Parshas Shelach: When Seeing Becomes Deceiving

Welcome Back And Parsha Setup

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We're back in better than ever at the Weekly Parsha podcast. Last week we had to take a week off because it was a busy week. The goal is never to take a week off. But with family and Torah and business. And thank the holy lord, it's all busy. Let's just say that my time needs to be a bit more disciplined to make sure that the weekly Parsha podcast comes out on Thursday evenings slash Friday mornings. But this week we rebounded. We're at Parsha Schlach. And it's the weekly Parsha podcast. The family's asleep. The deals have somewhat been closed. They've definitely been opened. The phone calls and texts have been made. The contracts have been authored. And now we settle down. A chance to learn. A chance to put our headphones on. Whether you're in the Motivation Congregation studios wearing the bulky plasticky leathery headphones. On a Staten Island ferry with the AirPods. Or listening via Bluetooth on your way to the office. Or on 24-6 on your way to Yeshiva. Or on your MP3 on your way to Yeshiva. We welcome you into the weekly Parsha podcast. Where we have about a half hour to talk about Yura Shamayim and Tyra. To weave together sources that make sense of all of the Parsha's context in a way that drives home a hardcore muster lesson with truth.

The Spies And The Fallout

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And we start by having to know what Parsha's Schlach is about. It's about twelve spies. It's about twelve spies that sent off on a 40-day journey to search out the land of Canaan. After Hashem already promised them that the land was going to be flowing with milk and honey, they returned carrying huge clusters of grapes, pomegranates, and figs, and report about a lush and bountiful land. But then the ten of the spies, they warned that the inhabitants are huge, a land of giants and warriors and more powerful than we were like grasshoppers in their eyes, and they absolutely defame the land. With some fabrications about the holy land. Crying ensues. Kolev and Yhoshua, the good spies, fight back. The Yahas Koleav. Kullaiv tries to quell the mob. But to no avail. The people weep. They weep in vain. They ask that it's better we return back to Egypt. Hashem decrees that this nation, this generation of the nation, shall be delayed forty years before they enter into the land of Canaan, and they'll die out in the desert, only to have the next generation enter the land. The remorseful Jews have second thoughts and begin to think maybe we should march on Canaan and we'll do it. We believe. Moshe says, don't. It's not gonna work. But they don't listen. They're stomped upon as they storm the mountain on the border of the land of Canaan, and they're routed by the Amalekians and the Canaanians. The parsh is a disaster for the Jewish nation. We then get two mitzvahs about the Nisachim and the Afrash's chalah, see the Rishonim, and the Acheronim as to what the connection is between the rather abrupt detour from the narrative of the Jews entering into the land and the spies into the quick boom boom of Nisachim and Hafrash's chala. We then learn about the violator of Shabbos with the Makoshes Aitsin before we get to our topic at hand this week of the mitzvah of the fringes of the mitzvah of tzitz.

Tzitzit As A Daily Reminder

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Nestled into the end of the parsha, we get where Hashem constructs a mitzvah, instructs a mitzvah, to place upon the fringes tzitz on the four corners of the garments, so that you should remember to fulfill every one of the divine commandments. And take note of that. Well, Vuzha De We not deja vu, but we Vuzja De. We relive a new, an old topic, a rediscovery in a way that you have seen or you will see with Hashem's help, tsits and the commandment, what's behind it in a way that you've never seen before. Put it on the tits that again is on the corner. Psil, put on a psil. What does that word mean? Loosely it means maybe like naftuli psil. Maybe it means psil, like a thread. U tcheles. Put psil tcheles, put a fringe at each corner. Let it be titis for you. Uri isemoso. See it. See your tsitis. Sounds like you shouldn't tuck in your tzitis. You're supposed to see the tzitis. There is a gemura that talks about some ammo you roim that tucked in their tsitis when they went into a base hakvarim into a cemetery so that the dead folks would not be loeg laurush, wouldn't be lying in their kivarim, in their graves, jealous of the tsittis, jealous of the mitzvos that they could no longer do as they saw the tsittis dangling from the live men's corners. So they tucked them in. That's the commandment. Hide your tittus when you go in. But from there, many of the acharonims say, we see from here, vice tos, we see from here that the sits were worn out because they were specifically tucked in when they entered into the base hakivari. But that's neither here nor there. Uzakhartem. The main goal is that you should remember the tzits. And that should remind you as kolam mitzvos, all the commandments of Hashem. But don't just remember them, but do them. The tzitzis are to remind you of Hashem's commandments and that you should not stray after your heart and after your eyes. The goal is the Mantisguru Vast Yisem is Khalit's voice. It's Kalmitz's voice. I remember Hashem's commandments, and the end goal is to be holy. The end goal of the Tsitzis is to be holy to your God. Before the Parsha concludes with the commandment of Aniashem alokehamirs mitraim, Leo Slachem Lilokim, Aniashemalokem MS. It is true that God took us out. And the tikkun and the rectification in the world that happens when we reference that Hashem changed nature to take us out of Egypt, says the Dark Hashem is the reason that this Parshah is so significant and why we responded, says the Mishnah Burah, twice a day. We recite it twice a day to remember the Yatsias Mitrayim. That's why we say Vajomir at the end of Shema. The Gemara says that.

