Parasha: Shelach · Aliyah: Third (Tiferet)

אם חפץ בנו השם, "If G'd delights in us, etc." They were clever to present G'd's attitude to the Israelites as something still doubtful. They did this in order to have a chance to finish what they had to say without hostile interruptions. They succeeded in this and the people waited with their attempt to stone them until after they had completed their speech. This is where we ought to ask why the Israelites did not try and stone them already at the beginning of their words seeing they said nothing different in the course of their speech than what they had said at the beginning. We must therefore assume that the conditional word אם at the beginning of Joshua's words gave the people hope that he too would come up with something negative before concluding what he had to say.

הוא זבת חלב ודבש, "it flows with milk and honey." They underlined their statement with the word הוא, to show that no other country could claim to match the excellence of the land of Canaan.

ואתם אל תיראו, "As to you, do not be afraid, etc." They admitted that any other nation would have reason to fear the inhabitants of the land of Canaan but not the Israelites. They added the letter ו before the word אתם, to say that though the people had accepted the majority report, this did not make it too late for them to change their minds and display faith in G'd.

כי לחמנו הם, "for they are our bread." The reason Joshua and Caleb compared the Canaanites to bread is explained by the Kabbalists. The latter have researched the kind of foods animals exist on and have tried to gain an insight into the significance of the respective animals' food supply. After all, had He but wanted to, G'd could have created the animals in such a way that they did not have to depend on food at all. We know that there are species which feed merely on the spirit (air) which serves such creatures as food. Seeing this is possible, why did G'd not make the Israelites independent of food and all that its preparation entails so that they could devote their entire lives to Torah study and the performance of the commandments? Not only that, but had we been created as independent of a food supply, we would not have been exposed to many of the potential pitfalls different kinds of food represent for us.

I would have answered that if we had not been created in such a way that we are dependent on food for our existence, we would not have been able to fulfil all the commandments in the Torah which deal with certain foods. Our dependence on certain foods enables us to perfom the various commandments in the Torah which are related to food.

The Kabbalists (Shaar Hagilgulin chapter 4 by Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) did not answer our question in this vein. They have added an additional dimension which makes us perceive the lives of all creatures as more meaningful. All living creatures are perceived as achieving a higher level of sanctity by means of the food they consume. The very act of consuming the food helps the inherent level of sanctity they possess to become more manifest through being crystallized. This concept applies even to the "unclean" animals. None of the wicked people, not even Satan himself, is totally devoid of a certain degree of sanctity. In fact, the only reason a wicked person or Samael can continue to exist is this element of sanctity which he contains. The moment this element of sanctity is lost, the entire creature is lost, disintegrates. The same Kabbalists say in chapter 18 of the volume quoted above that it is this element of sanctity which is responsible for these creatures being able to perpetuate themselves when they mate with one another. This is explained in chapter 18 of the volume we quoted above. The spark of sanctity inside a creature is to be viewed as similar to a magnet, i.e. אבן שואבת, a stone possessing the power to attract. This concept helps us understand a saying in Shabbat 34 that when Rabbi Simon ben Yochai looked at a certain person, who had leaked matters which had been discussed amongst the scholars, with fatal consequences. As a result, that person (Rabbi Yehudah ben Gerim) turned into a heap of bones. The sanctity within that person was drawn to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, so that as a result the person in question disintegrated as he could not survive without that spark of sanctity. Keeping these concepts in mind, Joshua and Caleb considered the Canaanites as food for the Jewish people seeing that they had already lost whatever spark of sanctity they used to possess. They elaborated on this theme when they said that the Canaanites' shadow had departed from them, i.e. the spark of sanctity which alone had kept them alive thus far was already in the process of leaving them. The fact that השם אתנו, "G'd is with us," makes us like the magnet which draws unto it these sparks of sanctity which were still within the bodies of the Canaanites. As a result, there was absolutely no reason to fear these people.

ויאמרו כל העדה לרגם אותם באבנים, The whole congregation said to stone them. Why did the people not react in a similar fashion as soon as Caleb said in 13,30: "we can certainly go up and inherit this land?" Presumably the people did not pay any heed to the testimony of a single individual, as such testimony is halachically meaningless when the witness is confronted by two or more witnesses disputing what he said (compare Deut. 19,15). Now that Joshua had joined Caleb, the two represented a valid set of witnesses and the fact that they were outnumbered was halachically irrelevant (compare Makkot 5). In law, the two sets of testimony ranked equally. As a consequence, the two testimonies cancel each other out so that legally speaking the people did not have whom to rely on. Feeling frustrated, the people wanted to kill the witnesses who made up the minority report.

