Summary of parashat Shlaj
Moses sends twelve spies to the Land of Canaan. They return forty days later, carrying a huge bunch of grapes, a pomegranate, and a fig, to report on a lush and bountiful land. But ten of the spies warn that the inhabitants of the land are giants and warriors "more powerful than we"; only Caleb and Joshua insist that the land can be conquered, as God instructed.
The people weep, saying they would rather return to Egypt. God decrees that Israel's entry into the Land must be delayed for forty years, during which time the entire generation will perish in the desert. A group of repentant Jews rushes to the mountain at the edge of the Land but are repelled by the Amalekites and the Canaanites.
The laws are delivered Menajot (offerings of flour, wine, and oil), as well as the precept of consecrating part of the dough (challah) to God when bread is baked. A man violates Shabbat when he carries branches and is punished with capital punishment. God instructs to put fringes (Tzitzit) on the four corners of the garments to remind people of the observance of the Mitzvot (Divine perceptions).