Thus begins the end. Moses takes his position at the front of the Children of Israel for the last time, to offer a valediction and a blessing. He must, in one grand speech, prepare them to enter the Promised Land -- and without him.
He summarizes the journey so far -- a journey that almost none of the people in front of him experienced personally, at least in its entirety, since the generation of the Exodus died in the desert, almost without exception.
And he brings the narrative to the present moment, foreshadowing the end of his speech and the next phase of the journey, where he will hand over the reins to Joshua. This is a classic introduction, telling his audience where he is going.
This Saturday is a special Sabbath, called Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. It always precedes the Ninth of Av, the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, when the destruction of the Holy Temples took place.
Just as Moses points to the eventual role of Joshua, and the entry into the land of Israel, after his death, so, too, we contemplate the eventual redemption that lies beyond the sadness of the Ninth of Av, and the happiness that is to come.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
