Thoughts on Parashat Shelach
Menachem Mirski
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites railed against Moses and Aaron. ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt,’ the whole community shouted at them, ‘or if only we might die in this wilderness! Why is the LORD taking us to that land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be carried off! It would be better for us to go back to Egypt!’ […] And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, of those who had scouted the land, rent their clothes and exhorted the whole Israelite community: ‘The land that we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, He will bring us into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to us; only you must not rebel against the LORD. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but the LORD is with us. Have no fear of them!’ As the whole community threatened to pelt them with stones, the Presence of the LORD appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites” (Num 14:1-10.)[/perfectpullquote]
The frustration and anger of the Israelites reaches its height, so much so that they want to stone to death those who say: “Let’s keep going”. God also reacts with anger to this entire situation:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“How long will this people spurn Me, and how long will they have no faith in Me despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? I will strike them with pestilence and disown them, and I will make of you a nation far more numerous than they!” (Num 14:11-12.)[/perfectpullquote]
This mutual anger and emotions are somewhat reminiscent of an argument between people who are in a close relationship and who, as they suddenly face a great challenge together, start to be afraid of failure and accuse and blame one another for getting them in such a dire situation. Of course Moses is the one who has to mediate between them; once again he pleads on behalf of his people, once again resorting to the same arguments: And what will the Egyptians and all the other nations say when they hear that you have slaughtered them? (to paraphrase the words from Numbers 14:13-14). Let’s remember that the entire narrative about the Egyptian plagues and the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart was in fact a story of the rivalry between God and the Pharaoh regarding which one of them is the true God. Therefore one might say that Moses is quite frankly appealing to God’s ambition here:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It must be because the LORD was powerless to bring that people into the land He had promised them on oath that He slaughtered them in the wilderness” (Numbers 14:16.)[/perfectpullquote]
This being said, the Israelites’ fears seem to be perfectly human. Their complaints seem much more justified here than in previous similar instances when they were railing against their fate in the camps set up in the wilderness or when they missed Egypt. For this time they have done their reconnaissance and they’ve realized just how dramatic their situation is. Similarly, we very often say to ourselves once we realize how great the obstacles we must overcome are: “We can’t do it, such and such goals are impossible to achieve etc.” Often such claims are a sign of common sense or even wisdom, whereas we tend to view those who tell us “Yes, we can!” as lunatics (at best). Reasonable, intelligent people consider the likelihood of failure every single time before they undertake a risk. They weigh up the potential pros and cons and based on this assessment they decide whether to go forward with their plan or not.
This is a typical, universal human perspective. However, in this story God is also present and He offers His help. God does not offer to, plainly speaking, “take care of stuff for us”. And this forms the essence of the theology behind this Torah passage, and perhaps – at least in my view – the essence of any theology, a fundamental premise which should be embraced no matter what concept of God we believe in: God does not do anything in our place. He provides possibilities and prospects for us, but it depends on us whether we are going to make good use of them. We are the ones who are responsible for: being ready to take up a given challenge; coming up with the right plan for it; and finally for undertaking the necessary actions and for achieving a certain goal. If we do all of this correctly and according to the so called “Divine Plan”, God will help us and support us every step of the way. But He would never do for us what He knows we are in fact capable of doing ourselves. As He helps us He undertakes only those actions which are independent of our will and those of which he knows are objectively beyond our powers.
And since God is neither a prankster nor a scoffer, He doesn’t play dice and He doesn’t toy with us, therefore when He opens up new prospects for us and lets us know about them, He knows that we are ready for them. In addition, very often we must first think of something and decide we want to pursue it ourselves in order for such a prospect or possibility to unveil before us. That is when the entire process of Divine-human or human-Divine partnership starts to take place – and that is exactly how we fulfill our greatest visions and dreams, changing our own life and the lives of others for the better in the process. Shabbat Shalom!
Translated from Polish by: Marzena Szymańska-Błotnicka
Leave a Reply