Chasidut sur Le Deutéronome 1:22
וַתִּקְרְב֣וּן אֵלַי֮ כֻּלְּכֶם֒ וַתֹּאמְר֗וּ נִשְׁלְחָ֤ה אֲנָשִׁים֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ־לָ֖נוּ אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְיָשִׁ֤בוּ אֹתָ֙נוּ֙ דָּבָ֔ר אֶת־הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נַעֲלֶה־בָּ֔הּ וְאֵת֙ הֶֽעָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָבֹ֖א אֲלֵיהֶֽן׃
Mais vous vîntes vers moi, tous, en disant: "Nous voudrions envoyer quelques hommes en avant, qui exploreraient pour nous ce pays et qui nous renseigneraient sur le chemin que nous devons suivre et sur les villes où nous devons aller."
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 33,2. “Moses made a written record of their departures and their journeys, and these are their journeys according to their departures.”
We need to understand why our verse first describes the journey of the Israelites chronologically, i.e. mentioning their departures before their journeys, whereas as soon as the report switches to the past tense, it lists the journeys before mentioning their departures, מוצאיהם?
The reader is presumed to know that every journey, i.e. every separate departure and encampment, occurred at the command of G’d, [as the Israelites did not have a map to travel by. Ed.] We have also pointed out previously that the purpose of this journey through inhospitable territory had been, amongst others, to identify “sparks” of “fallen” holiness along the way and by associating with it to assist these “sparks” to be elevated spiritually and be reunited with their sacred origins. This was also the reason why the Israelites remained stationary in one location sometimes for only a day and night, and on occasion as long as for 19 years (Kadesh) at a time. It all had to do with locating and disgorging from its collective mouth (compare Jeremiah 51,44) the spiritually foul material absorbed through having made contact with idolatrous concepts absorbed by these “fallen” sparks of original holy origin. These “fallen” sparks that had originally been part of the garment of the Shechinah, had absorbed varying degrees of pollution before found by the Israelites.
When Joshua sent out two spies to Jericho, (Joshua 2,2) the word describing their task was: לחפור את כל הארץ, “to spy out the whole country,” [in the words of the King of Jericho, as opposed of the word describing their task used by Joshua, Ed.].
We need to examine the word לחפור for a moment, [a word also used by the Jewish people when they demanded to send spies to the land of Canaan, (Deuteronomy 1,22).Ed.]
However, we must remember that by far the greatest part of the land of Israel was conquered successfully due to the observance of G’d’s commandments in the Torah by the Israelites and their performing deeds of loving kindness for their fellow Jews. These deeds were performed in the locations that required conquest. In other words, the vast majority of the Israelites were engaged in serving their Creator from the loftiest motives. They were equally concerned with being models in their relations to other Jews. By doing so, and being observed to do so by the gentiles surrounding them, they succeeded in enabling the “sparks,” (creatures who had “fallen” from their moral/ethical lofty heights) to become rehabilitated. As soon as the Israelites had performed these deeds, the soil of the Holy Land was bound to respond to such a people and allowed itself to be conquered by them. The land would cooperate willingly with the demand made upon it by the new conquerors. Anyone receiving “handouts” is in a state of “shame” vis a vis the donor. This is what is meant by the expression לחפור, i.e. to qualify as someone ashamed, just as the moon and sun (symbols worshipped by the pagans) are viewed by Isaiah 24,23 as ashamed at having been defeated by the Creator.
When viewing the 42 journeys required by the Israelites in their trek from Egypt to the Holy Land, we find among other way stations the expression: ויחנו בחרדה,ויחנו במתקה, ויחנו בהר ששפר, the names of these places reflecting that the Israelites had had reason to be afraid of unpleasant occurrences when they encamped there, or the reverse. [Reference to חרדה is the former, trembling, fear, and הר שפר, a mountain known for its beauty, reminiscent of the emanation תפארת and מתקה “sweetness,” i.e. the opposite of fear. Ed.] When the Israelites arrived at places that inspired fear they worshipped G’d as He wished to be worshipped, exalting His highest attributes, whereas when they encamped in locations promising material benefits, they worshipped Him by invoking other attributes. The names of the various locations reflect how in each location, according to the level of the “sparks” of fallen former angels, the Israelites reacted with the appropriate attribute in order to help these “fallen” creatures to rehabilitate themselves and regain their original holy status. When Moses once speaks of מוצאיהם למסעיהם and another time of מסעיהם למוצאיהם, he merely alludes to the fact that seeing that each move was at the command of Hashem, על פי ה' , that the task of assisting in the rehabilitation of the “fallen,” different approaches had to be used in accordance with the spiritual state they found these “fallen” one time angels in.
