Parshat Shlach Lecha - June 2003
This is actually my Bar Mitzvah parsha - Shlach Lecha … so I could have volunteered to help out with
either the Torah reading or the Haftorah, but I chose
the dvaar since I thought after 30-plus odd years it
was about time I tried to understand the parsha and
see what it means to me.
This is a very rich and dynamic parsha, filled with espionage and intrigue, and many
lessons. We'll be talking about things like perspective and attitude,
leadership and succession, personal development, and old-time hockey players.
The main events of the parsha actually comprise one of the better known stories of
the Torah. Moses sends out a group of spies on a
reconnaissance mission to check out the
First off, this is a story about
perspective and attitude. In reality, we
all expect that what all 12 spies actually saw and observed would have been the
same, at least from a physical sense. But what they perceived is clearly
different.
The 10 spies say this is too big
for us. There already are people there … they are powerful … in fact, the land
is inhabited by giants … if we take them on, we'll get creamed. And they
continue to build on each other's fears … Eretz Ochelet et yoshevah
- this is a
land that eats its inhabitants …
Joshua and Kalev,
had a different message. They said sure there are problems, but we can overcome
them. And while there are some issues to deal with, the land itself is
beautiful … it's an amazing place … Eretz Zavat Chalav Udvash
… it's a land of milk and honey. And with G-d on our side, we can do this.
It can often be human nature to
focus on the impossibilities of the challenges ahead … but true leaders have a vision that goes
beyond what is and see what could be. I imagine when this
congregation was formed, what, 25 years ago, there were many who saw all the
problems building a new congregation could entail … what about a building, what
about a Rabbi, what if people don't join, … but I imagine there were others who
said, yes, we can do this, and it will be great.
If we look at our own lives -
either work or family - we can see what a difference attitude and perspective
makes. Do we see problems or opportunities? Do we despair at obstacles, or see
them as challenges, opportunities to reach within ourselves and move to the
next level, to build skills, character, and experience. This is true for
start-up high tech companies to government workers to family. This parsha teaches us that the same circumstances can be viewed
differently. How we react to the curves that life throws us defines ourselves,
our goals, and our opportunities for growth.
Let's move on to Joshua. Joshua is
a future leader. He's been at Moses' side, and has watched and learned from the
sidelines. But this is his first real opportunity to lead. For StarTrek fans, this is Spock or Riker leading their first
away team. And it's going to be a tough mission. But before Joshua goes off, Moses gives him a
boost of confidence. He marks this transition by changing his name from Hoshua to Yehoshua. By adding a
letter from the name of G-d, this changes the meaning from he who has
helped, to he who will help.
If I can open a parenthesis, there
is a midrash dealing with another set of related name changes. Abraham and
Sarah have their names changed from Avram and Sarei, to Avraham and Sarah to
reflect their own transitions as they embrace G-d. When Avram
is changed to Avraham, the letter Hey - symbolizing
G-d's name - is added, but no letters are dropped.
But in changing Sarei to Sarah, not only is a Hey
added but the letter Yud is removed. So the Rabbis
ask, what happened to the Yud from Sarei? And the answer is, it was saved for Joshua to change
Hoshua to Yehoshua.
So with this name change, I imagine
Moses saying to Joshua: there will come a time when I am no longer around, but
that's okay because you will be here, and you are going to do just fine. You've
been by my side. Everything is going to be okay, the people are in good hands,
and you will become a great leader. Kind of what I expect would have been said
between Jean Chretian and Paul Martin.
What we see here though, is some of
the greatness and humility of Moses. He is not only leading for the moment, but
he has groomed a successor. We've all seen individuals whether at work or in
community organizations who seem to lead well while they are in charge, but who
do not create a lasting infrastructure for the future. In fact, it sometimes
appears they secretly wish for failure when they move on, as if this might somehow
validate their own personal value or stature. But Moses is only concerned for
the future of his people, and so has prepared his successor well.
