Parshas Shlach - The Superiority of Souls Over Angels

00:00 Friends, the Rebbe once told a story at a Shavuos farbrengen that he had heard from his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe. The Frierdiker Rebbe related that in the Alter Rebbe’s early years, when he was still young, he would travel from place to place. As is known, the Alter Rebbe traveled, especially in those early years, to bring Jews closer to Chassidus. He would visit towns with many Torah scholars who were not familiar with the Baal Shem Tov’s approach to Chassidus, and there he would spread the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings. Once, in a place where there was a group of Torah scholars who still did not know the ways of Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe had one of his debates with them. As is known, the Alter Rebbe would first resolve questions in the revealed parts of Torah, and they would see his extraordinary genius in that area; afterward, he would share Chassidus with them. And as is known, in those early years the Alter Rebbe’s Torah teachings were brief. The Frierdiker Rebbe related that once, as the Alter Rebbe passed through a town, he delivered a short Torah teaching in public. What was the teaching? He said: What is the difference between

01:28 souls and angels? Angels are external, while souls are internal. That was the entire Torah teaching. An uproar broke out in the town: How could one say such a thing about angels? How can angels be called external? What does that mean? There was a whole commotion, with people discussing the source for it and what it meant. They had many objections, including objections to the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings in general, and they could neither understand nor accept this statement. The Alter Rebbe said that there is, in fact, a source for it in the revealed parts of Torah. Where do we find a source there for the idea that angels are external and souls are internal? He said: It is written that when the angels came to Avraham Avinu—the Torah relates in Parshas Vayeira that three men came, angels who had taken human form—they came to Avraham Avinu, and he prepared a whole meal. Yes, the Torah relates all the details. But what does the Midrash say? The angels did not actually eat. “And they ate,” says the Midrash, means “they appeared to eat.” They did not eat; they only appeared to, but in truth they did not. That is what is written about the angels. The Alter Rebbe says: That is the secret of

03:08 being external. Someone who is external can do something so another person will see it, while he himself is not really there. That is what “external” means: he does things outwardly, for appearances, for someone else—not for real. And that is what we see with the angels. In truth they did not eat, but outwardly they acted as though they did. With Moshe Rabbeinu, by contrast, it was exactly the opposite. Moshe Rabbeinu was in heaven for forty days and forty nights; it says, “He ate no bread and drank no water.” Why? Because he was among the ministering angels. He was in heaven among the ministering angels, and since ministering angels do not eat or drink, Moshe Rabbeinu did not eat or drink either. But could Moshe Rabbeinu have done what the angels did? Could he have pretended not to eat while secretly finding some way to eat? No. With Moshe Rabbeinu, “he did not eat” meant just that: “He ate no bread and drank no water.” It was not merely that he “appeared not to eat”; he truly did not eat. In other words, Moshe Rabbeinu is a soul, and a soul is inwardness. Inwardness means truth; he is genuine. So he does not do something merely for outward appearances, to do something for someone else; he does it for real. Therefore, if it says of him that “he did not eat,” he truly did not eat. [unclear]

04:47 That was the source through which the Alter Rebbe showed the difference between souls and angels: angels are external, while souls are internal. In today’s lesson on Parshas Shelach, we will find more about the special quality of souls. And how is the difference between souls and angels expressed in serving Hashem? This, in fact, was the debate between Calev and the spies, and it adds another dimension to serving Hashem according to the approach of Chassidus. We also find something interesting in the parsha, in the story of the spies. What is it? When the spies returned from Eretz Yisroel, after spending forty days seeing everything there, they claimed that it was a difficult land, that the people there were formidable and strong, and that they would not be able to conquer it. That was their claim. And the verse in the parsha, verse 28, says: “But the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; we also saw the descendants of the giants there.” They describe a strong people, a frightening people, a powerful country with walls and all those things. And not only that: they had also seen the children of the giants there. The Torah then relates that Calev stood up: “Calev quieted the people before Moshe,” and Calev said, “We shall surely go up and take possession of it, for we can surely do it.” Those were Calev’s words: There is no need to be afraid; we will certainly be able to conquer