We also need to know why Joshua and Caleb did not invoke the rule we have just mentioned which would have invalidated the testimony of the ten spies? Perhaps they were afraid that the people would consider Joshua's testimony as prejudiced inasmuch as he was Moses' personal valet ever since his youth.

ויאמר ה׳….עד אנה ינאצוני העם הזה, G'd said to Moses: "how long will this nation continue to spurn Me?" G'd's question was intended to forestall Moses praying on behalf of the people; it is similar to G'd having said הניחה לי, "let Me be," when G'd had told Moses about the golden calf (Exodus 32,10). The absence of the word לאמור in our verse is a hint that Moses should not speak.

עד אנה ינאצוני…ועד אנה לא יאמינו בי, "how long will they spurn Me and not have faith in Me?" If the people spurned G'd, what is the point in complaining about their not having faith in Him? Perhaps the expression "spurn" refers to the spies, whereas the statement about the people lacking in faith refers to the people at large.

Another interpretation understands that the words ינאצוני were directed at the people who did not only throw stones at Joshua and Caleb but even at the cloud which enveloped them, i.e. at G'd Himself (Sotah 35). Other Israelites were merely afraid of the Canaanites but did not engage in activities which gave vent to their frustration. G'd described this latter group of people as the ones who did not have faith in Him. Both categories of people qualified for the pestilence G'd was about to unleash at the Israelites. He used the word אכנו, "I will smite them," when describing how He would punish the ones guilty of spurning Him, whereas He used the term אורישנו, "I will destroy them," when addressing the ones who displayed acts indicating that they spurned the Lord. The latter punishment included forfeiting the world to come. The ten spies themselves suffered both penalties as we can see from verse 37. Sanhedrin 108 makes it clear that the ten spies have forfeited life in the hereafter.

When the Torah speaks of G'd wanting to make a new nation out of Moses, a nation more powerful than the Israelites of that time, this meant that G'd would provide Moses with spiritual powers he had not possessed up until that moment. The word ממנו means that the new Jewish nation would emerge as a continuation, i.e. re-incarnation of the present Jewish people. Their souls would undergo a process of transmigration to be able to emerge as a spiritually stronger nation.

These verses may also be understood as an attempt by G'd to present stronger arguments than the ones Moses had rejected at the time of the golden calf episode when G'd had once before proposed to make a new Jewish nation with Moses as their founder (compare Exodus 32,10). G'd reinforced the argument He had used to Moses at the time of the golden calf episode by pointing out that the people's behaviour had not improved in the interval. עד אנה, "how long is this supposed to go on?" They have spurned Me time and again so that there is no more any excuse to overlook their conduct. When G'd mentioned this He forestalled Moses who would have referred to G'd's image being denigrated if He allowed these people to be wiped out after all their misdemeanours. The Egyptians would not be able to say that G'd had already intended to wipe out this people at the time He took them out of Egypt. G'd also demolished the argument that these people had the merit of their forefathers going for them. No great king, especially someone such as G'd, could be expected to suffer such repeated spurning to which the Israelites had subjected G'd.

Shabbat 89 has the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob saying to G'd who had told them: "your children have sinned," that the Israelites who had spurned Him should be wiped off the face of the earth in order that G'd's honour not be impugned. Even the patriarchs did not want someone to anger G'd. Regarding the argument used by Moses during the episode of the golden calf that "G'd had taken so much trouble to orchestrate the Exodus of the Jewish people," and that therefore a new Jewish people could not have evolved during so many hundreds of years in an iron crucible such as Egypt, G'd said that in the end all these trials had proved worthless. The people did not even have faith in G'd after all the miracles He had performed on their behalf. As far as keeping the oath to the patriarchs was concerned, G'd suggested that Moses would become the founding member of a new nation descended from the original patriarchs. There remained the problem of how could one be certain that a new Jewish nation based on Moses would be any better than the present one? G'd argued that if the souls of the new Jewish nation would be based on Moses, surely they would be greater than those of the present Jewish people. Such souls would be closer to the source of sanctity than the souls of the present Jewish people had been. Compare my commentary on Genesis 49,3 about Reuben's soul having been flawed. The very fact that the present Jewish people had spent so many years in the morally corrupt climate of Egypt was a strike against them which a nation based on Moses would not have to contend with.

