This week's Torah portion tells the story of the spies. It is a sad and tragic story: God commanded Moshe to "Send out men for yourself that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel.’ Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them." (Numbers 13:1-2) These men came back with a report, "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan." Furthermore, they said, "We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we." So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

The reaction of the people to this report was immediate and predictable: "Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?" So they said to one another, "Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt." God became very angry with the Israelites, and swore that none of them would reach the Promised Land.

Jewish tradition deals more harshly with the spies and those who listened to them than with the other great sinners of the Torah, the worshipers of the Golden Calf. Since the three sins for which the Torah commands that we accept death rather than violate are idolatry, adultery and murder -- and since the spies did not violate any of those, while the golden calf did, it would certainly stand to reason that they deserves a more lenient punishment. 3,000 instigators of the calf-worship died for their sin -- a whole generation for the spies' most heinous crime of the desert experience, and the one whose ramifications accompany us throughout history. Midrashic tradition insists that the day when the spies returned with their ill-fated report was none other than Tisha B’Av, the date on which both of our Holy Temples were subsequently destroyed, and throughout the ages we have had many tragic events occur.

Why is this so? Is God a little too harsh on these men, and on those who heard their report? The great sages of the ages, again and again examined this issue, and again and again they came to the conclusion that God is just and merciful -- and that we are the sinners. There are a number of reasons for this reasoning, and it is not because one accepts that "God is good" as a given. The sages explained that the sin of the calf was the result of the Israelites loss of their great teacher, Moshe, and their desperation to find a substitute for him. The Israelites were like children lost in the desert, and their error was grave -- but not all that surprising, or long lasting.

The spies were "every one a ruler among them" -- princes of the people -- and they had an obligation to steer the people right. Instead they shouted "fire!!" in a crowded theater. Of course the people were frightened. The people lost their confidence. And it was this loss of confidence that doomed them -- as it did the Jewish people in many other times, on many other "Tisha B'Av..." The failure of the spies is a shortcoming in education, and in the role of adults in the raising of children to be responsible adults.

We all have a responsibility for the children. For the last three weeks we have been celebrating our children's coming of age in b'nei-mitzvot services. Because of that we have not noted the gathering in Washington, "Stand for the Children." We need to note, and we need to be aware that many children are in danger. Consider these facts:

Every 9 seconds a child drops out of school.

Every 10 seconds a child is reported abused or neglected.

Every 14 seconds a child is arrested.

Every 25 seconds a baby is born to an unmarried mother.

Every 32 seconds a baby is born into poverty.

Every 1 minute a baby is born to a teen mother.

Every 2 minutes a baby is born at low birthweight.

Every 3 minutes a baby is born to a mother who received late or no prenatal care.

Every 15 minutes a baby dies.

Every 2 hours a child is killed by firearms.

Every 4 hours a child commits suicide.

Every 5 hours a child dies from abuse or neglect.

EVERY DAY IN AMERICA

3 children dies from abuse or neglect.

6 children commit suicide.

13 children are homicide victims.

15 children are killed by firearms.

91 babies die.

518 babies are born to mothers who had late or no prenatal care.

790 babies are born at low birthweight.

1,407 babies are born to teen mothers.

2,660 babies are born into poverty.

2,833 children drop out.

3,398 babies are born to unmarried mothers.

6,042 children are arrested.

8,493 children are reported abused or neglected.

If the children are lost, if our progeny will not carry on the heritage that we have received, that we claim to value -- what purpose does it all have?

There were two spies who were properly educated: Jushua and Caleb -- students of Moshe, men of faith. The text tells us, "And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes, and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, "The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." Their training gave them something the rest of the spies, the rest of the Israelites lacked -- Courage.

