Sh’lach
Numbers 13:1-15:41
Joshua 2:1-2:24
It’s not only modern readers who question the Torah, and especially the stories of Genesis. Even Rashi, the famous medieval commentator, states that the Torah should begin much later at Exodus 12:1. He wonders why the Torah bothered with the superfluous prelude of the creation story. He then answers: So that one day, when the nations of the world ask why the land of Israel was given to the Jewish people, it will be possible to trace the story all the way to the very beginning.
There we learn that God is the creator and master of the universe, and as such, has the right to give any piece of it to anyone, including gifting His people one specific plot, about the size of New Jersey, arid and often strife-ridden.
Rashi, writing in France in the 11th century, was sure that the whole Torah was written as it is just to explain the special connection the people of Israel have with the land of Israel.
And Rashi wasn’t the only one to see something extraordinary.
Centuries and miles away, on the other side of Europe, 17th-century Rabbi Nachman of Breslau coined the saying: “Everywhere I go, I go to the Land of Israel.” Rabbi Joel Moshe Solomon, a religious Zionist leader of the 19th century, described the land as a mother mourning the loss of her children: “In all the days that passed from the time her sons left her, she had covered herself with sackcloth, shed tears and withdrew her light and hid in haze… she did not give her strength to strangers nor her produce to aliens. Like her sons’ destiny who cannot find rest among the nations, so is hers…” What is it that they saw?
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, describes it: “There are, no doubt, many who would like to conquer this land, or — other lands. But is there another people who loves this land?’’
Indeed, this is also what the Book of Deuteronomy tells us (10:12-15): “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord your God require of you, but… to love Him… with all your heart and with all your soul… Only the Lord has delighted in your forefathers to love them… and He chose their offspring after them, even you… as it is this day…”
The repeating verb here is love; love of God, love of a people. While it goes through ups and downs, true love never goes away. It might be irrational, but it can’t be denied to those who feel it. This is what Rashi knew, 2,000 years after King David’s reign, 1,000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, during the time of the First Crusade, centuries before the establishment of a state with a government that argues over borders, education and finance.
This is what we can still feel today.
In this week’s parashah, we encounter the stories of the spies: 12 princes and tribal leaders who brought back a not-so-great report of their journey in the land, resulting in the people staying in the desert 40 extra years.
What did they do wrong that merited such a heavy punishment? After all, they acted as many leaders would. They were cautious. They were meticulous in noting, in detail, the challenges ahead. They could have shared these more tactfully, but nevertheless, we can view their report as maintaining transparency and clear communication. And for none of that would we have wanted a punishment of 40 years in the desert!
If it were only their actions, we might be able to defend them, but it wasn’t. What they lacked was love. They lacked the faithful “I do” necessary to “go up and inherit the land.” This ingredient is a must in our relationships, in the many facets of who we are as Jews, including our relationship to the land, to this very day.
Once again, we will celebrate this relationship locally on Sunday, June 2 at our largest annual community-wide celebration, Israel in the Gardens. We look forward to seeing you there.
Michal Kohane is the director of the Israel Center of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation. She has served in leadership roles throughout Northern California and holds advanced degrees in studies of Israel, psychology and education. She can be reached at [email protected].