06:41 the land. The Torah goes on to say that the men, the spies, did not agree with Calev. They said again, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” They began talking about the land, and later said that they had seen men of great stature. What does “men of great stature” mean? Rashi says: tall, large men, men of imposing height. And in verse 33 they go on to relate: “And there we saw the Nefilim, the sons of Anak, descended from the Nefilim; we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were in their eyes.” That is how the parsha continues. And a question immediately arises: What happened? Why did they repeat themselves? They had already said, “We saw the descendants of the giants there,” and Calev had already answered, “We shall surely go up and take possession of it, for we can surely do it.” Why did they keep shouting? They seem to be saying the same thing again. Moreover, when they repeat themselves, they do not say precisely the same thing. They add new words. They say these were the Nefilim, the sons of Anak descended from the Nefilim, and here Rashi stops and asks: Who were the Nefilim? Rashi says: “The Nefilim—so called because they fell from heaven in the days of the generation of Enosh.” These were the giants descended from Shamchazai and Azael. Those are the names of angels who fell from heaven in the days of the generation of Enosh. As is known, Rashi briefly tells of this in Parshas Bereishis: There was a time near the beginning of the world, in the days of the generation of Enosh, the third generation from the creation of the world, when angels argued before Hakadosh Boruch Hu: Why should Hakadosh Boruch Hu concern Himself with man, and so on? What happened with those angels? Hakadosh Boruch Hu sent them down into the world,

08:22 the “sons of G-d,” and these were the Nefilim, Shamchazai and Azael. That is what Rashi says here. And Rashi continues: They felt like grasshoppers and thought, as they themselves say, that we are like ants. Then Rashi says: “Sons of Anak”—what does “Anak” mean? “Their height makes the sun seem like a necklace around them.” In other words, these people were so tall and large that they were beyond normal human proportions. What does it mean that “their height makes the sun seem like a necklace around them”? When you looked at them, it seemed as though they blocked out the sun, as though the sun encircled their bodies. That is how tall they were. These are Rashi’s words, and that is the account in the parsha. So the first question arises: Why did they give all these details when they had already spoken about the sons of Anak? The second question is: Why did they now add details they had not mentioned before? First, they changed the word: instead of saying “Anak,” they said “Nefilim.” And this raises a question about Rashi: What is Rashi trying to tell us here? Rashi’s commentary is not a book of Midrash. As is known, Rashi explains the plain meaning of the verse. Why does Rashi give all these details here—what happened, who they were, where they came from, and that they “fell from heaven in the days of the generation of Enosh”? And the final question, also a difficult one: Why did Rashi find it necessary to explain the word “Anak” here?

09:55 The word “Anak” already appears earlier in the parsha: “We also saw the descendants of Anak there.” Rashi does not explain it there at all, and suddenly here he explains the word “Anak.” What changed? Well, here we come to a wonderful explanation the Rebbe once gave at a Shabbos Parshas Shelach farbrengen, in 5742. As is known, the Rebbe would speak at a farbrengen every Shabbos, and one of the explanations at the farbrengen would be a sicha on Rashi’s commentary: presenting a comment of Rashi’s, first understanding its plain meaning, and then drawing out the lesson in serving Hashem that we learn from it. Here there is a wonderful explanation of Rashi’s words that gives us a deeper understanding of the whole back-and-forth over the spies’ claims. It lets us understand what we should accept here, what is right, and what strength we can draw from it for ourselves, in our own times, in our service of Hashem today. The central point of the explanation is that the spies came and, at first, spoke in entirely straightforward terms. At first, they began frightening the people with simple things. They came and displayed very large fruit. They told the people that this was a strong nation and that there were giants there—giants in the literal sense. “Giants” literally means tall people. Tall people, whom Rashi calls “men” [unclear], and that is possible. Yes, a person’s height is three cubits [unclear], while one of them was sixty [unclear].

