Parshat Shelach Lecha: Symbols
Parshat Shelach Lecha: Symbols
I am writing this Drasha a few hours after we learned of the sad passing of Dama Vera Lynn at the venerable age of 103. A BBC website tribute page has described her as 'one of the country's most potent symbols of resilience and hope.' This is a fitting description of Dame Vera because she was a symbol of how one person can impact the lives of so many. Who can hear "We'll Meet Again" and not think about its deep resonance in the collective memory of anyone who either lived through the Second World War or learned about it in history? The song, like its singer is also a symbol of 'hope over adversity'.
A few weeks ago, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dame Vera said, "Simple acts of bravery and sacrifice still define our nation." And the song for which she will always be remembered was even quoted by Her Majesty the Queen who told this nation in April: "We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again." Dame Vera, the person and the symbol, spoke to and for, all of us.
Imagine the plot to a Hollywood summer blockbuster movie. Its tag-line on posters could read something along the lines of:
"12 Spies. 1 Country. 40 Days. Mission Possible!"
This would sit directly below a horizontal row of individual photos of twelve famous actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Henry Cavill, Jake Gylenhaal, Orlando Bloom and others. An actor's name would be emblazoned over each photograph but for a reason which I still don't understand, the names and photos underneath wouldn't match each other!
Below the title, you would have colourful graphics depicting the spies in different precarious locations, with giants standing astride them impervious to their presence. Your eyes would be immediately drawn to the footer which would display an image depicting two poles bearing an oversized bunch of grapes, with eight men (two at the end of each pole) carrying the cluster.
(23) They reached the Wadi Eshkol, and there they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes. It had to be borne on a carrying frame by two of them and some pomegranates and figs.
“And they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes : this means a vine branch with a cluster of grapes hanging from it (not as the text might suggest, that they cut a branch and they cut also a cluster of grapes). They also took the pomegranates and figs….it denotes with two poles. How is this possible? Eight carried a cluster (of grapes), one carried a fig and one a pomegranate.”
Can you imagine what it must have looked like when they returned to the camp?
The crowds of Israelites would have watched them with their jaws dropped to the ground, cartoon-like and their eyes protruding five feet in front of their faces in sheer astonishment. Not only had the men returned safely, but the land was so fertile that it was producing grapes that needed to be carried on two poles by eight men!
The Torah tells us that:
(26) They went straight to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran, and they made their report to them and to the whole community, as they showed them the fruit of the land. (27) This is what they told him:
“We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit…”
They didn't
need to say any more. They had presented the symbol and it was there for all to
see.
How much more proof do you need than showing the people ‘the fruit of the land’?
The symbol
speaks for itself. The logical next step would be for the spies and the people
to petition Moses to lead them to the land. They were not far off and could
have been there within a very short time.
We expect this to transpire in the next few verses but instead we read that ten of the men said the following:
|
(28) However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the cities
are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the Anakites there. (29)
Amalekites dwell in the Negeb region; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites
inhabit the hill country; and Canaanites dwell by the Sea and along the
Jordan.” |
(כח) אֶ֚פֶס כִּֽי־עַ֣ז
הָעָ֔ם הַיֹּשֵׁ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְהֶֽעָרִ֗ים בְּצֻר֤וֹת גְּדֹלֹת֙ מְאֹ֔ד
וְגַם־יְלִדֵ֥י הָֽעֲנָ֖ק רָאִ֥ינוּ שָֽׁם׃ (כט) עֲמָלֵ֥ק יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּאֶ֣רֶץ
הַנֶּ֑גֶב וְ֠הַֽחִתִּי וְהַיְבוּסִ֤י וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּהָ֔ר
וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ יֹשֵׁ֣ב עַל־הַיָּ֔ם וְעַ֖ל יַ֥ד הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ |
Sforno, the
famous Sephardic commentator expands on the keyword of ‘Efes’ (However):
“However, the people who inhabit the country: it is impossible to conquer the land since we cannot defeat its people. Not only are the people tough, but the cities are fortified. The inhabitants of the land, the Amelakites hate us fiercely. They will engage in a pre-emptive war against us so that we should not even get near their borders.”
I have always been bothered by the turn of phrase (‘however’) that introduces this next section. Within the last hour, the spies have re-entered the camp literally bearing the fruits of their labour. They have augmented their description with living, tangible proof of how bountiful the produce is.
What would the spies achieve by spoiling the moment, particularly by referencing the sadistic Amalekites, whose recent attacks had wounded the nation so severely both physically and psychologically? It's as though they were determined to strip the varnish off the prize they had garnered during their brotherly walking trip.
Rashi underscores this point, quoting the Midrash Tanchuma (Shlach, 9)
“The Amalekites dwell in the Negev Regions: Because they had already been ‘burnt’ by Amalek, the spies mentioned him first in order to terrify them.”
Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb tried their best to turn the crowd and remind the people that the same Gd who had split the sea, provided them with the Manna and quails, would similarly use His power to enable them to possess and conquer the land (according to Rashi’s commentary). This was to no avail and the resulting punishment led, quite literally to forty years of wandering around the desert.
(32) But
your carcasses shall drop in this wilderness,
(33) while
your children roam the wilderness for forty years, suffering for your
faithlessness, until the last of your carcasses is down in the wilderness.
(34) You shall bear your punishment for forty years, corresponding to the number of days—forty days—that you scouted the land: a year for each day and you shall know my displeasure.
Sometimes, symbols as grand as they may appear are not enough. At this point, the Israelites had witnessed countless miracles, from the Exodus itself to the cluster of grapes that sat before them. The spies’ lack of faith, despite having been successful in infiltrating the land, travelling throughout within her borders and returning safely with glowing evidence of its uniqueness, amply proves this fact. A symbol without meaning is simply an attractive but ultimately empty container.
In 'The
Merchant of Venice', (Act 2, Scene 7) Portia hands the key to The Prince of
Morocco and he opens the golden casket. Looking
inside he says:
" Damn
it! What’s this? It’s a skull with a scroll in its empty eye socket. I’ll read
it aloud.
(he reads) “All that glitters (originally written as 'glisters') is not gold..."
The symbol in this sad chapter might have glittered had the spies and the people realised that it was an example of Gd's golden blessings to the land, they could have referenced it positively to encourage the people to follow Moses as he led them, protected by Gd into Canaan.
All that glitters might have been gold.
Dame Vera Lynn could have spent the rest of her life after the war as a 'potent symbol of resilience and hope' and nobody would have begrudged her this honour. However, she sensibly shirked off the title, saw through its hollow nature and instead dedicated her life to helping others and being there for 'The Boys'. Along with her a successful career in music and broadcasting, she founded the "Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity" which to this day helps children with Cerebral Palsy and other motor learning impairments. It does marvellous work and you can read about its services at www.dvlcc.org.uk
The charity, like its owner is formed out of real gold and if you wish to remember her in the way that she would have wished, perhaps you would consider donating to this cause.
The spies and the people they influenced could have achieved so much if they had taken a moment to appreciate the meaning behind their symbol. At the end of the day, life is not simply about symbols but the humans that know how to utilise them and benefit others as a result.
The spies
could have learned a great deal from the late and great, Dame Vera Lynn, may
she rest in peace. Shabbat Shalom.
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