Shabbat Shalom. This week's parshah is Sh'lach l'cha, is found the fourth book of the Torah, B'midbar ("in the desert" also known as Numbers). After difficult travel from Egypt, the Jews led by Moses are on the border of the promised land. Each tribe sends an emissary to act as a scout, and these spies come back with mixed messages. Two say that Canaan is terrific and they should go in, but ten say that it's too dangerous. God is so provoked by the faithlessness of the Jews that He appears in the gathering tent before the gathered Jews and threatens to kill them all and start again with some more tractable people.
Moses pleads their case and God forgives his sentence of execution but instead condemns the Jews to wandering 40 years in the desert, until the entire generation of the faithless has died, before entering their new homeland. The Haftarah continues the tale of one of the original scouts, Joshua, who was not a doubter, and who commands the second expedition into Canaan. In Canaan, his men are assisted by Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, and with her help the Israelites take the city of Jericho.
This parshah offers powerful lessons in friendship, partnership and the courage to speak honestly, even when threatened.
When I first began to study this parshah, I was struck by what a bully God is.
Why shouldn't the scouts be cautious, and why shouldn't the Israelites believe the majority report (although the spies did return laden with giant grapes and fruit, as proof of the richness of the land)? When he threatens to kill all the Israelites, isn't God acting like a mad scientist whose experiment fails and he smashes his equipment in a temper? The Israelites as they stood on the border of Canaan were a traumatized people, recently escaped from slavery, who were unfairly expected to make sound decisions.
Slowly I realized that that's sort of the point. Without a clear system of guidelines, laws and moral values, the Israelites were not ready to live as free people. They lacked the judgement to appreciate God's effort on their behalf or to distinguish authorities from alarmists. Certainly Moses was right to argue against their immediate extermination, although the subsequent 40 years of wandering became a death sentence for most (including Moses). However, during those 40 years, the Israelites institutionalized laws that not only allowed a group of slaves to become a self governing people, but have served communities of Jewish people well during the subsequent millennia.
Adam Levin's tremendous book, The Instructions, also gave me insight on this episode. The central character, a charismatic, possibly troubled, and brilliant kid, is betrayed by all his friends, including his very best friend. He had stood up for this friend in the past, had fought for him, and had protected him. The betrayal was possibly forgivable (and, like the Israelite's transgression, is ultimately forgiven) but it leads him to reflect on Sh'lach L'cha: Why are people so crazy and fearful that they can't believe their own eyes? The Israelites had been freed and led to the land of milk and honey! Why couldn't they just get over themselves and do the right thing?
Now I understood God's anger. I feel the same damn way about climate change deniers. Why don't they just accept the word of people who can prove that what they say is true? Why are they threatening us all with their fear and their lack of faith in the clear evidence right before their eyes?
What Moses does is tremendous, though. Although he is not personally threatened, he speaks on behalf of all the people in his care. He presents an argument to God that appeals to God's self-interest. As a skilled negotiator (although an unhappy public speaker), he knew that negotiation and partnership require addressing the needs and interests of each party. The courage it took Moses to negotiate, plead, and (perhaps) ultimately shame God into sparing the Israelites must have been tremendous. Can you imagine trying to argue with God while He was actually present, filling the tent with glory?
It's not so hard when you think of the examples of this kind of courage we celebrate at Daily Kos nearly every day. All of us faced with the challenges of standing up to bullies (whether or not we're being harmed directly) from the playground to the boardroom. As one easy example, didn't Edward Snowden show courage speaking up, risking the ire of the mighty for the benefit of the many? To me, Sh'lach L'cha is our first powerful illustration of how one individual can raise their voice in the name of justice and change the course of history.
The story of Rahab is slightly different, although the salvation and success of the Israelites again came from one person who had the courage to step forward and help. Like Moses, Rahab probably wouldn't have had any adverse consequences of declining to help Joshua's men. However, she does offer her help and Joshua's men wisely accept it, despite the fact that she is a woman, a prostitute, and a Canaanite.
Had Joshua's men discriminated against Rahab, in word or deed, she may not have offered help, and the Israelites would have been too afraid to take Jericho. Had she offered help and they scorned it, the result would have been the same.
In my work, I provide training and technical assistance for professionals who need to overcome barriers among themselves to provide services and programs for children in need, whether because of abuse or neglect, or because of delinquency, fetal alcohol syndrome, or the drug and alcohol use of their caregivers. The different players (law enforcement, child welfare, the parents) all have different priorities, goals and objectives, and when they scorn each other, bully each other or fail to negotiate and consider each other's interest, too many children end up falling through the cracks and ending up dead, in prison, or in a downward spiral of substance abuse and crime. It doesn't have to be this way. When professionals make the effort to see each other's point of view and respect each other's needs, the parts are greater than the whole, and positive system change can result, like it did in Jericho all those centuries ago.
Humanity faces such terrible challenges in the years ahead, and there ain't no land of milk and honey at the end of the dusty road. When we're faced with difficult situations, we can choose sides or we can build bridges. I hope for myself, that I will always remember to choose to remember the lessons of Sh'lach L'cha: to reach across the divide, to raise my voice for justice, not matter how hopeless it seems, and rely on only the most trustworthy authorities when weighing conflicting opinions.
On a personal note, my little Boogie is becoming a bat mitzvah this weekend and I couldn't be prouder. When I joined the Daily Kos, she had just been born, and I thought there would be no way to find common ground with a lot of people in this world (starting with every person who cast a vote for Bush). Motherhood has mellowed me, as has the journey of discovery required to be a non-Jewish mother of Jewish children.
Like Rahab, I choose a way that is not mine, and sometimes that has been difficult. However, we all have so much in common if we choose to. The values of justice, honesty, friendship, preserving the peace, helping the needy, discernment and lawfulness are Jewish values, but not only Jewish values.
Recognition of our common values, goals, and needs was critical to me in my journey, and is essential to all who join together in the work of repairing the world.
May your Shabbat be refreshing and peaceful. Forgive me if I'm not around this weekend to respond!