The generation of Joshua, Caleb and the spies faced danger and weighty demands to achieve their destiny by the will of the Lord. Not all of us may see our lives in these terms. Yet each generation faces its own Promised Land - occupied by giants and fortified cities. "Taking the land" is not, in any generation, a piece of cake. If the land (the spiritual and geographical inheritance marked out for you by God) is worth taking, it will require courage. What is courage? I believe it is facing difficult, opposing circumstances with resolve and the calm readiness to sacrifice, venturing forward for a good greater than one’s self. That is a tall order to fill -- and it can only be done when one has conviction. Conviction comes through knowledge and understanding. The best hope of any generation lies in preparedness. If we are not prepared, we shall perish. If we don't prepare the next generation, they shall perish. That is our great responsibility: to insure the survival, not only of our generation -- but of all the coming generations. We do that through education. We do it through a commitment of our time and resources to the welfare of the young. In our nation, in our community, in our congregation. With this commitment, we are blessed with life eternal -- without it we doom ourselves and our progeny to chaos, to despair, to Tish'a B'Av. As the "Good Book" says, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" [Deu. 30:19] Amen

This week's Torah portion is Shlakh lekha, which means "send for yourself." Now, before I even begin to speak about it, I want to make an observation. We are in full summer mode: It is hot and humid outside, many of our members are on vacation -- and even those who are in town think that God, and our Temple, take the summer off. Of course, we don't, and surely they should know it. But they don't, because they choose to think as they do rather than investigate and ascertain just what the schedule is -- and then act upon it! So now we get back to the text in the Torah. It tells the story of the spies that Moses sent soon after the experience at Sinai, when the Children of Israel heard God speak to them and saw the smoke and the fire and the trembling ground beneath their feet. The Torah was given fifty days after exodus, and was followed by the time Moshe spent on Mount Sinai, the trial and tribulations of the Golden Calf, and the building of the Tabernacle. In last week's portion we read about the dedication of the first sanctuary of our people. That must have taken place on or around the time of Shavu'ot -- marking a year since the giving of God's Torah. We know that the spies came back on the ninth of Av, and that they were gone for forty days. It must have taken a few days to choose the spies, -- and they left, counting back from the ninth of Av, on the twenty-eighth of Sivan. That is a mere three weeks after the time of the dedication of the Holy Tabernacle, on the day of the giving of the Torah.

Now, this means that God spoke to Moshe and asked him to "send for yourself" men to spy the land on the very morrow of the celebration of Shavu'ot. Keep this in mind, as you ask yourself a few questions that our sages asked:

1. Why did God, who is all knowing, ask Moshe to send the men, since He knew ahead of time that they will bring a bad report to the people?

2. Why did God allow the men to see the things they saw? He could have shown them a 'perfect land,' to insure a good report.

3. Who is responssible for the fiasco of the spies?

I am sure that you realize the first answer that our sages gave to all the above questions. "Hakol beyad shama'yim, khutz mi'yir'at shama'yim -- all is in the hands of Heaven except for the reverence of Heaven." God has a master plan -- but he has given man free will, and we can actually act against God's master plan. It does not cancel God's plan -- but it can delay it. God's miracles work with and through the acts of humanity. Humanity despoiled God's earth in the early days, making necessary the flood. God warned Nineveh of its sins that would bring about it's destruction, and the people of that city repented and God did not destroy the city. Lot tried to prevent the cruelty of the people of Sodom and had he succeeded they would have been saved from the destruction that the angels came to bring upon them. There is always a choice to make -- there is always an alternate course of action. When one is conditioned in Mitzvot one makes the right choices. When one is driven by ego, by age old fears and new found distractions, one is much more likely to make the wrong choice. Just as in physics, the law of God is like the law of nature -- every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That is why God speaks to Moshe and tells him "Shlakh lekha" -- send for yourself. God knows what the land is like, and God can show that land to Abraham or to the spies as a "land flowing with milk and honey" -- and still they will use their own eyes and interpret with their own mind, which is controlled by the totallity of their past experiences. Thus, unless their faith is stronger than their conditioning, they will bring back a bad report!

So, you see, the issue is not the "raw data" of what the spies saw. We had a very good example of this kind of "problem of interpretation" in recent news items. After both India and Pakistan tested Atomic devices, questions were raised in the press and in Congress about the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies -- why didn't they warn us of the coming event. A similar question was asked in 1973 in Israel -- why didn't the government know, why was it not informed of the coming attack and its ferocity. It did not help at all to advance the argument that if they had known and had taken counter measures the attack may have been delayed and eventually taken place at another time, when the enemy was even more prepared and stronger, and our defences would have been even less up to the task of stopping the enemy and then taking the initiative and returning the threat to his soil and his population.

