"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student."  (Soren Kierkegaard)

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A FEW PRE-SHABBAT WORDS FROM RABBI AARON

The Israel that Exists in our Minds and Hearts
The narrative of the spies scouting out the land of Canaan is familiar to many of us. We know well the conflicting reports brought back by the spies [the two "good" spies - Joshua and Caleb versus the ten "bad" spies]. On April 28th, all the BSSS students gathered in the main lobby to send off the eighth-graders on their Israel trip. Each eighth grader shared a few words about what they looked forward to doing on the trip. As you might expect, many of the remarks had that "first timer" or "tourist" feel: climbing Masada at 4AM, putting a prayer note in the Western Wall, visiting a Bedouin tent. Listening to the kids, looking at the faces of younger students soaking in the moment, waving flags, watching slides from last year's trip projected on the ceiling, watching some parents photograph the moment - I thought about the ways each of us frames Israel in our hearts and minds. We might travel back in our imaginations to trip we took years ago, or maybe we're thinking about a place we haven't yet explored, or perhaps we remember a time in our lives when we lived there, or maybe we're thinking about family who live there now.

The parasha opens with God's command: "shlach lecha - send forth..." That root [shin, lamed, chet] is quite common in the Torah; Jacob sends messengers to his brother Esau, Moses demands that Pharaoh send forth the slaves, all sorts of people send stuff. But the root is richer than that: the same root is embedded is words like hashlachot - "implications," and "projections." Notice that both of those words are conceptually related to the basic meaning idea of sending. Implications: certain ideas or actions may play a vital role in "sending" other events into motion. Projections: we [consciously and subconsciously] take ideas and experiences and "send them outward" into our conversations with others and our into our impressions of other people and places, and things. Each of us has our private set of Israel-related ideas and feelings. These internally held ideas are powerful in the way they influence us. They have a lot to say about what e watch, about the words we want to hear [or those we want to avoid], and about the projects or endeavors we might want to undertake.

The narrative of the spies is a deep well of meanings that continue to resonate for us over the years. I wonder what each eighth-grader takes home from her or his Israel trip, what sights leave a strong impression, what encounters might open new doors. I think about the ways Israel has gotten under my skin and into my spiritual journey. When Moses sent forth the scouts, he sent many ideas and events into motion. From prayer and spirituality to economic and military policies to diplomacy to tourism to education (archaeology, geography, sociology, etc.): Israel - and the many ways in which we construct our notions of Israel, continues to engage us, to challenge us, to shape us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Aaron