Semuchim M'yad - Connecting Parshas Shelach With the End of Parshas Behaaloscha

Okay, good morning, friends. Shalom aleichem, baruchim haba'im. Welcome everyone to the Friday show. We have amazing material today. Today's shiur I'm dedicating by my dear friend Reb Reuven Ashulov in loving memory of his mother Chaya Esther bas Tamara. Today is her yahrzeit. Began Eden temuneh chosah, she should be a melitz yosher for her family. Al bi askol tzaddik. >> [clears throat] >> We're going to begin today with the program Smuchim Meyuchad connecting the beginning of parshas Shlach to the end of last week, Beha'alotecha. We have amazing material. Uh let me show you the email. If you don't subscribe yet, go to our site, please. Off uh rabbidg.com, rabbidg.com, and you hit the subscribe button and you'll get the mar mekomos each week as they come up. And this week's shiur Smuchim Meyuchad, Smuchim Meyuchad. So this week, again, we are aided with the assistance of Rashi. Rashi classically says, "Lama nism'cha parshas meraglim parshas Miriam?" Why is the parsha of the spies juxtaposed to the story of Miriam who spoke lashon hara about Mosha? Be says Rashi, "Miriam was punished because she spoke lashon hara about her brother, and these wicked people, they saw what happened to Miriam, and they did not take musar, they did not learn from the the punishment of Miriam." The Baal HaTurim likewise explains, "Samach meraglim l'Miriam bishvil lashon hara she sipprah." Now, you could ask, "What could they have learned there from Miriam?" What are they speaking about? They're speaking about the land, Eretz Yisrael. So, even though it's holy, meiheichi teisi, there's an issur to speak Lashon Hara about a land, about Eretz Yisrael? Just be Eretz Yisrael, it's not a human being, it doesn't have feelings, it's not something that experiences shame. It's not a living person. So, what what exactly is the accusation of the against the Meraglim that they should have learned from Miriam what there's an issue to speak Lashon Hara about earth, about land, about dirt? So, in the past we explained as follows, that the same way we say that K'lal Yisrael and the Torah are one, K'lal Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael are one. This is a expression that's found in a number of Sefarim in the Sefer Bachur Shar. Eretz Yisrael is not a external item that K'lal Yisrael happens to be the heir of or the spiritual heir of. It's part of the identity of the Jewish people. Eretz Yisrael is not the land that we happen to live on, it's not doesn't it's not the piece of earth that happens to be where we're all what we're all aspiring to to. It's part of the essential fabric of the Jewish people. It's like speaking Lashon Hara on the whole Jewish people. Now, by the way, the Seforno Mar in his uh recounting of what Chazal say that the Meraglim saw what happened to Miriam and they didn't take Musar. Uh Seforno Mar says that even though they saw the punishment to Miriam, who did not have kavana to speak Lashon Hara, and yet they went there for the sake of speaking Lashon Hara. >> [clears throat] >> But then he adds another important nekuda. He says, "It was a bad time. Things were going downhill for the Jewish people. And when Aaron and Miriam spoke lashon hara about Mosha, from there, it was a vera goyera savera regarding the miraglim that they spoke lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael. So, it's not just the miraglim didn't learn the lesson of Miriam, it's somehow the lashon hara that Aaron and Miriam spoke caused it brought about it led to it was goyeras the lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael. Then, I want to point out something very interesting. That the sin of the miraglim, let's take note of where it happened. The pasuk says, "Vayishlach oisam Mosha mimmidbar Paran." Mimmidbar Paran. Do you remember? Because parshas Behaaloscha ends Vay- Vayachanu al Mechatzeros, Vayachanu b'midbar Paran. And from there, the miraglim were sent out. Like the pasuk says, "Vayishlach oisam Mosha mimmidbar Paran." Another aspect of the juxtaposition of Behaaloscha to Shlach is that Behaaloscha ends at the Jewish people were encamped in Paran, and Mosha sent out the miraglim from Paran. Now, we know because of the cheit hamiraglim, we are still in galus today. What galus are we in? The Gra says we're in galus Yishmael. And where did that galus originate? From midbar Paran, the land of Yishmael. So, an added dimension of the smichus of the parshiyos is that Behaaloscha ends at the Jewish people were encamped in midbar Paran, and the cheit hamiraglim originated in Paran, and the miraglim are responsible for the current golos and the current golos is golos Yishmael and the miraglim were sent out from the land of Yishmael. By the way, uh the Mahari Asad Rebbi Yehuda Asad, you could join us this summer coming up July 5th on a historic mission to historic mission to Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and we're going to be going to rarely visited clarim. One of them Rebbi Yehuda Asad where he says it is of great note that the miraglim were sent out of Paran because it says kulam anoshim, they were all prestigious individuals. Rashi says at that moment they were kosher ba'eisah sha'ah ksheirim hayu. Okay, who cares if they were kosher at that moment, but they were headed downhill. Of what significance was it that they were kosher at that moment? Says Mari Asad because that was the land of Yishmael and we learn out from Yishmael that a person is judged ba'eisah sha'ah ba'asher husham that the reason why the miraglim were deemed worthy even though they were headed downhill because at that moment they were kosher and this is a limud that we learn out from that land from the from Yishmael who resided in that land. Now, I want to try to bring out another point. The halacha ends that Miriam was locked up for seven days, but the people didn't travel until Miriam came back to the camp. Rashi says Miriam was honored for the one moment that she waited for Moshe Rabbeinu when he was thrown into the sea, when he was thrown into the river. So, because Miriam waited for Moshe, the people waited for Miriam. But if you look in the Gamara in Sota, the Gamara says she wasn't just waiting for the well to see the welfare of her brother. She was waiting for the fruition of the prophecy. She was waiting for the fruition of the prophecy. See, the Gamara says that she prophesied, "My mother is destined to have a son who will save the Jewish people." And when they threw her into the river, her father gave her a slap and he said, "My daughter, what happened to your prophecy?" So, she went to see what's going to happen to her prophecy. I would like to understand that to mean that because she received the Nevua that Moshe would be the Moshiach and shall Yisrael, the fact that he was thrown into the river did not make her give up. She wanted to see, "Okay, so how's Hashem going to bring it back?" That means even though things seemed bleak, she knew she trusted that the Nevua would come to fruition. That's the lesson the Meraglim should have learned. The Meraglim should have learned, "Hashem told us we're going to go and inherit a very good land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I the people are giants. I the fruit is giant. I it looks very bleak. It doesn't look naturally possible we'll be able to conquer the land." So, they should have awaited to see how the prophecy would come to fruition. That's what they should have learned from Miriam. Miriam was honored because even though it seemed like all hope was lost, she continued to await the fruition of the Nevua. That's the lesson the Meraglim should have learned from Miriam. That is this week's Smuchim Mayad connecting Parshas Shelach with the end of Behaaloscha. That's collecting Shelach and the end of okay, that's sheer number one.