Parshas Shelach: Giants, spies, grasshoppers, and ants

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March 04 2015
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Parshas Shelach (Bamidbar, chapter 13) commences with Moishe Rabbeinu sending twelve scouts (miraglim) to survey Eretz Israel prior to Am Yisrael entering and conquering the land. When surveying the land, the miraglim viewed giants and agricultural produce of immense dimensions. Samples of this produce were brought back to show the people. In their report, the miraglim stated that the inhabitants were powerful and huge and the cities were fortified. Furthermore, “There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of the giant from among the Nephilim; we were like grasshoppers (chagavim) in our eyes and so we were in their eyes” (Bamidbar, 13:33). In this essay an attempt is made to answer the following questions: (a) what was the physical size relationship between the giants and the miraglim? (b) why the miraglim viewed themselves as grasshoppers, as opposed to other species of terrestrial animal? and (c) why Rashi interpreted  chagavim as ants, rather than as grasshoppers?


Rashi (13:33) explained that the miraglim encountered three giants, descendents of the Nephilim, Shamchazai and Azael, who fell from heaven in the generation of Enosh, interbreed with human females, and produced a race of giants. The three giants encountered by the miraglim lived in Hebron. Achiman, the most significant and the mightiest of the brothers, was immensely heavy, leaving deep impressions (pits) in the ground upon which he walked; he built the city of Anas. His brother, Sheishai, was hard and strong as marble; he built the city, Alush. The third brother, Talmai, left footprints in soil like deeply plowed furrows; he built the city, Talbush. These three brothers, with their father, is one reason for Hebron being named Kiryat Arba, “the city of four” (Sotah 34a, b).


Can the size relationship between the giants and the miraglim, viewed as grasshoppers, be taken literally? If so, the actual height of the giants can be estimated. Assume that a grasshopper in its normal horizontal resting position is one inch in height off the ground and that the miraglim, prestigious, prominent leaders of the tribes, were 6 feet (i.e., 72 inches) tall. Thus, the height ratio, in inches, of a miragil to a grasshopper is 72:1. With reference to the Canaanite giants, if the miraglim actually appeared to be the size of grasshoppers, then the same 72:1 ratio, in inches, would be applicable. Then the giants would be 5,184 (72 x 72) inches, or 432 feet, in height. The Empire State Building, the 103-story skyscraper in midtown Manhattan, is a height of 1,250 feet (excluding its antenna spire) [1]. Thus, if this analysis is correct, each Canaanite giant would be 1/3 of the height of the Empire State Building. Scientifically, this is not plausible, as the structure of the human body cannot maintain such a huge stature in the vertical position against the downward force of gravity.  Sauroposeidon, one of the tallest terrestrial dinosaurs, reached a height of 59 feet, which included a very long neck of about 40 feet. Such a long neck was counterbalanced by a massive tail. This dinosaur measured about 150 feet in horizontal length, as, apparently, a base of 150 feet was needed to support the 40 foot neck [2]. Regarding human physique, the base is much narrower than the upper torso, thus physically limiting the height of a giant. The size relationship between a giant and a grasshopper, as noted in Bamidbar (13:33), must be taken figuratively, rather than literally. As noted by R’ Ammi, the Torah, the prophets, and the sages, at times, utilized exaggerated terminology (Chullin 90b). The giants were extremely tall, but not of grotesque proportions. Ibn Ezra noted that the Hebrew root word of Nephilim is nofal “to fall,” as individuals who saw these huge, massive giants, lost heart and fainted. Tosafit R’ Yosef B’chor Shor translated chagavim as dwarfs - the giants viewed the miraglim as dwarf-like in stature.


