Parshat Shelach: The Weekly Parsha Story Illustrated by AI

Hello children. In the previous episode, we told you about Miriam's leprosy because she spoke gossip about Moshe. In our Torah portion, God tells Moshe to send spies to check out the nature of the land of Israel. This is because the people wanted to know more about the land they were about to enter. So, God allows Moshe to send spies to explore it. Moshe chooses 12 important men, one leader from each tribe. He gives the spies clear instructions and tells them, "Check if the people who live there are strong or weak, whether there are many or few people, whether the land is good or bad, whether the cities are open or fortified, and whether the soil is fertile and if plants grow there, and most importantly, be brave and bring back some of the fruit of the land." The spies set out on a fascinating journey through the land of Kunan. They traveled from the south all the way to the north. They explored every part of the land, saw the breathtaking scenery, the people, the mountains, and the amazing agricultural abundance. When they reached the Ashkal Valley, something incredible happened. They found a cluster of grapes so large and heavy that it took two people to carry it on a pole. They gathered juicy pomegranates and figs. They had never seen such enormous fruits in their lives. The spies stayed in the land of Cananan for 40 days. After 40 days, the spies returned to the Israelite camp. The people gathered around them excitedly to hear what they had seen and what they would say about the promised land. Then something terrible happened. 10 out of the 12 spies said bad things. The people who live there are very strong. Their cities are large and surrounded by high walls and we even saw giants there. The whole area is full of strong enemies. The people were frightened and began to complain. But then two of the spies, Kalev and Yahosua, tried to calm the people down. Kalev stood up and said loudly, "Let's go up right now and conquer the land because we can definitely do it." But the other 10 spies kept scaring the people. We can't go up against these people because they are stronger than we are. It's a land that devours its inhabitants. In other words, the place is dangerous. And all the people we saw there are giants. We even saw there are the descendants of giants. We seemed like tiny grasshoppers in their eyes. And that's how we felt, too. When the people heard the words of the 10 spies, a great uproar broke out. The people began to cry all night long. The next day, the people came to Moshe and Aaron and complained, "If only we had died in Egypt or in the desert, why did God bring us to this land just to fall by the sword? Will our wives and children perish? Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" They even plan to return to Egypt, a real rebellion. Yahosua and Kalev tore their clothes in grief and tried to persuade the people the land we passed through to explore is extremely good. If God wants us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. A land flowing with milk and honey. Just don't rebel against God and don't be afraid of the people of the land. But the people didn't listen to them and decided to stone them. God was very angry at the people's lack of faith and told Moshe that he wanted to punish the Jewish people and start over with Moshe. Moshe pleaded with God and reminded him of his attribute of mercy. God accepts Mosha's prayer and forgives the people, but he still punishes them. The punishment for the 10 spies was that they died in a plague. The punishment for the adult generation was that everyone aged 20 and above would not merit entering the land of Israel. They would die in the desert and the people would wander in the desert for 40 years. One year for each day the spies scouted the land. Only the children who were not yet 20 years old together with Yahosua and Kv would merit entering the land of Israel. When the Jews heard what the punishment was, they deeply regretted their actions. The next day, a group of them decided to go up and conquer the land anyway. Moshe warned them not to do it because God would not be with them, but they didn't listen. Do you know what happened as a result? They were defeated by Cananan and Amalecch and they returned in disgrace. After the story of the spies, the Torah moves on to other topics, meal and wine offerings. The Torah details the laws of the sacrifices that must be brought when entering the land of Israel and the commandment of halah. God commands to give a portion of the dough to the priests when you bake bread in the land of Israel. This is the mitzvah of Halah, which many women still fulfill today when they bake for Shabbat. Sacrifices for unintentional sins. The Torah teaches what must be done if the community or an individual accidentally violates God's commandments. The Torah tells the story of a man who desecrated Shabbat by gathering sticks. God told Moshe that the punishment for intentionally desecrating Shabbat is death. This teaches us how important Shabbat is in God's eyes. And at the end of the parha, God commands the mitzvah of sits to tie special threads on the corners of the garment, including a thread of blue. The Torah explains the purpose of the tits. When you see the sits, you will remember all of God's commandments and do them. What happened next with the Jewish people? And how did Moshe respond? We will tell you about that in the next episode.