Lo Sasuru Links Spies And Desire

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But this week, it hit me. Out of this entire parsha, the words Losasuru. What does that mean? Don't stray, it says. We saw that word. It slapped me in the face. We saw that word. Where did we see that? I know. I saw when I was reading Shnei Miker of Echatargum at the beginning of the week. I just read that. When the spies. The spies! Losa Suru! What did the Parsha say about Losa Suru? It said when the men were going to look at the land of Canaan, it said Losa Suru. I know that word. It says Shalachla Khanashim, said men. The very first Pusuk I remembered. Vayasuru. As Eretz Kanan. Go and explore. Go and scout the land of Canaan. I remembered. Again, a couple Pussukam later. It said Losuru that same word. When it said Vaishalak Osam Moshe, that Moshe sent the spies, the scouts on the secret agent espionage snooping trial of Losur Eretkinan.

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Lasur is the same word of Losuru. It made me think about it.

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Wait a second. Hashem doesn't want us to be spies. Don't be spies. What do you mean spies? Don't spy after your heart? It made me think. Wait a second. Let me remake sense of the word Losasuru Akhri Lavavchem. Clearly, this is some sort of theme that's happening in Parshashlach. So I looked at Rashi and Rashi read beautifully. It read like it's never read before. Says Rashi. What does that mean? Rashi says exactly what we've talked about. Losa Suru is an odd word, it comes. From earlier in the Parsha Los Asuru comes from the scouting of the land. When Moish Rabinu said, come back after 40 years of exploring the land, the spies returned from searching. Miturha arets. From searching, from spying on the land. Very interesting. Hashem commands us not to be spies. Not to be spies after our hearts. Not to be spies after our eyes. Hmm. That's what Losa Suru means. Continues Rashi. Hale Vahinaim He miraglium laguf. Oh my goodness. This is a Rashi I've seen many times, but it never hit like this. The heart and the eyes are literally miraculum. Losasuru means miragualim. Don't explore, don't search, don't go on a reconnaissance mission of the eyes and of the heart. Continues Rashi. Because Msarserim is actually the English word. It hits deep in my heart. Mesarserim means a broker, a middleman, a searsaur is a middleman. Rashi's telling us that the eyes and the heart are the middleman,

Rashi On Eyes And Heart Spying

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the one who procures buyers and deals for Averos. That's what the eyes and the heart are. Ha'ayanro includes Rashi. The eye sees, the heart covets, and the body does the sin. Let's read the Rashi all together. What does it mean? Don't let your eyes and your heart be spies. Rashi's explaining the word sasuru means spies. Art scroll and other translations may loosely translate it as don't stray after your heart, but stray is the wrong connotation. Stray is the wrong translation. It's to be don't let your eyes and your heart explore and spy out sin. As a broker would spy out a deal, the eyes and the heart spy out sins to bring it towards the body till it eventually does sin. And don't do that. Instead, see tsits, see the fringes, see the tcheles, and say no. Don't send the body straying, exploring, and spying after what the eyes and the heart, the brokers of sin, will bring. This Rashi slaps. It reads with such clarity. You see the friction that Rashi's deliberating upon. He's bothered by the word Sasuru. He's quoting Psukim to translate it and brings a mushal from Chazal to clarify it.

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It's now so clear. Reverse breaks it down.

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He breaks it down even more powerfully. Not more powerfully than Raji, but in a way that slaps more powerfully to us. He brings it down lower to make it more low-hanging fruit. He explains to us the actual etymological definition of Sosuru comes from Turtuf Reish Vov, like Tur Tess Vov Rish, Tuf Tuf Pe Resh joining in a row, which designates not only searching in general, but purely objectively searching of things in general, to join together two things to see if they unite in harmony, to see if the known peculiarities of a thing, to get an idea of what really is going on. Dot dot dot. Before Hirsch explains.

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That Sasuru is a commandment. Where the eyes and the heart naturally bring to you what you're looking for.

