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19 June 2009

Shabbat Shalom!





Shabbat Shalom

Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Shelach

The Ba'al Shem Tov teaches that when a Jew finds himself walking in a particular place, it is not by chance. Divine Providence has brought him there, so that he can reveal Divinity there. All Jews are emissaries of the Almighty and thus by their mere presence they illuminate their surroundings with the Divine Presence. The Divine emanating from a Jewish soul acts like a magnet. It awakens any sparks of holiness present in its surroundings and draws them closer. Indeed, this is part of the mission a Jewish soul is entrusted with. Sometimes a Jew is born just to walk in a place where no other Jew has previously walked. When a Jew is consciously connected to God, by reciting a blessing or speaking words of Torah, he or she elevates all the sparks that have fallen there. 

Thus, the twelve spies, representing all twelve Tribes of Israel, circled all the borders of the Land of Israel, entrusted with the mission of awakening all the Divine sparks in the land—sparks of holiness that had been in exile all the time that the land was abominated by the Canaanites. Later, when the Jewish people would enter the land en masse these awakened sparks would have been revealed in full, proclaiming as it were their bond with the Almighty and with His chosen people.

The sages relate that had the spies been true to their mission and reported back in earnest—describing what they had seen, as surveyors and not interpreting this information in terms of war tactics, as spies do—then no battle would have been fought to conquer the Land of Israel. Rather, the Canaanite nations, who were sensitive enough to nature to hear the proclamation that the land was given to the Jewish people, would have simply picked up and left on their own.

HaRav Yitzchak Ginsburgh Authentic Jewish Mysticism and Thought

One of the 613 commandments is to tie a tzitzit on each of the corners of a four-cornered garment.


The commandment of tzitzit also appears in Shelach:

God said to Moshe: "Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them [that] they shall make tzitzit (צִיצִת ) on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations; and in the tzitzit (צִיצִת ) on the corner, they shall place a blue fiber. They will be your tzitzit (לְצִיצִת ); you will look at it and you will remember all of God's commandments and you will do them; and, you shall not follow your hearts and eyes, after which you prostitute. So that you may remember and perform all my commandments; and you will be consecrated to your God. I am Havayah, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am Havayah, your God."

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