It is important to distinguish between the giants of yesteryear and the extremely tall individuals of today. The tallest person in history for whom there is documented evidence was Robert Wadlow, who reached 8 feet, 11.1 inches in height with a weight of 439 pounds. Although his weight seems excessive, his overall appearance was that of a tall, string bean, needing a cane for support. Wadlow’s life span was short, as he died at the age of 22 years. His stature was associated with hyperplasia of the pituitary gland, resulting in the extensive production of growth hormone. The tallest man living is Sultan Kösen (Turkey, born December 1982), measuring 8 feet, 3 inches. His appearance also is that of a tall, thin, lanky male [3]. The Talmud (Sotah 34a,b) described the three giants (noted in Bamidbar 33:22, 28) as extremely tall, powerful, bulky in weight (e.g., their footprints created deep furrows in soil), and with a long life span. For example, the most famous of the Biblical giants was the king of Bashan, Og, also a descendent of the Nephilim. The crib of infant Og was described in Devarim (3:11), “Behold, his bed was an iron bed”… “ 9  amos its length and four amos its width, by the amah of a man.” In the Talmud, mention was made of his strength (e.g. he lifted a mountain over his head to hurl upon B’nei Yisrael) and of his height (i.e., Moishe Rabbeinu, who himself was 10 cubits tall, carried a spear 10 cubits in length, and leaped 10 cubits high, only to strike Og on the ankle) (Berachos 54b; Niddah 61a). Although the physical description of Og was exaggerated, the life span of Og is accepted as being lengthy. He was alive in the time of Noach and was killed, centuries later, by Moishe Rabbeinu. The longevity, weight, and strength of Og and of the three giants herein (Bamidbar chapter 13), all descendents of the ancient Nephilim, are in sharp contrast to similar traits of today’s tallest individuals, who lack physical strength, bulk, and longevity.


The intent of the verse (Bamidbar, 13:33) was not to literally compare the size of the giants with that of the miraglim, but rather to stress the psychological mindset of the miraglim. Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan translated chagavim as “kamtzin,” or as “insignificant,” i.e., the miraglim lacked confidence in themselves and in HaShem. Although the miraglim were of normal human size, they viewed themselves as mere insects. This inferiority complex has been termed the “grasshopper syndrome” [4] or the “grasshopper complex” [5]. To quote Rabbi Buchwald [6], “The scouts were obviously men of great talent, but possessed rather low self-esteem. Not only did they not at all appreciate the fact that they had G-d at their side, they saw themselves as impotent and weak and were consequently unable to muster the courage that was necessary to inspire the people of Israel to march courageously into the land and assume their rightful patrimony.” The defeatist attitude of the miraglim soon spread throughout the Jewish camp: “The entire assembly raised up and issued its voice; the people wept that night” (Bamidbar 14:1). That night was Tisha B’Av. Because Am Yisrael cried for no reason, HaShem ordained that on that date both the First and Second Temples were to be destroyed (Rashi).


If the miraglim needed to select a representative small terrestrial animal to which to be compared, why select the grasshopper? Why not the field mouse? the toad?  the caterpillar?  As leaders of each tribe, the miraglim were cognizant that the mouse, toad, and caterpillar were non-kosher shratzim, and understood that such a comparison to leaders of Am Yisrael was unsuitable. Albeit that most grasshoppers are non-kosher (Chullin 63b), the species mentioned, the chagavim, are kosher. Such grasshoppers are interesting from a kashrus viewpoint, as they are the only terrestrial animal that can be consumed without shechitah. In addition, their blood is green and their taste is of the plant species consumed most recently. As a food item, grasshoppers are pareve, can been consumed while alive (although, because of bal tishaktyu (“do not appear repulsive”) a person should refrain from eating live grasshoppers (Shulcan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 13:1)), and prior to their consumption, one must recite the blessing of she’hakol. In some countries in the Middle East, grasshoppers are boiled in water with salt, left in the sun to dry, and consumed as snacks. Mention of chagavim in the Talmud is often associated with plague (Bava Metzia 9:6; Ta’anis 19b), as grasshoppers eat grasses, leaves, and cereal crops [7].  In short, the miraglim viewed themselves as the lowest life form of a kosher terrestrial animal, indicative of their feelings of inferiority and low self esteem.


Biologically, grasshoppers are invertebrates, lacking an internal skeletal system, or backbone. In the English vernacular, “the lack of a backbone” means that the individual does not possess the courage to stand up and to face an adversary. Grasshoppers are timid insects. When walking in a field of grass, one cannot but notice that the grasshoppers leap away from the approaching individual. The lack of significance of grasshoppers was noted in the Talmud (Shabbos 90b), as parents captured and stored grasshoppers as play toys for their children. Apparently, the spies viewed themselves as insignificant playthings. As noted above, Targum Onkelos and TargumYonasan translated chagavim as items of insignificance. Comparison to a grasshopper was, therefore, most appropriate, as these spies lacked both the courage to battle the Canaanites and the lacked the recognition that HaShem controls the outcome of the battle. The image a person portrays is the image that others perceive. If an individual behaves as a timid, spineless grasshopper, others view this person as a timid, spineless grasshopper [4, 5].


