Torah Tidbit

Parashah Shelach (send out), Numbers 13:1-15:41

Upon God’s “suggestion”, Moses and Israel send spies into the land of Canaan.  The spies bring back a bad and misleading report, Israel buys it and God delays their entry into the promised land by 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  God commands Moses regarding offerings and other activities to be performed in the land.

“Hashem said to Moses, ‘How long will this people provoke Me, and how long will they not have faith in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?  I will smite them with the plague and annihilate them, and I shall make you a greater and more powerful nation than they.’” – Numbers 14:11-12

Walking the Walk

Here we go again with the cycle of Israel falling away from God, God jerks their chain and Israel repents. But this time, God reacts in an all too typical human – “that’s it, I’ve had enough of you idiots!  I can’t take any more!”  Like us humans, He appears to be surprised by this event.

But is He surprised?  Of course not, He saw that day coming from an eternity away.  He sustained and guided each and every Israelite to that event.  Every moment of their lives He was well aware of their thoughts, along with all their bodily functions and health.  “From His dwelling place He oversees all inhabitants of the earth. He Who fashions their hearts together, Who comprehends all their deeds.”  (Psalm 33).  

So why the charade of acting like a frustrated and exhausted parent who threatens but has no real intention of serving punishment?  Drive home to Israel the punishment they truly deserve.  All of them could relate as humans (especially as parents) to how God expressed Himself, helping them take to heart both the level of their offense and how much they hurt the One who loves them so much.  Perhaps they had elevated themselves enough such that this method of communication would now resonate with them.

It also provided a clear example of how one righteous person, through prayer and other means, can save the lives of many. “And Hashem said, ‘I have forgiven because of your words’” (v. 20). Moses pleaded that the nation not be destroyed, yet also left room for the destruction of the perpetrators should God so choose.  And that’s how it worked out, with forty years more of desert training added for Israel’s ultimate benefit and survival.

We live in an age overflowing with opportunities to pray for others.  Do we?  Or do we just shake our heads and fuss over it?  Let’s make it harder – what about those in government?  How much more so should we be praying for them too. “Pray for the welfare of the government, for if people did not fear it a person would swallow his neighbor alive” (Ethics of the Fathers).  Especially in this day and age do all governments in our country need our honest help.  For us who walk with the Creator, it is incumbent on us to do so, starting with prayer. 

Had God Followed Plan A

Father: Son, you were adopted. 

Son: What?! I knew it! I want to meet my biological parents!
Father: We are your biological parents. Now pack up, the new ones will pick you up in 20 minutes.

Meanwhile at the White House 

“I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.”   -John Adams, in a letter written to Abigail Adams from the President’s House in 1800.  This quote was engraved on the mantel of the White House State Dining Room in 1945 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Have a great week!