So, we can answer the first question easily enough: Why did God, who is all knowing, ask Moshe to send the men, since He knew ahead of time that they will bring a bad report to the people? God knew that the land IS good. He showed the spies a "Land flowing with milk and honey." The spies had free choice to report one way or another -- just as Ben-Gurion could have accepted the advice of experts around the world and NOT declared the creation of Israel. They advised based on the facts. He acted based on his faith in the people of Israel, their determination to have a state -- and, yes, a strong sense of "destiny" -- which is another word for faith!

We can also answer the second question, Why did God allow the men to see the things they saw? God showed them all the good things about the land -- but he could not keep from them the facts as they were "on the ground." Had they come back and said that they saw an empty land, with no threat to the advancing Israelites, they would have, possibly, done more harm than they did with the report they gave. The Israelites would have gone on to the land, unprepared to do battle, and they would have suffered a great defeat that may have prevented them from ever inheritting the land. For, while it is true that God was helping them in battle -- you may recall how they fared when the fought the Amalek in the desert: When Moshe's arms went up they won, and when his arms were down -- they lost! God helps those who help themselves. Ben-Gurion used to say that while he is a non-religious pragmatist who prepared to wage war with the enemies of his newborn state -- he always "counted on" miracles happening. And they did, they did! Moshe counted on miracles all the time -- and sometimes they just didn't, and the Amalekites bit off the stragglers and the weak at the tail of the camp, and the Moabites refused to listen to reason, and so on. So even if God had shown the spies a 'perfect land,' to insure a good report -- there were never any guarantees.

Now, finally, we come to the third question: Who is responssible for the fiasco of the spies? The answer to this one is much more complex! The answer is, human nature versus the nature of God. Maybe it could better be answered by saying that the faith is God is not like the superstitious religions that existed before Abraham came to preach the message of the living God. People wish to manipulate their existence, controlling nature, controlling their environment in every conceivable way. This could work only if there was only one human being upon this earth. As soon as there are two people, their environment and their existence will conflict with one another at some point, of that you may be sure. Ancient religion enlisted "the powers of the gods" to act upon nature and the environment in favor of the practitioner and none else. Of course it did not always work, in fact, more often than not it did not work, and that is why the priests and prophets of these ancient religions began the quest for knowledge -- to improve their gods' performance. When you KNOW what to ask for, you are more likely to get the answer you want. This, however, is not religion, in is politics!

The teachings of Judaism suggested that all is possible when one is accepting of what man can do, what God might help him to achieve which may seem to be above and beyond what he thinks he is capable of at the start of his quest. We are mortals, and our alloted time upon earth restricts us even beyond our nature. The only way we can overcome our limited ability, limited raw strength and few years of life is by allowing our spirits to take flight. We do this by means of education and faith. There were two spies who were properly educated: Jushua and Caleb -- students of Moshe, men of faith. The text tells us, "And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of those who spied the land, tore their clothes; And they spoke to all the company of the people of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to spy, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear them not." [Num. 14:6-9] Their training at the hand of Moshe gave them something the rest of the spies, and the rest of the Israelites, lacked -- Courage!

What is courage? Fools and rogues will tell you that is is the total disregard of danger. Yet, disregard for danger is either folly or callous endangerment that usually leads to pain and loss. No, indeed! Courage is the ability to overcome fear, which is nature's alarm system, to act in a brave way that is calculated to give us a chance to overcome that which causes the fear. The generation of Joshua, Caleb and the spies faced danger and weighty demands to achieve their destiny by the will of the Lord. Though I was not there in person, I have read enough about the event, and I have heard the recording of the words spoken by our great president, Franklin Delano Rosevelt, on the occasion of his first innauguration, when the nation was in the pits of the depression, people were hungry for bread and the economy was at a stand-still: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." Not really! People were afraid for their very existence, for the roof over their head and the future of their children. However, the thing that held them prisoner of these issues was fear itself, the lack of courage to face the issues and overcome them. Faith makes it possible to take a leap over the abbyss and arrive at the promised land of work for rewards. Each generation faces its own Promised Land - occupied by giants and fortified cities. Today's challenge is to bring our society together. We must fight ignorance: Parents who don't know how to raise children, and consequently they fill them with fears, deprive them of hope, and consign them to a life of struggle and failure that is bound to bring about despair and foster violence. We have to respect life and ensure that all have the chance to enjoy the fruit of their labor and have a share of the good life that our country has made possible for so many of us. We have to work for the common good -- for only when all are safe will we be completely safe -- only when all are happy with their lot will we be able to live in happiness, knowing that we have faced the challenge and have come up on the side of God and His plan.

