"And Now, Let My Lord's Power Be Great"
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
PARASHAT
SHELACH
SICHA OF HARAV
“And Now, Let My
Lord’s Power Be Great”
Summarized by Matan
Glidai
Translated by
Following the sin of the spies, God
says to Moshe, “How long will this people provoke Me? … I will smite them … and will make of
you a greater nation and mightier than them” (Bamidbar 14:11-12). In response, Moshe
prays:
And now, let my Lord’s power be great,
as You have spoken, saying: The Lord is long-suffering and great in
loving-kindness, forgiving transgression and sin, but by no means clearing [the
guilty], visiting the transgression of the fathers upon the children to the
third and to the fourth generation. (Bamidbar
14:17-18)
The question that immediately arises
here is why Moshe, in declaring God’s attributes, does not cite the “thirteen
attributes” as God Himself stated them:
Lord, Lord, Almighty, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering and great in loving-kindness and truth, holding
loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving transgression, sin, and iniquity, but
by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the transgressions of the fathers
upon the children and upon the children’s children to the third and to the
fourth generation. (Shemot 34:6-7)
Out of the thirteen attributes
enumerated by God, Moshe cites only six. Rashi cites the Gemara in
Sanhedrin (111a), which teaches that when God taught Moshe the “thirteen
attributes,” He showed him that they applied to transgressors, too, and Moshe
applied this knowledge here in pleading for mercy for Am Yisrael.
However, Rashi does not dwell on the discrepancies between the attributes in the
two places. The Midrash likewise offers no comment on the differences.
The Da’at Zekenim mi-Ba’alei
ha-Tosafot explains that “Lord, Lord” expresses the attribute of mercy and
the attribute of strict justice, while in our parasha Moshe invokes only
“Lord,” since he is appealing to the attribute of mercy alone. However, this
explanation is difficult to accept, for two reasons.
First, the Gemara (Rosh
ha-Shana 17b) asserts that “Lord, Lord” refers only to the attribute of
mercy: “‘Lord, Lord’ – [meaning,] I am He prior to man sinning, and I am He
after man sins and repents.”
Second, our parasha explicitly
mentions the Name “Ado-nay,” which certainly connotes the attribute of strict
justice more than it does the attribute of mercy.
Ramban, commenting on our
parasha, explains that Moshe understood that the Divine attribute of
justice was arranged against them and that, in view of the severity of the sin,
there was no hope of invoking the attribute of mercy. Moshe did not mention
“truth,” since from this perspective Am Yisrael was indeed worthy of
punishment. He also omits the “Almighty Who is merciful and gracious,” since he
understands that God’s response to this sin will not be seen to manifest these
attributes.
We may indeed understand why the sin
of the spies is viewed in a more serious light than even the debacle of the
golden calf. Although the Gemara describes the latter situation in very harsh
terms, comparing Am Yisrael to a bride who is unfaithful to her new
husband while under the very chuppa (Shabbat 88b), it must be
remembered that Am Yisrael as a nation was taking its first steps; in
fact, they were still in the midst of forging the covenant with God. One of the
factors in their transgression was simple inexperience – and they regretted
their actions. The sin of the spies, in contrast, happened about a year later,
once they had already become accustomed to God providing for their every need,
and at the stage where they were poised to enter Eretz Yisrael. If God
has given His people everything so that they will be able to enter the land, and
they are fearful and do not rely on Him, this represents a questioning or denial
of God’s power. Such people are not worthy of entering the land. Moreover, this
was already a second most serious sin. God was forgiving the first time; this
time the inexperience was less of a mitigating factor.
It would seem, therefore, that Moshe
addresses himself here not to the attribute of mercy, but rather to the
attribute of strict justice. Commenting on our verse, the Seforno writes: “‘And
now, let my Lord’s strength be great’ – to overcome the attribute of
justice.”
Rashbam cites, in this context, the
verse, “He who is slow to anger is better than one who is valiant, and he who
rules his spirit [is better] than one who captures a city” (Mishlei
16:32). The Da’at Zekenim likewise explains that Moshe refers here to
overcoming anger, and cites the mishna in Avot (4:1), “Who is valiant? He
who conquers his inclination.” This mishna presents the conquering of the
inclination not as better than valiance, but rather as valiance itself. A true
hero is not someone with much power, but rather someone who conquers his
inclination.
The parasha teaches us that
people attach too much importance to physical strength. This is the criterion by
which the spies adopt their attitude towards Eretz Yisrael: “However, the
people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very
great, and we also saw the children of Anak there” (13:25); “…And all the people
we saw in it were people of great stature” (13:32).
Am Yisrael, too, adopt physical strength as
their yardstick for measuring their chances of conquering this land: “We shall
not be able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are”
(13:31). Moshe argues that the
inhabitants of the land, familiar with the stories of God’s great miracles in
Egypt, will interpret Am Yisrael’s punishment in the same light: “It was
for lack of God’s ability to bring this nation into the land which He had
promised them that He slaughtered them in the wilderness”
(14:16).
Moshe asks of God that He demonstrate
to mankind true valiance and might by overcoming His anger – i.e., His attribute
of strict justice. “And now, let my Lord’s power be great” – God’s power and
strength will be enhanced in the view of mankind much more through His
conquering of His anger than by slaughtering Am Yisrael in the
wilderness. The Gemara (Gittin 56b) teaches: “Rabbi Yishmael taught: ‘Who
is like You among the gods (ba-eilim), O Lord’ – [this should be read
as,] ‘You is like You among the silent ones (ba-ilmim).’” God’s greatness
is manifest in His ability to hear man denouncing Him – and to remain silent.
Hence, Moshe does not mention all of
the Divine attributes (of mercy) because he is not talking here about mercy. He
also omits mentioning “truth” – because by the criterion of truth, Am
Yisrael are deserving of death, heaven forefend. Finally, he makes no
mention of “iniquity” (chata’a), since that category denotes
transgressions committed by mistake or unknowingly, while here Am
Yisrael acted intentionally (Yoma 36b). Moshe mentions only those
Divine attributes related to overcoming anger, such as “loving-kindness” and
“slow to anger,” because what he wants is for God to overcome his attribute of
strict justice and to limit the punishment meted out to Bnei
Yisrael.
(This sicha was delivered on
leil Shabbat parashat Shelach 5754 [1994].)