yehoshua’s name. Why davka give חיזוק to Yehoshua? Why not Kalev as well? Why not the other ten? Actually Moshe gave all twelve חיזוק. The passuk (Bamidbar 13, 20) says וְהִתְחַזַּקְתֶּם וּלְקַחְתֶּם מִפְּרִי הָאָרֶץ. The Kli Yakar says that the reason Moshe needed to add a yud to Yehoshua’s name specifically is because the first thing they would encounter was Amalek who dwelled in the Negev, the first area they would pass through. Yehoshua, from the tribe of Ephraim is the “antidote” to Amalek. That is why Moshe sent him to battle Amalek back in parshat Beshalach. The extra yud in front of his name completes י-ה the two letters missing from HKB”H’s name as long as Amalek is in existence - כִּי יָד עַל כֵּס יָ-הּ מִלְחָמָה לַה' בַּעֲמָלֵק מִדֹּר דֹּר. Moshe said to them “As long as you have Yehoshua, you need not worry about Amalek in the Negev!”

What is the next stop after the Negev? וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר. – stop off in מערת המכפלה. Why davka מערת המכפלה? The Ba’al Haturim says the gematria of את ההר (referring to מערת המכפלה) is תורה. That is where you will get an “inoculation” of Torah to protect you from what you are about to see. (Later we will also see why davka מערת המכפלה - because all those buried there have a connection to ציצית). Once you have acquired the extra protection, you will be ready for the next stage וּרְאִיתֶם אֶת הָאָרֶץ מַה הִוא to see with your eyes, what kind of land it is. Moshe knew it was the month of Tammuz, the month the יצר הרע has increased power, the month where the weak spot is the “eyes”. וְהַיָּמִים יְמֵי בִּכּוּרֵי עֲנָבִים – these are days where grapes are involved, the days where the ס"מ has power. The Vilna Gaon says that the סופי תיבות of וְהַיָּמִים יְמֵי בִּכּוּרֵי עֲנָבִים are םיים which in gematria is ס"מ.

What kind of people dwell there –

הֶחָזָק הוּא הֲרָפֶה. Are they strong (in mitzvot) or רפה – weak? Adam Harishon was lax in performing the mitzvot HKB”H commanded him to, and that is why the נחש managed to gain control over him. In the passuk (Breishit 2,13) הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׁיאַנִי וָאֹכֵל – the gematria of הִשִּׁיאַנִי is “בגוף רפה”. That is why Amalek managed to overpower Am Yisrael in רפידים which is also a term of רפיון.

הַמְעַט הוּא אִם רָב. Are they people who have the midah of Yaakov who is מסתפק במועט or are they like Eisav – יש לי רב (Breishit 33,9) who is never satisfied with his lot. Are they like Adam Harishon before the sin who was שמח בחלקו and had gratitude for everything HKB”H gave him or Adam after the sin why was not satisfied with what he had and felt it necessary to eat from the forbidden tree.

What kind of land is it -

וּמָה הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוּא יֹשֵׁב בָּהּ הֲטוֹבָה הִוא אִם רָעָה. Is it a land that is governed by good and evil, עץ הדעת טוב ורע, by the יצר הרע, or –

הֲיֵשׁ בָּהּ עֵץ אִם אַיִן. Is it a land governed by “the tree”, the עץ החיים - under the dominion of the Torah?

הַבְּמַחֲנִים אִם בְּמִבְצָרִים. Is it a society without limits and boundaries, or one that sets סייגים and fortifies itself against the יצר הרע?

הַשְּׁמֵנָה הִוא אִם רָזָה. Is it a society that has grown fat and forgets HKB”H, וישמן ישרון ויבעט, or are they “lean”, constantly dependent and “leaning” on רזי HKB”H and the Torah?

וּלְקַחְתֶּם מִפְּרִי הָאָרֶץ. Is it conceivable that Moshe instructed them to collect the fruits of Eretz Yisrael without first taking Truma and Ma’aser? The Gemara (Yerushalmi, Taanit 4, 5) tells us what Moshe and Am Yisrael were doing in the 40 days the מרגלים were in Eretz Yisrael - אתון אשכחינן עסיקין בהלכות חלה וערלה. Moshe was teaching Am Yisrael the halachot of הפרשת חלה and ערלה. They were furiously preparing themselves for their imminent entry into Eretz Yisrael, brushing up on מצוות התלויות בארץ. Moshe wanted to strengthen the twelve נשיאים further by fortifying them with extra mitzvot, by taking Truma and Ma’aser from the fruits of Eretz Yisrael.

