E- Num_13:1-33; Num_14:1-45; Num_15:1-41
Pgs. 380-391
Ch. 13-15
SECTION XXVII.
SHALACH. AND the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Send thou keen-sightedmen who may explore the land of Kenaan, which I will give to the children ofIsrael; one man for each tribe of their fathers, thou shalt send from thepresence of all their leaders. And Mosheh sent them from the wilderness ofPharan, according to the mouth of the Word of the Lord; all of them acute men,who had been appointed heads over the sons of Israel. And these are the namesof the twelve men, the explorers: the messenger of the tribe of Reuben, Shamuabar Zakkur; of the tribe of Shemeon, Shaphat bar Hori; for Jehudah, Kaleb barJephunneh; for Issakar, Yiggeal bar Joseph; for Ephraim, Hoshea bar Nun; forBenjamin, Palti bar Raphu; for Zebulon, Gadiel bar Zodi; for Menasheh, Gaddibar Susi; for Dan, Ammiel bar Gemmalli; for Asher, Sether bar Michael; forNaphtali, Nachbi bar Vaphsi; and for Gad, Geuel bar Machi. These are the namesof the men whom Mosheh sent to explore the land; and when Mosheh saw hishumility, he called Hoshea bar Nun Jehoshua. And Moshehsent them to survey the land of Kenaan, and said to them, Go up on this side bythe south, and ascend the mountain, and survey the country, what it is, and thepeople who dwell in it; whether they be strong or weak, few or many; what theland is in which they dwell, whether good or bad; what cities they inhabit,whether they live in towns that are open or walled; and what the reputation ofthe land, whether its productions are rich or poor, and the trees of itfruitful or not. And do valiantly, and bring back some of the fruit of theland. [JERUSALEM. And what the land is, whether the fruits of it are rich: ortrees.] And the day on which they went was the nineteenth of the month ofSivan, (about) the days of the first grapes. They went up, therefore, andexplored the country, from the wilderness of Zin, unto the roads by which thoucomest unto Antiochia. They went up from the side of the south and came toHebron, where were Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, sons of Anak the giant NowHebron was built seven years before Tanis in Mizraim. They came then to the streamof the grapes (or bunches, ethkala), andcut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and carried it on astaff on the shoulders of two of them, and also took they of the pomegranatesand the figs. [JERUSALEM. And they came to the stream of the grape clusters,and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and carried it ona rod between two men; and also of the pomegranates and of the figs.] Now thatplace they call the stream of the cluster, from the branch which the sons ofIsrael cut down there; and wine was dropping from it like a stream. And they returned from exploring the land on the eighth day of themonth Ab, at the end of forty days. And they came to Mosheh and Aharon, and allthe congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Pharan, atRekem, and returned them word, to them and the whole congregation, and showedthem the fruit of the land. And theyrecounted to him, and said: We went into the country to which thou didst sendus; and it indeed produceth milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Butthe people who inhabit the country are strong, and the fortified cities they inhabitvery great; and we saw also there the sons of Anak the giant. The Amalekitesdwell in the south, the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the mountains; butthe Kenaanites dwell by the sea, and by the bank of the Jordan. And Kaleb stilled the people, and made them listen to Mosheh, and said:Let us go up and possess it, for we are able to take it. [JERUSALEM. And hestilled.] But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go upto the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought out an evilreport about the land which they had surveyed, to the sons of Israel, saying,The country through which we have passed to explore it is a land that killethits inhabitants with diseases; and all the people who are in it are giants,masters of evil ways. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, of therace of the giants; and we appeared to ourselves to be as locusts; and so weappeared to them.
