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This week’s parsha – Shelach – relates that as the Jews in the desert were about to enter the land of Israel, ten of their most respected leaders returned with a negative report, saying that although Israel was a good land, it wouldn’t be possible to conquer it. As a result, they were punished by immediate death, and the rest of the Jews wandered in the desert for forty years until finally entering Israel. The Torah gives us the names of all of these “spies,” who also happened to be the leaders of their respective tribes. The Talmud (Sota 34B) relates, “R’ Yitzhak said, we have a tradition in hand from our forefathers that all of the spies was named in accordance with their deeds, but we have in hand only one such interpretation: Setor ben Michael, so named because he destroyed (setor) the works of G-d…R’ Yochanan said, we also have another interpretation: Nachbi ben Vaphsi, so named because he hid (hichbi) the words of G-d.”

There are several questions that can be asked here:
1) Why was it so difficult to find interpretations of the rest of the names of the spies? While it is true that some general rules apply to interpreting the Torah text, nevertheless, the rabbis used a lot of “poetic license” when coming up with interpretations. And in fact, we do find interpretations of all of the names of the tribes (in Midrash Tanhuma, Hoazinu 7), so why did not R’ Yitzhak’s tradition include interpretations of all of the names?

2) Since the names of the spies corresponded to their deeds, why did Moshe choose these particular men? From their names, he must have known what kind of conduct to expect from them, and if so why did he choose these men?

3) Regarding the interpretations themselves, the first says that Setur ben Michael was called Setur because he “destroyed (setor) the works of G-d.” But, where do we see that he destroyed the works of G-d? He gave a misleading report about Israel, but how did that destroy G-d’s works?

4) The second interpretation says that Nachbi ben Vaphsi “hid the words of G-d.” But, we don’t find that he hid the words of G-d, but rather he hid what he saw in the land of Israel when he gave his report to the Jews. So, what does the interpretation mean?

The key to understanding the Talmud lies in R’ Yitzhak’s words: Ӆwe have a tradition in hand…but we have in handŔ R’ Yitzhak is referring to the kind of interpretation that is “in hand” – that we can learn from it in a way that is practical and down-to-earth. R’ Yitzhak was telling us that indeed, we have interpretations of all of the names of the spies, but there is only one that is “in hand.” There is only one interpretation that contains a lesson applicable to everyday life in the physical world. The interpretations of the other names of the spies aren’t “in hand.” Instead, they are from the world of “our forefathers”; they are appropriate for the service of G-d of our ancestors in the desert, but they fail to contain a practical message for us in our generation.

It is known that the mistake of the spies was that they wanted to remain in the world of study and spirituality. They were loath to leave the desert, where all of their physical needs were tended to, and enter the land of Israel, where they would have to deal with the physical world. In truth, the goal was to serve G-d in Israel, fulfilling the mitzvoth of the Torah in the physical land, but the spies preferred the spiritual life of the desert. This did not mean that they did no mitzvoth at all. The generation of the desert received the Torah and they (including the spies) fulfilled all the commandments were applicable in the desert. They even knew that the emphasis had to be upon action (Talmud Torah that leads to action), or at least upon the kind of study that leads to action. Nevertheless, within the realm of Torah study that leads to action, there are several categories:

1) There is action that is a result of Torah. When we learn, we absorb ideas, which we balance against each other. Sometimes the ideas complement each other, and sometimes they contradict each other, but they always lead in a certain direction. When we choose one of those directions, this is action that is a result of study. An example might be when we meditate upon G-dly ideas (such as the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man), resulting in love or fear of G-d with which to pray. In this category, there are many possible concepts to meditate upon, and we choose one of them in order to increase our love or fear of G-d.
2) There is action that is not just a result, but is proof of our study. For example, halacha (Jewish law) requires us to act in only one way (there may be different opinions within the halacha, but in the end, we must choose only one of them). While studying to try to determine the required path, there may seem to be many possibilities. The proof of the correctness of our thought is when we ultimately choose the path that corresponds to halacha – the one required path of action.