ושמעו מצרים, "and when Egypt will hear, etc." Why did Moses add the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word ושמעו, seeing this is the first comment Moses permitted himself after He heard G'd's reaction? Moses simply should have said: ישמעו מצרים, "Egypt will hear, etc." Furthermore, what did Moses have in mind when he said כי העלית? If he meant that the Egyptians would hear about G'd having taken the Israelites out of Egypt this does not make any sense at all. The Egyptians had been the first to witness G'd's miracles and the Exodus, after all! Besides, how does the killing of the Israelites contribute to the Egyptians' hearing about the miracles G'd employed to orchestrate the Exodus? If Moses intended to describe who these Egyptians were who would hear about these miracles of G'd, the question is whether there were any other Egyptians who could have heard about G'd's actions at that time? Even assuming there were such Egyptians, Moses' words clearly referred to the Egyptians with whom we are familiar.

The answer must be connected to why Moses did not use the same arguments he had used after the sin of the golden calf. It is true that I have explained on the words עד אנה ינאצוני that G'd had spoken these words to prevent Moses from again advancing an argument he had used successfully at that time. Nonetheless, Moses had been at liberty to use the argument of זכות אבות, the merit of the patriarchs in conjunction with the argument that G'd's effforts would be perceived as having been futile. The combined arguments would help ward off an evil decree at this time.

However, Moses was very clever; he used the conjunctive letter ו to indicate that this was only an additional argument to others he would present. He emphasised that the Egyptians would most certainly hear about the demise of the Jewish people. The reason was that G'd had expended so much effort at the time to remove the Jewish people who had been an integral part of Egyptian society מקרבו, from within its midst. Whereas the whole world knew about the miracles G'd had performed at that time, the impression it had made on the Egyptian neighbours of the Israelites was far more pronounced. They would certainly follow the fortunes of this people to find out exactly how they progressed ever since they left Egypt. The word כי in כי העלית must be understood to mean "because," rather than "that."

Another way of explaining the letter ו is to provide an answer to why Moses appeared concerned only about the impression the demise of the Jewish people were to make on the Egyptians and not on the other nations. He explained this by saying "for You have elevated this nation from amongst its midst." The Egyptians -as opposed to any other nation- were well aware that the Israelites could never have revolted successfully and have escaped from their enslavement if G'd had not literally "lifted the Jewish people out of their midst." Once they would hear about this people dying en masse they would never again credit G'd with defeating the Canaanites Supposing even that G'd's plan to create a new Jewish nation out of Moses would be carried out, any success of that new nation in overcoming the Canaanites would henceforth be attributed to the strength of Moses' genes, not to G'd's interference in their fate. It is nothing unusual for a strong nation to defeat a weaker nation. The present Israelites were known to be militarily weak. Their victory over the Canaanites would enhance G'd's image. Any future Jewish nation which had never exhibited weakness as had the present Israelite nation would not be a vehicle for G'd to demonstrate His power. בכחך את העם הזה, "with Your Power THIS NATION." The whole strength of Moses' argument lay in these four words. Only the Egyptians would be able to respond in this manner as they had known the Jewish people from all the many years the latter had lived amongst them. They had truly known them, i.e. ושמעו מצרים.

ואמרו אל יושבי הארץ הזאת, and they will say to the inhabitants of this land, etc. The Torah fails to mention what precisely the Egyptians would tell the Canaanites. If the Torah meant that they would tell the Canaanites about G'd's inability, etc., these words should have been appended in the following sequence: "they will say to the inhabitants of the land of Canaan that G'd was unable, etc." The word ושמעו should have appeared at the beginning of the verse, not after "the inhabitants of this land."

We therefore must understand the verse as follows: ואמרו, when the Egyptians will hear about the fate of the Jewish people they will attribute this to their G'd's inability to overcome the Canaanites though He had been able to overcome them at that time. The Egyptians could construe two possible reasons for the demise of the Jewish people. 1) They did not qualify for the miracles it would take for their G'd to overcome the Canaanites. There is no comparison between overcoming the single Egyptian nation and overcoming of seven powerful nations such as the Canaanites. The fact that the Jewish G'd had overcome Egypt does not prove that He is omnipotent seeing that the Egyptians were far weaker than the Canaanites. G'd was not fond enough of the Israelites to orchestrate the type of miracles needed to overcome the Canaanites. 2) G'd did love the people sufficiently; however He was not powerful enough to overcome the Canaanites. This is why Moses said: כי אתה ה׳ בקרב העם הזה, "for You O Lord are in the midst of this people." Moses meant that G'd should not allow the Egyptians to conclude that the Canaanites too were beloved of G'd and that is why He did not disinherit them. The Egyptians were well aware of how beloved the Jews were in the eyes of G'd. If G'd did not bring them to the Holy Land and rather killed them, this could only be interpreted by them as proof of His impotence in the matter.

