Questions on Parshas Shelach to think about and discuss:

Questions on the Meraglim, spies:

1. What was the drive to make the meraglim, spies, say bad about Eretz Yisroel, Israel?
2. What lies behind the hebrew name “Meraglim“, spies?
3. Why were the Nesiyim, leaders, sent us spies? Why was this a good qualification to fit the criteria of being a spy?
4. What is the connection between Parshas Shelach and the haftora?
5. What was the punishment for the meraglim, spies?
6. Could the forty year punishment staying in the desert have been much worse?
7. What is an important lesson that we can learn from the meraglim, spies?
8. What do we learn from Yehoshua and Kolev how they dealt with the other meraglim, spies?
9. The meraglim, spies, that Kolev was siding with them until at the very end he showed openly his opposition. Why did they already not suspect this when he, like Yehoshua, refused to carry one of the enormous fruit from Eretz Yisroel, Israel?
10. What is the significance that the two good spies came from the tribes of Yehuda and Efrayim?
11. Why did Moshe only change Yehoshua’s name and daven for him and not to save all or more of the other meraglim, spies?
12. Moshe davened for Yehoshua and changed his name by adding another letter of Yud. Why was it not enough to simply daven for him? Why also the need to change his name?
13. Why when Moshe davens to save the Jews does he not mention all Thirteen Middos, Attributes of Mercy?
14. We find that out of all the meraglim, spies, only Kolev was rewarded with Chevron. Why was Yehoshua not also rewarded in this way?
15. Which Sheivet, tribe, was not at all involved in either the sin of the Egel or the sin of the Meraglim and why?
16. In Tanach, the sending of spies to Eretz Yisroel, Israel, is found twice. By Moshe (in Parshas Shelach) and later on by Yehoshua (the haftora of Parshas Shelach). The big question is, that Yehoshua, himself one of the twelve spies, saw the bad outcome of sending spies. How could he then himself go ahead and sent again spies, risking another dangerous outcome?
17. Ten of the meraglim, spies, carried fruits back to show the Jews. Eight carried a bunch of grapes and one carried a pomegranate and one a fig. The Shivis Haminim, seven species, is what Eretz Yisroel is famous for. The first two, wheat and barley, include in it the five grains. Moshe only asked the spies to bring fruit. This means there are five fruits to bring. Why did the meraglim only then bring three of the five fruits? Why did they not bring also olives and dates? Instead of eight of them bringing a whole bunch of grapes, they could take less and free up two spies one each to carry an olive and a date?
18. Why did they take a whole bunch of grapes while by the other things they took only one fruit and not a bunch?

Ideas for answers on the Meraglim, spies:

