FREAKY FRUIT

The images above are iconic symbols of the Land of Israel. The first is the logo of the Carmel Winery, established in 1882 by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in the northern Israeli town of Zichron Yaakov.  The second is the (updated) emblem of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. Both logos feature two men carrying a large cluster of grapes, one of the seven fruits with which the land of Israel is blessed (Devarim 8:8). This symbol conjures up images of sweeping valleys, fertile fields and fecund vineyards bursting with sweet grapes. The mental associations most of us have when seeing these symbols are peace, prosperity, growth and success. The image is also strongly associated with the Biblical period, reminding us that Israel is an ancient place and that the modern State has renewed what existed many generations ago when the Twelve Tribes flourished in the Land. There is, however, a more sinister aspect to this famous symbol, one that has its origins in our parasha.

The Torah relates the route taken by the twelve spies who were dispatched by Moshe to scout out the Land (Bamidbar 13:23-24), “They came to the Eshkol Ravine, and cut from there a vine with one cluster of grapes, and two of them bore it upon a pole. And [they also brought back samples] from the pomegranates and from the figs. That place they called the Eshkol Ravine because of the cluster [eshkol] that the children of Israel cut from there.” The Talmud (Sotah 34a, cited by Rashi) is bothered by the fact that the Torah states “two of them bore it upon a pole.” There is no need to mention that two men carried it as it would have been impossible for one person to carry it in this way. Such a device, called a mot in Hebrew, by definition requires at least two people to carry it. Thus, the Talmud concludes that the Torah means that they needed two such devices, with each device having a pole running east to west and another pole running north to south. There were thus four poles in total requiring eight people to hold them aloft, one at each end of each pole. The cluster of grapes was so massive that it could only be carried by eight men! Two other men carried a very large pomegranate and fig, respectively. Two of the spies, Calev from the Tribe of Judah and Yehoshua, from the Tribe of Ephraim, did not carry any fruits. They refused to take any fruits back to the Israelite Camp because of the negative intent of their colleagues whose “show and tell” was to indicate that “just as the fruits of this land are unusual [in their size], so too are the inhabitants of this land unusual [in their size and strength]”.

Unfortunately, Calev and Yehoshua had every reason to be concerned. Upon their completion of their mission, the Torah informs us of their debrief to the Nation (Bamidbar 13:26-28), “They went and came to Moshe, and to Aharon, and to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh. And they brought back word to them and to the entire congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. They related to him, and said: We came to the land to which you sent us, and indeed it is flowing with milk and honey and this is its fruit. Only the people that lives in the land is mighty. And the cities are fortified and very great; we also saw the children of the giant there.” The spies effectively transformed a blessing into a curse. They should have said, “See how marvellous this fruit is! Have you ever seen such magnificent produce? This is clearly an exceptionally fertile region. We have seen with our own eyes the reality of the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ that was promised to our forebears.” Instead they said, “Do you see how unusual this fruit is? It is freakishly large. It’s abnormal. In fact, everything in the country is abnormal, including the people that live there. They are massive, bigger than any human beings we have ever seen. We will not be able to conquer them!”

The human mind is capable of reaching contradictory conclusions about the same issue, depending on one’s point of view and one’s starting point. The spies scouted the land with a negative agenda in mind.  Consequently, all they could see was negativity, even in the best situations. Had they gone with a different mindset, the episode would have ended well. The “two men carrying a cluster of grapes” is thus a constant reminder to approach situations with an open mind and not to judge immediately without taking all factors into account. This is an important lesson for life because our reaction to any experience is entirely dependent on our point of view. Negative, pessimistic people will inevitably judge an experience with a jaundiced eye. They will only see what was wrong with it. They will ignore the good and focus on the bad: “The wedding started late. The food was not very tasty. The speeches were long and boring”. Positive, optimistic people will focus on the good: “The bride and groom looked so happy; the band was fantastic; the dancing was fun and the ambience was incredible”. There will always be faults and imperfections. That is part of the human experience. But will we allow our negativity to ruin even the good things? That is the lesson of the spies.

Lee, Chani Merryl and Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!   

Rabbi Liebenberg

Link to Rabbi’s YouTube message for Shabbat: https://youtu.be/mxuco0xr0rg?si=e7BfIFspBawVZmti

*Shabbat 6 & Sunday 7 July – Rosh Chodesh Tammuz

Tammuz contains the fast of the 17^th Tammuz (Tuesday 23 July) when the walls of Jerusalem were breached. This fast marks the beginning of the Three Weeks of Mourning that conclude on the ninth Av. The Molad (appearance of the new moon) is on Shabbat 6 July at 13h09 and 10 chalakim (a chelek, literally a “portion”, is a Talmudic measure of time equal to one-eighteenth of a minute, or 3 and 1/3 seconds).