והמתה…כאיש אחד, "and You kill them..all at the same time, etc." Moses revealed here that he did not plead for G'd to forgive the Israelites their sin; he only pleaded that the retribution should be such that it did not result in a desecration of G'd's name in the eyes of the nations. This is why he emphasised the words כאיש אחד, "as one man."

ואמרו הגוים, "and the Gentile nations will say, etc." Moses did not only refer to the Egyptians but to all the nations who would hear about the fate of the Jewish people. לאמור, to say; this word again means "something elevated," as we explained on 14,7. All the people who had thus far looked upon the G'd of the Hebrews as a supreme deity would now revise their estimate of G'd's capabilities if they heard that this G'd had wiped out His people as one man. Moses added the letter ו at the beginning of the word אמרו in order to indicate that he referred to all the Gentile nations not only to the Egyptians. Another reason for the open-ended word לאמור is that Moses did not know precisely what the Gentiles would say and in what order. When Moses spoke about what the Gentiles would say, i.e. ואמרו, he did not imply that they would be justified in what they would say. He was only concerned that they would say it anyway.

מבלתי יכלת, "due to an inability, etc." This may either mean that the people would believe that G'd never had such power or that He had lost such power due to old age, etc. (compare Psalms 14,1). Either way, Moses could not envisage a greater desecration of G'd's Holy Name than to allow people to arrive at such conclusions.

העם, the people, etc. This verse is intended to counter G'd's intention to create a new nation from Moses' descendants. Moses argued that even this would be a desecration of the Lord's name. As long as G'd had not brought the nation to the land of Canaan His image would remain tarnished. Refer to what I have written on the word ושמעו on verse 13. The thrust of Moses' argument was that even though the Israelites had spurned their G'd, if He would retaliate by killing them in one fell swoop this would be a desecration of His name, world wide. When the Torah wrote in verse 13 "Moses spoke to G'd," the words "to G'd" may be a hint that his concern was for the damage killing the Israelites would do to G'd, i.e. to His image in the world.

ועתה יגדל נא כח השם, "and now, I pray, let the Power of the Lord be great!" We need to analyse why Moses said: "and now," as well as why he said that G'd's power should appear great although He had not done anything to demonstrate wherein His power was so great. The word יגדל implies that G'd would perform some act which would enhance people's awe for His power. Why did Moses use the word נא in the middle of the verse? If it were meant as a plea he should have started the sentence with that word. If it meant something like "now," he had already said ועתה. Furthermore, what did he mean by the words כאשר דברת, as You have said?" What had G'd said, and when did He say it? What is the meaning of the word לאמור? To whom was G'd supposed to say this?

Seeing that Moses had been clever in his argument about the damage to G'd's world-wide image which killing the Israelites would entail, he added that there was another advantage for G'd if He would allow His anger to dissipate and let the Israelites enter the land of Canaan, an advantage that G'd had not enjoyed previously. The advantage to G'd would be that in view of the exaggerated report of the toughness of the inhabitants of that land G'd's power would indeed be perceived as great when He demonstrated it by helping the Israelites to conquer them.

Moses added: כאשר דברת. This is a reference to the first verse in our portion where G'd's reason for despatching the spies is described as "to tour the land I am about to give them." We explained there that the land was not subject to conquest by the Israelites and could only be attained by them as a gift from G'd. G'd Himself had told Moses at the time to point this out to the Israelites. This was the meaning of the word לאמר in 13,1.

The meaning of the word נא is "now." Moses repeated this word. We have beeen told in Bereshit Rabbah 21,6 that the word ועתה invariably means that G'd provided an opening for man to do תשובה, to repent. Moses apologised so to speak for having said things to G'd about Him which should not be said by any human being although he had only paraphrased what he presumed that the Gentiles would say. We find an analogous situation in the Talmud when witnesses were required to repeat the exact words they heard a blasphemer say before such a blasphemer could be convicted (Sanhedrin 60). The witnesses in question have to rend their garments in grief and remorse at the words their mouths had to utter. Moses did something similar and that is why he added the word ועתה in addition to the word נא.

