Parshas Behaalosecha (Chutz LaAretz) / Shlach (Eretz Yisrael) - The Kushite Woman and the Sin of the Spies

00:03 It is told that there was once an encounter between the Alter Rebbe, one of the Maggid of Mezritch’s greatest disciples, and Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh, a grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. When they met, an argument arose between them. As is known, Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh disagreed with the Alter Rebbe on several matters concerning the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. They argued about some of the practices the Alter Rebbe had introduced, which Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh felt were not in keeping with the holy Baal Shem Tov’s intentions. It is said that Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh told the Alter Rebbe that he was, after all, the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson. The Alter Rebbe replied, “You are indeed a grandson in the physical sense, and I am a grandson in the spiritual sense.” The Alter Rebbe also told him: We see that when the time came to sacrifice oneself for the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, when the opposition to those teachings was at its height, they sought someone among the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples who would take responsibility and sacrifice himself. The Alter Rebbe then took that burden upon himself. He

01:34 accepted the responsibility. He went to prison, was imprisoned and endured that self-sacrifice. Through this, it became possible to break through the opposition so that the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings could continue to endure. It is said that this was the argument: Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh maintained that the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings were exalted and profound—the inner dimension of Torah and its secrets—and should be reserved for a select few, holy Jews to whom they belonged. The Alter Rebbe argued the opposite: Chassidus must be publicized, taught and spread. This was the approach of Chabad Chassidus: the Alter Rebbe held that a person must work through his own efforts, studying Chassidus and contemplating it. That is the approach of Chabad Chassidus. It is said that the Alter Rebbe then explained as follows: When the holy Baal Shem Tov experienced an ascent of the soul, as we know from the letter he wrote to his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon of Kitov, who was in Eretz Yisroel, he related that he had ascended to Moshiach’s chamber and asked Moshiach, “When will the Master come?” Moshiach answered him:

02:59 “When your wellsprings spread outward.” When your teachings, the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, spread throughout the world, then “the Master will come.” And the Baal Shem Tov fell into deep sadness. Why? Several explanations are given. One explanation, as people say, is that the holy Baal Shem Tov’s tears and sadness came from his question: When would this happen? That is one explanation. The second explanation given is that the Baal Shem Tov knew his teachings—the inner dimension and secrets of Torah—would have to spread outward broadly, to low places, very low places, to souls on a low level. This made him [unclear]. So the Alter Rebbe said: “You, Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh, as a grandson in the physical sense, are concerned with [unclear] your grandfather, with your grandfather’s tears. But to me,” said the Alter Rebbe, “what matters is fulfilling the higher intention—to bring the Geulah, which comes through the arrival of Moshiach—and that is ‘your wellsprings spreading outward.’ We must sacrifice ourselves for this, so that it will be possible to [unclear] bring Moshiach by spreading the wellsprings outward, by spreading Chassidus and explaining it...”

04:30 Chassidim, [unclear]. Yes, that is the story, though it is not entirely clear. Still, it helps us understand a little. Yes, baruch Hashem—what is the reason, what is the meaning of self-sacrifice? [unclear] Chassidus, and “your wellsprings spreading outward.” And the Rebbe brings Chassidus into Chabad—chochmah, binah and daas—into understanding and comprehension. In the weekly parshiyos, Parshas Behaaloscha and Parshas Shelach, we find passages that deal extensively with how the Jewish people prepare to enter Eretz Yisroel, as Moshe Rabbeinu prepares them for the next stage, entering Eretz Yisroel. In Parshas Behaaloscha, yes, “And it was when the Ark traveled,” “And the people were like complainers.” A period begins in which, as we see with the Jewish people—yes, in Parshas Behaaloscha, before “And it was when the Ark traveled,” there is the Mishkan, the menorah and all these things. And they are about to enter Eretz Yisroel. But here, after “And it was when it traveled,” the passages about their trials begin. Yes, and from then on, beginning with the complainers, the whole period becomes, one could say, as we see parsha after parsha—from Behaaloscha to Shelach, Korach, yes, Chukas—a time when the Jewish people’s condition weakens. There are many kinds of trials, all sorts of complaints and all sorts of challenges to Moshe Rabbeinu. On the other hand, it is precisely in these parshiyos that we see—and more than that, Torah comes from the word hora’ah, “instruction”—that the Torah teaches us precisely how a Jew must prepare to be able to enter Eretz Yisroel. And all the lessons we learn

