Voices of WRJ: Sh'lach L'cha

by Lyn Feldman In Parashat Sh'lach L'cha ("Send for yourself"), Moses’ leadership is challenged first by tribal leaders, and ultimately by the entire populace. The parashah begins with the Israelites nearing the end of their wilderness trek as they prepare to enter the land of Canaan. At God's command, Moses prepares for the invasion by choosing scouts — one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel — to reconnoiter Canaan for the purpose of assessing the strength of the indigenous populations and the strongholds in which they reside, and investigating the productivity of the land. Upon completing the mission, all of the scouts except for Caleb and Joshua, conclude that the prospects in Canaan are poor, an opinion which is soon shared by the entire community. These scouts focus on the negative features, mainly the formidable population and cities in the land.  Reacting to the frightening description by these scouts, the Israelites clamour to return to Egypt instead of entering the Promised Land. Moses and Aaron prostrate themselves before the people. They seem helpless in the face of a widespread rebellion that questions not only their leadership, but even the Israelites’ ultimate allegiance to God. In the face of Moses and Aaron's crisis, Joshua and Caleb assume a leadership role. They are positive about the mission which they believe will succeed due to God’s help, thereby demonstrating their faith in the divine. The sin of faithlessness challenges God’s patience with the people – God threatens the extermination of all Israel. Only Moses' intercession, pleading for God's mercy, prevents such a calamity, but not without a heavy price: condemnation to forty years of wandering in the desert and certain death for the entire wilderness generation. The ten faithless scouts are struck down on the spot and only Joshua and Caleb and the children born in the wilderness will enter the Promised Land. The remainder of the parashah focuses on laws relating to the sacrificial system. The delineation of laws is interrupted by a case study involving the willful breaking of the law, namely the desecration of Shabbat. The parashah ends with a commandment to wear fringes — tzitzit — on one's garments as a reminder to obey God's laws.  It is worth noting that all these laws, including the wearing of tzitzit, are designated for all Israel, presumably including women. Leadership What peaks my interest as a sisterhood leader are the topics of leadership, perspective, optimism and faith as discussed in this parashah. What does it take to be an effective leader? How can we be sure we are using our position of leadership to effect a positive outcome? Moses' leadership is questioned by ten of his scouts and ultimately by the people. Those ten scouts who prompted the rebellion with their negative report, and more fundamentally with their loss of faith, die in a plague sent by God. The fact that they do not get a second chance may be seen as a reflection of just how seriously the Bible treats the responsibilities of leadership. Their pessimism has the effect of turning the entire populace against God's mission. The ten scouts lost their faith in God and so then did the people. Caleb and Joshua, on the other hand, returned from the mission with an optimistic view, confident that the outcome of the invasion would be determined by God and not by military strength. WRJ has always recognized  the importance of good leadership and the value of leadership development. Through our YES (Youth, Education, and Special Projects) Fund, leadership conferences, workshops, and speakers training, we help women to develop and hone their leadership skills. Our WRJ Districts and local sisterhoods continually demonstrate their commitment to leadership development by promoting their members’ attendance at conferences and workshops. Women in our movement have come to understand the value of this commitment. Perspective How is it that people can have such different perceptions of the same experience, as do the scouts in this parashah?  People will always view the world through the prism of their own life experiences.  This multitude of perceptions can present both opportunities and challenges. The opportunity is to find common ground; the challenge is to act decisively. Sisterhood leaders need to be sensitive to the fact that each woman sitting around the table brings with her a different perspective and understanding. By keeping this in mind, we will have greater tolerance of other viewpoints. Different perspectives can be beneficial when problem solving, provided they do not paralyze decisive action. Optimism and Faith What causes a person to adopt an optimistic view of the world? Personally, as a parent, I am always encouraging my two daughters to look at the glass as being half-full instead of half-empty. Our children's view of the world is formed by many factors, including their natural disposition, their environment, and the vagaries of life experience. This parashah illustrates how hopelessness and pessimism in the face of adversity can quickly lead to fear and discord. Both as parents and as sisterhood leaders, it is necessary that we model an optimistic outlook. As sisterhood leaders, how effective can we be if we are unable to embrace a positive outlook and help to support our members in this way? Josee Wolff writes in her essay in The Torah: A Women's Commentary, that the sin of the ten scouts is "their failure to contribute to their community because of their negative attitude and narrow perspective." She points out that Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, "had the courage to leap into the unknown and envision a new reality." They trusted their instincts and felt that with God's help anything was possible. She tells us that if we want to create something new then we have no choice but to "leap into the unknown, to believe in ourselves, and to trust in God's faith in us." She concludes that it is the voice of optimism and hope that has "enabled the Jewish people to continue and to thrive." It was this faith and vision that led our foremothers to create the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods in 1913 (now WRJ). It was this faith and optimism that enabled WRJ to produce the groundbreaking publication, The Torah: A Woman's Commentary. And it will be this kind of positive and courageous thinking that will enable WRJ's leaders to reimagine our role as we move toward the future. Lyn Feldman is a WRJ Board member and a Holy Blossom Temple Sisterhood Past President in Toronto, Canada.