The Weekly Shtikle - Shelach

This week’s parsha begins with the tragic story of the spies. Following those events immediately is the commandment regarding the wine and flour offerings that are to accompany each type of korban. Then, we are told of the mitzvah of taking challah from the dough each time we make a large batch of bread. The timing and wording of this mitzvah are somewhat intriguing, to say the least. It begins with (15:2) “When you enter the land that I am giving you…” This is, of course, mere moments after it was decreed that nearly the entire generation would not merit to enter that very land. Surely, there must be a deeper meaning.

Sure enough, this very topic is covered by this year’s offering from Noam Jacobson. Some commentaries suggest simply that this commandment is meant as a reassurance that it will take time but the nation will indeed merit to enter and perform mitzvos in the land. But Noam takes it even deeper.

One of the many interpretations of the true driving force behind the sin of the spies is that in truth they greatly valued the high level of Divine Providence that they were currently experiencing. They were fed by the manna, protected by the Clouds of Glory and dwelled close to the mishkan. Once they would enter the land, a lot of that heightened kedushah would seemingly disappear. They would have to work the land and engage in so many this-worldly matters. They preferred to stay in their current state.

This mitzvah of challah directly addresses this fear. When they will enter the land, the realities will change but in a positive way. There is kedushah in every single grain of wheat. And the language of the commandment is also very deliberate. The spies decried that Eretz Yisrael was (13:32) “a land that devours its inhabitants.” Conversely, we are commanded to take challah (15:19) “when you eat from the bread of the land.” The land doesn’t eat the inhabitants – it’s the other way around. This commandment is meant to directly address the claims of the spies and the motivations behind them.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

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