Having It All

It does not suffice to reach perfection by devoting ourselves to exclusive Torah study. One can acquire total mastery of Torah knowledge—and yet not bring Moshiach. We must also recognize that all of the world must be integrated into our spiritual lives.

Clue from Location

The main theme of this week’s parsha is the saga of the 12 spies who were sent to scout the land of Cana’an, and who (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) returned with a slanderous report about it. This event was a major setback for the fledgling Jewish nation and delayed their entry into the Promised Land by almost forty years.

Much has been written about the spies and their intentions. What motivated them to turn against G-d, Moses and the Land of Israel?

One can find a clue that may shed light on this entire episode from the way the Torah—parenthetically— discusses the name of a location where they cut some of the fruits of the land to put on display for the Jewish people.

The Torah states the following:

“They came to the valley of Eshkol and they cut a branch with a cluster of grapes and they carried it on double pole; and from the pomegranates and figs. That placed was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster (eshkol) the children of Israel cut from there.”

A question has been raised as to why the place was named after the cluster of grapes and not after the pomegranates or figs that they took from there? And why does the Torah find it important to mention this entire rather insignificant detail at all?

The Human Eshkol

Upon deeper research and reflection we will discover that the word eshkol is laden with much symbolic meaning that will help us understand what was going on in the minds of the spies.

The Talmud speaks of the passing of two great sages, Rabbi Yosei of Tzreidah and Rabbi Yosi of Jerusalem. In reciting their praise, the Talmud says that when they died it marked the end of the era of the “eshkolos-clusters.” The Talmud explains that this word is a composite of the three Hebrew words: “ish she’hakol bo,” meaning “a person who has everything.”

There are two interpretations as to what “a person who has everything” means. According to Rashi it refers to a scholar whose knowledge is impeccable, devoid of any confusion or forgetfulness. In other words, it refers to one whose knowledge is complete. It says nothing, however, of the nature of the person who possesses that knowledge.

According to Maimonides, the “person who has everything” refers to a person who possesses all the desirable traits of scholarship and character. An “Eshkol” personality is thus one who combines all of the most desired traits; not just Torah knowledge.

When the spies lived in the desert they distinguished themselves with their ability to study Torah. There were no distractions because of their material needs were provided for them miraculously.

Thus, our Sages tell us that the Torah was given specifically to those who ate the Manna that descended from heaven. The implication of this statement is that only those who had absolutely no material needs and could devote all of their time and energy to the study of Torah can truly master it.

This also explains why the Torah was given in the desert rather than in the Holy Land of Israel. Only those whose lives were left undisturbed by all the distractions of everyday life that one encounters in both an urban and rural setting can be capable of absorbing Torah.

Is Israel conducive to Torah Study?

The spies thus reasoned that if they were chosen to scout the land it was because they had to gauge whether life in the Land of Israel would be conducive to undisturbed Torah study. In their minds, their mission was not so much about determining the ability to conquer the land or the strategy to use in doing so as much as it was about determining if the conquest will compromise their generation’s mission to be the first unqualified recipients of Torah.

When they saw the degree to which it would become necessary to spend time and energy to conquer, settle and cultivate the land, they were convinced that their generation was, in fact, not the right one to enter into the land.

In their estimation, Torah study would suffer irrevocably. If they were chosen as the first generation of Torah it meant—at least, in their minds—that they had to absorb the Torah without the admixture of any other influences or pressures. Otherwise they reasoned, they would transmit a watered down version of Torah to the next generation. With the passage of time and the further Torah knowledge would go from the time it was given at Sinai, Torah would become so adulterated and altered, as to render it unrecognizable.

Hence, they concluded, the conquest of Israel was not for their generation. Their generation had to be pure in its commitment to and absorption of Torah.

In fact, they were right, at least in the sense that they were not ready to enter the Promised Land and to fulfill the even greater challenge that it entailed.

According to Rashi, the ideal person—the eshkol personality—is one whose knowledge is unadulterated because his dedication to Torah is unequivocal. There is no room for any other influences in one’s life other than Torah.

This may explain why they took this cluster of grapes—the Eshkol—to symbolize the idea that one needs an environment that allows for unadulterated Torah study.

To further symbolize how their goal of total mastery of Torah will become impossible to attain in Israel they picked this huge cluster that had to be carried by two. This was to underscore that the burden of becoming an Eshkol will be too great to bear in the Promised Land.

The Incomplete Eshkol

But, in the final analysis, they were wrong. Because the cluster of grapes—the Eshkol—with its connotation of completeness also suggests that Torah is incomplete without perfection of character. One must interact with others. Living in a spiritual cocoon will not afford one with the opportunity to develop social skills and refinement of character. And the fact that the cluster of grapes they picked required two to carry it was a positive symbol. Torah wants us to share and shoulder the burden of Torah with others. It is what makes our Torah study complete because it is combined with refinement of character and connection with others.

The Debate Revolved Around Meaning of Eshkol

In other words, the “debate” between the good spies, Joshua and Caleb and the ten evil spies revolved around the definition of a perfect, well rounded, person—an “eshkol.” According to the spies, the Eshkol-personality is singleminded in his devotion to the study of Torah, leaving no room for anything else.

According to Moses and the good spies, an Eshkol personality is one who combines the traits of knowledge with refinement of character.

To allude to this debate, the Torah tells us that they brought a huge cluster of grapes—an Eshkol—because their argument was about the prospects of achieving this goal in the Promised Land. The evil spies contended that it would be impossible. The good spies maintained that it was not only possible, but that only in the Land of Israel would it become possible to attain this goal.

One Short of Moshiach

The numerical value of the word eshkol in Hebrew is 357, which is one short of the value of the word Moshiach (358).

This might be an allusion to the fact that it does not suffice to reach perfection by devoting oneself to exclusive Torah study. One can be an eshkol—acquire total mastery of Torah knowledge—and yet not bring Moshiach. One must also add the one, the belief in the oneness of G-d which requires of us to recognize that all of the world must be integrated into one’s system. To be an eshkol without the “One” leaves one stranded in the desert.

To bring Moshiach we must recognize that Torah study must be combined with acts of kindness and reaching out to the outside world and bringing the light of Torah to the entire universe. This will usher in the age when we will see the fulfillment of the eshkol ideal in both forms—total and perfect mastery of Torah coupled with total mastery of one’s heart.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shlach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.