Parshas Shelach: In the Land of Giant Fruit

One of the first things I learned about Rabbi Ben, back when we were dating, is that he loves fruit.  Fruit is his favorite food and he will gladly eat it all day, every day.  He’s practically a fruitarian.

Which makes a lot of sense, actually, since he travels so much.  As we travel, often the only kosher food we can really find is fruit, so it really helps if you like it.

This week’s parsha is an especially delicious one for fruit lovers everywhere.  The spies go to scout out the land of Israel and return bearing gigantic grapes, pomegranates, and figs. I bet Rabbi Ben would just LOVE to get his hands on one of those giant fruits!

It seems to me that the giant fruit is a bit of a double-edged sword, however. Yes, it is fantastic – a sign of the abundance of the land of Israel.  Not only are the fruits flavorful (quality) but they are enormous (quantity).  This is a land that can provide for the Jewish people with ease (even with Rabbi Ben in their midst eating as much fruit as he can).

On the other hand, this huge fruit also at that time supported a huge population of particularly huge people.  So although the size of the fruit should bring a harbinger of abundance and prosperity, it becomes exactly the opposite in the eyes of the majority of the Jews (or at least the men).  It signals to them that they are destined for certain failure if they attempt to conquer the land.  It is this conclusion that leads to the fateful night of crying that, among other things, results in tisha b’av, the need for a minyan, and 40 years wandering in the desert.

I guess we can conclude from this that bigger isn’t always better, even if it’s something as delicious as grapes, pomegranates, and figs.  It all comes down to how we see things.  I’m pretty sure that big fruit would be seen lots of different ways by different people even today.  Some people (like Rabbi Ben) would be excited to dive in and eat it, others would see it as a business opportunity, and I’m sure plenty of others would think there must be something wrong and unhealthy about it (too many growth hormones?).

This is the danger of our life experiences – we can see anything in a positive or negative light.  It doesn’t matter how patently good or bad something seems externally, there is always a flip side we can see if we look for it.  It is a choice we each get to make. Is the giant fruit good? A sign of prosperity, fertility, and future satiety? Or is it bad? A sign of giant people we cannot hope to conquer?  We can ask this question about anything.

The choice is up to you – what will you choose?

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