Shlach Special – Moishe's Hidden Messages – According to
Maharal
Contents
Shlach Special – Moishe's
Hidden Messages – According to Maharal
Maharal’s Gematria and
Statement
Many
thanks to Jossi Neufeld, Zurich, for drawing my attention to the three “Mo”s!
Introduction
In
our Parsha, there are several text passages that, when read in context with one
another, reveal a hidden image of the land and cast a completely different
light on Moishe's communication with the scouts/spies.
It
lays bare, so to speak, the spiritual truth about this land on the table!
However,
to understand this, one must have thoroughly studied a passage from the Drash
of the Maharal of Prague on Shabbos HaGadol and apply it here:
Maharal’s Gematria and Statement
Maharal,
Drash on Shabbos HaGadol.
Gematria:
Ma = 45
Schem HaSchem = 45
Odom = 45
Meoid
= 45
Fundamental
statement in the Drash:
The
human being, as a human entity in and of itself, is “Hevel Domo” – like a
breath of air, nothing.
When
the human being makes “Ma” out of themselves, that is, something indefinite,
not directed by the ego, but defined by Torah and Mitzvot;
Then
the human becomes “meoid – much, significant” for HaSchem, a vessel and
instrument of the Almighty, through whom the Almighty’s forces work.
But
this only succeeds if the human becomes extraordinarily humble and claims
nothing of what happens through them for themselves. See, for example, Moishe
Rabbeinu and our numerous Tzadikim.
Who Owns the Land of Yisroel
What
about the Land of Yisroel? Who owns it? And who is it fitting to live there?
When
the spies/scouts are sent out by Moishe, he already senses their intentions. He
warns them and urges them to repent, to do Teshuva:
במדבר
י"ג:י"ח
(יח)
וּרְאִיתֶ֥ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־הָעָם֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ הֶחָזָ֥ק
הוּא֙ הֲרָפֶ֔ה הַמְעַ֥ט ה֖וּא אִם־רָֽב׃
1)
Pshat, according to R. S.R. Hirsch sAl: And
consider the land, what it is, and the people who dwell in it, whether they are
strong or weak, whether they are few in number or numerous.
2) Drash
using Maharal’s statements on the word “Ma – what”:
a) And
see the land: MA is it! (It is HaSchem’s); and the people who sit upon it; Are
they strong – or weak?! (Of course, they are very, very strong, for HaSchem’s
land can only be good, meaning it produces strong people); Are they numerous –
or meager?! (It can only be numerous, for it is a good land that allows people
to multiply. See also Talmud Bavli, Bava Basra 158b).
b) In
the Midrash, it is stated that every nation has a land, and every land is
guided and protected by an angel. Not so Eretz Yisroel. Eretz Yisroel is under
the direct guidance of HaSchem, without an intermediary/representative. And
just as the people of Yisroel are also under HaSchem’s direct guidance, without
an angel, the people of Yisroel are inseparably connected to the Land of Yisroel.
This is essentially what is stated here in the briefest and encrypted form.
(יט) וּמָ֣ה הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ יֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּ֔הּ הֲטוֹבָ֥ה הִ֖וא
אִם־רָעָ֑ה וּמָ֣ה הֶֽעָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁר־הוּא֙ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּהֵ֔נָּה הַבְּמַֽחֲנִ֖ים
אִ֥ם בְּמִבְצָרִֽים׃
1)
And what the land is, in which they dwell,
whether it is good or bad, and what the cities are, in which they dwell,
whether in open or fortified places.
2) And
MA is the land! (The land is HaSchem’s); in this they dwell! Is it good or
bad?! And MA are the cities (the cities, too, are built according to HaSchem’s
will), in which they (the people) dwell! Are they fortified or open?!
The Sin of the Spies:
במדבר
י"ג:ל"ב
(לב) וַיֹּצִ֜יאוּ דִּבַּ֤ת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּר֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ
אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָ֡רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֩ עָבַ֨רְנוּ בָ֜הּ לָת֣וּר
אֹתָ֗הּ אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יוֹשְׁבֶ֙יהָ֙ הִ֔וא וְכׇל־הָעָ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־רָאִ֥ינוּ
בְתוֹכָ֖הּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י מִדּֽוֹת׃
1) And they brought
forth slander about the land they had explored to the children of Yisroel,
saying: The land we traveled to explore is a land that devours its inhabitants,
and all the people we saw in it are men of great stature.
a) Dibas – Slander –
Gematria 406
b)
Oiso – which, they – Gematria 406: The word seems
superfluous. In Hebrew, one could simply omit this word, and the sentence would
still mean exactly the same. Why is it there?
i)
Gematria of both words is 406.
ii)
In the sentence where the two heroes and Tzadikim, who
contradict the spies, call out to the people, the word Oiso also appears, a
seemingly superfluous word!
iii)
What do we learn from this, see below.
They deny the LAND.
