Parallels In The Torah: Noah’s Birds, Moses’ Spies Appearing In Both Episodes, In Same Order
BIRDS AND SPIES
Editor’s note: Avraham Edery has previously contributed to Staten Islander News with parallels in the Torah between the stories of Abraham and Moses. This event described the giving of the Torah as related to the sacrifice of Isaac.
Regarding this year’s celebration of Shavuot, Chabad.org says: “Shavuot 2024 (a two-day holiday, celebrated from sunset on June 11, 2024 until nightfall on June 13, 2024) coincides with the date that G‑d gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai more than 3,000 years ago. It comes after 49 days of eager counting, as we prepared ourselves for this special day.”
Question ?
Is the episode of the ‘SPIES’ who were sent by Moshe in Parsha Shelach connected to the episode of the BIRDS which were sent by Noach after the flood?
Answer
It definitely seems so due to the multiple matching words, similar actions and events that appear in BOTH episodes in the same chronological order! All these matches can not be by chance….. Read and enjoy!
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SOME MATCHES AND PARALLELS
NOACH AND MOSHE – BIRDS AND SPIES
Below are parallels between the episode of when Noach sent the raven and dove with the episode of when Moshe sent the spies in Parsha Shelach:
(Read the full chapter (13) at www.ParallelsintheTorah.com which also discusses the parallel episodes: The Spies and Yoseph, and the Cheit ha eigel and the Spies.) You can get a copy on Amazon.com.
1) In both episodes Noach and Moshe send out information gatherers to get information on the land before going into that land:
a) That is Noach sent the Raven and the Dove in order to determine if there is dry land so that he can go out of the ark and onto the land,
b) While Moshe sent the spies to get information on the land and its inhabitants before entering the land, as stated “and how is the land in which it dwells…..” (Ber 13-19).
2) Both episodes occurred “…at the end of 40 days”:
a) “….at the end of 40 days (מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם), that Noach opened the window of the ark which he had made, he sent out the raven…” (Ber 8-6),
b) While for the spies “They returned from spying out the land at the end of 40 days (מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם)” (Bamidbar 13-25).
3) The same wording of sent (Shalach) is used in reference to sending the information gatherers:
a) For Noach it states ” He sent (ַיְשַׁלַּח) out the raven…” (Ber 8-6),
b) Regarding the spies it says: ” Moshe sent (וַיִּשְׁלַח) them from the wilderness of Paran…. ” (Bamidbar 13-3).
4) Similar language of seeing is used:
a) “And he sent out the dove from him to see (לִרְאוֹת) whether the waters had subsided…..” (Ber 8-8),
b) While the spies were told: ” See (וּרְאִיתֶם) the land……” (Bamidbar 13-18).
5) The same wording is used to describe the return of the information gatherers:
a) “The dove came back (וַתָּבֹא) to him….” ( Ber 8-11),
b) While the spies episode reads: “They went and came (וַיָּבֹאוּ) to Moshe….” (Bamidbar 13-25).
6) Both the dove and the spies came back with fruit items as articles that conveyed information on the status of the land:
a) “The dove came back to him in the evening and behold an olive leaf it had plucked with its mouth”, (which indicates in part that their exists dry fertile land),
b) While the spies: “…. arrived at the valley of Eshcol and cut from there a vine with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole…. ” (Bamidbar 13-23).
Later it says: “They went and came to Moshe…and they showed them the fruit of the land” (Bamidbar 13-26). Again the huge size of the grape cluster spoke plenty about the fertility of the land including the size of the inhabitants.
7) Both episodes describe the manner in which the fruit item was acquired:
a) For Noach it says “….Plucked with its mouth”,
b) While for the spies it says “Cut from there…”
8) Both episodes involve a punishment that is of forty units of time:
a) The generation of Noach was punished with “40 days and 40 nights of rain”,
b) While the generation of the spies was punished with “40 years” of wandering in the desert related to 40 days and nights of spying out the land.
9) In both episodes, the forty units of punishments is followed by a new generation entering the land while the punished generation not entering:
a) Noach and his family emerge from the ark and re-populate the world,
b) While the generation of the spies (20 years old and over) passed away in the desert while the next generation entered the land of Israel.
10) Both episodes involve a duality of Information seekers:
a) The Raven does not do his job while the dove does,
b) While ten of the spies do not do their job while two do (Calev and Yehoshua).
11) In Both episodes the birds/spies were sent after a seven day waiting period:
a) That is Noach waited seven days before sending the dove,
b) While the sefer Meam Loez explains that the spies were sent after the seven day quarantine of Miriam was finished.