He may also have hinted that the word ועתה represented the remorse of the Israelites who prayed that G'd's power would be perceived to be great henceforth and that G'd should accept their repentance. We are told in Berachot 34 that repentant sinners are on a morally higher plateau than people who have never sinned. The reason is that G'd's name is sanctified more when the world perceives that sinners have changed their ways. Moses alluded to this when he said יגדל נא כח השם, i.e. "now Your power O G'd is even greater than heretofore seeing the Israelites had repented after their rebellion." The repetition of the thought by the word נא may also allude to the statement in Avot 4,22 that "one hour spent as a repentant sinner in this life is worth more than the the whole life in the world to come."

Another approach to our verse is this: Moses did not ask G'd to extend His pardon to all the people who had spurned Him, but only ועתה יגדל נא כח השם, to exact retribution from the perpetrators who spurned Him, from the spies themselves. When G'd is perceived as punishing the wicked His name is sanctified and exalted. Moses added: כאשר דברת, referring to G'd having said in verse 12 that He would smite them with pestilence. This statement could be read as referring only to the spies themselves. Moses added the word נא meaning "now," suggesting the spies be punished immediately as only then would their death be understood as the penalty for their crime. G'd complied with Moses' request as we read in 14,37 that "the men who had slandered the land died through pestilence in the presence of G'd." Please read on what I have written on that verse. The reason Moses added the word לאמור may be that He asked G'd to tell the spies before their deaths why they were being punished. It is also possible that Moses wanted G'd to tell the Israelites that the people who had spread lies about the land were being punished in order to frighten the people into not causing G'd to become angry again on their account. We find something analogous in Psalms 9,17 בפעל כפיו נוקש רשע הגיון סלה, "He works judgments; the wicked man is snared by his own devices. Higgayon, Selah." [The verse comes on the heels of the Psalmist demonstrating that G'd's powers of retribution were seen to have reached the enemies of the Jewish people. Ed.] The initials of the words ועתה יגדל נא כח equal the numerical value of the name of G'd, i.e. 86. The name used for G'd in the verse is also a reference to G'd in His capacity as Judge. Having said all this, Moses reverts to ask G'd's mercy for the people.

Yet another meaning of the word ועתה is that Moses referred to G'd's suggestion to create a new Jewish nation making him the founder. We have a tradition that the curse of a wise man, even if it was only conditional, leaves a mark (Makkot 11). A blessing by a scholar certainly does so also. When the blessing has been pronounced by G'd Himself, there is no question that He will not withdraw it. Moses prayed that G'd should preserve the Jewish people and be aggrandised through their very survival even though He was aware that what G'd had promised him would come true. We find indeed that Berachot 7 tells us that the descendants of Rechaviah (Chronicles I 23,17) Moses' grandson from his son Eliezer amounted to well over 600,000. Moses used the words דברת לאמור, to indicate that at the very time G'd had spoken harshly of the Israelites He had exalted him by contrast. [the word לאמור is used again in the sense of Deut. 26,17. Ed.]

Still another meaning of כאשר דברת, is that it refers to Moses himself becoming a great nation, even greater (in numbers) than the Jewish people at present.

If we accept this, we must examine why Moses did not react in this fashion as soon as G'd proposed to make him into a replacement of the present Jewish people. The words כאשר דברת refer to the time when G'd had offered to make a new Jewish nation with Moses as the founder at the time of the golden calf episode (Exodus 32,10). The word עתה, "now," means "this time" as distinct from the previous occasion.