06:21 from these parshiyos, [unclear], concern how the Jewish people must be connected to Moshe Rabbeinu, who shows us the way to enter Eretz Yisroel. We learn lessons from this for our own time as well, because the Torah is eternal. All the Torah’s accounts of the Jewish people and Moshe Rabbeinu are lessons for every generation: how a Jew should prepare to enter Eretz Yisroel, [unclear], to prepare for the Geulah and for the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. We will discuss two points from Behaaloscha and two from Shelach, and connect aspects of the accounts in the two parshiyos. At the end of Parshas Behaaloscha, there is a serious incident. The Torah tells us what happened to Miriam. It says, “And Miriam spoke”—Miriam spoke ill of her brother, Moshe Rabbeinu. What did she say? “Concerning the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.” The parsha relates, of course, what happened as a result of her words, what was said and claimed about Moshe Rabbeinu, and what Hakadosh Boruch Hu said. Here we see how Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Moshe Rabbeinu’s virtues. The Torah tells us of Moshe Rabbeinu’s greatness: “He is faithful throughout My house”; and it continues, “And the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” The Torah goes on to tell us of Moshe Rabbeinu’s greatness. And we need

07:59 to understand the passage—what Hakadosh Boruch Hu [unclear] to Miriam. What is the explanation? What happened, and what lessons do we learn from the passage? There are several explanations. One is brought in the name of the holy Shelah. The holy Shelah explains: What was the sin, and what is “the Cushite woman”? What was the complaint concerning “the Cushite woman”? The holy Shelah says that “woman” refers to Torah, as the verse says, “Enjoy life with the woman”—meaning Torah, as the Midrash explains. So “woman” alludes to Torah. And what does “a Cushite woman” mean? It refers to darkness, to a dark-skinned Cushite woman, and alludes to the Oral Torah. He explains the difference between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah: the Written Torah is light; everything in it is illuminated. It is Torah as given from Above—“Torah is light.” But the Oral Torah, which the Jewish people must develop through work, effort and study, is associated with darkness, with the Cushite woman. The complaint about “the Cushite woman whom he had married” was that Moshe Rabbeinu had acted improperly [unclear] by involving himself specifically with the Cushite woman, with the Oral Torah. Why did he choose the Oral Torah in particular? What does this mean in practice? “The Cushite woman”—what

09:32 was the complaint? The Oral Torah is, of course and quite obviously, Torah from Heaven. What, then, was the complaint? Clearly, Miriam and Aharon Hakohen knew the greatness of the Oral Torah: “The words of the Sages are dear to Me”; “The words of the Sages are weighty to Me.” So what was meant? The Tzemach Tzedek explains [unclear]: It is clear and obvious that Miriam did not object to the Oral Torah itself. As is known, there are different approaches to study. There is the approach of the Jerusalem Talmud, and there is the approach of the Babylonian Talmud. Studying the Jerusalem Talmud is a form of direct illumination. In the Jerusalem Talmud, matters are illuminated. It does not have many intricate arguments, questions, challenges and answers. Its study is illuminated: the ideas are clearer, closer to their plain meaning, and they shine; so too with its rulings, without additional complications. By contrast, when we come to the Babylonian Talmud, the Gemara’s phrase is cited: “He has made me dwell in darkness”—this refers to the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud is associated with “darkness,” because matters there are not clear, and there are many questions, challenges and answers before arriving at a halachic ruling. Thus, the Babylonian Talmud is the darkness being discussed. And this was Miriam’s complaint: that Moshe Rabbeinu

