Numbers Cycle Three Sh'lach 13:1 to 15:41

Sh'lach

In the parsha Sh’lach darkness seeps its way into us. It enters by means of the same sensitivity that enables our enlightenment. It’s painful to see. It hurts God. It hurts us. It’s important to track the circumstances so we can be aware and learn how to protect.

This is what happens. Scouts are sent by Moses to explore the Promised Land. In so doing, they come upon a place with clusters of grapes, pomegranates and figs. This is a moment of inhale, of growth. The true power of Cluster Valley (Nachal Eschol) though is concealed. In fact, in my opinion (given the syntax) what happens here is so sacred that it makes the scouts dangerously volatile, perhaps temporarily mad with yearning and exultation. They become soul-naked, actively seeing the divine sparks flowering within, touching soul born from soul, clusters of souls, the holy of holies through the cut in their hearts, knowing (yodea) God eye to eye not for a fast flash but possibly for weeks at a time. Such an experience create openings, or if you like portals. This is good. The problem is that just about anything can walk on in. This includes lies that look like giants…giant sized fear.

So, though my thoughts might not flow with some of our great rabbis, the big question here (for me) is not about finding Gan Eden. It’s about coming out after having been there. It’s about taking the essence of that connection and placing it in everyday life, about staying exquisitely open without picking up any dirt on the way home. That’s because this dirt could easily slip in and rotate within our jump-started souls until we are spewing it all over the community. No wonder God has to wait until forty years (like the forty days) are complete… and we are (yes) dead before he can let us live in the Promised Land.

How do we know that Cluster Valley is so radiant? First, in verses 13:23-24 the word cluster or eschol is repeated four times. Highly evocative, this can easily be a symbol for our soul’s journey. Clusters of grapes grow together, form from the same vine, the same nexus. While we each have one soul, it is always growing, bursting forth in one more sweet merge. Kabbalah refers to the nefesh, the ruach, the neshamah, the chayyah/ yehidah. In order, they reflect the mundane to the highest connection with God. The mystic Abulafia writes about ruach hakodesh, a soul/level that makes prophecy possible. There’s the neshamah yeseira (the extra- soul we receive on Shabbat) and the neshamah kadosh (received with Torah study).

In the end, each of the thirty words in these verses aim for the radiant core. They, themselves, are a cluster of envisioning, power provoking, light producing letters revolving eternally. Packed so tight, they borrow off of each other’s energy and propel all who approach closer to consciousness. So, while Cluster Valley is as far as the scouts will go (see 32:9) you have to admit it’s pretty far.

In terms of our vulnerability, protection can first be found in the mitzvoth. Look at the word harimonim (pomegranates). It is said that within one there are 613 seeds. Rabbi Simlai says that there are 613 mitzvoth. They are therefore right there in the verse. Also, if we look at 15:39-40 we are gifted with the tzit tzit. It is our responsibility therefore to remember to protect ourselves as we return from Cluster Valley to the rhythm of the mundane. The farther we travel the more danger the more important the mitzvoth (and the tzit tzit) become. Next, protection can be found through intimacy, for example the thirteen attributes. But (as we learn from the Talmudic rabbis) this intimacy is based on the sacred teachings. Cluster Valley, as necessary as it is for absolute consciousness, can’t bring us there alone.

Speaking of Rabbi Simlai, in Midrash it is said that once, while he was traveling he asked R. Jonathon to teach him agadah. R. Jonathon answered that he could not because according to his tradition he could not teach agadah to anyone from Babylon or southern Israel because such people are arrogant and know little of Torah. This comment (as seemingly questionable as it is) refers to the depth of Torah, the danger of permitting oneself to have intimate connections with those who (for whatever reason) might hurt the sacred balance at present. It recognizes the vulnerability of us all. It emphasizes the need for protection by even going against the moral/ethical construct of equality that we all cling to today. It is a sign of chesed for those who could be/could have been hurt by a lack of self restraint. In this parsha we are all hurt by this same lack of self restraint. We all believe the lies we hear.

So, if the scouts had protected their souls after the adventure in Cluster Valley…even from images in their minds…then who knows? Moses might have even made it to the Promised Land. Of course, the words of R. Jonathon…as recorded…could have been gentler but we don’t know the circumstance. I think the lesson here is that sometimes a strong fence is the only way to safeguard the souls.

So may we all be grateful for the gift of tzit tzit with its intention to safeguard. May we watch for giants of fear and doubt entering our minds. May we work as a community to move forward and protect our souls concurrently. May we love God and see and feel the openings of our love. May we be as open with our love as we are careful and may we move deeper into the blossoming of the Promised Land with each waking moment.