Standing Up to Fear

 

Sh’lach L’Cha

Numbers 13:1-15:41

Précis: Moses is ordered to “send out” (sh’lach l’cha) spies to examine the land. Princes of each tribe go out, report on its bounty, but also report about its fearsome inhabitants. The People are frightened, and“murmuring” turns to something close to panic. God tells Moses that He will destroy the People, but Moses intercedes; the People are sentenced to spend 40 years in the desert. The parasha then returns to matters concerning the Tabernacle, with a discussion of the offering for unintentional sins. Next, the parasha discusses the wearing of tzitzit, a paragraph which is part of the tradition recitation of the Sh’ma. This is the 27th of 54 parshiot, marking the half-way point in the yearly reading.

Numbers 13:33 "We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”

The spies demonstrate a basic human emotion: fear. Recently released from slavery, they lack the confidence to confront the opposition. They display another emotion: a lack of faith in themselves. Finally, they indicate yet a third emotional aspect: a lack of faith in God. Fear, a lack of faith in themselves, and a lack of faith in God results in a 40 year journey through the wilderness, where the generation of the spies will die out, leaving the entrance to the Land to the next generation which has been raised in freedom.

The spies were guilty of yet another error. Caleb and Joshua expressed confidence in the ability of God to see them through the difficulties of conquering the Land. The 10 spies spread their message of fear and self-denigration to the People.

Today, Israel faces an ever-rising tide of hatred and opposition, filled with slander and violence. The very legitimacy of the State of Israel is under constant attack, and Israel, like Joshua and Caleb seems to be left quite alone and virtually friendless. Today, we can choose to be like Joshua and Caleb, and have faith in a secure and bright future, or we can act like the 10 spies, offering doom and gloom, and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Jewish People’s right to a fair share of the Land. Joshua and Caleb demonstrated faith, patience, and a refusal to be downcast by the size of the opposition. Can we do less today?