11:06 He chose the Babylonian Talmud specifically. After all, when it comes to the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, the halachah follows the Babylonian Talmud. And [unclear], it is specifically when one follows the path of the Babylonian Talmud—and this is the [unclear] Torah of Babylonia—that Torah study must involve toil; that is precisely what the Babylonian Talmud is about. Miriam’s argument was: “The Cushite woman”? You have the Oral Torah, not just the Written Torah, but one can study the Oral Torah in the manner of the Jerusalem Talmud—with direct light, illuminated study, easier study. Why specifically the way of the Babylonian Talmud? The answer is that, on the contrary, Moshe Rabbeinu was right. When the verse “I am black, but beautiful” is cited, it means that specifically through the blackness, through toil, through darkness, through breaking through the darkness of questions, intricate arguments, halachos, and contradictions, one removes the barriers, crosses the chasm [unclear], and reveals the depth of wisdom, the “hidden depths of wisdom.” Through toil in the Babylonian Talmud, one reaches the loftiest and deepest matters in the Torah. This is the deeper meaning of the story the Torah tells us in Parshas Behaaloscha about the exchange between Miriam and Moshe Rabbeinu. It follows, then,

12:37 that in this story of Miriam, the crucial point is precisely the engagement with darkness: studying the Babylonian Talmud, where one must descend into the darkness of questions, into a world of concealed things in the Torah. And precisely through this, one reaches the true depth, the true light—“I am black, but beautiful.” That is the story of Parshas Behaaloscha. From there we move to Parshas Shelach, with its account of the spies. In the account of the spies, there were, accordingly, [?] things that happened there. The well-known question all the commentators ask is: How could the spies come back and not want to enter Eretz Yisroel? The spies, we are told, were holy people, righteous, holy and pure. “All of them were men”; Rashi says, “They were worthy men.” They were prominent people, leaders and princes—“each one a prince among them.” In other words, the finest, most outstanding and most elevated Jews among the Jewish people were chosen. So how could the spies make such grave mistakes? How could they speak badly of Eretz Yisroel, question whether it was possible to enter it, and say, “For he is stronger than us”? The Gemara says their words implied, as it were, that “the Master of the house cannot remove His vessels from there.”

14:15 These were all sorts of doubts about faith, containing heresy. How did they come to this? All the commentators discuss it. But it is well known that the Alter Rebbe explains in Likkutei Torah that the spies really were holy Jews. They simply did not understand how one could live as a Jew in Eretz Yisroel, how one could become involved with nature and the world. In the desert, the Jewish people were removed from this world. They were in a state of holiness, spiritually uplifted, together with Moshe Rabbeinu in the desert. They ate the manna and lived in an exceptionally elevated world and state. Therefore, [?]. The spies wanted to remain on that level. The Alter Rebbe explains that the desert was a world of thought; there was not so much emphasis there on practical mitzvos. Their service was spiritual—devotion and Torah study. Moshe Rabbeinu was there, embodying daas, and they stood on a high level of spirituality and greatness. They saw that when they entered Eretz Yisroel, they would have to become involved in physical and material matters, in the affairs of this world and of nature, and “six days you shall do your work.” After all, the entire service in this world takes place amid a great deal of physicality. That looked to them like “a land that consumes its inhabitants.” As explained in the sefarim, what does “a land that consumes its inhabitants” mean? He writes, for example, in—

15:50 Tiferes Shlomo, he explains: What was the claim behind “a land that consumes its inhabitants”? The spies really were holy Jews, prominent and worthy men, leaders of the Jewish people. They felt that when they entered Eretz Yisroel, they would become immersed in materialism. Their proof from Eretz Yisroel was “and this is its fruit.” Go and look at the fruit there; see what the verse says later: “You grew fat, thick, and heavy,” and “Yeshurun grew fat and kicked.” Amid such physicality and materialism, a person could stumble. That is “a land that consumes its inhabitants”: a person becomes wholly swallowed up in worldly desires. They also said that there were giants there. They saw that engagement with physicality itself made people so large and coarse, like the giants they saw there, men of great stature. So this was their argument: How could they enter Eretz Yisroel, where they might fall? But what was their mistake? Their mistake was addressed by Kalev when he said, “If Hashem desires us.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants this. If Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives you... Certainly, if you think about what you want, then yes: the more spirituality and holiness, the better; you want to remain on a high level. But “if Hashem desires us”: What does Hakadosh Boruch Hu want from us? Yes, Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s desire, His deepest wish, His will, is that Jews

