Shelach 5785 – Our God and Our People

During these very difficult days, not only do others challenge our sacred and inherent connection to the holy land of Eretz Yisrael, but they also threaten our very existence. In response, we must rise to the challenge by embracing both our mission defined by God to serve as His goy kadosh, His holy nation, and our firm commitment to support and protect each other and tie our own identity and fate to our people.

That duality is not unique to these time as in Judaism there is no gap between shul and state. As Rav Yitzchak Hutner noted, the words Shema Yisrael, “Hear O Israel”, are not just an introduction but an essential part of the Jew’s declaration of faith: our connection to God and our national identity are inextricably intertwined (Pachad Yitzchak, Chanukah, 13:3). This is a truism that has been repeated in different forms and every generation, from Ruth’s statement to Naami, “Your nation is my nation, and your God is my God,” to the once-assimilated Herzl’s declaration that “Zionism is the return to Judaism even before the return to the land of Israel.”

Redemption in the story of the spies likewise came from two angles. Yehoshua and Calev both resisted their peers and refused to join them in turning the hearts of their people away from the Land of Israel, yet their resistance had two very different sources. Yehoshua drew his strength from a prayer uttered on his behalf and made a part of his identity by his teacher Moshe, who pleaded that “God should save you from the plot of the spies”, whereas Calev made a detour to visit Chevron, where he prayed at the graves of the patriarchs that he not be swayed by his fellow spies (Rashi to Bamidbar 13:16 and 13:22).

Yehoshua was the ultimate disciple of Moshe. Both were more associated with God than with Israel. Moshe – the Ish HaElokim (Man of God) – was raised outside of his family in the house of Pharaoh, and then – after growing up and leaving that house – was removed from his nation as well, to live and raise his family in the land of Midian. Moshe was distanced by God from both his rootsand his branches, as his children did not succeed him nor even follow in his ways in any notable manner. He was a man of God more than a man of the people. Yehoshua, his student, joined Moshe in his Divine isolation, waiting for Moshe at the foot of the mountain (Shemot 24:13, 32:17) and never leaving Moshe’s tent (Shemot 33:11). And, like Moshe, Yehoshua did not have children who succeeded him (Megillah 14b).

What protected Yehoshua, the man of God, from joining with the spies? God’s repeated wish and command that the Jewish people enter the land of Israel. God saved him from the plot of the spies.

Calev, on the other hand, was a man of the people. Calev would marry Miriam, who questioned how Moshe could leave his family for the sake of pursuing the word of God (Bamidbar 12:1). Calev and Miriam would together create the offspring that would ultimately result in the Davidic dynasty (TB Sotah 11b), producing the king charged with the national destiny of the Jewish people, whose heart is the heart of the Jewish community (Rambam Hilchot Melachim 3:6).

What protected Calev, the man of the people, from joining the spies? His familial and national identity. Calev visited his forefathers buried in Chevron where he was reminded of his roots and destiny in Eretz Yisrael. That visit and vision precluded him from joining with the spies in rejecting the land that represents both the past and the future of his people.

Redemption comes from these two kinds of heroes and sources of strength that inevitably merge: our commitment to the word of God and our bond with our nation, our identity, and our destiny. During these especially challenging times, we redouble our commitment to the Jewish people and to our mission as Hashem’ holy nation. Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad.