By Rebbetzin Lauren Levin
The parsha and haftara both tell tales of espionage, but other than that they could not be more different to each other.
They are facing the terrifying same enemy as forty years ago, and the same terrifying transition from miraculous desert life to the hard slog that will be required to settle the land of Israel. But unlike the despair of forty years ago, the haftara is full of hope and resilience. In this way it can be seen as a blueprint for facing any unknown, anxiety provoking situation.
The haftara details how Joshua, just prior to leading the people into Israel, sent spies to check out the city of Jericho, which would be their first conquest. When Moses had sent spies 40 year earlier, there was a representative for each tribe. They were never called ‘spies’ as they are in the haftara but rather ‘anashim’ – ‘distinguished men’. In a twist of dramatic irony, each one of their names is mentioned, emphasising their gravitas. Other than Joshua and Caleb, we never hear of any of them or their contribution to society again. By contrast, Joshua’s spies remain anonymous throughout. Their identities are irrelevant; their function is what matters.
The greatest threat to our humanity has always been, and continues to be, the quest for power. Bamidbar is a book which warns us of these dangers to our nationhood. The haftara shows we learnt from history. Rabbi Sacks distinguished between power and influence; Joshua’s spies chose influence over power. When we focus on the task at hand, reminding ourselves of the difference we can make in the micro-moment as well as the macro-moment, we stride forward and take others with us.
Yet, displaying its own streak of irony, the spies themselves are not the protagonists of the haftara. The prostitute Rahab who they lodge with is without doubt the heroine of the story. Unprompted, she risks her life by throwing off the authorities that come looking for them. Unprompted, she acknowledges how they have all followed the Jewish story and been awed by the hand of God. Unprompted, she is the one who suggests the plan that will enable the spies’ safe return to their nation. Salvation comes from unexpected places. The Talmud goes to great lengths to celebrate Rahab and her legacy. The sages explain that she ended up marrying Joshua. Joshua, whose trajectory had been clear for the last half decade, finds his soul mate in someone who stepped up in real time to achieve her destiny. If we met Rahab, would we have even greeted her, or judged and dismissed her straight away? Our narrative reminds us that every person can make a difference regardless of their background, and that every situation we are in, even when it seems mundane, could be transformative. Embracing the people and surroundings in our present is what gives us the courage to face an uncertain future.
Rahab’s admission that the whole nation had been paralysed with fear when they had heard about the exodus from Egypt reveals how flawed the analysis of Moses’ spies was. Their mistake had come from their own lack of self-worth, declaring, ‘we are grasshoppers in our eyes, so too in theirs’. Our own self doubt often projects a negative film onto any situation. Exodus was not supposed to be a one-time wonder. It was a way of sewing the belief in salvation from any situation into our national psyche. Our haftara is replete with subtle references to the exodus story. Forty years later, there is a feeling that in its own way, the same qualities of redemption can come to pass. The haftara serves as an antidote to the parsha – self belief and the bold daring to believe in a brighter tomorrow are the keys to facing the future.
Finally, Rahab has one eye on the present and one on the future, and convinces the spies to save her family when they conquer the city. The practical strategy is to keep a red rope dangling from her window so that she is clearly identifiable. The words used for the rope are ‘tikvat chut hashani’. It is curious that the first word is the same as the Hebrew word for hope and the Israeli anthem – hatikva. We learn the definition of tikva from the story of Naomi and Ruth when Naomi questions whether she has a future – ‘do I have tikva?’. Ruth’s answer to Naomi is to boldly declare ‘wherever you go I will go’ – hope exists as long as we can share with others. When God declared ‘it is not good for man to be alone’ before creating Eve, it was not just an aspirational wish – it was a statement of fact about the existential nature of human beings. The world is complex, dark and uncertain. We can face it when we hold and are held by others. This is what empowers the spies to return to Joshua and declare with confidence: “GOD has delivered the whole land into our power; in fact, all the inhabitants of the land are quaking before us”.