A careful comparison will reveal that on the previous occasion when G'd had offered to make a new Jewish nation based on Moses, He had not added that that new Jewish nation would be more powerful because it would be ממנו, based on the original Jewish people, as G'd had done here in verse 12. I have explained that one of the possible reasons for the statement that the new and powerful nation G'd had referred to would be more powerful is that they would not have absorbed the morally negative influences due to having been part of the Egyptian culture. Having prayed that the Jewish nation should continue to exist in its present form, i.e. the nation that had experienced the Exodus, Moses now turned to G'd's promise to make a nation out of him. He declined, seeing that all G'd had promised was to use him as the founder of a continuation of the Jewish people [seeing he himself was a member of that nation. Ed.]. This is why he said to G'd: "now let Your power be great, etc." At the time G'd had offered to make a nation out of Moses during the episode of the golden calf, G'd had not used the word ממנו, i.e. that the new nation would be a continuation of the original Jewish people. It could be assumed that although, at the time, G'd had changed His mind about wiping out the people immediately, the promise made to Moses to make him into a great nation had not been cancelled. G'd could be presumed to have planted new souls at the time that would be fruitful and multiply. Perhaps this may even have been the meaning of the sages (quoted by Rashi) who claimed that Moses argued that if a stool with three legs had proved unstable how could a stool with only a single leg (Moses) be expected to be more stable? Moses had referred to the three patriarchs as the three legs of the Jewish people. This appears to be a very weak argument. After all, Moses himself was also a descendant of the patriarchs and the new nation would therefore be based on himself plus the "three legs" represented by the patriarchs? If you accept my interpretation that G'd planted new souls at the time He made that original promise in Exodus 32,10, then Moses' argument was solid, seeing these "new" souls would not have been descendants i.e. reincarnations of souls who had existed at the time of the patriarchs. As a result, they would have only a solitary "leg" to rely on i.e. their founding father Moses.

Another reason why Moses prayed at this juncture may be related to the word עצום which G'd had used to describe such a new "Jewish" nation. Moses understood that term to refer to the element of sanctity to be found in that new nation who would therefore not spurn Him. He prayed to G'd that this part of the promise should be speedily fulfilled. He added the word נא in the knowledge that the choice of doing good or evil was not something under G'd's control (Berachot 33). He begged G'd to create souls which had a tendency to be good.

ה׳ ארך אפים, The Lord is slow to anger, etc. Why did Moses not invoke all of the thirteen attributes G'd had taught him after the sin of the golden calf? We may understand this in accordance with Rosh Hashanah 17. We quote: "ה׳, ה, I am the Lord before man sins as well as after he has sinned and has repented his sin." In my commentary on Exodus 34,6 I have quoted what the Rosh has to say on this subject as well as my own understanding of it. You have learned that the attribute of Mercy has to be invoked on behalf of man even before he has sinned. In this instance Moses had to invoke that attribute only after the sin. This is why he said השם only once.

Tossaphot in Rosh Hashanah 17 quote both the Rosh and comments by Rav Nissim according to whom the first word השם in Exodus 34,6 is not part of the 13 attributes at all. It is only inserted to tell us who it is that is reciting the remainder of the attributes. Accordingly, there was never a reason for Moses having to say השם השם. We only need to understand how Rav Nissim could disagree with all the earlier authorities.

Perhaps we should understand Rav Nissim to mean that he explained what the other authorities had said. When they referred to the two words השם referring to G'd's attribute of Mercy before the sin and after the sin which the sinner repented respectively, they meant to tell us that the quality of G'd's mercy has not changed because man sinned. G'd tells us that there is no new element in His attribute of Mercy as a result of man having sinned. This consideration may also help us answer the question of the Rosh. The latter had asked why G'd's attribute of Mercy needs to be invoked before the sin at all. Actually, it does have to be invoked even then. You will note that Moses also skipped three more attributes of the 13 attributes G'd had revealed to him; he did not mention either קל, רחום, or חנון. The reason was that these three attributes need to be invoked only if someone either finds himself in trouble already and has no means of extricating himself. Or, it may be invoked on behalf of someone already suffering severe pains; it may also be invoked on behalf of someone totally deprived of any of the good (pleasant) aspects of life. Moses commenced with invoking G'd's patience, ארך אפים, which is something He extends even to deliberate sinners. We are told in Sanhedrin 111 that when Moses ascended to the celestial regions in order to receive the Tablets, he found G'd occupied writing the word ארך אפים. He assumed that G'd meant that He extended His patience to the basically Torah-observant people. G'd corrected him saying that he extends His patience even to the habitual sinners. Moses objected saying that those ought to be wiped out. G'd told Moses that he would soon learn that even the habitual sinners had need of this attribute of His. When Israel sinned, G'd asked Moses: "did you not say that I should be patient only with the righteous?" Moses retorted: "Did You not tell me that You extend Your patience even to the sinners?" This is what Moses meant when he said: "now let Your power be great!" In other words, Moses invoked the attribute called ארך אפים. Moses also invoked the attribute of רב חסד, abundant loving kindness, as he wanted G'd to tilt towards love rather than towards retribution when judging the people. He omitted mentioning the attribute of אמת, Truth, neither did he refer to the attribute of נוצר חסד לאלפים, that G'd keeps His mercy towards thousands of generations, as neither of these two attributes were relevant to the situation under discussion. He did mention G'd's attributes as being נושא עון ופשע, forgiving iniquities of varying degrees of severity, as both of these attributes were needed in this situation. He omitted that G'd forgives unintentional sin, חטאה, as it did not apply here either. He mentioned the remainder of the thirteen attributes as they all had bearing on the present situation.