17:22 enter Eretz Yisroel specifically, take on the garments of nature, and there, in the physicality of the world, make the world a dwelling for its Creator in the lower realms. Seen this way, their argument about the “sons of giants” is straightforward. As Rashi explains, the sons of giants were the angels, the fallen ones. There were Shamchazai and Azael, the angels who fell, the fallen ones, who fell in the days of Enosh, in the days of Adam and Chava. But that was their argument: What does the story of the angels, the fallen ones, the giants, have to do with this? In other words, it was part of the spies’ case. The spies said: Look at the angels who stood in heaven and sang “Holy”—holy angels on a lofty level. When they came into the world, descended here below, and took on bodies, they stumbled, fell to the lowest level, and became fallen ones. How much more so people like us, of flesh and blood: when we enter Eretz Yisroel and encounter all its materialism and physicality, we will surely become fallen ones; we will surely stumble. Kalev, together with Yehoshua bin Nun, answered them: “If Hashem desires us.” Jews have greater strength than angels. Angels, though they are created beings,

18:45 can exist only in a spiritual world. They can stand in the world of Asiyah and sing there. But when they come down here, they do not have the power to transform physicality and make the world a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But “for Hashem desires us”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose the Jewish people above everyone—yes, above all the angels. “Hashem desires us”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu desires us and chose us. That is why Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the strength to enter Eretz Yisroel and make it a dwelling for the Creator. So the point in both stories is: What did Moshe Rabbeinu understand, and what was the mistake? This is what Rashi says, that [unclear]. Yes, Miriam thought: Why do we need such a Cushite woman? Why do we need such blackness? And Moshe Rabbeinu said: Just the opposite. It is specifically through the Babylonian Talmud, through entering that blackness, those worlds and concealments, and there working on oneself—“you have toiled and found”—that one reaches true wisdom, the true level. “I am black, but beautiful”: precisely this way, one reaches the greatest light, the true, true light. The spies stumbled over the same point: they lacked bittul to Moshe Rabbeinu. That is the point we learn from these parshiyos.

20:11 They lacked bittul to Moshe Rabbeinu. Therefore, they did not have that point; they did not grasp the reason, the true intent. They made their own calculations and thought things had to work out as they saw them. Yes, intellectually, it really is hard to understand. In the desert one can be a good Jew, serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and cleave to Him—in spirituality, devotion, and light. But how can one enter such a coarse, physical world and make it a dwelling for Him? That is what Yehoshua and Kalev answered, for they were devoted to Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe prayed for Yehoshua. And Kalev went to the graves of the forefathers and prayed, asking to be protected from the counsel of the spies. He held fast to bittul and devotion to Moshe Rabbeinu, as it says, “Kalev quieted the people toward Moshe.” Because he had that “quieting”—that bittul to Moshe Rabbeinu—he truly understood the intent: that one must descend into this physical world, live in the world, and illuminate it. And this is our [unclear], and we have the strength, because “Hashem desires us,” to transform the world and make it a

21:30 The world will be a dwelling for Him. And that is how they enter Eretz Yisroel, and it will be a good and spacious land. From here we continue to the story of the spies in the haftarah. The haftarah of today’s parsha tells of the sin of the spies—ah, not the sin of the spies; on the contrary, it tells of the spies Yehoshua sent. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu saw that the spies had caused a stumbling block, Yehoshua nevertheless “sent spies.” How could Yehoshua send spies? The Rebbe answers with one word: “And Yehoshua sent spies, cheresh.” Cheresh means self-nullification. They had that self-nullification, and that was the difference. Moshe’s spies lacked self-nullification before Moshe Rabbeinu, but Calev and Yehoshua did not. When Yehoshua bin Nun’s turn came, he chose Calev and Pinchas, who had true self-nullification—cheresh—complete dedication. With them, he was confident that they could indeed carry out the Divine intent and fulfill their mission as it should be done, and thus prepare the Jews to enter Eretz Yisroel. That is how it was the first time. And so it is in our days, too: this is the lesson, the teaching we take from the parsha, from Parshas Shelach as well—that a Jew need not be afraid of the world. On the contrary, we must know that “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling

22:48 in the lower realms.” A Jew needs to go out into the world, conquer the world, and make it a world of light, a world of purity, a world of holiness. Yes, to make the world a dwelling for Him. And as the Baal Shem Tov said, through “your wellsprings spreading outward”—when the wellsprings of Chassidus reach the outside, every single place—we will thereby soon, in our days, merit “the Master will come,” King Moshiach. Amen, may it be His will.