The First Torah Tidbit Revisited

One of the strongest and most consistent messages of Torah Tidbits through- out its first decade has been the significance of Eretz Yisrael in Jewish Life and its being G-d’s “preferred” location for His People’s Torah Life.

Perhaps no sedra was better suited for the inaugural issue of Torah Tidbits than Sh’lach — and particularly in a year when we are out of sync, parsha- wise.

In the Torah’s description of Moshe’s instructions to the Meraglim (spies or scouts), the final words are, “And it was the days of the Bikurim (first ripening) of the grapes”. Aside from telling us when the Meraglim were sent (end of Sivan), the ARI Z”L says that the reference to Bikurim in the portion of the Meraglim teaches us that the mitzva of Bikurim (first fruits) is a TIKUN (repair) for the Sin of the Meraglim.

We can understand this idea like this:

The Meraglim took fruit from the Land of Israel during their 40 day scouting mission, brought them back to the people in the Midbar, and then began to malign Eretz Yisrael and dissuade the people from proceeding into the Land as G-d wanted them to. In essence, they said that Eretz Yisrael is a “great place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there”. They made a verbal declaration against living in Eretz Yisrael, and they used the fruits of the Land to push their point. This makes Bikurim, from among all the mitzvot connected to the Land, the perfect antidote to the Sin of the Spies. A person is commanded to take from the first fruits of the Land, bring them to the Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim, and make a verbal declaration. This statement proclaims the person’s gratitude to G-d in His bringing us to Eretz Yisrael. Bikurim- bringers declare their joy in the blessing and prosperity of Eretz Yisrael — not the fear and panic that describes the report of the Meraglim. Wellsprings of Torah quotes Rabbi Menachem Zemba HY"D who made the following observation in his mishna commentary:

Mishnayot Bikurim 3:1 asks, how does one designate fruit of his as Bikurim? The mishna gives three examples. A person goes into his field and sees a fig ripening or a cluster of grapes ripening, or a pomegranate ripening, he ties them off with a GEMI (commentaries say that it can be anything that will mark the fruit designated as Bikurim) and he says, “These are my Bikurim”.

Bamidbar 13:23 tells us that when the Meraglim were in Nachal Eshkol, they cut a branch and cluster of grapes and also took some pomegranates and figs. Exactly the same three fruit that the mishna uses as examples of Bikurim (although all 7 Species qualify for Bikurim, and one species would have been sufficient to illustrate the Bikurim- designation process). This, says R’ Zemba, is eloquent testimony to the ARI Z”L’s contention that Bikurim is the TIKUN for CHEIT HAMERAGLIM.

The first Meraglim said that they had everything they needed for a complete Torah life in the Midbar. They had miraculous food to feed the people. A miraculous well that accompanied them, climate-control and protection from the Heavenly Clouds, clothes that grew on their backs, shoes that didn’t wear out, proximity to Sinai, the source of Torah, and access to the greatest teacher of Torah ever.

The Meraglim were wrong. They did not have everything they needed for a complete Torah life in the Midbar. They did not have the venue that G-d wanted for the People and their Torah. They did not have Eretz Yisrael.
Theirs was a fatal mistake. For them and the generation of adult males they condemned to wander through the Wilderness and die out.

Kalev and Yehoshua did not make that mistake. Kalev said to the People, “Let’s go up to the Land (let’s go on Aliya)”. We will be able to prevail... because this is what G-d wants for us.

More than 3000 years later, there are still Meraglim among the Jewish People who TOUR the Land of Israel for 40 days (or more or less) and bring back samples of the Land. (Perhaps not fruit because of Department of Health regu- lations, but other items to illustrate the Land flowing with Milk & Honey.) And these people say to their family and friends that Israel is a great place to visit. But then they editorialize and dis- miss the idea of living here. And they discourage others from thinking in terms of Aliya.

And then there are the Yehoshuas and Kalevs of today. People who came on Aliya already, as well as people who have not yet come, who enthusiastically proclaim Aliya as a great, worthwhile goal. Who speak in glowing terms of the Jewishness of living in Isreal (even with its political and social problems and the physical danger that exists).

Torah Tidbits’ message to Jews in Israel and abroad. Don’t be Meraglim. Don’t even be fence-sitters. Be the Kalevs and Yehoshuas of today who will actively and positively encourage Aliya and facilitate K’lita.

Rabbi Menachem Zemba vh"s (1883-1943) Polish rabbinical scholar... from a poor chasidic family...Warsaw Council of Rabbis... secretary of Mo’etzet G’dolei HaTorah... distinguished himself by his erudition in his approach to the study of mishna...published responsa, halachic treatises... other manuscripts were lost in the Holocaust. One of the last Warsaw rabbis to remain in the ghetto... Gave rabbinic approval for the uprising... “Of necessity, we must resist the enemy on all fronts... when we are faced by an arch foe, whose unparalleled ruthlessness and program of total annihilation know no bounds, the Halacha demands that we fight and resist to the very end with unequaled determination and valor for the sake of Sanctification of the Divine Name”. Catholics had offered to save the three remaining rabbis, but R’ Zemba ruled against it...he was killed in the ghetto... [Encyclopedia Judaica]