Page 37 - HaMizrachi Tisha B'Av AUS 2021
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TISHA B’AV READING
Matt Marks
The Danger of
Independence
asechet Taanit 29a teaches They feared becoming them – transform-
that the various calamities ing into magnificent sabras and forget-
of Tisha B’Av can be traced to ting about their relationship with a G-d
Mthe report given by the spies they no longer needed. Like industrious
sent to scout Eretz Yisrael. The causative The spies were not going to children that find work, an apartment of
link between the sin of the spies and the embarrass the Land. They their own, and in becoming embroiled in
tragedies of Tisha B’Av should compel us were looking to embarrass their own lives, forget to call home – the
to investigate this sin to better understand the worshippers of the Jewish people were about to discover the
what lies at the root of this tragic day. Land – the desert Zionists, glory of independence. They would no
The spies reported that the Land contained those individuals committed longer need the manna or the clouds of
glory – instead, their sustained and exalted
giants, but why were the spies so afraid to entering Eretz Yisrael. existence would be the work of their own
of them? While it is true that the Jewish hand, nothing more: Complete indepen-
people had undergone generations of slav- dence – from G-d.
ery and were, perhaps, psychologically
unready to seize their spiritual inheri- On Chanukah, I started to sense that their
tance, their complete despair is surprising. fears were not entirely misplaced when
my daughter marched home from kin-
These were the people that had witnessed dergarten, chanting a popular folksong.
supernatural plagues systematically dis- Composed by Menashe Ravin, it celebrates
mantle Egypt’s deities; watched the sea the victory of the Maccabees: Mi Yimallel
split; heard the ‘Voice of G-d’ at Har Sinai; Gevurot Yisrael… – “Who will tell of Israel‘s
journeyed through the desert, enveloped strength?” The words sounded familiar,
by clouds of glory and guided by a pillar hauntingly so. They are from Tehillim
of fire; witnessed food rain down from the 106: “Who will tell of G-d‘s strength?” A
sky. They had seen countless miracles – but Through this, Levinas completely trans- subtle shift from praising G-d to the ego-
feared these giants because… they were forms the narrative of the spies and their istic rejoicing in our own might – the fears
bigger than them? concerns. The spies were not going to of the spies, manifest in our local Israeli
embarrass the Land. They were looking kindergarten.
In light of this question, I want to explore to embarrass the worshippers of the
a ‘Talmudic reading’ from Emmanuel Levi- Land – the desert Zionists, those individ- While the conclusion of the story of the
nas. Levinas refers to Masechet Sotah 34b, uals committed to entering Eretz Yisrael. spies, in which the entire generation of
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in which the Sages explore the verse from But why? Levinas goes on to describe what men is sentenced to die in the wilderness,
Devarim (1:22) that records the Jewish peo- it was about the giant inhabitants of the makes it clear that we must reject any
ple’s determination to send spies “that they Land that sparked a desire to shame its attempt to undermine the imperative of
may search [veyachperu] the land for us.” worshippers: our existence in the Land of Israel, the
The Sages evaluate the verb ‘search’ in light concern remains genuine. The obligation
of Yeshayahu 24:23 – “Then the moon will “They were magnificent beings… that is to recognize G-d’s role and presence in
be embarrassed [vechafera], and the sun what the indigenous inhabitant of the coun- our lives was not a mere neurosis of the
will be ashamed” and using this connec- try was to become… We can now understand spies but a fundamental Jewish value.
tion, expand the meaning in Devarim to the anxiety of our men better. While the spiritual risk associated with
imply that the people actively sought to Perhaps the explorers caught a glimpse independence does not permit us to ignore
embarrass or ‘shame’ the Land. Levinas of sabras. Fear seized them; they said to our obligation, we are also not allowed to
builds on this connection through the themselves: this is what awaits us there; ignore the risk.
commentary of the Radak. Relating to the these are the future children of Israel, those
verse in question, the Radak responds to people who make holes wherever they set 1
Levinas, E., & Aronowicz, A. (2019): Nine Talmudic
an obvious problem – how can the moon, foot, who dig furrows, build cities... But that Readings.
an inanimate object, be embarrassed? He
explains that it is not the moon but rather is the end of the Jewish people!”
the worshippers of the moon that will be According to Levinas, the spies were not Matt Marks is a participant on the
embarrassed. afraid of being defeated by the giants. Mizrachi Semicha program in Jerusalem.
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