Amen

Shlakh Lekha 5759

This week's Torah portion is Shlakh lekha, from Numbers 13 to the 15:41 -- the name means "send for yourself." It tells the story of the spies that Moses sent soon after the experience at Sinai, when the Children of Israel heard God speak to them and saw the smoke and the fire and the trembling ground beneath their feet. The Torah was given fifty days after exodus, and was followed by the time Moshe spent on Mount Sinai, the trial and tribulations of the Golden Calf, and the building of the Tabernacle. In last week's portion we read about the dedication of the first sanctuary of our people. That must have taken place on or around the time of Shavu'ot -- marking a year since the giving of God's Torah. We know that the spies came back on the ninth of Av, and that they were gone for forty days. It must have taken a few days to choose the spies, -- and they left, counting back from the ninth of Av, on the twenty-eighth of Sivan. That is a mere three weeks after the time of the dedication of the Holy Tabernacle, on the anniversary of the giving of the Torah.

It is fitting that on this day, when Moses sent men, "every one of them a prince," -- which means a leader in Israel, we here at Temple Emanuel will invest the power of leadership in a new board of directors and officers. These are our princes, our leaders and elders, knights of our small "nation" of the Temple Emanuel of Lakeland people. These are to be our role models, our knights in shining armor. Yes, KNIGHTS -- who posseess the following:

KNowledge

Inspiration

Generosity

Humility

Trust    -    and of course

Sanctity

With these they can truly serve with distinction and achieve new standards of community involvement. We wish them all Godspeed!

This week's portion in the Torah retells the story of the spies. It is a sad and tragic story: God commanded Moshe to "Send out men for yourself that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel.' Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them." (Numbers 13:1-2) These men came back with a report, "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan." Furthermore, they said, "We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we." So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."
According to Torah – there are three issues on which a Jew y'amut vlo ya'avor - must die rather than compromise: Adultery, idolatry and murder. This week's portion, shlakh lekha, speaks of the spies that came back with a report that frightened the Israelites, and they reacted by asking to return to Egypt. At Sinai, while Moshe was on the mountain receiving the Torah, the Israelites built the golden calf, and committed an orgy of the sense. Thus they broke two out of the three "yamut velo yaavor" transgressions. The Torah records that three thousand paid for this transgression with their lives. In the matter of the spies, however, none of the three were violated – and yet a whole generation was condemned to death. Why? Was God fair to that generation or did he judge them too severely?
Our sages taught that there were two wrongs combined in the event of the spies - leaders did not lead, and the community did not close rank with Torah. That double transgression doomed the generation. Kol Yisrael arevim zeh baze. We are all responsible for one another. When we act in a responsible manner, when we choose leaders who can lead for the best interests of Israel, in the way taught in Torah - we choose life. When the community fails to choose the right leadership, and when the leadership panics and spreads fear and defeatism - a whole generation is condemned.
In other words, the "sin" of the spies episode is a failure of leadership – which affects not only the "sinners," but also those that are sinned-against, the victims.
We are corretly going through a similar problem in our country. The congress is investigating the intelligence establishment and the executive branch of government to find out what went wrong before September 11 that made the event possible and so costly in life and property damage. It has been established that the reason for our loss was definitely not secrecy and lack of warning. Indeed, it is becoming more and more apparent that there have been numerous reports of terrorist plans for a major attack on our nation at its most vulnerable points. We are a people who value life and respect property rights. Our enemies do not - and they had no problem in paying with a few lives for their attack's success.
We lost the "battle of the spies," as did the Israelites in the desert, because we did not understand who we are dealing with, who is our enemy – and who is on our side. In the desert a whole generation was condemned to extinction. We must not lose our vision, we must not lessen our grip. We must be strong and havre faith in the rock and redeemer of Israel. Together we can move mountains and bridge the widest chasm. We have done it before, and we shall do it again. Let us resolve to carry on no matter how difficult the road ahead. We shall see the reward of the just. "Vihi noam adona'y aleynu, umaase yadenu konena aleynu, umaase yadenu konenehu - may God's pleasantness be upon us, and may He prosper the work of our hands - the work of our hands He shall surely establish." [Psalms 90:17]
Amen