[This editor finds it remarkable that our author views the journeys of the Israelites, especially those after the debacle with the spies, when the Israelites themselves had to rehabilitate themselves spiritually through the younger generation, as inspiring other “fallen” creatures to do the same. The Torah alluding to this at the conclusion of its narrative is most appropriate. Ed.].
We need to understand why our verse first describes the journey of the Israelites chronologically, i.e. mentioning their departures before their journeys, whereas as soon as the report switches to the past tense, it lists the journeys before mentioning their departures, מוצאיהם?
The reader is presumed to know that every journey, i.e. every separate departure and encampment, occurred at the command of G’d, [as the Israelites did not have a map to travel by. Ed.] We have also pointed out previously that the purpose of this journey through inhospitable territory had been, amongst others, to identify “sparks” of “fallen” holiness along the way and by associating with it to assist these “sparks” to be elevated spiritually and be reunited with their sacred origins. This was also the reason why the Israelites remained stationary in one location sometimes for only a day and night, and on occasion as long as for 19 years (Kadesh) at a time. It all had to do with locating and disgorging from its collective mouth (compare Jeremiah 51,44) the spiritually foul material absorbed through having made contact with idolatrous concepts absorbed by these “fallen” sparks of original holy origin. These “fallen” sparks that had originally been part of the garment of the Shechinah, had absorbed varying degrees of pollution before found by the Israelites.
When Joshua sent out two spies to Jericho, (Joshua 2,2) the word describing their task was: לחפור את כל הארץ, “to spy out the whole country,” [in the words of the King of Jericho, as opposed of the word describing their task used by Joshua, Ed.].
We need to examine the word לחפור for a moment, [a word also used by the Jewish people when they demanded to send spies to the land of Canaan, (Deuteronomy 1,22).Ed.]
However, we must remember that by far the greatest part of the land of Israel was conquered successfully due to the observance of G’d’s commandments in the Torah by the Israelites and their performing deeds of loving kindness for their fellow Jews. These deeds were performed in the locations that required conquest. In other words, the vast majority of the Israelites were engaged in serving their Creator from the loftiest motives. They were equally concerned with being models in their relations to other Jews. By doing so, and being observed to do so by the gentiles surrounding them, they succeeded in enabling the “sparks,” (creatures who had “fallen” from their moral/ethical lofty heights) to become rehabilitated. As soon as the Israelites had performed these deeds, the soil of the Holy Land was bound to respond to such a people and allowed itself to be conquered by them. The land would cooperate willingly with the demand made upon it by the new conquerors. Anyone receiving “handouts” is in a state of “shame” vis a vis the donor. This is what is meant by the expression לחפור, i.e. to qualify as someone ashamed, just as the moon and sun (symbols worshipped by the pagans) are viewed by Isaiah 24,23 as ashamed at having been defeated by the Creator.
When viewing the 42 journeys required by the Israelites in their trek from Egypt to the Holy Land, we find among other way stations the expression: ויחנו בחרדה,ויחנו במתקה, ויחנו בהר ששפר, the names of these places reflecting that the Israelites had had reason to be afraid of unpleasant occurrences when they encamped there, or the reverse. [Reference to חרדה is the former, trembling, fear, and הר שפר, a mountain known for its beauty, reminiscent of the emanation תפארת and מתקה “sweetness,” i.e. the opposite of fear. Ed.] When the Israelites arrived at places that inspired fear they worshipped G’d as He wished to be worshipped, exalting His highest attributes, whereas when they encamped in locations promising material benefits, they worshipped Him by invoking other attributes. The names of the various locations reflect how in each location, according to the level of the “sparks” of fallen former angels, the Israelites reacted with the appropriate attribute in order to help these “fallen” creatures to rehabilitate themselves and regain their original holy status. When Moses once speaks of מוצאיהם למסעיהם and another time of מסעיהם למוצאיהם, he merely alludes to the fact that seeing that each move was at the command of Hashem, על פי ה' , that the task of assisting in the rehabilitation of the “fallen,” different approaches had to be used in accordance with the spiritual state they found these “fallen” one time angels in.
[This editor finds it remarkable that our author views the journeys of the Israelites, especially those after the debacle with the spies, when the Israelites themselves had to rehabilitate themselves spiritually through the younger generation, as inspiring other “fallen” creatures to do the same. The Torah alluding to this at the conclusion of its narrative is most appropriate. Ed.].
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 13,16. “Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Yehoshua.” Rashi comments on this verse that this means that Moses prayed that G’d should protect him against being swayed by the evil advice offered by the majority of the men who were part of this mission.