POTENTIAL MEANING OF THESE PARALLELS:
A potential meaning of the connection between the Spies and Birds episodes could be learned from the Midrash that explains that the message the dove conveyed by bringing back the olive leaf to Noach was ” Let my food be as bitter as an olive by the hand of the Holy One blessed be He and not sweet as honey by the hand of flesh and blood.” (Pirkei de R’ Eliezer 23).
The above parallels support the idea that the reason that the spies did not want to enter the land of Israel, is that they (like the dove) preferred to stay in the desert and receive their food directly from Hashem( with the Manna) and not enter the land and have to work for it. Of course, entering the land involves working the land and dealing with other people (buying food from merchants; acquiring labor services, etc).
For the full analysis, read chapter 13 of the sefer as it includes a total of six sets of parallel episodes (each with many matches) that are all related with one major theme of rectification (tikkun): Mabul and the Keriat Yam Suf; Mabul and the Cheit ha eigel; Noach and Yoseph; Yoseph and the Spies; Cheit ha eigel and the Spies and the one described here – Birds and Spies. Below is a brief summary which is somewhat complex and only a potential analysis, but with parts supported by the teachings of the Arizal.
1) First, Noach’s lack of emuna (as per Rashi) that Hashem would send the flood led him to not pray to prevent the flood which could have potentially prevented the Mabul.
2) The Noach and Yoseph parallels indicate that Yoseph partly rectified Noach’s lack of emuna and prayer, by, like Noach, collecting and storing food and feeding the world to keep it alive. This is supported by the kabbalah as explain to me by Rabbi Daniel Cohen. Parallels include Noach’s “take yourself of every food (מִכָּל-מַאֲכָל)” which matches Yoseph’s “He gathered all food (כָּל-אֹכֶל).
3) Noach’s lack of emuna that Hashem would send the flood (so he only entered the ark after the rain started) was ‘partly’ rectified by Nachson ben Aminadav entering the Yam Suf with emuna before it split which caused the sea to split. See Mabul and the Keriat Yam Suf parallels that have many matches including both using the words חָרְבוּ and יָבְשָׁה (partly dried, fully dried) in the same order.
4) Next Moshe’s saving the Bnei Yisrael at the Cheit ha eigel with his prayers ‘partly’ rectified Noach’s lack of prayers which could have potentially prevented the flood and saved humanity. (Arizal basically says this – Moshe is a gilgul of Noach). See Mabul and the Cheit ha eigel parallels which have many matches and one opposite used term – “Hashem regretted” וַיִּנָּחֶם יְ-הוָה. Hashem regretted making the world so He destroyed it in the flood while the opposite, “Hashem regretted” his decision to destroy the Bnei Yisrael at the Cheit ha eigel due to Moshe’s prayers. This inverse predicts and supports that Moshe was a gilgul of Noach.
5) The above Birds and Spies parallels fit into the above and can be alluding to the possibility that Moshe’s prayers at the above Spies episode which again saved the Bnei Yisrael is a continuation of the above tikkun for Noach’s lack of prayer. Support for this is that the Cheit ha eigel and Spies episodes are parallel episodes. Rashi indicates they are connected as he says that the 40 years punishment is mostly from the Cheit ha eigel not the Spies episode even though it was seemingly decreed then in the text.
6) The Yoseph and the Spies parallels indicate that Moshe’s PRAYERS at the spies episode which saved the spies generation from the destruction that was to occur because of the spies DIBAT (EVIL REPORT) on the land as per “they (the spies) brought forth an evil report (דִּבַּ֤ת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙)” repaired the damage caused by Yoseph’s (EVIL REPORTS) that he brought on his brothers as per “Yoseph would bring evil reports (דִּבָּתָם רָעָה) – that Actually led to slavery. This is somewhat supported by the Arizal, who I believe linked the spies episode with Yoseph’s brothers being accused of being spies in Egypt.
Thus far with the help of Hashem.
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Avraham Edery
Avraham Edery is an author, researcher, and lecturer. He is the author of the acclaimed Jewish Torah book called Parallels in the Torah. This book demonstrates that apparently unconnected episodes in the Torah are actually inherently related. These 'Parallel episodes' often have over 15-20 significant matches including matching words and actions in the same order! This can not be by chance. Avraham Edery has a B.Sc. and an MBA from McGill University. You can visit www.ParallelsintheTorah.com to learn more about the book or order a copy from Amazon.com.
So many interesting parallels between different episodes in our holy Torah. In this weeks Parsha of Korach we see that the Cain killing Abel episode is a parallel episode to the Korach rebellion against Moshe and Aaron. Do you see any matches? Here is one: The ‘ground that opened its mouth’ occurs in both episodes. When it swallowed the blood of Abel and when it swallowed Korach and his followers.