CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHAS SHELACH
“And you shall strengthen yourselves and take from the fruit of the Land” (Bamidbar 13:20).
The apparent peculiarities of the above passage raise a number of questions: First, why is it so important for Moshe (Moses) to see the fruit of Eretz Yisroel? Second, is it possible to imagine that he had any type of physical appetites, so that he wanted to taste a grape or a pomegranate from Israel? And third, why must he tell the spies to strengthen themselves before taking fruit from the land? Is picking fruit so difficult that the spies need prior strengthening?
The questions are easily answered by refreshing ourselves in the flowing sweet waters of Rebbe Nachman's wisdom (see Likutei Moharan I:61). Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the fruit of the Land of Israel possesses the attribute of the atmosphere, the very air one breathes in Eretz Yisroel, namely, that it makes a person wiser.
Let's take Rebbe Nachman's principle one step further. David Hamelech (King David) said: (Tehillim 111:10), "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem". Reverence, the fear of Hashem, is a prerequisite for wisdom. So, if the atmosphere of Israel is conducive to wisdom, then it's first and foremost conducive to Yira, or the fear of Hashem. Therefore, as the fruit of Israel equals the atmosphere of Israel, then the fruit of Israel is also conducive to Yira.
Maybe this sounds funny to you. "What, if I eat a banana or an orange from Israel, I'll fear Hashem?" Most likely, not! To attain Yira, one must work hard, learn Torah, pray constantly, study Jewish ethics, and seek a connection with true tzaddikim. So what does this all mean? What's the connection between the fruit of Israel and Yira?
Yira – the fear of Hashem – is the fruit of Israel! The Torah gives us this very hint as follows: "Fruit of the Land" is פרי הארץ in Hebrew. The fear of Hashem, "Yira", is spelled יראה in Hebrew. The inside letters of פרי הארץ are י-ה-א-ר, the exact letters of Yira!
Now, we can understand that Moshe wasn't sending the spies on a shopping spree, with a list of how many dates, figs, and lemons he wanted. No! Moshe was testing the spies, whether they'd look at Eretz Yisroel out of physical eyes (which unfortunately they did, a sin and tragedy that we're still paying for today), and come home with grapes and pomegranates like they did, or whether they'd look at Eretz Yisroel out of spiritual eyes. In the latter case, Moshe hoped that the spies would return with the true fruit of Israel – namely, enhanced fear and awe of Hashem. For that reason, Moshe told them to strengthen themselves for the war against the Yetzer (the evil inclination), who fights tooth-and-nail against anyone who seeks enhanced Yirat Shamayim – is the toughest challenge on earth, requiring a person's complete mental, emotional, and physical strength.
“And you shall strengthen yourselves and take from the fruit of the Land” (Bamidbar 13:20).
The apparent peculiarities of the above passage raise a number of questions: First, why is it so important for Moshe (Moses) to see the fruit of Eretz Yisroel? Second, is it possible to imagine that he had any type of physical appetites, so that he wanted to taste a grape or a pomegranate from Israel? And third, why must he tell the spies to strengthen themselves before taking fruit from the land? Is picking fruit so difficult that the spies need prior strengthening?
The questions are easily answered by refreshing ourselves in the flowing sweet waters of Rebbe Nachman's wisdom (see Likutei Moharan I:61). Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the fruit of the Land of Israel possesses the attribute of the atmosphere, the very air one breathes in Eretz Yisroel, namely, that it makes a person wiser.
Let's take Rebbe Nachman's principle one step further. David Hamelech (King David) said: (Tehillim 111:10), "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem". Reverence, the fear of Hashem, is a prerequisite for wisdom. So, if the atmosphere of Israel is conducive to wisdom, then it's first and foremost conducive to Yira, or the fear of Hashem. Therefore, as the fruit of Israel equals the atmosphere of Israel, then the fruit of Israel is also conducive to Yira.
Maybe this sounds funny to you. "What, if I eat a banana or an orange from Israel, I'll fear Hashem?" Most likely, not! To attain Yira, one must work hard, learn Torah, pray constantly, study Jewish ethics, and seek a connection with true tzaddikim. So what does this all mean? What's the connection between the fruit of Israel and Yira?
Yira – the fear of Hashem – is the fruit of Israel! The Torah gives us this very hint as follows: "Fruit of the Land" is פרי הארץ in Hebrew. The fear of Hashem, "Yira", is spelled יראה in Hebrew. The inside letters of פרי הארץ are י-ה-א-ר, the exact letters of Yira!
Now, we can understand that Moshe wasn't sending the spies on a shopping spree, with a list of how many dates, figs, and lemons he wanted. No! Moshe was testing the spies, whether they'd look at Eretz Yisroel out of physical eyes (which unfortunately they did, a sin and tragedy that we're still paying for today), and come home with grapes and pomegranates like they did, or whether they'd look at Eretz Yisroel out of spiritual eyes. In the latter case, Moshe hoped that the spies would return with the true fruit of Israel – namely, enhanced fear and awe of Hashem. For that reason, Moshe told them to strengthen themselves for the war against the Yetzer (the evil inclination), who fights tooth-and-nail against anyone who seeks enhanced Yirat Shamayim – is the toughest challenge on earth, requiring a person's complete mental, emotional, and physical strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment