Shabbat Commentary - Sh'lach L'cha

This Shabbat, one of my daughters took her oldest daughter to the Bat Mitzah of a friend. My daughter was troubled by the Torah Portion, Sh'lach L'cha, specifically the account of the man who was stoned to death at God's command for collecting wood on Shabbat. (Numbers 15: 32-36)
"What kind of a God is this?" she asked angrily. "Maybe the man needed the wood for his family. A story like this could be used to justify violent , zealous acts. Remember when we lived in Israel and Dad and I got lost driving in Jerusalem and turned down a street in an ultra Orthodox neighborhood on Shabbat? They threw stones at our car and they could say they were acting according to God's commandment in Sh'lach L'cha!"

My response - "Yes." Yes, that story seems to contradict the image of God which Moses recalls in Numbers 14:18. "The Eternal! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression..."*
Yes, the Torah's teachings can be used to support wanton acts of violence. The Torah is not an "easy read." The Torah Text is complex, multi-themed, dense with layers of meaning, and a potentially powerful determinant of behavior.
As Jews, we are commanded to study Torah. As humans, we are wildly imperfect and easily led astray, but we are also endowed with reason, judgement, compassion, the ability to question and the overwhelming desire to seek answers - even about Torah Text.
The ongoing challenge - to strike a balance. Blessings and curses. Good and evil. God who is at once merciful and harsh, forgiving and punitive, all-powerful and yet able to be persuaded. It's all in Sh'lach L'cha and throughout the Torah!

Torah is not a sacred relic to be displayed behind glass and venerated. Torah, while Holy, is alive and through centuries of ongoing commentary and interpretation, eternally relevant. Torah is meant to teach, to build community, to inspire, to glorify God, at times to warn, and often to disturb.

I shared with my daughter that: "At his first session with new B'nai Mitzvah students, your Dad (a volunteer B'nai Mitzvah tutor) always asks them to read their entire Portion (in English) and to note any parts which are confusing, unclear, or disturbing. Invariably, his students identify such parts and this initiates the discussion of what will eventually become their D'vrei Torah."

Torah is interactive and confrontational. At every stage of life, we are aroused to ask, "What's going on here?" "What could this possibly mean?" We're impelled to dig deeper, to explore centuries of commentary, to discuss, to debate, to interpret, to respond.
Ultimately, as Jews, we come to inquire, "What is this Torah Text teaching me?" "How can these ancient words enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me on my journey through my wilderness?"

On this Shabbat, Sh'lach L'cha sparked a spirited discussion of Torah with my daughter - a memorable step forward on my path to lifelong learning and, hopefully, on hers.

Thank God for this special and unexpected opportunity to fulfill the Mitzvah of Torah Study.

Shabbat Shalom Rest and Renew

*Translation taken from The Torah: A Modern Commentary edited by W. Gunther Plaut