Shlah

Parshah Shlah
Numbers 13:1-15:41 Joshua 2:1-2:24

Having a voracious appetite for literary criticism and scholarship, the opeing of the Tanakh to me has been a labor of love. I intend to write commentaries every week. (Perhaps the rest of my life) Therefore I will not stick to a method. This should serve as the fountain of the Torah has its source in purity and its end in fulfillment of the LOH design. I believe we can only know this in our hearts and never wholly in our minds. The sages say through the commandments we approach it and I am dedicated to keeping this thought in mind. The never ending fire of my brain; now is eased by faith.
The parshas appeal to me on esorteric, historic, moral, and spiritual levels. The last four inspired me with their symmetry, mystery and depth. The account in Shlah includes the first glimpse of the promise land. This time I felt the same way they must have felt because I have just come to the text with commitment. When the men return the people panic because there are people there. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that they saw it and then had to wonder 40 years. What an idiot I have been.
I know you are not supposed to read yourself into the text. I know it speaks to all in different ways. But I feel that the lesson for me is to know that just because I now have a new idea for what I wish to do “promise land.” I need to not fear anything but G*d and must be prepared to labor for it.

The haftorah Joshua 2:1-24.
I grabbed this from the web at http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/Haftarah_for_Shlah_.shtml
“The structure of the parashah and the haftarah are very similar. The Torah reading begins with the spies being sent into Israel, and ends with the mitzvah of tzitzit, or fringed garments. God instructs the people to put fringes on the corners of all of their four cornered garments. The fringes are meant to be a deterrent for sin: "Look at it and recall the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your hear and eyes in your lustful urge." (Numbers 15:39)

The haftarah also begins with spies being sent into Israel, and also ends with a symbolic string: the crimson cord that Rahab must hang out of her window in order to be spared when the Israelites attack. Like tzitzit, this cord will remind invading Israelites to curb their vengeful or lusty desires.