Shalom! I am Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg, Skokie, Illinois. This is direct Torah about the portion of Shalaklakah(ph) which comes in numbers. Shalaklakah(ph) is descend and in the story about 12 spies and one from each of the 12 tribes being sent by Moses reluctantly to scout out the land of Israel, a short time after the children of Israel left Egypt.
Now, what happen is there was that God with only promises that they would be conquer it and so, the really was no real point except to bring back good reports to the people. While when they went there and it says the broad back a clustered grape so big, that two men had to carry it and that became the symbol of the tourism and industry in Israel. Two men carrying a big bundle of grapes. But ten of the twelve spies came back with are very depressing, distressing report.
They said there are giants there, we will like grasshoppers in our eyes and we will never be able to conquer it. Well, when the people heard that and they have been just been slave for short time before they became desponded and said; “Let us go back to Egypt. Will never be able to conquer Israel. We will just die here in the wilderness”. Well, 2 the spies said; “No! We can do it”. Joshua and Caleb Beniefonei. And God understandably were distress is it okay, here we go again. They do not even trust that I can do this after I got them out of Egypt.
Well, and how can endure this evil congregation, it is one of the words that God said. One of the ways on which derived the number of 10 for a Prayer corium, comes from that story. Eventhough, it is a negative story. God said 10 associated with this congregation. It is one of the requirements for having Jewish prayer meeting, Torah in certain prayers is to have ten Jews, above 13. Of course, the orthodox said they have be mails in the rest of the Jewish people disagree with that.
Any case, the main issue to if ponder is why they saw themselves as a grasshoppers in the extent to which them seeing themselves the grasshoppers in their own eyes, preventing them from doing what God said they could do? Now, the consequence later is that; God decided that this generation would never be ready for independence and there own land. It is so March can a row in the dessert for 4 years until would died but Joshua and Colley, the 2 vibes we could that with the puzzle report.
But the sermon idea that you should ponder this week. When we read Parshat Tulafafa, is the extent to which using yourself every grasshopper in your eyes, prevents you from doing things that you should and could do. I once read a study in New York Times that said; “That 50% of all successful professionals, see themselves as frauds waiting to be unmask”. There must be a deep seeded sense among many people, that we are grasshoppers in our own eyes.
It is a very powerful interesting sentence from these weeks Torah portion and it should not be impediment and a barrier to a successful and thieving life. And so, let us not be grasshopper in our own eyes. Let us conquer the promise land. God give us the courage, the inspiration, and the sense that we can do it. So, why not do it. We do not need to be grasshopper in our own eyes.
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