Sh'lach - Rejecting the Land of Israel

Art: Jerusalem Landscape by Michoel Muchnik

"And [the spies] began to speak badly about the land that they had explored." [Sh'lach 13:32] 

A dispirited discussion took place at Beit HaRav, Rav Kook's house in Jerusalem, not long after the end of World War II. The Chief Rabbi had passed away ten years earlier; now it was his son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook, who sat at the head of the table.

One participant at the Sabbath table had brought up a disturbing topic: the phenomenon of visitors touring Eretz Yisrael and then criticizing the country after returning to their homes. These visitors complain about everything: the heat, the poverty, the backwardness, the political situation - and discourage other Jews from moving here, he lamented.

Rav Tzvi Yehudah responded by telling over the following parable, one he had heard in the name of Rabbi Samuel Mohilever, the rabbi of Bialystok.

The Failed Match

There was once a wealthy man who sought the hand of a certain young lady. She was the most beautiful girl in town, and was blessed with many talents and a truly refined character. Her family was not well-off, so they were eager about a possible match with the prosperous fellow.

The young woman, however, was not interested in the match. Rich or not, the prospective suitor was known to be coarse and ill-mannered. She refused to meet with him.

The father asked her to at least meet with the young man in their home, so as not to embarrass him. After all, one meeting doesn't obligate you to marry him! To please her father, the young woman agreed.

The following Sabbath afternoon, the fellow arrived at the house as arranged, and was warmly received by the father. Shortly afterwards, his daughter made her entrance. But her hair was uncombed, and she wore a faded, crumpled dress and shabby house slippers. Appalled at her disheveled appearance, it did not take long before the young man excused himself and made a hurried exit.

What everyone says about this girl - it's not true, exclaimed the astonished young man to his friends. She's hideous!

Rav Tzvi Yehudah stopped briefly, surveying the guests seated around the table. Superficially, it would appear that the brash young fellow had rejected the young woman. But in fact, it was she who had rejected him.

The same is true regarding the Land of Israel, the rabbi explained. Eretz Yisrael is a special land, only ready to accept those who are receptive to its unique spiritual qualities. The Land does not reveal its inner beauty to all who visit. Not everyone is worthy to perceive its special holiness.

It may appear as if the dissatisfied visitors are the ones who reject the Land of Israel, he concluded. But in fact, it is the Land that rejects them!

A thoughtful silence pervaded the room. Those present were stunned by the parable and the rabbi's impassioned delivery. Then one of the guests observed, Reb Tzvi Yehudah, your words are suitable for a son of your eminent father, may his memory be a blessing!

Seeing the Goodness of Jerusalem

Rav Tzvi Yehudah's response was indeed appropriate for Rav Kook's son. When visitors from outside the country would approach the Chief Rabbi for a blessing, Rav Kook would quote from the Book of Psalms, "May God bless you from Zion" [128:5].

Then he would ask: What exactly is this blessing from Zion? In fact, the content of the blessing is described in the continuation of the verse: "May you see the goodness of Jerusalem."

The rabbi would explain: The verse does not say that one should merit seeing Jerusalem; but that one should merit seeing 'the goodness of Jerusalem.' Many people visit Jerusalem. But how many of them merit seeing the inner goodness hidden in the holy city?

And that, he concluded, is God's special blessing from Zion.

[ Source: Stories from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Malachim Kivnei Adam]

Second Thoughts

Source: "Anatomy of the Soul" - Chaim Kramer - from the writings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Guard your thoughts carefully, for thought can literally create a living thing. The higher a faculty, the further it can reach. You can kick something with your foot, but throw it higher with your hand. You can reach still farther with your voice, calling to a person very far away. Hearing reaches yet further, for you can hear sounds like gunfire from a very great distance. Your sight reaches even further, seeing things in the sky. Highest of all is the mind, which can penetrate the loftiest heights. You must therefore safeguard your mind above all else. [Rebbe Nachman's Wisdom]

Knowing that thought can reach the loftiest heights, we must realize that thoughts are never mere thoughts. We must never allow ourselves to entertain the notion that it doesn't matter what we think. Good thoughts are extremely beneficial both to those who think them and to the world at large, while evil thoughts are most detrimental.

