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D'var: Parashat Shelach 5784 Commentary by Dawn Elmore Friday, June 28, 2024 |
| Shelach Numbers 13:1 — 15:41 |
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This week’s Torah portion is about two major events of the journey to the Promised Land:
the scouting of Canaan, which contains territory to become the Promised Land for the
Israelites, and the consequences for those Israelites who were experts at a skill
Jews have mastered over the centuries: complaining. This portion contains passages
that some would use to show the “Old Testament God” is one of wrath, but I see much
hope in its ultimate messages. God is capable of being merciful, and the only way to
get through the most trying times is to have a realistic outlook and place trust
in one of the greatest resources we have as human beings and Jews: community.
The scouts return from Caanan with a balanced report of what they have seen. While the land is filled with natural resources, as evidenced by the fruits they brought back, it also has many powerful soldiers from tribes hostile to the Israelites and large men thought to be descendants of giants. This is a reasonable description of what they experienced. The men chosen to be scouts were all of high esteem among Israelites and thus were to be trusted. Instead of rejoicing in the positive aspects of the report and having faith in the power of Adonai to deliver the Israelites to the place they were promised a home, some people instead chose to focus on the challenges of getting to the Promised Land. They doubted their ability to take the land and God’s ability to fulfill the promise. Their complaints were loud and numerous.
"We should have died in Egypt!"
"We should have died in the desert!" "We need better leadership!" "Let’s go back to Egypt!" Some people were so upset they even cried all night in their tents. Those who chose to focus on the negative were separating themselves from Adonai, their leaders, and even the tribe itself. They lost sight of the covenant and their role in fulfilling it. The covenant is simple when stated: God chooses us to be the People of the Book, and we choose God and the way of living set forth for us. But what’s simple to say isn’t always simple to accomplish. As human beings, we have doubts. We have fears. We isolate ourselves when we give in to impulses that take us away from our greater purpose. Living in the covenant with God can be hard, especially when the world becomes harsh. God’s initial impulse is to give it all up since obviously the Israelites aren’t holding up their end of the deal. Luckily for the Israelites, and us as their descendants, Moses possessed another great skill that we continue to practice: the art of persuasion through questioning and debate. He was able to save the nation, losing only those who had perpetuated the lies about the land and God’s intentions. While the punishment was extremely harsh, the purpose it served was not. It perpetuated community, the most important characteristic the Israelites needed to continue their relationship with Adonai and each other to maintain the covenant and reach the Promised Land. The remaining parts of the parashah are devoted to specifications needed for the community to create offerings to God and come together with that common purpose. The priests needed to work together. The community members needed to work together. If everyone has a sense of where they belong and why, the unity part of community blossoms. This portion is especially relevant to our congregation because we too are a community. We emphasize this value more than some other groups because of our size and our need to find others who share our sense of togetherness as the highest priority. We are fortunate to have the ability to work together to focus on the good things we have, work together to make them better, and emphasize the caring aspects of community. Naysayers may come and go, but we do well to remember that, like the scouts who went to Canaan, we will prosper by having that same realistic outlook with faith in our purpose. Dawn Elmore |
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