[i]This week's parsha is from the Book of Numbers. Our reading for today is from the 13th chapter, starting at the 22nd verse. Praise the Lord to Whom our praise is due. Praise the Lord to Whom our praise is due, now and forever. Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who has chosen us from all peoples by giving us His Torah. Blessed are You, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.[/i] [color=#0000FF]22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. [They] also [took] some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster [of grapes] the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of 40 days they returned from scouting out the land. 26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.[/color] ( HCSB ) [i]Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who gave us the Torah of truth and planted everlasting life in our midst. Blessed are You, O Lord, giver of the Torah. The Word of the Lord.[/i]

v. 22 [i]They [/i] Who they? The 12 men sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan. Who were they? They are listed at Numbers 13:4-15. Only the tribe of Levi is not represented. One might ask why? One answer is that the Levites received no share of the land. [i]and came[/i] Based on this translation (NIV), one might reasonably assume that it was the 12 scouts who came to Hebron. But the Hebrew has the verb in the masculine singular. It is better to read this as "he came." Once again, we ask, who? Who is this he that came to Hebron? Rashi says it was Caleb. How does he deduce this? [i]Caleb went there alone [hence the singular "he came"] to prostrate himself on the graves of the patriarchs [in prayer] that he not be enticed by his colleagues to be part of their counsel. Thus is says "and to him will I give the land that he trod upon" (Deuteronomy 1:36.) And it is written, "They gave Hebron to Caleb" (Judges 1:20)[/i] (Rashi's commentary on the Torah) v. 22 [i]Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.[/i] What is the point of adding this detail? Rashi says to show how superior the land of Israel is to that of Egypt. [i][T]here is no country in the world as superior as Egypt, as it says, "like the Lord's garden, like the land of Egypt" (Genesis 13:10). And Zoan is the best part of Egypt, for the residence of the kings is situated there, as it says "for his princes were in Zoan" (Isaiah 30:4). And there is no place in Israel rockier than Hebron, which is why it was set aside as a place for burial. And yet, Hebron was superior to [Egypt] sevenfold. (Sotah 34b)[/i] Rashi's commentary on the Torah. v 23 [i]branch... cluster of grapes... carried by two men [/i] The symbol for tourism in Israel is that of two men carrying a cluster of grapes on a pole. v 24 [i]Eschol[/i] Eschol means cluster v. 25 [i]40 days[/i] A significant number in the Bible. In the time of Noah, it rained for forty days and forty nights and a great flood covered the earth. Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days (twice!). Moses' life is divided into 3 spans of forty years each. Forty years as a prince of Egypt. 40 years tending the flock of his father in law Jethro in Midian. Forty years leading the children of Israel. Why was forty years the punishment for listening to the evil report and not taking the land? A year for each day they scouted the land. In the NT, Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and was tempted by Satan. v. 26 [i]The men went back[/i] Rashi notes that the Hebrew text says "they went and they came." Why say that they went? Verse 25 says that they returned. We know from reading ahead that the men came back with an evil report. Adding the words "they went" to "they came" shows that just as their return was with evil intent, so too was their departure. Rashi