Parashat Shalach lecha (send them over to)
This week’s parasha is deals with a few different issues: the life in the desert, the process of scarifying amongst others. But the most interesting one is the story about the spies sent by Moses to Knan (eretz Israel).
The Israeli people were walking for days and nights through the desert. They had to overcome the very bad weather (extremely hot during day time and cold by night;) and the lack of food. That was all in order to build the new homeland, Israel. They left Egypt with their houses and jobs, their property and most of what they had.
After the very hard long walk (more than a few miles a day) they were getting close to their target: they were on the verge of eretz Israel. But before they entered the land they needed to know what the situation is in Knan: what are the people like? The cities? The walls? The fruits? And so on.
In order to do this 12 spies, one for each tribe, were sent by Moses. They were sent to explore the country and to then report to the Israelis if it can be a place for them all to live. Two major issues arise from this mission:
- What is our right to the land of Israel and is it just to fight those who live on the land?
- Why were most of the spies so terrified about the people living in eretz Israel?
1. Our basic right upon the land of Israel is for many the promise made by god. This is good enough to a religious Jews, but even for them there is amoral issue to deal with: the land of Israel was not “empty” when the people of Israel came to live in it. So is it ok just to take the land and kill or exile those who live there before?
This issue is very much to do with today modern life: the people of Israel came from all over the world back to Palestine to establish the state of Israel. Palestine was a land that was occupied, unsuccessfully, by its people – the Palestinians. Was it right to just build the new country upon the old entity that was in place in Israel before hand? And if yes, how shall we treat those who were living on the ground before Israel was established? Are they part of the society?
2. The spies came back from their mission to explore the country, sat down in front of the masses and described what they saw. Most of them said the land of Israel is a bad place to go to and the people who are sitting in the strong cities are giants and therefore can’t be beaten. Only two of the twelve believed the challenge is one that Israel can stand up to.
If to adopt it to our times, this story is very much the same regarding the state of Israel: many say it is a difficult place to live in, therefore aliyah is not to be made. But the state of Israel, with all its problems, is a tough challenge to go and live in, but achievable to most of us. Yes the country of origin (Egypt in the parasha) is in many cases much more appealing: life is quieter and easier; salaries are probably better; there are no Kasam rockets or human bombs. But is it not just the same as walking in the desert?
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