Parshas Shelach

 פרשת שלח

Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About

1. Rashi (13:2) writes that the story of the Meraglim was placed in the Torah immedietly following the 
   
   
   episode of Miriam because they did not learn from Miriam about how one should speak. Miriam
   
   
   
   
    spoke lashon harah about her brother, Moshe Rabbeinu, while the Meraglim spoke about Eretz
   
   
   
   
    Yisroel – an inanimate object, not a person. There is nothing wrong with doing so. So what did the 
   
   
   
   
   Meraglim do wrong that they should have learned from the story of Miriam?

2. Calev and Yehoshua each had the help of a tefillah to stay away from the plot of the meraglim. Why was this necessary? Why not just stay away?

3. After the report of the Meraglim, the B'nei Yisroel cried out, “Why is Hashem bringing us to this land 
   
   
   to fall by the sword? Our wives and young will be taken captive! Is it not better that we return to
   
   
   
   
    Egypt?” What were the B'nei Yisroel thinking? How exactly were they thinking they would be treated 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   if they went back to Mitzrayim? Wouldn't this be what would happen regardless?

4. The Gemara in Berachos says that Hashem wanted to wipe out B'nei Yisroel in the desert and start 
   
   
   fresh with only the descendants of Moshe. Moshe responded, “If a chair with three legs (Avraham, 
   
   
   
   
   Yitzchak, and Yaakov) cannot stand, then certainly a chair with one leg (just Moshe) cannot stand.” 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   What was this argument?

5. Hashem told Moshe (Bamidbar 14:22) that since the B'nei Yisroel left Mitzrayim, they tested Hashem  
   
   
   10 times. What were these 10 times?

6. Rashi (14:33) explains that the generation of the meraglim all dies in the desert by age 60. This is why 
   
   
   the B'nei Yisroel had to remain there for 40 years – in order that the youngest (counted) ones among
   
   
   
   
    them, who were 20, would reach the age of 60. The Mefarshim explain that the reason for this was 
   
   
   
   
   because they were not guilty of meesa b'dei shamayim (death from heaven), which occurs at 60. If so, 
   
   
   
   
   what was Hashem's original thought to wipe them out immediately? And why didn't Moshe respond 
   
   
   
   
   with this argument?

7. When Moshe davened on behalg of B'nei Yisroel in this week's parsha, he used only about half of the 
   
   
   13 middos. Why?

8. There are 3 ways that the mission of the meraglim was described: 1. Hashem in our parsha calls it 
   
   
   “v'yasuru” 2. B'nei Yisroel call it “V'yachp'ru” (Devarim 1:22) and 3. The meraglim said “v'yarg'lu.
   
   
   
   
   
   
    What is the difference between these three expressions and perspectives?