11:31 As Rashi explains, [unclear], there were people who were [unclear], but all of that was still within limits. They were not angels, not [unclear]. Yes, they were tall, very tall, but we are still talking about something within a certain range. The spies wanted to frighten the people in a straightforward way, not on a deeper level: there are strong people there, giants, fortified cities, and things like that, so the task is difficult. Then Kalev stood up and said, “Ah, that’s not true.” He said, “We shall surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed do it.” He reawakened their faith and confidence that we certainly could. So the spies sought a new argument, one they had not raised in their usual claim. Because if all they said was that there were strong nations there, Kalev had already cried out and stirred [unclear] within them. But they said: We must [unclear]. What they had thought to arouse, Kalev had already aroused—that we certainly could do it. So they looked for new points to raise, especially frightening ones that they had not brought up before. That is what the Torah goes on to tell us: they came to say that these were not ordinary giants—they were the Nefilim. Ah, now we are not talking about ordinary giants who are stronger, taller, and broader. That is not the point. These were the Nefilim, who fell from heaven. These were not human beings at all; they were angels. They actually fell from heaven. So now we are talking about exceptionally powerful beings—angels. And not just any angels. These were angels called Shamchazai and Azael. The names themselves tell you [unclear]: one of them is called Shamchazai, from the word for desolation. They can turn the world into a desolate heap, destroy an entire world. Yes, Azael is related to Azazel, or to the word oz, strength—Azazel, strength. This is extraordinary strength, heavenly strength. And later, when Rashi gives the details, he says this was before the Flood. They come from an entirely different era. The greatest proof is that they fell from heaven [unclear]; in other words, this happened before the Flood. Yet they survived the Flood. The Flood completely wiped out all life, and they remained. That means that even the Flood could not destroy them. That is why it is important for Rashi to include these details. And that is also why Rashi adds a new interpretation of the word “giant” here. Earlier, Rashi did not explain what it meant. “Giant” means [unclear], simply. The Torah had already said it; when we encounter the word, its plain meaning is a strong person, a tall person. But here it is not merely that. They wanted to emphasize a height that was utterly extraordinary. And not merely strength, strength

13:04 [unclear]

14:35 physical strength, but heavenly strength, the strength of angels. That is why they fell from heaven—Shamchazai and Azael. And that is why their height [unclear]. Here Rashi gives a new interpretation of “giant”: “They make the sun look like a necklace around them because of their height.” This is a height altogether beyond the human realm, to the point that “they make the sun look like a necklace around them because of their height.” [unclear]. This is the plain meaning of the verse that Rashi wants to emphasize. That is why it adds a new fear, and why it leads to a new “and they wept,” to “the entire congregation raised its voice,” as the verse says later. Yes, the people begin to cry: “The entire congregation raised its voice, and they cried.” And remember that afterward comes the rest of the parsha, in which Yehoshua and Kalev told the Jewish people: “The land is very, very good. If Hashem desires us...” They should not believe the fear of the Nefilim, of the giants in that land. For we are going with Hakadosh Boruch Hu: “If Hashem desires us...” Hakadosh Boruch Hu desires us, and He will bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey. Yes, and the verses continue: “The land is very, very good”—the strongest land, the best land. Remember, this is the Divine will. That is the plain meaning of the verses. From here we can turn to serving Hashem on the level of the plain meaning and understand the give-and-take, the dialogue, as they say, between the angels—between the spies, sorry—and Kalev and Yehoshua. What were the spies trying to prove from this?

16:06 The example of the Nefilim, the angels who fell from heaven. That was their argument, intended to intensify the fear they had aroused. They argued: We are talking about angels. You should know that the inhabitants of Eretz Yisroel are not ordinary giants. This is not a physical matter—they are angels. And they said: Listen to what happened here. We need to understand the spies’ argument. They said that angels are the greatest spiritual beings there can be, the messengers of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What is an angel? A spiritual messenger. Angels stand in heaven and sing, “Holy, holy, holy,” and serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu with the greatest fervor, while the holy chayos serve Him with a great tumult. And these angels, such holy, holy, holy angels, descended into this world. Look what became of them. They turned into the worst thing imaginable. They became these Nefilim and brought many evils into the world—the greatest filth, the greatest impurity in the world. The moment they came into contact with the earth, with earthliness, they became [unclear] and destructive; they were corrupted and destroyed the entire world, bringing the greatest impurity into it. As the Torah says in the verse in Bereishis. These are not ordinary giants; this is something else. That was the spies’ claim, and it was a spiritual argument. As the Alter Rebbe explains, the spies were not ordinary people. They were spiritual people, great people: “all of them men.” “One man”—they were the greatest [unclear] in unity, [unclear] great, and [unclear].

17:34 The spies were great souls, great people. But what was their point? This could have been their argument. They did not want to enter the land. They said: Look what happened to the angels. If the angels fell so low and reached such a [unclear], such a state—if the greatest angels came into this world, and look what became of them: what filth, what impurity, what sitra achra and kelipos, bringing about the greatest destruction [unclear]—then what about us? We are ordinary people, flesh and blood, with bodies, souls, and a yetzer hara. If we enter Eretz Yisroel and encounter “a land that devours its inhabitants,” if we encounter a land of physicality and materiality, a world of desires, it will only [unclear]. The physicality [unclear]. How could it be otherwise? This is “a land that devours its inhabitants.” What will devour us? The filth and impurity of the land. This was not a physical argument but a spiritual one. How can we engage with this physical world? How can we deal with such a land, with earthliness? In the desert, we are connected to G-dliness, to manna from heaven, to Miriam’s well, to Moshe Rabbeinu, to the Torah, to the manna, to that whole way of life. There we can serve

19:02 Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But enter Eretz Yisroel? Look what happened to the angels. That is the deeper meaning of their argument. Therefore, according to the inner dimension of the matter, they specifically cited the Nefilim. They specifically brought up those who fell from heaven, as Rashi emphasizes, to bring out the point: if even angels came from heaven and could fall so low, all the more so—what will happen to us? And that was what Kalev answered. Kalev helped them understand the advantage of souls over angels. This was the point at issue: an angel truly cannot do it. An angel can remain only in a higher world. An angel can serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu while standing in the world of Yetzirah, in the world of Beriah, in the higher worlds, beneath the Divine Chariot, near the Divine Chariot, beneath the Throne of Glory, without materiality, without physicality. That is where an angel belongs; an angel sings and dances and serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu—all good things. But when an angel descends to a material, impure land, he becomes a Nefil, a fallen one. That is an angel. A soul comes from the innermost. The soul is literally a part of G-d above, as the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya when describing the soul’s special quality: it is drawn from the innermost being and essence of Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. The soul is entirely connected to that innermost essence. Therefore, even when it descends below, enclothed in a body and an animal soul, in dust from the earth, in the world’s deepest, redoubled darkness,

20:36 of physicality, the kelipos and the sitra achra, as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, not only will the soul not be lost or stray from its path; on the contrary, it will prevail. It can transform the body, transform the animal soul, transform the kelipos and the sitra achra, bringing about “the transformation of the sitra achra” and “He turns darkness into light.” And this happens precisely within the darkness. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave this power specifically to souls. This is what Yehoshua and Calev meant when they said, “If Hashem desires us.” We are not created like the angels, because within us is this “Hashem desires us.” The name Havayah is above all other names. Hakadosh Boruch Hu desires us; He placed that desire within us, placed His innermost being, His delight, within us. The soul is bound to “Hashem desires us” with the deepest inner bond to His very Essence and Being. This is what it means to be “an actual part of G-d above.” And so we can enter Eretz Yisroel; we can enter the world, this world, its materiality and physicality, this physical world. Not only will that not drag us down into the defilement of the kelipah and the sitra achra, but more than that, “The land is very, very good”: a Jew can transform the world into a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, and reveal the oneness of Havayah, reveal Hakadosh Boruch Hu in this physical world. This “very, very”—not just “very,” but “very, very”—is attained precisely in the lowest realm, when this physical world is made into a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. This was Yehoshua and Calev’s explanation: even before they brought the example

22:10 of the angels, we need to understand the advantage souls have over angels. Souls descend specifically down below. As the Rebbe explains in a Torah teaching, a Jew contains two extremes found nowhere else in the world. His soul is the highest thing, an actual part of G-d above, higher than all created beings, even all the angels and all the sefiros—higher than everything. And at the other extreme, his body is dust from the earth, the lowest of levels. The greatest heights and the greatest depths are joined in one person. That is the awesome power a Jew has: he alone can transform physicality into a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. That is why “the land is very, very good.” This is the inner story within the story the Torah tells us on its plain level. A Jew needs to know this every day: to know what a Jew is, to know the advantage souls have over angels, so that we recognize our shlichus and our task. The problem is that we look around and see that “darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the nations,” and that the world is in a state of doubled and redoubled darkness, both physically and spiritually. There is all this darkness of concealment, to the point that some people want to flee the world. Parshas Shelach comes and tells us just the opposite: “If Hashem desires us.” We need to know that the soul is an actual part of G-d above, that it has this awesome power, and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu

23:32 wants us, specifically here in this physical world, to make physical things into vessels for greatness: “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven”; “Know Him in all your ways.” To make this physical world—eating and drinking, business dealings, and all material matters—into vessels, a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. And this will ultimately bring us to what we seek: that very soon, in our days, we will see with our physical eyes, throughout the entire world, what is stated later in the parsha: “But as I live, the glory of Hashem will fill the entire earth.” We will see with our physical eyes that “the glory of Hashem will fill the entire earth,” that the Shechinah will be revealed, that G-dliness will be revealed here below in the world: “Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one”; “The glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.”