So Joshua stands up to the false
report, and validates the trust that Moses has placed in him. Looking back from
our present day vantage point, knowing that Joshua will be a great leader who
will one day lead the people into
But now let's take a look at Kalev. If Joshua is the star, then Kalev
is a supporting actor. He is not a future leader, he is not the statesman … he
is someone playing his role in history. I see him as a regular guy who has been
given a job to do, and who takes his responsibility seriously. When the rest of the group is headed in a
common direction, it would have been easy for him to just follow along with
them. Going along with the mob mentality (or groupthink if you will) is easy,
and no one has individual accountability. Sure Joshua can stand up, but he has
been trained and groomed by Moses. Yet Kalev does
stand up for what he believes in. He is not afraid to speak what he sees as
truth, despite the fact that it goes against popular opinion. If Joshua
represents the inspired leadership of great leaders, Kalev
is here to tell us that it is not only the people in charge that count, but the
views of individuals. Kalev is here to tell us that
we must speak out against injustice, or threats to the environment or whatever
wrongs we see in the world. It is not enough to say the government will solve
this or someone else will, or if everyone thinks this is okay then it is. Kalebv is a man of courage, and his role in the Parsha teaches us to stand up as individuals - to go
against the grain if necessary - for the purposes of Tikun Olam - bettering the world.
Okay, I promised you a Hockey
story. Imagine going into a sports bar downtown, and someone says, sure, that
Wayne Gretzky scored a lot of goals, but he didn't play back in the 50's with
greats like Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard when defencemen played defense. What are you talking about? …
Gretzky broke every offensive record in the book. Yeah but the game is so
watered down now - those were the days.
Well it's certainly difficult to compare heroes of different
generations, but in fact this is something that the Rabbis liked to do.
One comparison is between Moses and
Noah. Each would be seen as the greatest of his time, but how would they have
stacked up against each other? Is Noah's greatness on a par with that of Moses,
or was he simply the best of a weak population?
Well, the pro-Moses camp use this Parsha to
make their point.
When the Hebrews hear about their
bad report, they panic
- why were we brought to die in the dessert, Nitna Rosh veNashuva Mitzraima
- let's find a new leader and return to
Let's talk about this conversation
between Moses and G-d. G-d gets angry
and threatens to wipe out the Jewish people … Moses argues on their behalf. He
says, look, G-d, everyone knows you took the Israelites out of
This conversation is somewhat
troubling on several levels. Does God really get angry in a human sense and
lose control? Can Moses really calm him down, and get him to change his mind
with logic? Well clearly the answer
should be no, but then what are we to make of this charade? If this is some
kind of test, doesn't G-d already know how Moses will respond?
Well I do see this as a type of a
test for Moses, but not so much as in "let's see if he passes or
fails", but as an exercise which is a necessary part in his personal
development. The greatest leaders in politics or corporations did not get there
overnight. John Roth did not have the skills to be CEO of Nortel when he was a
new graduate, he needed to have the experiences of a junior then senior
engineer, then manager, etc until he was ready. Likewise for a politician who
may one day lead the party but is not ready in his first term of office. Each
must have experiences which allow them to grow and develop as a individuals and
as leaders - and there are no shortcuts. G-d knows how Moses will react to this
situation, but does Moses? Moses must go
through it to see for himself - and this makes him stronger. So when we hear
that G-d tested Avrham at the Acada,
or Joshua's' leadership is tested in this story, or Moses must rise up and
challenge god for the survival of his people, this is G-d's
way of providing challenges to allows them to grow and develop, to go from
strength to strength.
We covered a number of areas here
today. Some of the key messages are: when faced with life's challenges, let's
not be like the 10 spies and get paralyzed by the obstacles, let's strive to be
like Joshua and Kalev to focus on the possibilities -
and of course a little faith doesn't hurt either. Great leaders are not
threatened by their successors; great leaders want to see their work built upon
in the future. And finally, when comparing hockey greats like Gretzky, Howe and
Richard, let's not forget Bobby Orr who changes the nature of defence for generations. Shabbat Shalom.
Ron Huberman
June 2003