As I have indicated the past few weeks, Miriam's tzaraat, Korach's rebellion, and the departure of the Meraglim all take place the same week, between 22 and 29 Sivan in the year 2449 (second year after the Exodus). The proof of the timing is in the Torah Anthology, vol. 13, pp. 333-35. Rabbi Yitzchok Magriso, an 18th Century author from Constantinople, studied and put together information from several sections in the Torah to demonstrate this timing. Why then did the Torah place Shelach before Korach? The answer, in the same source, is to tie the stories thematically. Miriam's tzaraat is a result of Lashon Horah. The Meraglim return and speak Lashon Horah about the land of Israel, falsely claiming that the residents are giants and that the land eats its inhabitants. Shelach concludes with the mitzvah of tzitzit, and Korach uses the blue die of one string of the tzitzit as the basis of his question to Moshe whether an all blue garment also requires tzitzit.
Moshe sends leaders of the twelve tribes on a diplomatic investigation of the land of Israel. The men, all leaders of their tribes, spend forty days openly touring the land and bringing back souvenirs. These leaders of the generation of the Exodus are not spies. They interact openly with the people for more than seven weeks – their position as leaders of B'Nai Yisrael is apparent to the people of Canaan. Moshe obviously fears sending these men and what they will report back to the people. He takes one precaution, changing the name of Hosea bin Nun to Yehoshua - adding a yud (for Hashem) to the beginning of his name - so Yehoshua's name would start with yud-hey (Hashem's name).
Rabbi David Fohrman and his scholars at alephbeta.org focus on connections between the story of the Meraglim and other stories in the Torah. One obvious connection is with the first war of B'Nai Yisrael, immediately after crossing the Sea of Reeds. Amalek attacks the Jews, focusing on the weakest members of the group, those at the back who have the most difficulty keeping up with the journey. Moshe has Hoshea select a group of men to do the fighting. Whenever Moshe has his arms raised, pointing toward the sky (Hashem), the Jews push back Amalek. Whenever Moshe's arms point down, Amalek pushes back the Jews. This pattern is an obvious signal that the Jews, until a few days earlier slaves for generations, have no training in fighting and could not defeat an experienced enemy army on their own. The former slaves are not doing the fighting - we only defeat Amalek because God fights on our side. Hashem expects the Jews entering the land to remember the battle with Amalek (who live in the south of Canaan) and know that God will fight for B'Nai Yisrael. When the majority report of the Meraglim focus on the "giants" in the land and say that B'Nai Yisrael could not defeat them, Moshe and Hashem are both furious, because the Jews should know that God fights with them against Amalek and other enemies.
One key question Moshe has for his diplomatic delegation is whether the land is good. When the majority report comes back that the land eats (kills) the people, Moshe and Hashem are furious. God has been promising the Jews since the days of Avraham Avinu that He would give Avraham's descendants a special land and that the land, full of milk and honey, is a very good land. In giving their report, the majority do not say that the land is good – they focus on the problems we would have defeating the Canaanites. Rabbi Natanel Kaszovitz (Auckland, NZ) seconds the conclusion that the land is very, very good - because it is our home, Hashem's greatest gift to B'Nai Yisrael.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z"l, focuses on a lesson from the Rebbe – that the majority report reflects a fear of success, not a fear of the Canaanites defeating the Jews. According to the Rebbe, the leaders cherish living in the Midbar, where they live close to Hashem, study Torah all day, eat meals from Hashem, and avoid work that living in the land would require. Rabbi Sacks' response is that the mission of B'nai Yisrael is to create a model society with human dignity and chesed for anyone in need. A model society requires land, an economy, an army, flocks, labor, and an economy.
We Jews have been fighting for Israel for nearly eighty years – much longer counting the two thousand years praying and hoping to reclaim our land and country. The price is very heavy, especially with the loss of those who have fallen from attacks by our enemies. Fortunately the brutal attacks in the past nearly three years have brought Israelis closer and encouraged many Jews and especially Israelis to increase their levels of mitzvot. One of our most important tasks is to understand Hashem's lessons and teach them to our children and grandchildren.
Shabbat Shalom,
Hannah & Alan
