Rabbi's Blog

The practice of spying or of using spies, is typically conducted by government agencies employed to gather intelligence on domestic activities, as well as on friendly and unfriendly governments. People should keep in mind that the spy business is usually a two-way street, meaning just as one individual is attempting to gather information on someone, that individual may be also gathering information on the first individual simultaneously. If you are old enough to remember the original television show (or the reruns) called “Get Smart,” you may recall the names of the two spy organizations: ‘Control’ and ‘Chaos’. The show comically depicted the political climate of its time during the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union. These two ‘spy’ organizations were constantly spying on each other. This holds true in the real world as well. There are currently 17 intelligence agencies in the U.S., all of which fall under the umbrella of the Department of Defense.

Whenever I go out into the world, whether it is to go shopping, ball playing in public, a sporting event, or some type of recreational activity, I always bring my “spy glasses” with me. Call me neurotic or paranoid, but whenever I enter a restaurant or any unfamiliar room, I always sit facing the entrance because I hate having my back to the door. In a sense, I spy out those who enter, simultaneously surveying my surroundings, helping me to feel safe in the new, unknown environment. Whether this is truly effective or not, I hope never to find out. Realistically, I am not only looking at everyone else, but I’m aware that everyone else is also looking at me - most probably all for the same reasons. Putting aside a strange room and seating scenario, I face a constant eyeing from people who question whether I am Jewish and whether I am also a Rabbi.

Most times when I am out and about, I try avoiding the questioning eye about religion. Typically, people try to lure me into conversation by speaking in a bland, non-threatening tone. Once engaged (either because I have a few extra minutes on hand, feeling up for a good fight, or simply caught off guard), I get peppered with questions about Judaism. Most often I’m asked the the obvious questions about my Yarmulka and Tzitzis. These questioners even openly wonder if I always wear a suit and tie! Some cashiers will ask if a special holiday or even guess that a special holiday is coming up, looking at the quantity and assortment of typical Jewish foods. The range of questions knows no bounds, covering topics dealing with Israel, Zionism, the Talmud, Jewish law and even the location of the synagogue. The worst is when a questioner innocently begins speaking of Judaism and then turns the question i into a nasty diatribe ridiculing Judaism and Jews, finally espousing his religion upon me. Recently, I was stopped and asked the usual question, “Are you a Rabbi?” I quickly ran through a mental analysis of my time, patience and desire regarding whether to answer in the affirmative or not. The quick, instant evaluation led me to say, “Yes, I am a Rabbi.” I then took a deep breath waiting for the next question or statement to roll out about me and my religion. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a confrontation that I never had before. Now knowing that I was a Rabbi, this individual calmly asked me, “Rabbi, please teach me something.” I was completely caught off guard but regained my composure and calmly quoted the famous verse from Vayikra: regarding loving your neighbor as yourself. When a spy is caught by another spy, he must always be prepared in advance with answers that he intends to divulge to the other side.

It was such a refreshing encounter from anybody, let alone a non-Jew. For the record, most of, actually many of the interactions I encounter regarding the topic of learning with Jews is typically, ‘Why do we need to do this or that and why can’t we do this or that.’ Rare is the time someone approaches me with a request of “Rabbi, please teach me something.” This was a refreshing look at how other people take things. I felt this person’s sincerity and desire to learn. This, Heaven Forbid, does not discount most Jews asking me questions of why and what because most often they are coming from a good place. When the gentleman asked the question, I started to think of another angle of why his question was different. The answer falls in with the names of the spy agencies of ‘Get Smart’. The good spies were called ‘Control’; the bad spies were called ‘Chaos’. These names represent the core principle of Judaism: the Torah was given to us to control our lives while Yetzer Hora was created to challenge the Torah and create chaos.

It is interesting to note that both types are referred to as spies; though there is certainly a much harder word for the latter in the official papers. Surely enough, we tend to sympathize with the first conventionally noble group and may even want to join their lines. In fact, in this week’s Torah portion Shlach, we find Moshe sending out twelve “equal spies” yet most commentaries see them after the fact as ten bad spies and two good spies on their return. Most Meforshim give a bad rap to the ten spies. But there are some who find merit in their words and actions. One such person is the Tzvi Yisrael (I could not find the author of this sefer or if this is indeed the author’s name) commenting on the opening verse in the parsha. In Bamidbar 13:2 Moshe sends out one spy per tribe, describing the worthiness of each man. The purpose and benefit of sending spies was to create the impression that it was a challenge to conquer the land, but it was solely due to God that we could capture the land. If spies were NOT sent, the concern would be that future generations might say that “the inhabitants of Canaan were weak and the Jews - our ancestors - conquered the land through natural means”. Therefore, perhaps even Hashem would acquiesce to the request of B’Nei Yisrael in sending spies, thereby justifying this concern. The spies would come back and be on record that the inhabitants were giants, they were strong, etc. and despite all that they were able to conquer the land because of Hashem. The hint to this lies in the words in the passuk “Asher Ani Nosein L’Bnei Yisrael”: “That which I (Hashem) gave to the Children of Israel.”

The good spies look out for ways to protect the Torah and its ability to control our Yetzer Hora and push our Yetzer Tov - to encourage a life of happiness and joy. The evil spies, who create chaos, look for ways to disrupt the design of the Torah, its mitzvos, and the ways to adhere to it. We are all spies and messengers. For the most part, Orthodox Judaism works for the spy agency known as ‘Control’, although sometimes we forget and become spies for ‘Chaos’ in our Hashkafa, our philosophical outlook in life. It’s so easy to create chaos and is always difficult to control, but that is our challenge in life, Hatzlacha to everyone seeking out questions to learn!!!

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky