THE DAILY BY SIVAN RAHAV-MEIR PORTION
Extremism Is Not the Solution ְע ִלינ ּו ָ ֹאש ָה ָהר ֵלאמֹר ִה ֶּננּ ּו ו ׁ ּש ִּכמ ּו ַב ּבֹ ֶקר ַוַיּעֲל ּו ֶאל ר ְַׁוַי .ּׁשר ָא ַמר ה’ ִּכי ָח ָטאנו ֶ ֶאל ַה ָּמקוֹם ֲא They arose early in the morning and ascended to the mountain top, saying, “We will go up to the place of which the Lord spoke, for we have sinned.” (Num. 14:40) Parshat Shelach is more than just the sin of the spies, which takes up the lion’s share of the parasha. There is also the little-mentioned incident of the maapilim. In modern-day Israel, this word has a very positive connotation and is used to describe the illegal immigrants who resisted the British Mandate that had severely curtailed Jewish immigration and managed to reach Palestine. However, in its original form in the Torah, the word maapilim has a very negative connotation. Immediately after the long and detailed description about the spies and their lack of belief or desire to go to the Land of Israel, the Torah relates, in seven 72
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verses, what followed after the sin and punishment. A group of people feel that they want to right the wrong and go to the Land of Israel. Immediately. They want to run ahead, as if to prove that the sin is a thing of the past. They are going to the Land of Israel to demonstrate that they are prepared for the challenge. Moses warns them that this is not the right way to rectify the sin and, indeed, they are killed in the battle against Amalek. What can we learn from this incident for our lives? If we have made a mistake, the right way to correct it is not necessarily by going to the opposite extreme. Most of the spies were paralyzed by fear, but showing exaggerated self-confidence in knowing what is the right thing to do will not correct the wrong. Life is more complicated than that. Sivan Rahav-Meir is an Israeli journalist, currently on shlichut of World Mizrahi movement to the US. She is the author of #Parasha (Menorah Press) and Reaching to Heaven (Artscroll). To receive her daily insight on the portion of the week, text your name to: 972-58-679-9000
