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This week we read about how the Jews refused to enter the land of Israel and so angered G-d that He wanted to wipe them out.
This is not understood.
First of all, the Jews in the desert were led by clouds of glory and never went anywhere on their own. So, why did G-d get angry? Why didn’t he just move those clouds to Israel and force them to enter?
Second; although refusing to enter the land of Israel was not a proper thing to do, it certainly was NOT a crime punishable by death. Was G-d over reacting?
Third; killing everyone is certainly no way to solve problems. Why didn’t G-d just try to reason with them?
Fourth: In the very beginning of our reading G-d said to Moses “Shlach LECHA” (send the spies on your own). Certainly G-d foresaw the disaster. Why didn’t He just tell Moses NOT to send them?
Fifth; the Jews heard the order to enter Israel not directly from G-d but from Moses, All they heard from G-d were the Ten Commandments. So they weren’t REALLY disobeying G-d by refusing to go to Israel, only Moses. Why did G-d get so angry?

To understand all this here are two stories.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (who lived some 1,800 years ago in Israel) was possibly the holiest man that ever lived. Besides writing the ‘Zohar’, being a master of the oral Torah and a miracle worker, he was one of the few Jews in history who spent every instant of his time learning Torah; no casual conversations and certainly no vacations – only Torah.
So everyone was surprised when, on the day after Rosh HaShanna (Jewish New Year’s Day) he showed up at his nephew’s home and lectured everyone there about the importance of giving charity.
Although his nephew didn’t really have money to spare and didn’t understand the urgency of what was being said, he listened attentively because when Rabbi Shimon spoke everyone listened.
“Give with an open hand” Rabbi Shimon adjured “don’t worry about tomorrow, G-d will provide. And most important; write it all down. Every penny you give, write down on a small paper and carry it with you at all times. I want to see a big sum at the end of the year.”
They promised and Rabbi Shimon left.
Almost a year later they had another strange visit but this time it was the police – with a warrant for their arrest.
Someone had unjustly accused them of selling silk without paying the tax and now they were being arrested. They wept and protested their innocence but to no avail.
Trembling with fear they were led off to jail where they were given a choice; either pay an outrageous fine of six hundred dinar or produce an even more outrageously priced silk garment for the king, both of which were utterly beyond their means.
When Rabbi Shimon heard what had happened, he immediately rushed to the prison and got a pass to visit his relatives.
“Where is the account of the charity I told you to write?” He asked. “How much did you give? Remember? I told you to write it down. Do you have the paper?”
“Here” they replied as one of them pulled the small parchment from his pocket.
Rabbi Shimon took the account and noticed that they were just short from six hundred dinar. “Do you have any money on you?” he asked.
They produced some coins that they had sewn into their garments in case they needed it. Rabbi Shimon removed what was lacking from six hundred, gave it to one of the officials who accepted the bribe and amazingly dropped their charges.
It had been a close call!
Outside Rabbi Shimon explained the miracle that freed them.
“This past Rosh HaShanna I dozed off and was shown in a dream that the government would demand of you six hundred dinars and that if you gave that amount to charity it would negate the decree.
That is why I ran to your house back then and told you to give charity and keep a record of what you gave.
“Then why didn’t you tell us all this back then??” Asked the family. “Then we would have given the money immediately and spared ourselves a lot of anguish.”
“No,” he replied. “Then it would not have been charity. It wouldn’t have saved you.
“True Charity means to GIVE, and your intention would have been to RECEIVE! You would have given charity FOR yourself. Then it wouldn’t have helped.” (Vayikra Raba chap. 34)

The second story occurred some one hundred and fifty years ago in Russia (Otzar Sipuri Chabad pg 63)
In the city of Czernowitz lived a wealthy and well know Jew who, together with a rich gentile, was falsely accused of hiding money from the government.
They secured the best lawyers and had the complete support from all the Jews in the area who fasted and prayed for their release.
But their efforts did not bear fruit.
Both were sentenced to ten years of hard labor and taken to jail to await their transport to Siberia.
Shortly before the transport arrived a policeman knocked at the door of the Rabbi of Tchernovitz, Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Chen, and said that the Jewish prisoner requested that he come to the jail and see him before he began his exile.
When Rabbi Chen arrived, the Jew broke out into tears and said, “I confess my sins today! Woe to me that I didn’t listen to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I used to consider myself to be close to Chabad but now I know how far away I was!”
He wept uncontrollably for another minute and then continued.
“About three years ago I was riding to Petersburg in the first-class compartment of the train as was my custom, when one of the conductors that I was acquainted with knocked on my door and told me that the famous Lubavitcher Rebbe the Mahara’sh (Rebbe Shmuel the fourth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch) was on the train. He offered to open the door to his cabin so I would be able to catch a glimpse of him.
“He did so and when I saw the Rebbe’s holy face I was startled. I stood frozen in fear and the Rebbe must have noticed because his countenance became friendly and he motioned for me to come sit down opposite him. He then offered me a cigarette from a gold case he had and began to speak. It was the most amazing thing. He began speaking to me like a friend, asking about my business, my family, my friends until I almost forgot who I was talking to. Then suddenly he changed his tone and said,
“You probably know that the government is planning to lay railroad tracks in Siberia. ‘You are in touch with many high officials and ministers. I’m sure that with recommendations from your high acquaintances, you will be able to get a job working on laying the tracks with good conditions.’
“The Rebbe stopped speaking and I understood that the conversation had finished.
“I nodded to him and left the cabin.
“To tell you the truth I, thought he was speaking nonsense or perhaps he mistook me for someone else, that it was some sort of mistake!
I thought, ‘why would the Lubavitcher Rebbe tell a rich man like me to work on the rails of Siberia’?
“Now I see what a fool I was. If I would have listened to the Rebbe I would be working in Siberia in comfort and honor instead of a slave. I received advice from a true prophet, the source of truth, and I ignored it!! The Rebbe took from his time to tell a fool like me how to save himself. And now, who knows if I will every return home!”

This answers our questions about the spies and G-d’s reaction to them.

Entering Israel was the beginning of a new era – the era of serving the Creator from FREE WILL.
Up to then G-d provided everything and made all the decisions for the Jews. He took them from Egypt, split the sea, provided manna, water, protection and direction all for one purpose… that they would eventually use their OWN FREE WILL and TOTALLY, ‘give’ to the Creator.
As we saw in the first story; not for ulterior motives.
And, as the second story shows, the only real and true way to do this; is by unquestioningly following Moses’. And in every generation there is such a Jew.
Moses is essential to truth and only by following his EVERY order can the Jews make proper and true choices in life.
That is why G-d didn’t force the Jews into Israel. Because He wanted them to choose Him from free will. Above logic.
And that is why G-sd got angry.
The Jews let G-d down, instead of relying on Moses they relied on their own logic and feelings (as the unfortunate Jew did in the second story). That is why G-d couldn’t reason with them; because Moses must be followed ABOVE reason.
And that is why G-d wanted to destroy them… because if after all they had seen and experienced, they couldn’t bring themselves to follow Moses – they were hopeless.

But after all G-d forgave and only punished them. Because even the sinners of the Jewish people have a potential to listen to Moses, serve the Creator and change the ENTIRE creation… and all mankind – for good

This is an ESPECIALLY important lesson for our generation, the generation of Moshiach. Moshiach will be a great leader of unmatched holiness just like Moses, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and the Maharash, but even more so.
And the Lubavitcher Rebbe says this will happen at any moment. We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish hopes, prayers and suffering.   Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring …

Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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