XIV. And all the congregation lifted up and gave forth their voice, andthe people wept that night: and it was confirmed (as a punishment) that theyshould weep on that night[1] <l > in their generations. And all thesons of Israel murmured against Mosheh and Aharon, and said: Would that we haddied in the land of Mizraim, or that we may die in this wilderness! Why is theLord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword of the Kenaanaah, and ourwives and little ones to become a prey? Will it not be better to return intoMizraim? And one man said to his brother, Let us appoint a king over us for achief, and return to Mizraim. [JERUSALEM. Let us set a king over us, and goround to Mizraim.] And Moshehand Aharon bowed upon their faces before all the congregation of the sons ofIsrael; and Jehoshua bar Nun and Kaleb bar Jephunneh of the explorers of theland rent their clothes, and spake to the congregation, saying: The land wewent to see is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord hath pleasure in us, Hewill bring us into this land, and give it us, a land producing milk and honey.Only do not rebel against the commandments of the Lord, and you need not fearthe people of the land, for they are delivered into our hands; the strength oftheir power hath failed from them, but the Word of the Lord will be our helper;fear them not. But all the congregation said they would stone them with stones. And the glorious Shekinah ofthe Lord was revealed in bright clouds at the tabernacle. And the Lord said toMosheh, How long will this people provoke Me to anger? How long will theydisbelieve in My Word, for all the signs I have wrought among them? I willstrike them with deadly plague and destroy them, and will appoint thee for apeople greater and stronger than they. But Mosheh said, The children of theMizraee, whom Thou didst drown in the sea, will hear that Thou didst bring upthis people from among them by Thy power, and will say with exultation to thepeople of this land, who have heard that Thou art the Lord, whose Shekinahdwelleth among this people, in whose eyes, O Lord, the Glory of Thy Shekinahappeared on the mountain of Sinai, and who there received Thy law; Thy Cloudhath shadowed, that neither heat nor rain might hurt them; and whom in thepillar of the Cloud Thou hast led on by day, that the mountains and hillsmight be brought low, and the valleys lifted up, and hast guided in the pillarof Fire by night: and after all of these miracles wilt Thou kill this people asone man? Then the nations who have heard the fame and of Thy power will speak saying: Because there was no(more) strength with the Lord to bring this people into the land which swearingHe a promised to them, He hath killed them in the wilderness! And now, I beseechThee, magnify Thy power, O Lord, and let mercies be fulfilled upon us, andappoint me for (this) great people, as Thou hast spoken, saying: The Lord islong suffering, and nigh in mercy, forgiving sins and covering transgressions,justifying such as return to His law though them who turn not He will notabsolve, but will visit the sins of wicked fathers upon rebellious childrenunto the third and fourth generation. [JERUSALEM. The Lord is long-suffering,far from anger, near in mercy, multiplying the exercise of goodness and truth;though the Lord will not justify sinners, but will remember, in the day ofjudgment, the guilt of wicked fathers upon rebellious children.] Pardon now thesin of this people according to Thy great goodness, even as Thou hast forgiventhem from the time that they came out from Mizraim until now. And the Lordsaid, I have forgiven, according to thy word. [JERUSALEM. And the Word of theLord said, Behold, I have absolved and pardoned, according to thy word.]Nevertheless, by oath have I sworn that the whole earth shall be filled withthe glory of the Lord. Because all the men who have beheld My glory, and Mysigns, which I have wrought in Mizraim and in the Desert, have tempted Me nowten times, and have not obeyed My Word: by oath have I said this, That theyshall not see the land which I covenanted to their fathers; and the generationwhich have been provokeful before me shall not behold it. [JERUSALEM. For Ihave uplifted My hand with an oath.] But My servant, Kaleb, because there is inhim another spirit, and he hath entirely followed (in) My fear, him will I bringinto the land to which he went, and his children shall possess it. But theAmalekites and Kenaanites dwell in the valley: to-morrow turn you and gointo the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. And the Lord spake with Mosheh and Aharon, saying: How long (shall Ibear with) this evil congregation who gather together against Me? The murmursof the sons of Israel which they murmur against Me are heard before Me. Say tothem, By oath I decree that according to (what) you have spoken, so will I doto you. In this wilderness your carcasses shall fall, the whole number of allwho were counted from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me.By a fast oath (have I sworn) that you shall not enter into the land which Icovenanted in My Word to give you to inhabit, except Kaleb bar Jephunneh andJehoshua bar Nun. But your children, who you said would be a prey, them will Ibring in, and they shall know the land which you rejected; but your carcassesshall fall in this wilderness. Yet your children will have to wander in thiswilderness forty years, and bear your sins until the time that your carcassesare consumed in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in whichyou were exploring the land, forty days, a day for a year, a day for a year,you shall receive for your sins, forty years, and shall know (the consequence)of your murmuring against Me. I the Lord have decreed in My Word,-if Ihave not made a decree in My Word against all this evil congregation who havegathered a rebel against Me in this wilderness, that they shall be consumed anddie there. But the men whom Mosheh hadsent to explore the land, and who returning had made the whole congregationmurmur against him, by bringing forth an evil report of the land, (even those)men who had brought forth the evil of the report of the land died, on theseventh day of the month of Elul, with worms coming from their navels, and withworms devouring their tongues; and were buried in death from before the Lord.Only Jehoshua bar Nun and Kaleb bar Jephunneh survived of those men who hadgone to explore the land. And Moshehspake these words with all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.And they arose in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain., saying:Behold, we will go up to the place of which the Lord hath spoken; for we havesinned. But Mosheh said, Why will you act against the decree of the Word of theLord? But it will not prosper with you. Go not up, for the Lord’s Shekinahdwelleth not among you; and the ark, the tabernacle, and the Cloud of Gloryproceed not; and be not crushed before your enemies. For the Amalekites andKenaanites are there prepared for you, and you will fall slaughtered by thesword. For, because you have turned away from the service of the Lord, the Wordof the Lord will not be your Helper. But they armed themselves in the dark beforethe morning to go up to the height of the mountain: but the ark, in which wasthe covenant of the Lord, and Mosheh, stirred not from the midst of the camp.And the Amalekites and Kenaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down andslaughtered and destroyed them, and drave them hard to destruction.