2. The Hebrew word “Meraglim” is connected to the word “Hergel” that means “habit”. It expresses natural actions. This name is most appropriate to spies. Spies are only needed to in a natural framework to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the enemies. When relying on miracles no spies need to be sent. The Jews’ request for spies showed that they wished to go along with the natural pathway, not the pathway they were used to in the desert that was full of miracles.
3. The Nesiyim, leaders, came to represent each tribe. Since they were all going to get a portion in the land of Eretz Yisroel, therefore they needed their representative to see it first hand. This was their qualification – not the ability to act as spies.
4. Both talk about spies being sent to espionage Eretz Yisroel, Israel. One by Moshe and one by Yehoshua.
5. Rashi (14:36) brings their horrible deaths appropriate to their sin. They sinned with their tongues and therefore their tongues extended outwards until their belly button and worms came out of their tongues and entered inside their belly buttons.
6. The forty year punishment, one year for every day, could have been much worse. To naturally travel through Eretz Yisroel should have taken much longer than forty days. Hashem did a special miracle that they walked it much faster in order to minimise the punishment to only forty years. (Rashi, 13:25) The question then is why not make it even shorter? Why stop at forty? The answer is that Hashem wanted them to die but not with the punishment of kores, being cut off, that is seen in a person dying under sixty years. Therefore, the decree was only for those above twenty years who each had to live another forty years. (Rashi, 14:33). Therefore the decree had to be for at least forty years.
7. This episode came after when Miriam got tzoraas for speaking bad against Moshe. The meraglim, spies, should have seen and taken this message to heart and not spoken bad about Eretz Yisroel. (Rashi, 13:1) We can learn from here that whatever we see is specially ordained and we must do the next step of dealing with it in the appropriate manner. An example of this is found in Parshas Noso where the person sees the sota, suspected adulteress, and acts upon this and makes himself into a nozir, nazirite, realising the dangers of wine and what they can lead onto.
8. There are two ways of dealing with the Yetzer Hora, evil inclination, and both are needed in different situations. We can learn this from how Yehoshua and Kolev dealt with the spies, whose evil talk alludes to the Yetzer Hora, evil inclination. Yehoshua from the start confronted them making clear that he did not want to partner them in their bad reports. Kolev on the other hand appeared to agree to them and it was only when they came back did he fight them and reveal his true colours! (Chofetz Chaim on the Torah, Parshas Shelach)
9. Kolev was a conman. He could have found many excuses. These include saying that he was going to Chevron and it would be too difficult to carry it by himself. Or when he was in Chevron that is when the other spies cut the fruit and so he was not together with them to also be selected.
10. The depth lies in the fact that these two shevotim, tribes, came from Yosef and Yehuda, the main sons of Rochel and Leah. Each wife of Yakov has a special function that they past onto their children. (Hope to expound on this idea elsewhere.)
11. Because Yehoshua who openly opposed them from the start he needed extra protection. Moshe was not davening to change their nature. Instead, Moshe was davening to strengthen Yehoshua’s resolve to remain steadfast to the truth and not be negatively influenced.
12. We see from here the power of changing a name. This is even used nowadays when life threatening illnesses make people change or add names…
13. See Rabbeinu Bechai (14:18)…
14. Perhaps the difference lies in how they were saved from the bad advice of the other meraglim, spies. Yehoshua was saved by Moshe davening for him. Kolev was saved by davening for himself at Chevron. Yehoshua being saved was not necessarily through his own doing while since Kolev was the only one to actually daven to be saved he therefore merited an extra reward. Appropriately and alluding to this, he was given the area of Chevron as an inheritance.
15. The tribe of Levi. They did not participate in the egel, gold calf, and did not have any spy sent from their tribe. Twelve spies were sent out as each represented a different sheivet, tribe, that would get a portion in the land of Eretz Yisroel, Israel. However, since the tribe of Levi did not get a portion of land (only 48 cities) therefore they did not sent a spy. (Even though in the end the tribes of Reuven and Gad also did not get a portion in Eretz Yisroel, Israel, only in Eiver Hayarden. This was because they afterwards decided to change their mind after the defeat of Sichoin and Oig that took place later.)
16. There are many differences (as noted by the Malbim in both places)…
17. I think agriculturally, olives and dates are the last of the seven species to ripen and therefore it could be that during the forty days of spying, the month of Tammuz until the 9th of Av, these two fruits were not ripe enough to be taken. Another most interesting fact, is that when the possuk describes the seven species, it groups them into two sets – each starts off with the word “eretz“, land. The first group has the five – the two grains and the three fruit that the meraglim did take. The second group, consisting of olives and dates was not taken. Perhaps herein lies the key to understanding why these two fruits were not taken…
18. We see from here that the emphasis was being placed on grapes more than any other fruit. Why? …

Questions on the general parsha:

