Shabbat Parashat Shelach 5786

Shelach | 21 Sivan 5786 | 06/06/2026

Dear Friends,

Shavua Tov!

Eretz Hemdah Family

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Parashat Hashavua: “A Nation Shall Rise Like a Lion”

The establishment of an independent Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael connects strongly to the beginning of Parashat Shelach. Conquering the Land and dividing it to the nation were conditions for a state. All twelve tribes were supposed to be involved in the required war.

King David realized the dream, as he established with Hashem’s help, a united state, whose army liberated Yerushalayim and defended the country’s borders. The next goal was to reach world peace and liberate the world by sharing with it the values of morality and justice. This was behind Shlomo’s building of the Beit Hamikdash and inviting the nations there for prayer and service of Hashem. The furtherance of this spiritual partnership found expression in the words of the prophets Yeshayahu and Micha, after Shlomo did not finish the work.

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Ask the Rabbi: Teaching Hagbaha to a Son

I can get permission from the gabbai to take out a sefer Torah to teach my teenage son how to do hagbaha properly. Is this permitted?

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Moreshet Shaul: The Study of Chumash

The main reason that people do not give proper regard to study of Chumash is that it seems too light and simple. The fact that school children start studying it in second grade and “master” the study sometimes makes one feel that it is “study of young children.”

There are other factors that reinforce this perception, and the first applies to those who previously learned in a yeshiva. Since in yeshivot the main focus is on the study of gemara, which is intended to fully occupy his mind, the study of Chumash is seen as something that unscholarly people do, and therefore not a worthwhile topic. Yeshiva students like to say that if you do not remember the location of a certain gemara, find it in the K’tzot Hachoshen, and if you want to find a pasuk, look at the gemara that quotes it.

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P'ninat Mishpat:  A Mess of Loans, Repayments and Grievances – part IV

The plaintiff (=pl), a lawyer, worked for and had intricate financial connections with the defendant (=def). There are two loan contracts of pl lending 250,000 NIS to def, which seem basically confirmed by bank transfers. Def made several significant payments to pl, but the sides dispute the nature of several of them, with possibilities including payment of salary. Def also has claims on rental fees at his offices from which pl continued to work after his employment ended, as well as deductions for various grievances about pl’s flawed work. This final installment relates to def’s counter claim that pl put in many fewer hours than he was required to and spent some of his time on private jobs. Pl responds that it is difficult for him to work without interruptions because of attention deficiency, but that def was fully aware of his work style, and continued to pay him without comment, and this is because he was extremely successful in the work he did.
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