Rebbe Nachman taught: In ancient amphitheaters, monarchs used to stage battles between wild beasts and their prey. The same type of battle is waged daily in one's mind: battles between good thoughts and evil thoughts. When the good thoughts emerge victorious from the battle, it causes great pleasure Above. [Likutey Moharan 1, 233]

Rebbe Nachman also explains a related passage from the Zohar [III, 123a]

"Every day contains hidden good. But accompanying each day is an angel that prevents people (who are unworthy) from partaking of this good. This angel can take many forms - darkness, thorns, snakes, scorpions - all of which act as guardians to protect the good of that day and to prevent anyone who is unworthy from benefitting. Indeed, were it not for these guardians, the wicked would be able to freely enter into the mysteries of the Torah (and partake of the hidden good of that day).

"It is for this reason that when someone who is not worthy attempts to gain entrance into the Torah's mysteries, troops of destroying angels, which manifest as darkness, concealment, confusion etc. immediately surround him and confuse his thoughts, preventing him from trespassing. However, when one who is worthy wishes to enter, these guardians assist him.... they bring him to the hidden good and speak in his favour to the Master of the Universe..."

The "snakes and scorpions" are the thoughts that confuse a person when he wants to learn the mysteries of the Torah. Yet if he persists in his desire to find G-d, these very thoughts will assist him, then he will find great good every day.... For a person has the ability to incline his thoughts in any direction he wants. Even when his thoughts stray, it is within his power to harness them and return them to the straight path.

The harmful thoughts that assail people serve as a reminder of the ongoing battle with Amalek, the archenemy of the Jewish people. This is the meaning of the verse "Man's thoughts are rak ra kol hayom [only evil all the day]. In Hebrew, the final letters of these words spell AMaLeK. Evil thoughts represent the Amalek within. Amalek also alludes to doubts and confusion. This is seen in the numerical value of the word Safek (doubt) which is 240, the same as the gematria of the world Amalek. Like Amalek, doubts attack a person stealthily. Even before we realize we are under siege, we find ourselves overwhelmed by conflicting thoughts and emotions. It is therefore a Biblical commandment to remember Amalek, that is to be aware of him and his stealthy manner and to wage a constant battle against him.

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A Collective Responsibility

"A man or woman who commits any of man's sins.... they shall confess their sin.... he shall make restitution for his guilt."   [Naso 5:6,7]

One erev Yom Kippur, R' Moshe Chagiz delivered a derashah in which he said "In Parshas Naso it states: "A man or woman... they shall confess... he shall make restitution for his guilt". The verse begins in the singular, switches to the plural, and then concludes by reverting to the singular. This is to teach us that all Jews form one nation and we are all responsible for one another.

"They shall confess" - on Yom Kippur, an individual is not only required to confess his own sins, but even the sins of his fellow Jew.

To what can this be compared? To a group of individuals who set sail together on a large and magnificent ship. Each one of the passengers received his own quarters for the duration of the trip.

When they had reached the very heart of the sea, one of the passengers began to drill a hole in the wall of the ship.

"What are you doing?" yelled his friends. "You are going to sink the ship!"

"Why is this any concern of yours?" he asked them. "I am making a hole in my quarters, not yours."

"All Jews are responsible for one another" concluded R' Chagiz. "If one Jew sins, the entire Jewish nation is held accountable."

"It is incumbent upon every Jew to keep this great responsibility in mind."

[written by Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein]

If you can understand the above words, you should also be able to understand the entire Torah, which can be summed up in these words from Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah while the rest is commentary".

It sounds so simple, and yet so many have so much trouble with it. It seems to be the hardest thing of all for so many Jews.

If you call yourself a "Torah-observant Jew", but you still treat others badly, then I would like to suggest to you that you are not what you claim to be. What is the point of doing all the mitzvos if you cannot even achieve the basic criteria for a "Torah Observant Jew" ?

One of the first questions we are asked upon death is "were you honest in business" - and the answer to that question can tell us a great deal about how we treated others. If you knowingly cheated someone, overcharged him or short-changed him, you are treating him with the utmost disrespect. You are harming him financially, you have lied to him, you have deceived him. You have behaved in a manner totally contrary to Torah - because it can only be assumed that you would not treat yourself that way, and yet you find it okay to do so to others. If you sincerely did not do to others what is hateful to you, you would never even consider cheating in business affairs.

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