Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

The beginning and end of this week's Parsha contain different themes but are united by one word.

The Parsha opens with the episode of the twelve spies and concludes with the Mitzvah of tzizit. How can they be related?

The spies see themselves as being sent "LATUR et ha'aretz - to investigate the land," literally, to tour the land.

With regard to tzizit, a visual reminder of all the commandments, the Torah states, "V'lo TATURU. . . - Do not be seduced by your heart and your eyes, lest you be led astray."

Both Hebrew verbs in caps stem from the same root. Ten of the spies did not have a proper Torah foundation when they set out. They did not believe in God's promise. They saw themselves as TOURISTS and not as owners of the promised land and of God's teachings.

Thus, when we don the tzizit and recite its Biblical origin every evening and morning, we remind ourselves to have a proper foundation of Jewish values. We do not rely on the subjectivity of what we feel and see.

The Mitzvah of tzizit includes in it a pedagogic lesson from the sin of the spies.

Rabbi Howard Morrison