The concept of "Miyan"\u2014the number of ten Jews required as a quorum to recite sacred topics (Kedushah, Kaddish, etc.)\u2014is learned1 from the biblical paragraph dealing with the spies\u2014the meraglim.<\/p>\n
The Torah refers to the ten spies who defamed the Land of Israel as a congregation (eidah). From this we learn that wherever a 'congregation' is required, it implies the participation of ten Jews. But here the question arises: Why did the Torah choose to teach us something so important from the spies?<\/p>\n
Regarding the matter of the spies, the following is also noteworthy: the spies' sin consisted of their refusal to enter the Land of Israel and their desire to remain in the desert. In practice, in the end, God did exactly what they wanted, since He kept the entire people in the desert for another forty years!\"<\/p>\n
A SACRED CONGREGATION<\/p>\n
Hasidic teachings3 explain the deeper reasons behind the spies' intentions. Their desire to remain in the desert stemmed from pure motivations. They sought to continue the life of holiness they had cultivated there, disconnected from worldly disturbances and the worries of survival. They feared that the people's entry into the Land of Israel and the subsequent need to engage in plowing, sowing, and other necessary occupations would affect their devotion to God; therefore, they preferred to remain in the desert.<\/p>\n
This allows us to understand how the meaning of the term "holy assembly" (eida kedosha) of the spies can be learned, since at heart these were holy men who sought to remain united with God. Their sin was of a higher order: they should have understood that entering the Land of Israel entails an elevation even higher than attachment to God through a purely spiritual life.<\/p>\n
FEAR AND LOVE<\/p>\n
Rambam4 classifies the motives that motivate man to serve God into three groups:<\/p>\n
The first is the one who serves God out of fear\u2014the person who responds to Hashem out of fear of punishment. That is the most basic level, accessible even to the illiterate and children who have not reached a higher degree of maturity in their relationship with Hashem.<\/p>\n
Superior to this is the one who "serves God out of love."5 This is the person in whose heart love for the Most High dwells, and therefore is happy to fulfill what God wants and commands, and seeks to serve Hashem because he desires to be close to Him and attached to Him. This was the level of the spies\u2014they loved God and possessed an intense desire to serve Him, totally attached to Him, without being distracted or bothered by any of the world's interference.<\/p>\n
THE HIGHEST LEVEL<\/p>\n
This last level is indeed high and respectable, but it is not the most perfect. Therefore, Hashem made the children of Israel remain in the desert for forty years, so that they might reach the pinnacle of perfection in the level of "serving out of love," and then rise to an even higher level, which is specifically reflected in their entry into the Land of Israel.<\/p>\n
The highest level is "one who acts in accordance with the truth because it is the truth."6 One who reaches this level does not think at all about himself, about the difficulties or benefits that serving God will bring him. He desires to fulfill God's will (expressed in His commandments) because that is what God wants and because that is the truth.<\/p>\n
That was the level corresponding to Yehoshua and Calev, who did not think at all about themselves and the difficulties that might arise in the Land of Israel, but were totally devoted to fulfilling the Divine Will and entering the Land of Israel.<\/p>\n
But since the (initial) level of the spies also constitutes a high category of service to Hashem ("serving out of love"), we learn from them the concept of the "minyan"\u2014the definition of a congregation. And for this reason, Hashem even granted their aspiration and allowed the people to remain in the desert for forty years, until they achieved the highest level of "acting with truth because it is true.".<\/p>\n
(Likutei Sichot Volume 33 Page 85)<\/p>\n
NOTES: 1.Megillah 21,b 2.Bamidbar 14:27 3.Likutei Torah (Bamidbar 37,b 38,b) 4.Hilchot Teshuva Ch\u00e1p. 10 Halacha 1 5.there Lacha 3 6.there Halacha 6<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"El concepto de Mini\u00e1n\"- el n\u00famero de diez jud\u00edos requeridos como qu\u00f3rum para recitar temas sagrados (Kedush\u00e1, Kadish, etc)- se aprende1 del p\u00e1rrafo b\u00edblico que trata de los esp\u00edas- los meraglim. La Tor\u00e1 llama a los diez esp\u00edas que difamaron la Tierra de Israel, congregaci\u00f3n (eid\u00e1)2. De aqu\u00ed aprendemos que en todo lugar donde se… Read More \u00bbThe truth, because it is true.<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[950,975,952,971,967,954,961,1030,960,942],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shlaj","tag-di-s","tag-halaja","tag-hashem","tag-hombre","tag-israel","tag-judio","tag-kedusha","tag-letra","tag-teshuva","tag-tora"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Rambam.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"La verdad porque es verdad<\/a><\/blockquote>