Shlakh lekha 5763

This week's Torah portion, from the book of Devarim, Numbers, Chapter 13:1 to 15:41 is called Shlakh lekha, which means "send for yourself." It tells the "story of the spies." This sad and tragic story is well known. Let me summarize it briefly: God commands Moshe to "Send out men for yourself that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel.' Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them." [Numbers 13:1-2] The men came back with a report, "We came to the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey." [Ibid. 13:27] Well, so far, so good, as we say. But now they change their report and their demeanor and continue, "We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." [Ibid. 13:31] So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the Nefilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nefilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight." [Ibid. 13:32,33]
The reaction of the Israelites was swift, and one may well say, based on their behavior since they left Egypt, quite predictable: "the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And why has the Lord brought us to this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us choose a chief, and let us return to Egypt." [Ibid. 14:1-4]
Jewish tradition deals far more harshly with the spies and those who listened to them than with the other great "sinners" of the Torah – those worshippers of the Golden Calf immediately after the revelation at Sinai. Midrashic tradition insists that the day when the spies returned with their ill-fated report was none other than Tisha B'Av, the date on which both of our Holy Temples were subsequently destroyed, and throughout the ages we have had many tragic events occur. That date is truly "a date that lives in infamy!"
Why should this be the case? Is God a little too harsh on these men, and on those who heard their report? The great sages of Israel, throughout the ages, again and again examined this issue, and again and again they came to the conclusion that God is just and merciful -- and that we are the transgressors, the sinners.
The spies were chosen as the top men in their tribes, as the Torah tells us, "every one a ruler among them" and as such, they had an obligation to steer the people right. Instead they chose to report that the people are not up to the task of conquering the land. Bur more than that – they scared the people right out of their wits – like someone yelling "fire! FIRE!" in a crowded theater, at the peak of a suspenseful film. Of course the people were frightened and they panicked. The recently freed slaves, long on suffering and short on faith and experience, lost what little self-confidence they had. And it was this loss of confidence that doomed them – as it did the Jewish people in many other times, on many other "Tisha B'Av" occasions. The failure of the spies is a shortcoming in responsible leadership – which is a by-product of poor education. The men may have been princes, but they would never become kings, for they lacked the quality of sovereignty. That quality was once explained by Napoleon Bonapart, when he was asked (in his peak of winning to be sure) for his formula for success – "l'audace, toujour l'audace!"
The generation of the spies faced decisions that bore great danger and imposed weighty demands to achieve a revolution of mammoth proportions by the will of the Lord and under His guidance. They were removed from Egypt to be given a new and enlightened way of life, to inherit a land made desolate by people who did not heed the word of God and who were regurgitated by the very earth they dwelt on. It was Israel's destiny to liberate the land and turn it into a land flowing with milk and honey.
Yet the spies despised the gift of God, and doubted His ability to "deliver" on His promise. The Israelites proved that the leaves on a tree cannot differ from its stock and limbs. Lacking audacity, they fell away from grace, and it became impossible for them to fulfill their destiny.
What was true some thirty five hundred years ago is just as true today. The great United States could not hold a line in a very small confrontation in Beirut a few years ago - because we did not have the strength of our convictions. We failed to rescue our diplomats in Teheran, and we took both casualties and calumny in Africa, in the Kosovo conflict, and even within the boundaries of the United States when we were attacked by the terrorists on September 11.
When we gird ourselves to the task, however, and when we listen to our "spies" (read experts) when they give their learned and confident report, we are capable of anything. We cleared the rubble of the twin towers and the pentagon in record time, we liberated the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we shall persevere against all who wish to enslave us, or worse, wipe us out. We must all learn to see the future in nothing less than these terms. We must realize that each generation faces its own Promised Land - occupied by giants and fortified cities. "Taking the land" is not, in any generation, a piece of cake. If the land (the spiritual and geographical inheritance marked out for you by God) is worth taking, it will require courage.
"Hakol beyad shama'yim, milvad yir'at shama'yim – all is in the hands of Heaven except for the reverence of Heaven." God has a master plan – but he has given man free will, and we can – and often do – actually act against His master plan. This does not cancel God's plan – but it sure can delay it! God's miracles work with and through the acts of mankind. There is always a choice to make – there is always an alternate course of action! You can listen to the spies and lose heart, or you can gird yourself to the task, take courage, and overcome the handicap of your leaders' lack of faith. Let us keep faith with our men at the front, and not fall into disunion about our "overseas adventures." As our Torah teaches us, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" [Deu. 30:19] Amen