These are the instructions Moshe gave the 12 - how to protect their eyes against the heightened control of the יצר הרע, what to look for with their eyes, the reality behind the exterior façade.

Instead of all doing what Moshe told them, only Kalev went to מערת המכפלה to fortify and strengthen himself. Even Yehoshua did not (but Yehoshua had the added protection from the extra yud Moshe gave him, so he did not fall). If the other ten would have followed Moshe’s instructions, they would have not been duped by the יצר הרע with their eyes.

The most powerful weapon of the יצר הרע is the eyes. The יצר הרע shows us things to trick us. The יצר הרע showed Am Yisrael Moshe’s coffin floating in the air. It was not real, it was a trick – Moshe was not dead, but Am Yisrael got tripped up with their eyes and this caused them to sin with the עגל הזהב. In order to be able to differentiate between what is real and what is false, you need someone who is fortified by the Torah. Before Moshe went up to the mountain, he said – “Any questions in my absence – ask Aharon and Hur!” When Am Yisrael saw the vision of Moshe’s coffin, what should they have done, first thing? They should have run to Aharon and Hur and said – “What’s this?” and Aharon and Hur would have told them – it is just the יצר הרע trying to pull a “fast one”. When the נחש showed Chava the עץ הדעת that it was a “pleasure for the eyes”, what should Chava have done, first thing? She should have waited for her husband Adam to wake up and ask him “What’s this?”

When you skip the “Torah” stage, you have no protection against the יצר הרע. When the ten נשיאים skipped the Torah stage and did not follow Kalev, they lacked the protection and the יצר הרע managed to trip them up with their eyes. If they had the protection of the Torah, they would have seen Eretz Yisrael through the eyes of the Torah, they would have been “tourists” לתור את הארץ and not “spies”, enjoying the “sites”, the “attractions”, all the wonderful “true” realities of Eretz Yisrael. They would have been able to differentiate between truth and façade.

They were leaders of enormous stature, but it was the month of Tammuz, the month the יצר הרע has extra power. They had a weak moment, they skipped the “Torah” stage and just like Adam Harishon, whose stature stretched from the earth all the way to Heaven, was tripped up by the נחש, indirectly through his wife, so too were these great men duped by the יצר הרע with their eyes. All the lashon harah they spoke against Eretz Yisrael had to do with the eyes –

וְגַם יְלִדֵי הָעֲנָק רָאִינוּ שָׁם

וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ בְתוֹכָהּ אַנְשֵׁי מִדּוֹת

וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים

וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים

It was a replay of the עץ הדעת. It began with grapes and ended with figs וְאֶשְׁכּוֹל עֲנָבִים אֶחָד וַיִּשָּׂאֻהוּ בַמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם וּמִן הָרִמֹּנִים וּמִן הַתְּאֵנִים. When they succumbed to the יצר הרע, they became empty - כפלח הרמון רקתך (שיר השירים ד, ג).  The Midrash Rabba on that passuk says רקתך הריקן שבכם – those who are “empty” amongst you. The יצר הרע duped them with their eyes, in the “month of the eyes”.

This is why immediately following the parsha of the מרגלים is the sugya of נסכים – the wine (grapes) and the menachot (wheat) brought together with the korbanot, as a כפרה for the מרגלים who repeated the sin of Adam and Chava with grapes and wheat.

This is followed by the mitzvah of הפרשת חלה to atone for the sin of Chava who caused Adam to sin, Adam who is called חלתו של עולם because HKB”H took Hafrashat Challah from the earth and that Challah was Adam Harishon. Just like you take off a piece of the dough, HKB”H took off a “piece of earth mixed with water” and created Adam Harishon. In fact by creating Adam, HKB”H was doing the first Hafrashat Challah, which is kodesh, teaching us that man, the Challah of the world should also be kodesh. This is why Hafrashat Challah, רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם is the reason the world was created - Be-Reishit.

