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The Desert Dead

Jun 20, 2025 By Raymond Scheindlin | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

When the spies returned to the Israelite camp in the wilderness of Paran after scouting out the Land of Canaan, they reported that the land did indeed flow with milk and honey but that it could not be conquered. It was full of warlike people鈥擜malekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Emorites, and Canaanites鈥攎en of enormous size and strength, giants descended from the sons of gods dwelling in fortified towns with walls that reached the sky. Even the land鈥檚 produce was intimidating, for it took two Israelite men holding a great pole on each end to carry out a single cluster of grapes that they had taken as a sample of the land鈥檚 bounty and as evidence of its supernatural scale. The spies were sincere in urging caution; they had been truly terrified by their experiences. When they were in Hebron, for example, they had hidden in a cave from giants. The cave was actually a pomegranate rind that a giant鈥檚 daughter had thrown away. But when the girl remembered her father鈥檚 admonition not to litter, she returned, picked up the pomegranate rind with the twelve spies inside it, and tossed it into her garden as easily as you pick up and throw an eggshell.

The Large Significance of the Littlest Letter

Jun 28, 2024 By Malka Strasberg Edinger | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

Could one tiny letter really be so important? At the beginning of this week鈥檚 parashah, as Moshe sends twelve scouts to tour the Land of Canaan, we are told that Moshe changed Joshua鈥檚 name from Hoshea to Yehoshua.

Always Something There to Remind Me

Jun 16, 2023 By Abigail Uhrman | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

In the same way that the Yashar projects are physical reminders of camps鈥� inclusive values and powerfully shape camp culture, tzitzit function to remind B鈥檔ei Yisrael of their covenantal relationship with God and encourage them to fulfill the mitzvot that God has commanded. Like camps鈥� newly accessible spaces, tzitzit are ever-present symbols that, at their best, help B鈥檔ei Yisrael recall their most precious values and activate their capacity to realize these ideals.

Mapping our Love

Jun 22, 2022 By Brent Chaim Spodek | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

Moses had no idea what he was getting into.

It wasn鈥檛 just when he was talking to shrubbery and confronting tyrants at the beginning of his journey that he was in the dark about what his future held. Even deep into his leadership, even after he had weathered rebellion and despair, even after he had personal encounters with the Divine, he had no idea what was coming next.

Contempt for God鈥檚 Word?

Jun 4, 2021 By Gordon Tucker | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

Numbers chapter 15, having set forth instructions for how to atone for unintentional sins, next turns its attention to deliberate transgressions (30鈥�31):

But the person who transgresses with a high hand, whether native or sojourner鈥攈e reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from the midst of his people. For he has shown contempt for the word of the Lord [devar adonai bazah], and God’s commandment he has violated. That person shall surely be cut off, his crime is upon him.

What True Leadership Demands

Jun 15, 2020 By Barry Holtz | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

This is truly a fateful parashah. For it is in this week鈥檚 Torah reading that we learn why Israel is condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. The details of the story are straightforward: Moses chooses twelve representatives, one from each of the tribes, to scout the land that the people are about to enter. The spies are given a very specific assignment: Come back with facts鈥攊s this a good land? Are the peoples who live there strong or weak? What is the produce of this land like? (Num. 13:17-20) 

The Power of One

Jun 28, 2019 By Judith Hauptman | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

This week鈥檚 parashah, Shelah Lekha, opens with the famous episode of twelve scouts going on a reconnaissance mission to the land of Israel. As most of us know the story, upon their return, ten of them recommend returning to Egypt, whereas just two, Joshua and Caleb, encourage the Israelites to continue their journey to the Promised Land. When we look at the verses of chapter 13, we discover that that is not exactly what they say.

What Did the Spies Learn About the Land (Before They Even Went There)?

Jun 8, 2018 By Alex Sinclair | Commentary | Shelah Lekha

A Jewish leader is talking to a group of Diaspora Jews who are about to visit Israel. 鈥淢ake sure you visit all over,鈥� he says. 鈥淔ind out what it鈥檚 like there. What are the people like? Is the food good? And when you come back, can you bring me a souvenir?鈥�

Of course, I鈥檓 referring to Numbers 13:17鈥�20. Yes, Shelah Lekha is the first example of Israel education in Jewish history.