Shlakh lekha 5764

The Torah portion this week, still in the book of Numbers, beginning in the thirteenth chapter, tells the well-known story of the spies. It is a sad and tragic story: God commanded Moshe to “Send out men for yourself that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel.’ Of every tribe of their father shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them.” [Numbers 13:1-2] These men came back with a report, "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan." [Ibid. 13:27,28] Furthermore, they said, "We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we." [Ibid. 13:31] So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." [Ibid. 13:32,33]
The reaction of the people to this report was immediate and predictable: "Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?" So they said to one another, "Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt." God became very angry with the Israelites, and swore that none of them would reach the Promised Land.
What happened next was that the people wanted to show God that they are sorry for their transgression, and they are willing to go anywhere He sends them, even if he does not send them! Moshe tells them not to do it, not to defy God’s mitzvah - but the people persist: “Va’ya’apilu la’alot lerosh hahar - and they presumed to go up to the hill top;” [Ibid. 13:44] Moshe and the Ark of God remain in the camp, and we read the end of the even: “ Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites who lived in that hill, and defeated them, and pursued them, even to Hormah.” [Ibid. 13:45]
I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about this verse, “Va’ya’apilu la’alot lerosh hahar - and they presumed to go up to the hill top;” - which was a transgression in the time of Moshe, but a great mitzvah in the days of struggle for the independence of Israel. The Hebrew term va’ya’apilu is taken to mean ‘to struggle to climb’ - as when you climb a tall mountain. It does not appear very often in the Hebrew scriptures, in fact this may be the only place where it is found. Here, the Israelites are trying to appease God in his anger at them for their lack of faith in him. They listened to the spies and for a moment to return to Egypt. Now they repent, and rise above their own pettiness and folly. They will climb the mountain, “ya’apilu,” and prove to Him that they are trustworthy. God does not want to see them repent or get a second chance. After all, this IS their second chance - after the golden calf incident of Sinai. He turns away from them, and they are beaten by their enemies.
Different times, different conditions, same struggle of the descendants of Abraham to reach the “Promised Land.” It is the nineteen-thirties, Hitler and his anti-Semitic poison is beginning to overrun Europe - and the umbrella the Jews prepared for a rainy day, the haven in the ancient homeland that was meant to shield and shelter Jews threatened by just such a poison, will not protect us from the “acid rain.” “No room at the inn,” say the sons of Albion given the task of training us to take our destiny in our own hands. The legal means of bringing our brothers back home are not available, and the leadership of the Zionist movement, the Jewish national rebirth organization, charges the Hagganah, our underground army, with the task of finding new ways of bringing our persecuted brethren home. It was called “Ali’ya bet,” immigration “B” – or “alternative path to get back home. Some came by ship, in rickety boats that were barely sea-worthy. Some travelled on foot, having landed as tourists in Lebanon or Egypt, and then smuggled over the hills in the north or the desert in the south. Neither route was safe, and neither were they easy. The British had agents at all ports in the Mediterranean to discover and report the purchase of the boats by Hagganah, and once out of port, the boats were tracked by airplanes if the RAF to keep their cargo and destination above boards. Great Britain prevailed on many nations not to allow ships to pick Jews up at their ports and carry them to Israel. Th is heartless policy cause the sinking of the S.S. Struma in the Black Sea – with the loss of more than 600 men, women, and children. Another ship, the S.S. Patria, sunk in Haifa harbor, with many a Jewish potential im migrant drowned because of the British law preventing the immigrant from coming ashore.
The men and women of Aliya Bet were unsung heroes of the struggle for Israel’s rebirth and the saving of Jewish lived from the hungry mouth of the death factories. The men, women and children who passed through the hands of the men and women of Hagganah, and the nation of Israel must not and shall not forget that at a time of great need, there were those who heeded the call, and rose up to the challenge. They were the ones who struggled to reach the great peaks of heroism, and they did not fail.

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