Next is the Korban שגגה, as it says - וְהָיָה אִם מֵעֵינֵי הָעֵדָה נֶעֶשְׂתָה לִשְׁגָגָה. If the יצר הרע manages to trip up the entire עדה with their eyes, you have to bring a special korban – again as כפרה for Chava and the מרגלים that were tricked with their eyes.

This is followed by the מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים, again as a כפרה for the first person who sinned with עצים – Adam Harishon with the eitz hada’at just as Shabbat was coming in.

Finally the parsha ends with the mitzvah of צִיצִת , whose main purpose is וְלֹא תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם. Tzitzit are a protection against the power the יצר הרע has over the eyes. By constantly looking at the Tzitzit, it reminds you of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah and protects you against the יצר הרע. This is why Moshe instructed the twelve נשיאים to first visit מערת המכפלה before embarking on their “sight-seeing” tour, because all of those buried there have a connection to Tzitzit. Adam Harishon – כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם. Avraham - אִם מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל. Yitzchak – When Rivka saw Yitzchak davening Mincha in the field (wearing a Talit) she fell of the camel. Yaakov – he wore בגדי עשו which were none other than the כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר of Adam. They all had or are connected to Tzitzit. Yehuda (from whom Kalev is descended) also had Tzitzit - חֹתָמְךָ וּפְתִילֶךָ. So did Yosef (from whom Yehoshua is descended) - וַתִּתְפְּשֵׂהוּ בְּבִגְדוֹ. Kalev and Yehoshua had the “genetic” protection of Tzitzit from their ancestors and were thus saved from עצת המרגלים.

The second half of the parsha is reparations for the first half.

The Yaarot Dvash says that there is no generation that will match the דור המדבר until the generation of Mashiach. We are living in that generation, the אתחלתא דגאולה. Our generation has enormous זכויות and at the same time enormous responsibilities. In our generation we hear cries that have not been heard for thousands of years, since the parsha of the מרגלים! Cries slandering Eretz Yisrael, like אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ הִוא. Cries like אֶפֶס כִּי עַז הָעָם הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּאָרֶץ. These cries are not uttered by עמי ארצות, they are broadcast from every podium by incredible talmidei chachamim and Rebbeim of enormous stature in Torah! How can this be?

It doesn’t help when we see parades of תועבה in the streets, when we have governments whose primary aim is promoting chilul Shabbat - this just provides them with ammunition for their claims, that it is better to remain in Brooklyn in the safety of their communities than to be lost to Yiddishkeit by making aliyah to Eretz Yisrael.

But it is the same old story. It is the same יצר הרע playing tricks with the eyes. This entire generation is like the “month of Tammuz”. The יצר הרע sees the Geulah is imminent and is making a last-ditch effort to trick us into delaying it and the results are apparent. Gedolim that have fallen to the wiles of the יצר הרע with cases of corruption, sexual abuse, violence in חצרות חסידיים, and the list goes on. These are not secular immigrants from the Ukraine just off the boat we are talking about, they are Rabbanim Rashi’im,  well respected אנשי חסד and authors, teachers, Admorim and enormous Talmidei Chachamim! Instead of looking with the right heart and the right eyes וְלֹא תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם, the יצר הרע is duping them with tricks of the eyes and what they are seeing is not real.

They are not seeing the enormous זכויות of being in Eretz Yisrael and observing מצוות התלויות בארץ, even if they are only mide’Rabanan. They are seeing through the wrong eyes and not seeing how good Eretz Yisrael is, טוֹבָה הָאָרֶץ מְאֹד מְאֹד and what a privilege we have in our generation to have been given an opportunity to return here by HKB”H Himself.

With enormous זכויות come enormous responsibilities. Each of us needs to search our hearts and do tshuva in the area we are weakest, whether it is observing the mitzvot of the Torah, whether it is אהבת ישראל or whether it is אהבת הארץ. We need to have hearts that are Torah hearts, we need to have eyes that are Torah eyes, we need to seek out חיזוק from everything connected to the Torah so we will be able to see the reality and not the façade tricks of the יצר הרע and then the Geulah will come כהרף עין. בבי"א.