ויאמר ה׳ סלחתי כדברך, G'd said: "I have forgiven according to your word." G'd meant that He had not forgiven the sin absolutely, only, -as Moses had asked- that He would not kill them as one man. This was in response to Moses' argument that otherwise G'd would be perceived as unable to conquer the Canaanites. At any rate, He would invoke His attribute of ארך אפים by spreading the punishment over 40 years. The following verses are all illustrations of what G'd meant by invoking His attribute of ארך אפים on the one hand, and swearing an oath that all of the people would suffer retribution on the other.

Another meaning of the word כדברך could be that G'd responded only because of Moses' having pleaded on behalf of the people, as well as the fact that one of Moses' arguments had been the presumed reaction of the Gentile nations if G'd were to wipe out the people all at once. We have already explained that Moses described the Gentiles' reaction as being either that G'd had ceased to be powerful, or that His powers sufficed only to overcome the Egyptians, not the more powerful Canaanites. G'd said (verse 23) ואולם חי אני, "in fact I am very much alive," in response to the Gentiles who would presume G'd to have faded away. Concerning the alternative reaction by the Gentiles that G'd did not have the power to disinherit the Canaanites, He said וימלא כבוד ה׳ את כל הארץ, that at the end of the period of retribution for this sinful generation He would demonstrate to one and all that He did have the power to carry out what He had said, that the seven Canaanite nations would be wiped out. G'd based His alternative plan of retribution and a degree of pardon for the Jewish people only on the honour He wished to bestow on Moses whose pleas He did not want to be perceived as having been rejected.

ולא שמעו בקולי, "and who did not listen to My voice." Inasmuch as the Jewish people had previously been granted the privilege to be personally addressed by G'd at Mount Sinai, G'd now was very angry that they had not listened to His voice at this time.

אם יראו…וכל מנאצי, "Surely they shall not see….any of those who have spurned Me." Why did G'd have to especially mention the people who had spurned Him? Who would have dreamt that those people would be exempt from this retribution? Perhaps they had to be mentioned seeing that G'd had spoken of a people who had tested Him already on ten different occasions. We might have thought that all those who had not been guilty ten times, such as the people who had not yet been 20 years of age at the Exodus, would have been exempt from this oath that they would die in the desert. G'd therefore made it clear that even these young people were included as they had spurned G'd on this occasion. The people described here as having spurned G'd are the ten spies as well as the people who had thrown stones at the cloud behind which Joshua and Caleb had taken cover (compare Sotah 35).

Our verse may also have introduced a new dimension of punishment of the spies. Seeing they were not worthy of the land, they had forfeited their share in it. This is why we are told in Baba Batra 117 that the descendants of the spies did not take part in the distribution of the land under Joshua. They received shares based only on the size of the families of their grandfathers. The remainder of the generation who were now slated to die in the desert received their share of the Holy Land based on their present family status, i.e. how many male children they had. The verse ends with the promise that "My servant Caleb as well as his descendants will inherit their shares in the land."

ועבדי כלב, "and My servant Caleb, etc." Why did the Torah not mention Joshua also at this juncture? The word היתה requires analysis as do the words וימלא אחרי as well as the letter ו in והביאותיו.

The Torah wanted to explain why G'd decided to refer to Caleb as "My servant," an exceptional compliment. Although also Joshua did not spurn G'd, Caleb was possessed of a totally different spirit. He had not needed the prayer of Moses to enable him to resist the influence of the other ten spies. Caleb had at one time during the mission experienced the רוח אחרת, i.e. the evil spirit which filled the other spies. He had gone to the graves of the patriarchs in order to recharge his spiritual batteries before he would succumb to the wiles of the evil urge. וימלא אחרי, "He decided to follow Me." The Torah describes how Caleb decided to follow his good urge rather than his evil urge. Man is subject to two advisors. One advises him to follow G'd's wishes, the other advises him to assert his independence. If one decides to resist the urge to commit a sin it is accounted as if one had fulfilled one of G'd's commandments (Kidushin 39). Joshua had not been in a similar dilemma as he had never been tempted to be disloyal to G'd and to act illogically, due to Moses' prayer on his behalf. We have a verse in the Book of Samuel which describes a mystical dimension concerning the prayer of a צדיק such as Moses. It suggests that such a prayer may exert influence on a person's moral tendencies. This is based on Samuel II 23,3 צדיק מושל יראת השם, "the righteous exercises some control concerning matters of reverence for the Lord." Seeing that Caleb's resistance to the evil urge under circumstances of great provocation was unaided by external factors, he is described similarly to Moses, i.e. that he was G'd's servant.

