Shelach
We scout the land not to see if we can conquer it. We scan the land to see how we can conquer it.
To achieve the objective and realize the dream, Moses sends a twelve-man reconnaissance team to get the lay of the land. They return with samples of the land’s magnitude. Ten of the scouts claim that the objective cannot be met. Caleb and Joshua are adamant that, as the Creator instructed, Israel could certainly conquer the land. When the people hear the dejection of the ten spies, they begin to moan and insist on returning o Egypt. Well, if you don’t think you can enter the land you won’t. The people are thus destined to remain in the desert for forty years until they pass away and the new generation arises. Meal offerings and laws of Challa are conveyed. The intricacies of the fringed heavenly reminders, Tzitzit, are delivered.
Shelach: Ronald Reagan
Learning from President Ronald Reagan & the sin of the spies in Parshat Shelach: hope & confidence breeds confidence; self-doubt & fear demoralizes & taints
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Shelach: The Journey Part I
Each chapter in the book of Bamidbar (as captured in each chapter name) conveys a vital message to us, in accumulating order, how we must travel our journey
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Shelach: Jury Duty
Learning Samech Vav while doing jury duty: Living a spiritual life in a material world means engaging and transforming life not just avoidance & insulation.
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Shelach: Six-Day War
Paralleling the miraculous Six-Day War victory with the story of the Twelve Spies in Parshat Shelach – how Jewish leaders should learn from past mistakes.
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Shelach: Circles and Squares
Whether you are more “square-like” or more “circle-like,” both personalities are necessary, and both complement each other.
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Shelach: Spain 2010
Sitting in Spain – a country that once expelled all its Jews – listening to the powerful influence that Jews have today on world leaders is quite overwhelming. We sure have come a long way.
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Holy Land: Using the Lessons of the Twelve Spies
In our own lives, we each have a “generation of the desert” and a “generation which enters the land.” Learn personal lessons from The Twelve Spies. Essay based on address by the Rebbe.
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Defining Need
It is easy for one to get caught up with all the things they need and don’t have.
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