We know how the catastrophe of this Parasha ends, with no entrance to the land for this generation. With that, one wonders, “What were they thinking?” There are roughly three approaches to this question:
Among those with the lowest motivations, the Zohar says that the spies were looking to protect their own status. In the desert, they are leaders and men of prominence. In the land of...Read more...
I always concentrate on the transition point in this Parasha, the point at which catastrophes take over the story in the wilderness. That is the pivot point of the Parasha and of the book as a whole. All of the preparation for the first two and a half Parashiot runs aground in what seems to be minutes. The ideal situation turns into the fallen situation with which we still live. So I usually...Read more...
The juxtaposition of the episode of the Sota woman, the woman suspected of adultery, and the sort of honorary Kohen, the Nazir, struck the rabbis as odd. Why did the Torah put these two together? The answer is that one inspires the other. That is, if someone witnesses the disgrace of the Sota woman, the person will be moved to forbid him or herself from wine for at least 30 days.
The Parasha begins with a funny verb. It doesn’t sound funny; it’s pedestrian enough. But the condition should be, “if you keep my Chukot.” Or “if you do them.” Why does it say, “walk”? Most commentators say that that is why Rashi tells us that this is a reference to learning Torah with great effort and not to doing Mitzvot in...Read more...
