Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
The מְרַגְּלִים (meraglim, spies) traveled all around the Land of Canaan:
וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר־צִן עַד־רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת׃
וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב וַיָּבֹא עַד־חֶבְרוֹן…
They went up, and they scouted the land, from the wilderness of Tzin to Rehov, at Levo-hamat.
They went up in the Negev and (he) came to Hevron…
The first three verbs here are plural: וַיַּעֲלוּ (va-ya’alu, they went up), וַיָּתֻרוּ (va-yaturu, they scouted), וַיַּעֲלוּ (va-ya’alu, they went up). But the fourth verb is singular: וַיָּבֹא (va-yavo, he came). What’s the meaning of this switch?
אָמַר רָבָא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁפֵּירַשׁ כָּלֵב מֵעֲצַת מְרַגְּלִים וְהָלַךְ וְנִשְׁתַּטַּח עַל קִבְרֵי אָבוֹת.
אָמַר לָהֶן אֲבוֹתַי בִּקְּשׁוּ עָלַי רַחֲמִים שֶׁאֶנָּצֵל מֵעֲצַת מְרַגְּלִים.
Rava said: This teaches that Calev separated himself from what the spies were saying, and went (to Hevron) to pray at the graves of our ancestors.
Calev said: My ancestors, pray for me so that I will be saved from the other spies’ advice.
This midrash explains that the singular verb tells us that only one spy went to Hevron, and that was Calev. And it also suggests that he went there alone for a reason. He wanted to pray for the ability to stand up to the other meraglim. Hevron is a traditional place for prayer because it is the burial place of our ancestors (Avraham, Sarah, Yitzhak, Rivkah, Yaakov, and Leah).
- Calev seems to know what is the right thing to do, but still wants to pray for the strength to do it. How can prayer help us find strength when we need it?
- According to the midrash, Calev wanted the ancestors to pray for him. Who would you like to pray for you? Whom do you pray for?
-------------------
-------------------
