Shelach (Hebrew: שְׁלַח, "Send") is the fourth Torah portion of Numbers, covering Numbers 13:1–15:41. It tells of the sending of the twelve spies, their evil report, Israel's sin, the 40 years of wandering, and the laws of tzitzit.
The Twelve Spies
God tells Moses: "Send you men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them" (Numbers 13:2). Moses sends twelve men, one from each tribe, including Joshua (Hoshea) and Caleb. He instructs them to see the land, its people, cities, and fertility. They spy the land for 40 days, from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Hamath. They return with a cluster of grapes so large it is carried on a pole between two men, along with pomegranates and figs.
The Evil Report
The spies report: "We came unto the land whither you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey" (Numbers 13:27). But ten of the spies say: "Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great... We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we" (Numbers 13:28, 31). They spread an evil report: "The land... eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature... and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers" (Numbers 13:32–33). Caleb says: "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30). Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes and say: "The land... is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land... Only rebel not against the Lord" (Numbers 14:7–9).
Israel's Sin and Punishment
The congregation lifts up their voice and weeps. They say: "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!... Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt" (Numbers 14:2, 4). Moses and Aaron fall on their faces. God says to Moses: "How long will this people provoke Me?... I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them" (Numbers 14:11–12). Moses intercedes: "If You shall kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of You will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land" (Numbers 14:15–16). God forgives but says: "As truly as I live... your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you... twenty years old and upward... shall not come into the land" (Numbers 14:28–29). Only Caleb and Joshua will enter. The people will wander 40 years, one year for each day the spies spied the land. The ten spies who brought the evil report die by plague. When the people hear, they mourn and try to go up to the land, but Moses warns them not to; they go anyway and are defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites.
The Laws of Tzitzit
God commands: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes (צִיצִת) in the borders of their garments... and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue" (Numbers 15:38). "And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them" (Numbers 15:39). "I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God" (Numbers 15:41).
Major themes
- Faith vs. fear: The contrast between Caleb/Joshua and the ten spies.
- Consequences of sin: The 40 years of wandering as punishment.
- Intercession: Moses' prayer saves Israel from destruction.
- Remembrance: Tzitzit as a reminder of the commandments.
- Divine justice and mercy: God forgives but also punishes.
Rashi
Rashi explains that the spies' sin was not in reporting the facts (the land's strength) but in their interpretation and their lack of faith. On tzitzit, Rashi says the blue thread (tekhelet) resembles the sea, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Throne of Glory.
Ramban
Ramban explains that the spies' failure was a lack of trust in God's promise. The tzitzit commandment is given as a remedy for the sin of the spies.
Midrashic interpretations
- Bamidbar Rabbah 16:1: The spies saw the land correctly but drew wrong conclusions.
- Bamidbar Rabbah 16:21: Caleb silenced the people and spoke in Moses' defense.
- Tanhuma, Shelach 1: The spies' sin was slandering the Land of Israel.
Haftarah
The haftarah (Joshua 2:1–24) tells of Joshua sending two spies to Jericho. Rahab hides them and says: "I know that the Lord has given you the land" (Joshua 2:9). She is spared when Jericho falls. This contrasts with the evil report of the ten spies.
References
- Numbers 13:1 – 15:41 (Masoretic Text)
- Rashi, Commentary on the Torah
- Ramban, Commentary on the Torah
- Bamidbar Rabbah (Midrash)
- Tanhuma, Shelach
- The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers (Jacob Milgrom, 1990)
- Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (JPS, 2001)
- Sefaria.org, "Shelach" (parasha)