Parashat Devarim – 5784
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
The Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the fifth of the five books of the Torah, which we begin reading this coming Shabbat, is mostly composed of speeches given by Moses before parting from the nation. The people camped in the plains of Moab, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho on the western bank of the river, waiting for the command to cross the Jordan westward and enter the Promised Land, the land of Canaan.
Moses’ first speech is historical. He describes to the people the main events that occurred during the forty years of wandering in the desert and calls upon them to learn the appropriate lessons from them. One of the stories that Moses recounts in his speech is the story of the spies, a story we read about in detail in the Parashat Shelach in the Book of Numbers.
Moses recounts:
Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back word of the route we are to take and the cities we will come to.’ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you…
(Deuteronomy 1:22-23)
On the phrase “the idea seemed good to me,” Rashi brings the words of the Sifri (a Tannaitic midrash from the Land of Israel from the 3rd century). The sages of the midrash interpret the word “to me” in the following way: “to me – but not to God.” That is, the idea was good in Moses’ eyes but not in God’s eyes. However, when we return to the Book of Numbers and read the expanded story, we discover that God actually agreed to the sending of the spies to the land of Canaan. There it is described as follows:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Send some men to explore the land of Canaan…’ So Moses sent them…”
(Numbers 13:1-3)
Why did God agree to the people’s request, which was not good in His eyes? Why did He not instruct Moses to give the people a clear answer prohibiting them from taking a step that would harm them later?
As in many stories describing the relationship between God and the people of Israel, this story also teaches us about the proper relationship between a parent or teacher and a child or student. This comparison is allowed in the manner of Maimonides, the great Jewish legalist and philosopher, who firmly argued that a person in a leadership position must observe God’s ways and infer from them how to behave in various situations.
Well, God was not pleased with the people’s request to send spies to the land of Canaan, yet He granted His consent to this act. What can we learn from this?
Many times, parents or educators face a similar situation. The son, daughter, or student wants to do something that seems to the adult to be foolish, perhaps even something that could harm them, and the adult tends to prevent the child or young person from acting according to their will.
But how will the young person learn the right way if they do not experience mistakes? After all, we, the parents or educators, cannot forever shield our students or children and prevent them from making mistakes. We must learn from God’s response to the people’s request – He agreed even though He was not pleased with the request. God preferred to allow the people to make a mistake rather than force them onto the right path. Only in this way could the people learn not to err. This is what the story of the spies teaches us for generations.