The Torah adds that G'd would bring him to the land he had already come to (once). The Torah hints here at the inner struggle that had preceded Caleb's deciding to remain loyal to G'd. This struggle may be described as Caleb praying on his own behalf. G'd promises that although Caleb was already 40 years old at the time and conquest of the land of Canaan would now be delayed by at least 40 years, Caleb would live long enough to be among those who would take part in that conquest. This is the only time in recorded history that G'd promised someone that he would live for at least another 40 years.

Perhaps G'd had to describe Caleb as "My servant" in order to justify this extraordinary promise. This was a promise by G'd that Caleb would not forfeit his status as a צדיק during the 40 years the Israelites would wander in the desert. I was asked once how one can reconcile the statement in Shabbat 30 that when David asked G'd to know when he would die and G'd's reply that He does not reveal such information to any living human being nor does He tell him how many years he will live, with the fact that He told King Chiskiyahu that he would have another 15 years to live. Why then had G'd revealed to Chiskiyahu that he had another 15 years to live? I answered that the only date that G'd refuses to reveal is the original lifespan allocated to man at birth. This is based on Job 14,5 אם חרוצים ימיו, "his days are numbered." If and when G'd decides to grant someone a lifespan beyond that which had been originally decreed, the addition is not subject to the decree that its length will not be revealed. It may be G'd's wish to reveal such information as we know from Shabbat 10 where the meaning of לדעת כי אני ה׳ מקדשכם, "to make known that it is I the Lord who sanctify you" (Exodus 31,13), is being discussed. The Talmud derives from that verse that if someone gives a second party a gift he has to inform him of that gift beforehand. This is the reason that G'd informs recipients of an extension of a person's lifespan at the time He grants that gift. You will find something similar in Joshua 14,10 where Caleb asked to conquer Chevron and the mountain it is situated on and to inherit it. At that time Caleb referred to the fact that though aged 85 he was every bit as fit as when he was forty years old and G'd had granted him the additional lifespan. In fact, the Torah added in our verse that G'd's blessing to Caleb would also extend to his descendants.

There is another way of explaining our verse. Caleb had performed two meritorious deeds and as a result he qualified for two rewards. 1) He had a different spirit, i.e. he resisted the temptation to make common cause with the ten spies. 2) He proved his loyalty to G'd by not only not merely keeping silent but by trying to persuade the people to have faith and not to believe the conclusions drawn by the other ten spies. G'd repaid him by 1) bringing him to the Holy Land, 2) letting him take possession of it. Joshua was not mentioned seeing he did not have to overcome the evil urge as he had been the recipient of Moses' prayer on his behalf.

והעמלקי והכנעני יושב בעמק, "And the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley." The reason the Torah provides this detail at this juncture, as well as the reason for the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word והעמלקי is that G'd had decided that the entire generation would not enter the Holy Land and would die in the desert. He said that He would not kill them all at the same time as will be spelled out in subsequent verses. One might have assumed therefore that the Israelites would remain in their present location during the entire forty years. The Torah had to provide a rationale why it was not practical for the Israelites to remain in the same location during all this time. They were liable to fall victim to attacks by the Amalekites or Canaanites. We do not provoke Satan at a time when we are in danger (Tanchuma Vayigash 1). This is why G'd told the Israelites to move from that area already on the morrow. Whereas it is true that we find that the Israelites lingered at Kadesh for many years (Deut. 1,46) and the sages say that this was a period of 19 years, this occurred on their way back at a time when the effect of their sin had already worn off and half the people guilty of that sin had already died. The reason for the letter ו in the word והעמלקי is to connect our verse to verse 23, אם יראו את הארץ. G'd advised that He added another stricture, namely the immediate departure from their present encampment although they were not headed for their ultimate objective, the land of Canaan.