1. After the decree of exile for forty years in the desert and being told not to enter Eretz Yisroel, Israel, some people ignored the warnings and attacked and were killed. Do you know the name of any of these people?
2. Why does the parsha of Minchas Nesochim, flour sacrifice and wine libations, appear in Parshas Shelach?  How is it connected to the Meraglim, spies?
3. This parsha of Minchas Nesochim, flour sacrifice and wine libations, also appears in another two other places: in Parshas Tizeva and later in Parshas Pinchos. Why the need for another mention here?
4. How did the Jews know when the forty years were up?
5. What mitzvos in Parshas Shelach are done nowadays?
6. What did the person gathering wood do wrong and who was he?
7. What was the wording that the meraglim, spies, used that caused the Jews to despair?
8. What is different about the mitzva of challah more than any of the other mitzvos that the Jews were obligated to do in Eretz Yisroel, Israel?
9. What is the connection between challah and the meraglim that they are found together?
10. Which pesukim, verses, in Parshas Shelach are mentioned in the davening on Yom Kippur?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. According to one opinion it was Tzelofchod. (Gemora Shabbos 97a)
2. The Jews might think that when the forty years are up, they might sin again and receive another decree and might end up never entering Eretz Yisroel, Israel! Therefore to comfort them comes this parsha that only comes into affect when in Eretz Yisroel, Israel (15:2). (Tosfas al HaTorah). Why then pick this mitzva more than any other? The main tool used to prove the claims of the meraglim, spies, was the fruit, especially the bunch of grapes. To comfort the Jews came a parsha that deals with Nisochim, wine libations, that come from grapes.
3. Originally, sacrifices were to be brought and achieved the required level of Reiach Nechoiach, a satisfying aroma, without the requirement of Minchas Nesochim, flour sacrifice and wine libations. This was like the sacrifices of Hevel, Noach and Avrohom. By the sin of the egel, gold calf, created the need for these additions to the sacrifices brought for the tzibbur, whole community. This is seen in Parshas Tezava with the korban tomid and in Parshas Pinchos with the korbonous Mussaf. By the sin of the meraglim, spies, in Parshas Shelach, there came the requirement for these additions to even the sacrifices of the yochid, individuals. This explains why this parsha appears in Parshas Shelach after the sin of the meraglim, spies. (Sforno, 15:3).
4. The Gemora (Taanis 30b and see Tosfas) talks about how each year on Tisha BiAv the sixty year old people dug their own graves and lay in them. When no one died they thought they must have made a mistake in the calendar and continued laying in it every night until Tu BiAv when there was a full moon and then they knew they had not made a mistake. They then knew that they decree of the forty years had finished.
5. The mitzva of Challa for women and tzitzis for men.
6. There is an opinion that it was Tzlofchod. Tosfas (Bava Basra 119b) explain he did it for the right reasons. He wanted to show the people the severity of Shabbos. When people would see him stoned for desecrating Shabbos this sight for have a strong impact and act as a deterrent.  There are three opinions which melocha of Shabbos he transgressed: carrying four amos in the public domain; uprooting and ma’amer, heaping. (Gemora Shabbos 96b)
7. The meraglim, when explaining how the Jews could not enter Eretz Yisroel, used the word “Efes” meaning “impossible” (28:13). The Jews were in the desert guided by constant miracles. They were meant to take this message into Eretz Yisroel. Entering a place of habitation and seeming teva, nature, they were meant to put into practice what they had internalized that Hashem directs everything and no matter how dismal the prospects look, nothing is impossible. What the meraglim did was remove this reality by saying it all was “impossible”.
8. Usually the mitzvos that apply in Eretz Yisroel, Israel, only started after the years of conquering, when the Jews were settled there. The mitzva of Challah is the exception where the obligation came upon immediate entry into Eretz Yisroel, Israel. (Rashi, 15:18) Why is challa different?
9. The Yetzer Hora, evil inclination, is also called Seoir Shebeisa, the ability to make dough rise. It is this that negatively effected the spies. Challah is where we recognise this power of the evil inclination and direct it to Hashem as expressed by the taking of challah and doing to it what Hashem wants. (Tzror Hamor)
10. Pesukim, verses: (15:26) by Yom Kippur at night, and (14:20) by Neila.

Questions on the parsha of Tzitzis:

1. Why does the parsha of Tzitzis come into Parshas Shelach?
2. What is the connection between the parsha of tzitzis and the previous parsha that discusses the gatherer of wood on Shabbos who was stoned?
3. Chazal say that the when seeing the bluish colour of the techeiles dye on the tzitzis, it should remind us of the sea and the rokia, heavens, until we remind ourselves of Hashem Above. A person once asked Rabbi Dessler zt”l how is it possible to achieve all this by simply looking at the colour on the tzitzis?
4. What does tzitzis have to do with telling us the time of day?
5. In what way is the mitzva of tzitzis different to many other mitzvos?

Ideas for answers on the parsha of tzitzis:

1. The meraglim’s mistake was to look at things externally. In teva, nature, the Jews could not conquer Eretz Yisroel. Tzitzis come to teach us that when looking at something, there is a deeper spiritual power hidden behind things. When looking at the tzitzis we are meant to remember all the mitzvos, life that is directed by Hashem, albeit superficially hidden.
2. The previous parsha spoke about a man killed for profaning the Shabbos by doing a melacha. The Jews now complained and said that the reason for this was because they were not allowed to wear Tefillin on Shabbos that is a constant reminder of Hashem. Therefore Hashem gave them another reminder as seen now in the parsha of tzitzis that comes to remind us of Hashem and can be worn on Shabbos. (Ohr HaChaim) Tosfas (Bava Basra 74a) learns from the juxtaposition that a dead person, (the Mekoishesh Eitzim), is obligated to wear tzitzis.
3. Rabbi Dessler zt”l replied that we know that when a person sees bikdei tzivoinim, certain undergarments, his thoughts suddenly start wondering to wrong places. In the same way with the seeing of the tzitzis our thoughts should automatically be drawn into thinking about Hashem Above. It all depends where a person is holding spiritually as to where his thoughts are drawn to!
4. The Mishna (Brochos 9b) tells us that the earliest time for reading Kriyas Shema is when it is light enough to recognise the difference between the techeiles and white colour of the tzitzis.
5. There are many different types of mitzvos. The mitzva of tzitzis is only obligatory based on circumstances. If a person has a four cornered garment only then does it require tzitzis. We hold that it only has to be done by daytime and therefore is a time-bound mitzva, not incumbent on women.