Two Minute Torah Podcast

Shlach 5771 by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Shalom. This is Abe Fried-Tanzer, KOACH fieldworker. Welcome to KOACH's Two Minute Torah, a project of the college department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

In Parshat Shlach, the Israelites are ready to enter the land of Canaan. But when the twelve scouts return from their expedition into the land, they report that it is a treacherous land filled with "men of great size" who were surely stronger than them. Only two of the scouts, Joshua and Caleb, protest and try to sway the people by telling them that God's protection has departed from the inhabitants of the land, while He is still with the Israelites. Of course, Joshua and Caleb are outspoken, and the failure of the Israelites to believe in God results in a famous punishment. God proclaims, "those who have tried me many times and disobeyed me, shall not see the land that I promised." One generation suffering consequences is not enough, as their children will be required to first roam the desert for forty years before entering the promised land until none from that first generation are left. The punishment is forty years of wandering, explained as one year for each day which the scouts scouted the land, an instance of the significance of numbers in Judaism. Breaking laws and failing to believe in God do not lead to arbitrary retaliation. Instead, the consequences are far more deliberate and symbolic. Towards the end of the parsha, the story of a man gathering wood on Shabbat is told. God commands Moses to have the entire community stone him to death, effecting a serious standard for dealing with disobedience. What is especially interesting about the failure of the Israelites to believe in God's protection is that they were living in a time of miracles. A frustrated God laments to Moses the fact that the Israelites have seen the signs that he has performed in Egypt, yet they still cannot accept his presence and protection as a certainty. Today, it is considerably more difficult to have blind faith. The Israelites of today are not taken out of Egypt by God's hand. Instances of suffering and death are all too present, from genocides to senseless killings to natural disasters. How can we find faith and spirituality when we are surrounded by such inexplicable events? The parsha ends with a familiar portion of the Sh'ma, which invokes the commandment to wear tzitzit in order to be reminded to fulfill mitzvot. It serves as a powerful reminder that, even when it seems impossible, it is very important to continue to have faith. Shabbat Shalom.