And it is said:
צדיקים ירשו ארץ Tzadikim
inherit the land
Calev and Jehoschua:
במדבר
י"ד:ז'
(ז) וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר
הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָבַ֤רְנוּ בָהּ֙ לָת֣וּר אֹתָ֔הּ טוֹבָ֥ה הָאָ֖רֶץ מְאֹ֥ד
מְאֹֽד׃
1) And they spoke to
the entire congregation of the children of Yisroel: The land we traveled to
explore is an exceedingly good land.
2) And they spoke to
the entire congregation of the children of Yisroel: The land, through which
(Oiso) we traveled to explore, is very, very good.
a) Two times “land” –
at least one of them superfluous.
b) Oiso – as above!
The word is superfluous; to express the simple meaning of the sentence, it
could be omitted.
c) Meoid meoid –
very, very – also doubled, and actually unnecessarily so.
d) Meoid Gematria =
45, see above = HaSchem = Odom, human = Meoid, much, important.
3) What do we learn
here?
a) In the two verses
above (13:18, 19), Ma = 45 appears with land, and we learned there that the
land is very closely connected to HaSchem. In each verse, land and Ma appear
once.
b) In our verse here,
land appears twice, and also the word Meoid – very, which has a Gematria of 45
again, as explained above, is deeply connected to HaSchem. Two times land for
two times land above. Two times meoid for two times meoid above. The land is
meoid – it is a land through which HaSchem blesses the world, which does not
function under natural laws. It obeys the commands of the Creator of the world
directly!
c) We can see this in
the fruits and the people living there and their dwellings: The fruits are
gigantic, unnaturally large. And giants live in the land, invincible people
five meters or taller, who build huge cities with walls “up to the heavens.”
The land is, by natural means, unconquerable.
1) Our Free Choice – This!
a)
The last two verses both contain the seemingly superfluous word “oiso” –
this, that, which. Therefore, we connect the last two sentences to understand
what we learn for our inner spiritual attitude:
b)
The spies have an intention: They want to prevent people from entering this
land; they want to return to Mitzrayim and become great, important princes
there. To this end, they deny the land by twisting the existing facts to their
advantage: Large fruits, large people, large cities; everywhere they went, they
saw only funerals and mourning. Therefore: The land is evil, it devours its
inhabitants, only unnaturally large giants can survive in it.
c)
The two Tzadikim, Calev and Jehoschua, on the other hand, make themselves
Ma – indefinite. They see HaSchem’s plan and trust in it. They say: The land is
Toiv meoid meoid, doubly good, and it is indeed HaSchem’s land, destined for
HIS people. And therefore, it is not conquerable by natural means, cannot be
conquerable by natural means, for HaSchem wants our prayers and our
unconditional faith and trust in HIM (Chatam Sofer). And therefore: they saw
that as soon as they entered the land, the inhabitants began to die. They had
to do nothing. HaSchem caused this to give them a strong sign: I am here, I
protect you and destroy my/your enemies: As I promised, I will fight for you. I
will drive them out and destroy them. And not because you are such great
Tzadikim, but because these nations do everything I hate: Idolatry, child
sacrifices, human sacrifices, same-sex marriages, immorality, immorality with
animals, robbery, murder, infidelity.
d)
In further verses (see the text Bamidbar Shlach – An Evil Day – Diverging
Forces), we learn what the task of the people of Yisroel in the Land of Yisroel
is: To serve the Creator of the world, to live HIS Torah, and thereby become a
light for all nations, so that all of humanity, through its own desire, returns
to HaSchem and lives according to HIS laws.
The choice is
ours. We can live this way or that. Do this – or that. Pursue our interests or
HIS interests.
Lessons for Our Time
And here is also an
intersection with our time:
Naturally, the people of
Yisroel should have disappeared over the last 2000 years. Billions of people
with an absolute will to destroy pursued them wherever they found them.
The land lay desolate and
empty, yielding hardly any produce to those living on it. It was full of
swamps, deserts, malaria, and all kinds of diseases.
Those who cultivated it
barely reaped any fruits.
Against all logic, the
people of Yisroel returned to their land.
And suddenly, the land
began to produce fruits, it became green and beautiful!
And the people of Yisroel
bring incredible goodness to the world in every conceivable area of life. There
is no industry or activity that has not been enriched by the Jewish spirit, and
continues to be enriched by it.
It follows:
And for the first time in
2000 years, we see enormous signs and wonders. A tiny people of just 15
million, half of them still scattered among the nations, the other half in
their Land of Yisroel, stand firm against 3 billion people who want to
annihilate them.
A 7-front war against 300
million enemies living in the Arab region. Thousands of rockets and drones,
practically without effect. The list is very, very long. The very large number
of miracles is visible to all every day.
This is the direct,
visible proof of what is written in our verses here.
Whoever attacks and seeks
to destroy or dominate the Land of Yisroel and the people of Yisroel goes
directly against HaSchem, the Creator of the world. And that never succeeds.