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And that's this week's podcast. That's it. That your eyes and your heart will spy out for you what you're looking for. The wishing heart, the spying eye. It's a broker for you. It's Los Asuros, the commandment. That do not be looking for your own selfish needs. You see, every single item that you come in contact with, your heart, your deepest wishes will translate it after the eyes bring back the information of what it is as is it good or is it bad? Love Mashal. You'll meet a person. If you're a selfish person, no matter how nice or kind they are, if you are not somebody who's in control of your proper emotions and yiddishkite, if you're not serving Hashem, then you're going to meet this person and Los Sasuru Akhari Levavchembi Akhari Einechem will bring to you opportunities for sin. If they are a wealthy person, you may want to maximize your own financial opportunities by scamming them. What an opportunity to befriend them, to be falsely kind to them so that you can maximize your profits, dear heart. That's what the eyes and the heart will say to you. Are they an attractive person that I can gain pleasure from them? Are they a powerful person that I could gain honor from them? See, when the deepest origins and genesis of your innermost longings are for selfish egotistical wantings, then the heart and the eyes are Sir Surima Avera. They're just bringing you opportunities for sin as they scout out, just like a G.I. Joe's black dark goggles scan the dark room, initiating different approaches to latch onto different opportunities. For 20 yards away, there stands a target of sin that I can approach to gain pleasure, to gain honor, to gain fame. The eyes and the heart so too bring to a self-serving, egotistical, self-worshipping person. Sir Suri Mla'veira opportunities for sin. Read the Rashi again and hear it how Rashi says it. The commandments to scout and spy the land. The heart and the eyes are miraculum. Your heart and your eyes are miraglim. They may be miraculum like the ten evil miraglium, if you're self-centered and egotistical. But the commandment is to look at your tzits and to remind yourself that if you're Genesis, if the starting spot of what you're actually interested in life is God, if what actually is deep within your heart is viisem aloy keychem, then your heart and your eyes act like Sir Suri act like spies for good. They bring to you savem. They don't just simply wander around or spy for sin, but they bring to you a person. There's a person talking to us now, your eyes say to your heart. The heart says, This is a nice person. Maybe I can give them charity. If what stays in the heart is God, then your eyes and your heart are just scanning the room for mitzvah opportunities. The commandment of citizens is to see it, to remind yourself of what's holy, and then to then scout the room and scout the world for mitzvah opportunities. But Ms. Khome mitzvahisa. A person who lives with self-centered wishes, then every time he walks down the street, his eyes and his heart are nothing more than scanning the opportunities for sin and for pleasure. But a person whose genesis, whose strength, and whose origin, whose seed in his heart is that I would like to commit myself to obedience to Hashem, then you look away. Then you look away from what is not obedience to Hashem. Because that is not what you're looking for. Not because it's a sin, but because that's not what you're looking for. Your eyes and your heart are miraglam la mitzvah. The commandment of titus is to see and to remind yourself that you're supposed to be on the lookout for mitzvos. That's what's supposed to occupy your mind and your heart.

Be A Spy For Mitzvot

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You see, this happens in an amazing way. You could have two people that acting like Terminators, like robots, like some sort of artificial intelligence could scan a table and find a hamburger on the table. And for one person, his lave and his ainayim are Sursurium just for physical pleasure, and the other person sees within it a mitzvah, a bracha, rishina, a bracha, achrona, a chance to thank Akadish Barakhu. The mitzvah of Tsitis is here to tell you that your heart should be in the right place and you should run far away from ever having your eyes and your heart be Sirim, be brokers for sin. That you should be holy. Sometimes I think this is actually what's at the root of so many of our problems. It's actually the longing of what you want in your heart. The people that are on the lookout for sin, for a vera, for money, eventually they stumble because they're deep down looking for it. The mitsu of tzitis is to constantly stay focused. And it's not by coincidence that the most treacherous and damning debacle in Kalistral's history that happens in Parsha Schlach after all of these averus and opportunities that we got distracted, that it all ends in sits. Many of the Bali Musir tell us that the parsha is not a coincidence. It's to give us that sits is here when everyone's getting distracted, when everyone is running after things that are distracting, when the eyes and the heart are bringing opportunities for sin. You have to see the sits and remind yourself a kabolas omalchoshemayim of what I'm actually interested in, which isn't myself. It's in fact everyone else but myself. It's my partner, my children, my cousins, a stranger, the borialum. That's what the mitzvah of tissue. That's what it means, Losasuru. The whole parsha from A to Z connects now. It's all about being spies. Don't be a spy for sin. But your eyes and your heart will naturally bring to you what you want. So the commandment is stay focused. Stay focused on the tzittis. The tzittis should remind you of the white strings and the 613 total knots, as Rashi says, whereas the rambanzas of the blue strand, however you slice it, stay focused. And maybe even be a spy, but be a spy for what is truly deep down, which is that I want to return the good to the holy lord, blessed be he. I'm gonna stay focused and spy out mitzvah opportunities. That's what Velosa Suru means. Our parsha comes first full circle. And our lesson this week is that your eyes and your heart will spy out what you're deeply looking for. It's our job to stay focused. And it's our goal to be good spies. Fellow sasuru Akharila Vavchem, but to look and see everything as an opportunity to be holy to Hashem and not, God forbid, to be selfish, egotistical, pleasure and honor seeking individuals whose eyes and hearts bring them nothing but opportunities for their own personal pleasure.