6-27-24 Bilingual Torah Commentary / Comentario Bilingüe

This week we turn to the section of the Book of Numbers known as “Shalach l’chah.”  You will find it in Numbers 13:1-15:41.  The section deals with the Jewish people’s complaints in the desert and their lack of faith. Within the parashah we read the story of the twelve spies whom Moses sends to the land of Israel. Ten of the spies provide a highly pessimistic report and two, Joshua and Caleb, provide a more positive report. The varying reports cause great consternation among the Children of Israel and due to their negativity, G-d decides that this first generation is not ready to live as free people and instead condemns them to forty years in the desert.

Often a parashah’s name provides us with a clue as to its underlying message.  This might well be  the case with our current parashah, Shalach l’chah.  

It is not easy to translate the term shalach l’chah into English. The usual translation is something such as “send forth or  even “send for your own sake.” Yet in reality neither translation is adequate. Some scholars have argued that the second word ‘l’chah” implies that G-d had ordered Moses to send the spies forth in both a physical and psychological sense.  Additionally, Hebrew readers will immediately see a parallel with G-d’s commandment to Abraham in Genesis 12:1 when G-d tells Abraham: “Lech l’chah” meaning something such as “go forth” or go for/into yourself.”  Yet here too the translation does not really seem to be correct. In both cases we have to struggle with concepts that are not easily translatable into English.

What message might G-d have been conveying to Moses and to us by the use of l’chah after both the verb “lech” (go) in Genesis and “shalach” (send) in Numbers? Is it possible that this second pronoun indicates that both Abraham and Moses were fearful of moving forward to complete their mission?