XV. Andthe Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and say tothem: When you have entered into the land of your habitation which I will giveyou, and you may make an oblation upon the altar before the Lord, burntoffering or consecrated sacrifice forrelease of a vow, or by free-will offering; or at the time of your feastsyou offer what is acceptable tothe Lord of the world, to be received with approval before the Lord from theherd or from the flock: let the man who offers his oblation before the Lordbring a mincha of a tenth of flour mingled with the fourth of a hina of oliveoil; and wine of grapes for a libation, the fourth of a hina, to be made uponthe burnt offering or hallowed sacrifice-for one lamb. Or for a ram, lethim perform a mincha of two tenths of flour mingled with the third of a hin ofolive oil, and wine of grapes let him offer in a vase for the libation, thethird of a hin, to be received with acceptance before the Lord. But when hemaketh a bullock a burnt offering, or a sacrifice for release from a vow, or ahallowed sacrifice before the Lord, let him bring for the bullock a mincha ofthree tenths of flour mixed with half of a hin of olive oil, and wine of grapeshalf a hin, for a libation to be received with acceptance before the Lord. Solet him do with each bullock, with each ram, and each lamb, whether it be fromthe lambs or the kids: according to the number of the bullocks or lambs orgoats with which the oblation is made so shall you do, each according to theirnumber. All who are native born in Israel, and not of the sons of the Gentiles,shall so make these libations in offering an oblation to be received withacceptance before the Lord. And when a sojourner who sojourneth with you, orwhoever is among you now, or in your generations, will bring an oblation to bereceived with favour before the Lord, as you do so shall he. For the wholecongregation there is one statute, for you and the sojourner who sojourneth; itis an everlasting statute for your generations; as with you, so shall it bewith the sojourner before the Lord. One law and one judgment shall be for youand for the sojourner who sojourneth with you. And the Lordspake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: Whenyou have entered the land into which I will bring you, and you eat the bread ofthe produce of it, (not rice, nor millet, nor pulse,) you shall set apart aseparation before the Lord. Of the first of your dough one cake of twenty-fouryou shall set apart as a separation for the priest; as with the separation fromthe threshing floor, so shall you set it apart. Of the first of your dough youshall give a separation before the Lord in your generations. [JERUSALEM. Ofthe first of your dough you shall give a separation unto the Name of the Lord.] And should youhave erred, and not performed some one of all these commandments which the Lordhath spoken with Mosheh; whatsoever the Lord hath commanded you by Mosheh fromthe day He commanded it, and thenceforth unto your generations-if withoutthe knowledge of the congregation sin hath been committed through ignorance,let all the congregation make one young bullock a burnt offering to be receivedwith acceptance before the Lord, with his mincha and libation. as are proper; andone kid of the goats without mixture for a sin offering; and let the priestmake atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and it shall beforgiven them; for it was an error, and they have brought their oblation, anoffering before the Lord, even an offering for their sin have they presentedbefore the Lord for their error; and all the congregation of Israel shall beforgiven before the Lord, and the sojourners who sojourn among them; for anerror hath occurred to the people. And if anyone man sin through ignorance, let him bring one goat of the year withoutmixture for a sin offering, and let the priest make atonement for the man whohath erred in sinning through ignorance before the Lord to atone for him, thatit may be forgiven him; as well for the native-born of the children ofIsrael, and for the strangers who sojourn among you, there shall be one law forhim who transgresseth throughignorance: but a man who transgresseth. with presumption, whether of the native-bornor strangers, and who turneth. not away from his sin before the Lord,-hecauseth anger, and that man shall perish from among his people; for, the primalword which the Lord commanded on Sinai he hath despised, and hath made