Shelach – Hashem isn’t scared of our mistakes

The Torah isn’t just a book, we aren’t meant to read it as a novel. It is a text that Hashem put Himself into so to speak. It is the body of text that gives us the parameters of our relationship with infinity. This Torah was given to the entity called כלל ישראל which we are all equally part of, and we each are meant to have a personal experience with it. The stories in the Torah are reflective of things inside of ourselves and we are meant to connect to them on a personal level.

Here’s a short recap of the story of the מרגלים and those that immediately follow in this weeks פרשה:

• On ראש חודש טמוז the spies get sent by the nation to spy on the land and its inhabitants.
• The spies bring a negative report back on the night of תשעה באב, and state that we will not be able to conquer the land since the nations there are too strong. The Jews all weep and mourn, the entire generation 600,000 men get sentenced to death over a 40 year period where they will aimlessly wander in the desert. This night becomes a doomed night for all of history.
• The next morning a group of Jews realize their mistake and they want to go up to the land. Moshe tells them not to go up since Hashem will not be with them if they go up with them now. They disobey and ascend the mountain, and they get beaten and decimated by the כנענים and עמלקי.
• We learn about 2 מצוות that begin to apply when the Jews enter Eretz Yisrael, namely the specific measurements of oil, wine and flour that needed to accompany all קרבנות, and that of תרומה.
• We learn about the laws of what to do if the Supreme Court of the Jewish nation mistakenly permits idolatry and most or all of the Jewish people act based on their ruling, and then later the Sanhedrin realizes their mistake.

When it’s laid out like this, I think there is a disturbing question that becomes obvious. Do we really need to hear about a mitzva that will apply when they go into Eretz Yisrael, now? We just read the פסוק  ויבכו העם בלילה ההוא . This night was תשעה באב which is the most potent night for tragedies in Jewish history, we are supposed to experience that and feel the pain of the חטא המרגלים. This עבירה brought about the impetus of the night that in forever linked to tragedies. The destruction of the first and second בית המקדש , the first crusades, expulsion from England and later from Spain, declaration of WWI which ultimately leads to WWII and the Holocaust. All of these national tragedies were wrapped up in potential on this night in the Desert. And the punishment that follows is befitting, 600,000 men between the ages of 20 to 60 get doomed to death over the course of a 40 year period (that’s 41 people every single day for 40 years).

If we truly feel the emotions behind these Pesukim, I think the question hits you like a ton of bricks. These people just heard that they are all doomed to death and this is the time when they need to hear about 2 מצוות that their children will need to keep when they enter the land after they themselves are already buried far away in the desert?? It seems like a cruel and sick joke. Chazal tell us that the תורה is talking to their children, but I mean, really? The Torah is going to ignore grieving parents and address a bunch of teenagers?

I think the Torah is giving us an approach and a mindset of how to deal with our mistakes in life with this line up of text. Because let’s face it, we all make mistakes, and we feel guilty and disconnected from our Source, from Hashem. But that isn’t the what is happening in reality.

Imagine the scenario: the 71 greatest leaders of the Jewish people, they convene in the back right corner of the בית המקדש, only a few feet from the קדש הקדשים. They are debating a matter that pertains to idolatry. It could be whether Christianity is really idolatry, or if there is an issue to join an Indian colleague of yours with worshipping his Buddha in a specific fashion if it will help promote a stronger business relationship. They vote, starting from the smallest member and working their way up to the greatest member of the Sanhedrin. And they paskin for the entire nation that this matter is allowed, and the nation listens and acts based upon this ruling. Some time later it comes to light that the Sanhedrin was mistaken. Can you imagine the headlines?! Can you feel the pain and grief of the nation, the individuals, and most of all the Sanhedrin? We are dealing with עבודה זרה, which the Pasuk here calls the mitzvah that encompasses all מצוות of the Torah. This huge sin was just committed by most or all of the nation with the ruling of the Supreme Court. If it were up to me, I’d close up shop after something like that. If this is what happens from such a Sanhedrin, we have to start fresh. Gather the Board of Directors, hand out 71 pink slips and start over next Monday. Or at the very least have them take a month off to contemplate the magnitude of what happened.

But this is not what Hashem tells us to do. Hashem says, relax, it’s not the end of the world. Bring 24 קרבנות, an עולה and a חטאת for each שבט, and we move on. ונסלח להם, I’ll forgive you, and the next morning get right back up there with confidence and keep on paskining shailos for the nation.

Hashem gave us life, and he entrusted us with His world, His Torah, and most importantly with the piece of Himself that is our soul. We all make mistakes in our lives, and Hashem is saying, I need you to know that I am not intimidated by your mistakes. Nowadays we hear, “there’s an app for that”, we can say “there’s a סעיף for that”. You did an ?עבירה Ok, now go lookup in Rambam the laws of how to return to Hashem. There’s no need to break down and get crushed. Hashem is teaching us that He, and by extension the spirituality inside each of us, are infinitely greater than any sin we can commit. Even if Sanhedrin inadvertently causes the entire nation to commit idolatry!

I think this is the message that was given to the generation in the desert.

They had committed a terrible sin, and sometimes the consequences of a sin are lethal, but even then, Hashem immediately starts telling them מצוות about entering the land. Hashem is saying, you need to wander in the desert for 40 years and you won’t be able to enter the land. But don’t have crushed spirits. Take the next 40 years to imbue your children with the love for the land that was handed down from your parents which you wrongfully rejected. Set up a dynamic where you can feel like you will be able to live vicariously through them while you are up in שמים with Me.

It is important for us to know that we are greater than our mistakes. They can be intimidating and scary but Hashem has a mission for us as humans, not as angels. And sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where the repercussions of our mistakes are irreversible, and even in such a scenario we are supposed to search and search until we find a path of light in the world that we can take in order to live with our mistakes and not shy away from them.