Shabbos Parashas Shelach - 5779

Shabbos Parashas Shelach - 5779

Rabbi Hal Miller

And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuven, Shammua ben Zakkur, etc.

Bamidbar [13:4]

Our parsha lists the name of each of those appointed to scout out the land prior to

the Israelite entry. Each name is listed with his tribe. All are called men of reknown

and men of importance, even princes of their tribes. But this list is in a different

order than the listings of the tribes everywhere else in the Torah. Of what importance

is the order here?

The Torah lists the tribes in many places. Nearly all of those lists are either in birth

order of Yaakov's sons, or in the order of march that the nation would use through

the desert after leaving Egypt. There are instances where they are listed in order

of birth for each mother. At the end of Bamidbar is a listing of the leaders who will

take possession of their tribal inheritances, and those are wonderously in the order

which will be chosen in the future by Yehoshua and his lottery. The list in our parsha

does not have any obvious reasoning.

Ramban explains that "It appears that the Torah saw fit to list them here according to

the eminence of those who were sent, for they were leaders and princes of the people,

as it recounts, but were not of equal stature." In other words, Shammua ben Zakkur

was the most eminent of the leaders of all the tribes. But there are numerous

difficulties with this explanation.

On the verse two before ours, where Moshe is directed to take men, "each a leader

among them", Rashbam tells us that these spies were in fact volunteers selected by

Moshe as "appearing most suitable to you". Rav Moshe Feinstein says that there is

an "innate" royalty found in certain people, and these selected volunteers fit that.

Therefore they were not in fact just whoever the "leaders and princes" might be, but

select, thus in representing their tribes would be presumably of a reasonably equal stature.

Sforno agrees that they were of equal stature, thus the order chosen had to be the birth

order of the spies themselves.

The Gemora Sotah [34b] gives us almost the opposite of Ramban. It says that each

name presented here was an indication as to the nature of that man, and is given so

we can see in advance why they will fail to accomplish God's intent in this mission,

thus it is not a list of eminence, rather of folly.

But both this Gemora and Ramban are missing something quite obvious. Yehoshua

and Caleiv are on the list, both in the middle someplace. If Ramban is right, then

Caleiv is the third most eminent spy, and Yehoshua the fifth, with Caleiv ahead of

Yehoshua. If instead the Gemora is right, then why are Yehoshua and Caleiv on the

list at all?

Talelei Oros writes, "Rashi says, 'At that time they were all upright and honorable'.

What does Rashi mean, 'at that time'?" He explains that God had a reason for

sending the spies, being to return to the Israelites to say that the Canaanites were

afraid and could be defeated. That would take a very short spy mission. But the people

wanted more information than that, so the spies extended their mission beyond what

God wanted. Thus "at that time" means the spies were upright so long as they were on

God's portion of the mission, but they lost that title when they stayed out too long.

Rashi looks to Devarim [1:22] where Moshe reviews this incident. Moshe blamed the

people for pushing for the spies in their confusion. Rashi says that since it came about

due to confusion, the Torah gives us a confused order of tribes here to ensure we do

not think that there is something to learn from this selection listing.

Sforno's explanation seems the most likely, but there is no proof anywhere of the

validity of his assumption. Ramban and the Gemora, albeit opposites, have too many

holes. It seems that Rashi's "confusion" comment is most apt.