thecommandment of circumcision vain; with destruction in this world shall that manbe destroyed; in the world that cometh shall he give account of his sin at thegreat day of judgment. [JERUSALEM. Because he hath despised the Word of theLord, and broken His commandments, that soul shall perish, and shall bear hissin.] And whilethe sons of Israel were dwelling in the wilderness, the decree of the Sabbathwas known to them, but the punishment (for the profanation) of the Sabbath wasnot known. And there arose a man of the house of Joseph, and said with himself:[2] <l >I will go and pull up wood on the Sabbath day; and witnesses saw it, and toldMosheh; and Mosheh sought instructtion from the presence of the Lord, that hemight teach me judgment, and make known the discipline of all the house ofIsrael. And the witnesses of the man who pulled up and collected wood came,and, after they had monished him, and he had wounded the witnesses who hadfound him pulling up wood, [JERUSALEM. Stealing wood,] brought him toMosheh and Aharon, and all the congregation. This is one of four judgmentswhich were brought before Mosheh the prophet, which he adjudged according tothe Word of the Holy. Of these judgments some related to money, and some tolife. In the judgments regarding money Mosheh was prompt, but in thoseaffecting life he was deliberate, and in each he said, I have not heard,-toteach the princes of the future Sanhedrin to be prompt in decisions on mammon,and deliberate in those that involved life, nor to be ashamed to inquire forcounsel in what may be difficult, forasmuch as Mosheh the Rabbi of Israel himselfhad need to say, I have not heard. Therefore put they him in confinement,because they had not yet heard the explanation of the judgment they shouldexecute upon him. [JERUSALEM. This is one of four cases which are written above,on that of the blasphemer, and they who were defiled by the dead. And they puthim in ward till the time when it should be plainly showed to them from beforethe Lord, with what judgment they were to deal with him.] And the Lord said to Mosheh: The man shall be surely put to death; thewhole congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp; and thecongregation led him forth without the camp, and stoned him with stones that hedied, as the Lord had commanded Mosheh. And theLord said unto Mosheh: Speak with the sons of Israel, and bid them make forthemselves fringes,[3] <l > not of threads, nor of yarns, nor offibres, but after a manner of their own (lesumhon) shall they make them, and shall cut off the heads oftheir filaments, and suspend by five ligatures, four in the midst of three,[4] <l >upon the four corners of their garment in which they enwrap themselves, untotheir generations; and they shall put upon the edge of their robes anembroidery of hyacinth (shezir de-thikela). [JERUSALEM. And let them make to themselves fringesfor the edges of their robes, throughout their generations, and put upon thefringes of their robes an embroidery of hyacinth.] And this shall be to you aprecept for fringes, that you may look upon them at the time when you dressyourselves daily, and remember all My commandments to do them, and not go asideto wander after the imaginations of your heart and the sight of your eyes,after which you have gone astray. To the end that you may remember and performall My precepts, and be holy, like the angels who minister before the Lord yourGod. I am the Lord your God who have delivered and brought you free out of theland of Mizraim, to be to you Eloha. I am the Lord your God.
[1] The ninthof Ab, a day remarkable for a succession of calamities in the history of theJews.
[1] Bememrieh, "in his word,--his inmost self, or personality."
[1]Tsitsith, either a fringe or a tassel, probably the latter. Tsits sometimes means a flower. In the similar precept,Deut. xxii. 12, the word employed is gedilim, tufts or tassels of a conical form, like a flowerbud. Onkelos has keruspidin,"borderings."
[1]Arbea bego telatha. (Query.)
[1] <l > The ninth of Ab, a day remarkable fora succession of calamities in the history of the Jews.
[2] <l > Be memrieh, "in his word,--hisinmost self, or personality."
[3] <l >Tsitsith, either a fringe or a tassel, probably the latter. Tsits sometimes means a flower. In the similar precept,Deut. xxii. 12, the word employed is gedilim, tufts or tassels of a conical form, like a flowerbud. Onkelos has keruspidin,"borderings."
[4] <l >Arbea bego telatha. (Query.)