Both of the above categories, utilizing the principle of Torah study leading to action, put the emphasis on study. Whether the action is a result of thinking (as in meditation), or proof of proper thinking (as in halacha), the emphasis is upon the thinking, which then leads to action. But, there is a third category that puts the emphasis on action itself. The action is still a result of study, but the study is so related to the action that they are inseparable:

3) There is Torah study that from its very inception is dedicated to action. That is, the Torah scholar knows that the purpose of his study is to arrive at conclusions that affect the world, since he knows that the Torah was given in order to make the world a “dwelling place for G-d.” Since he knows that his Torah study must lead to action, his actions themselves are permeated and soaked with Torah study – they are one. An example would be as the Rambam described (Hilchot Deot, ch. 5), “Just as the chacham is recognizable by his scholarship, so should he be recognized in his deeds and his eatingŔ Just as his scholarship is recognized by his elevated level, so is the action of the Torah scholar recognizable by its higher level, since it is permeated by Torah and mitzvoth. His actions are not merely directed by his study. They so directly reflect his study that they are in essence, one.

The problem with the spies was not that they were opposed to action or to involvement with the physical world. They fulfilled the mitzvoth that were required of them. The problem was that they lacked the perfection of Torah study that is embodied in the third category above. Their fulfillment of mitzvoth was informed by and a result of their Torah study (as in the first and second categories above). However, what was demanded of them was more than that; their mitzvoth and ma’asim tovim should themselves express the Torah that they learned, as in the third category above. Within the mitzvoth they performed, it should have been recognizable that they learned Torah. Unfortunately, when they returned from the land of Israel with a negative report, they proved the opposite; that the Torah did not yet permeate their actions to a sufficient extent, and for that they were punished.

In the generation of the desert, when the Jews served G-d on a very high intellectual and spiritual level, it was necessary to warn them that their learning must also express itself on the physical plane; that they shouldn’t divorce the spiritual from the physical. The warning came through the interpretations of the names of the spies, each of whom served G-d in his own way. However, in our generation, the emphasis is not upon individual paths of learning and meditation, but upon deed. What we all have in common is fulfillment of the physical mitzvoth, in order to elevate the world and make it a “dwelling place for G-d.” Therefore, R’ Yitzhak said, “We have in hand only one” of the interpretations of the names of the spies – that which has to do with expressing Oneness in the world. The rest of the interpretations correspond to the world of our forefathers in the desert, each in his particular spiritual path. The one that carries a message “in hand” for us is that of “Setur ben Michael,” who destroyed (setur) the works of G-d. A Torah scholar who does not fulfill the commandments (in the way required of a Torah scholar, as in the third category above) fails to build the world – to elevate and purify it – as a result, he ‘destroys’ it as well.

However, we might think that all that is required of us and our generation is simple performance, and that Torah study and prayer are not necessary, or may be performed perfunctorily. Therefore, R’ Yochanan added to the words of R’ Yitzhak, “There is also Nachbi ben Vaphsi, who hid (hichbi) the words of G-d.” The word of G-d is what permeates and creates the universe, and it is study and prayer that makes us aware of the word of G-d. When we study and meditate upon G-dliness, we illuminate and uplift our fulfillment of mitzvoth, and without that the mitzvoth are not complete. So, warns R’ Yochanan, we must also make sure not to be like Nachbi ben Vaphsi, who hid the word of G-d. Rather, our action (mitzvoth) should be permeated with study and prayer.

Finally, we might ask, how can we in our generation expect to uplift and illuminate the world with the power of Torah and cleaving to G-d that characterized the generation of the desert? To this, we have the answer of R’ Yitzhak, “We have a tradition from our forefathersŔ We may not possess the high intellectual and spiritual level of the forefathers, but nevertheless all Jews throughout history are united in one spiritual structure. Our avoda – our service of G-d – is permeated with the connection and study of the former generations, even if unconsciously. Embedded in our own connection to G-d through Torah and mitzvoth is the avoda of our forefathers, and even if we don’t consciously feel the same level of cleaving and spiritual attainment, it is present nonetheless, supporting and helping us in while we fulfill mitzvoth. That’s what helps us to make a dwelling place here in the lower worlds and ultimately bring the meshiach and build the third and permanent Temple!

From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ztz’l, vol. 18, pp. 150-160 Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the old city of Jerusalem