This commentary is strange, as whence did Moses know already that these men would turn out to be spies counseling that the land was beyond their ability to conquer? Surely, if Moses had been aware of the tragic outcome of this mission he would never have allowed it to go forth? This is also why Rashi says that at the time when this mission set out all the members partaking in it were beyond suspicion of wanting it to fail. If Rashi is correct, we must then ask what made Moses pray for Joshua’s being protected against the “spies’” evil influence?
It appears that the answer to the above questions is that G’d had told Moses to send out men to “tour” the land of Canaan, whereas in Deuteronomy 1,22 when the whole incident is recalled by Moses he describes the intiative for this to have been the people, who had, however, demanded that the mission be one of spying, i.e. ויחפרו את הארץ לנו את הארץ “who will spy out the land for us.” the Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1,9 in relating to this request states that just as a human being has 248 bones and 365 tendons, so the earth is similarly made up of as many constituent parts. [The text there only speaks about man and the earth having certain organs in common. Ed.] It elaborates by saying that just as the Torah speaks of ערות הארץ, לב הארץ, טבור הארץ, עין הארץ, “the nakedness of the earth, the heart of the earth, the navel of the earth, an the eye of the earth, etc.; these are only a few examples of the earth possessing parts which serve it in a manner similar to the way that the bones and tendons serve the human being.
It follows that when the Israelites perform G’d’s commandments on this land, that the land itself will develop a fondness for this people. We are entitled therefore to view in the expression לתור את הארץ, Moses’ way of instructing these men to establish a personal relationship with this land based on Torah (תור) observance. By doing so the Jewish people would assume the role of dispensing spiritual largesse of their own to this land. The land, seeing that it had become a recipient of largesse from the Jewish people would also become indebted to them. This explains Moses’ command to the subterranean waters in the part of the land of Canaan already captured by the Jewish people to give forth its waters, i.e. Numbers 21,17 אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר ענו-לה באר חפרוה שרים, “then Israel sang this song: ‘spring up O well-sing to it-, the well which the princes dug.’ The word חפרוה is derived from חפר “to dig,” and is completely analogous to the expression ויחפרו את הארץ in Deuteronomy 1,22 where we can then translate it “in order to dig for us in the land.” The wish expressed by the Israelites when singing this song was meant to convince the earth of the land of Canaan (in this instance the east bank of the Jordan) that complying with Israel’s request was for its own benefit.
This commentary is strange, as whence did Moses know already that these men would turn out to be spies counseling that the land was beyond their ability to conquer? Surely, if Moses had been aware of the tragic outcome of this mission he would never have allowed it to go forth? This is also why Rashi says that at the time when this mission set out all the members partaking in it were beyond suspicion of wanting it to fail. If Rashi is correct, we must then ask what made Moses pray for Joshua’s being protected against the “spies’” evil influence?
It appears that the answer to the above questions is that G’d had told Moses to send out men to “tour” the land of Canaan, whereas in Deuteronomy 1,22 when the whole incident is recalled by Moses he describes the intiative for this to have been the people, who had, however, demanded that the mission be one of spying, i.e. ויחפרו את הארץ לנו את הארץ “who will spy out the land for us.” the Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1,9 in relating to this request states that just as a human being has 248 bones and 365 tendons, so the earth is similarly made up of as many constituent parts. [The text there only speaks about man and the earth having certain organs in common. Ed.] It elaborates by saying that just as the Torah speaks of ערות הארץ, לב הארץ, טבור הארץ, עין הארץ, “the nakedness of the earth, the heart of the earth, the navel of the earth, an the eye of the earth, etc.; these are only a few examples of the earth possessing parts which serve it in a manner similar to the way that the bones and tendons serve the human being.
It follows that when the Israelites perform G’d’s commandments on this land, that the land itself will develop a fondness for this people. We are entitled therefore to view in the expression לתור את הארץ, Moses’ way of instructing these men to establish a personal relationship with this land based on Torah (תור) observance. By doing so the Jewish people would assume the role of dispensing spiritual largesse of their own to this land. The land, seeing that it had become a recipient of largesse from the Jewish people would also become indebted to them. This explains Moses’ command to the subterranean waters in the part of the land of Canaan already captured by the Jewish people to give forth its waters, i.e. Numbers 21,17 אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר ענו-לה באר חפרוה שרים, “then Israel sang this song: ‘spring up O well-sing to it-, the well which the princes dug.’ The word חפרוה is derived from חפר “to dig,” and is completely analogous to the expression ויחפרו את הארץ in Deuteronomy 1,22 where we can then translate it “in order to dig for us in the land.” The wish expressed by the Israelites when singing this song was meant to convince the earth of the land of Canaan (in this instance the east bank of the Jordan) that complying with Israel’s request was for its own benefit.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy