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Orchard of Delights 15 Shelach
Einstein further revealed that space and time are intrinsically £The Power of TenThe Power of TenThe Power of Ten
connected. Consequently, if we apply the same paradigm of how ££
gravity is created to time, we can surmise that certain actions,
whether for good or evil, create a “mass,” as it were, of energy that
marks future time. The more intense the thought, speech, or action The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s suggestion that we add the letter yud,
is, the greater the impression made on the fabric of time will be. Thus equaling ten, to the word “shaliach,” which we mentioned in the
contemporary actions can make their mark on the future through previous segment, makes a great deal of sense in the context of
the spiral of time. Shelach. Moses chose twelve spies, one from each tribe to spy out the
land. Ten of them banded together and returned with an evil report,
while Caleb and Joshua urged the people not to listen to them, to
trust in God and in their own abilities to conquer the land. From the
fact that the Torah refers to the ten spies as an “evil assembly,” the
£Rewriting Our Past ScriptRewriting Our Past ScriptRewriting Our Past Script Sages deduce that an assembly or congregation is composed of at
££
least ten men and therefore ten men are required to form a minyan, a
prayer quorum (Megillah 23b). In essence every minyan rectifies the
In response to the spies’ discouraging report, the people exclaimed, power of ten’s ability to do evil by forming an assembly to do good.
“And why has God brought us into this land, to fall by the sword, As Moses sends the spies on their appointed way he adds a letter yud
that our wives and children should be prey; were it not better for us to the name of Joshua, who was known as Hoshea till then (Numbers
to return to Egypt? And they said one to another – let us appoint 13:16). Every name change in the Torah signifies a change of status
a leader and let us return to Egypt” (Numbers 14:3-4). This is not – the attainment of a new level of consciousness or the burden of a
the first time the people reacted to the adversities of the desert by new mission. On the peshat level, Rashi explains that Moses changed
expressing the desire to return to Egypt. One naturally wonders how Joshua’s name to indicate his own prayer that God save Joshua from
they could even think about returning to the slavery and hardships participating in the conspiracy woven by the ten spies. The addition
of Egypt. Such a reaction seems completely irrational. Yet our of the yud, which has the numerical value of ten, alludes to Moses’
judgment may be too hasty. Ponder the following before judging intuition that Joshua would need this letter’s extraordinary power
their reactions too harshly. to ward off the power of ten implicit in the “assembly” of spies. As
Many times we find ourselves confronted by a situation that makes we mentioned in the previous section, the yud also symbolizes the
us realize how unacceptable our current reality is. We devise a hundred spark of the Mashiach and inherent leadership qualities; thus, Moses
ways to escape. Then an opportunity comes along that would allow was fortifying Joshua by activating his deepest potential – his inner
us to embark on a totally new path. The only downside is that there spark of Mashiach and his potential for leadership. By adding a yud
is no guarantee of success. The new path is full of unknowns and we to Joshua’s name, Moses was preparing and grooming him for his
begin to doubt whether we are capable of succeeding. At this point, eventual mission of leading the Jewish people into the Promised
nothing is more normal than to begin to re-evaluate whether or not Land.
the old situation was really so bad. We reason that perhaps we need When the people responded to the spies report by complaining and
not be so hasty and make the change, with a few adjustments the threatening to go back to Egypt, Moses prayed to God to forgive them
old situation might just work out fine. All of a sudden we rewrite our nonetheless: “And now may the strength of my God be magnified as
past script and learn to live with what is still in essence the same old You have spoken saying: God, slow to anger, abundant in kindness,

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