The miraglim said, “we were like grasshoppers (chagavim) in our eyes and so we were in their eyes.” In the Talmud (Sotah 35a), the inquiry was made, how did the miraglim know what the giants were thinking. To answer this question, the following incident was recorded. The giants were returning from the funeral of a prestigious Canaanite, possibly Iyov, and it was their custom to eat the funeral meal beneath a cedar tree. The miraglim saw the giants approaching, climbed a tree to hide, and heard the giants say, “'We see men like grasshoppers in the trees” (Sotah 35a). On this same pasuk, Rashi’s interpretation was that the miraglim heard the giants say, “we see “ants” appearing as men in the vineyard.” The commentaries questioned why Rashi interpreted chagavim as ants, rather than grasshoppers. One commentator attributed this change of insect species to a printer’s error. However, perhaps, this giant/miraglim vineyard encounter was distinct from the giant/miraglim cedar tree encounter. Midrashim that elaborated on this giant/miraglim vineyard encounter stated that the miraglim fainted upon meeting the giants. When revived, the giants questioned whether the miraglim came to destroy the trees worshipped by the giants. The miraglim answered in the negative, mentioning that they were here only to pick fruit [8]. It would seem that the miraglim encountered the giants twice, initially, appearing as grasshoppers hiding in a cedar tree and later, appearing as ants in a vineyard. Regarding the grasshopper/cedar tree incident, each miragil hid on a separate tree limb, as if many miraglim lodged on one branch, it would break because of the excessive weight. Because each miragil hid as an individual on a separate branch, the description of “grasshopper” is correct, as grasshoppers are “loners.” However, when viewed in the vineyard picking fruit, “ants” was the appropriate interpretation of chagavim. Ants, as opposed to grasshoppers, are social insects that use sound, touch, and pheromones to communicate with each other [9]. I have often viewed a group of ants interacting and cooperating with each other to drag a dead animal, usually a worm, to their nest. Rashi noted that the miraglim were seen in a vineyard, i.e., an area in which grapes grow. As stated in pasuk 23: “They (the miraglim) arrived at the Valley of Eshcol and cut from there a vine with one cluster of grapes and bore it on a double pole, and of the pomegranates and of the figs.” This is expounded in the Talmud (Sotah 34a): one miragil carried a fig, another miragil carried a pomegranate, but eight miraglim were needed to carry a cluster of grapes - mimicking the cooperative behavior of ants. Only Calev and Yehoshua did not carry agricultural produce. The two descriptions of interactions between the giants and the miraglim, as grasshoppers/cedar trees and as ants/vineyard, may refer to two distinct encounters.    


Rabbi Shmuel Goldin [10] wrote that “when all is said and done, the spies were guilty of a loss of faith in themselves.” Once the miraglim viewed themselves as worthless, only then did they become worthless in the eyes of the Canaanite giants. Rabbi J. Hoffman [11], citing Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, presented a psychological connection between the grasshopper and the tiny ant. The miragalim projected their inner sense of low self esteem when describing themselves as grasshoppers. As a result, the giants viewed them as tiny ants - if one projects an image of nothingness, then others view that person as even lower and of lesser significance


Acknowledgment. Appreciation is expressed to Rabbi Joel Grossman, first editor-in-chief of Yeshiva College’s HAMEVASER, for reviewing this manuscript.


References


[1] Wikipedia, retrieved 7/14/2004, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building.
[2] Wikipedia, retrieved 7/14/2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauroposeidon.
[3] Wikipedia, retrieved 7/14/2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_people.
[4] Reich, N. 2008, The grasshopper syndrome, http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/703611/jewish/The-Grasshopper-Complex.htm
[5] Greenbaum, E. (2008). The grasshopper complex, 2014http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/703611/jewish/The-Grasshopper-Complex.htm
[6] Buckwald, E.Z. (2008). Shelach 5768-2008: We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/811565/Rabbi_Ephraim_Z_Buchwald/Shelach_5768-2008:_We_Were_like_Grasshoppers_in_Our_Eyes
[7] Wikipedia, retrieved 7/14/2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper
Goldin, S. (2014). Unlocking the Torah Text. An In-depth Journey in the Weekly Parsha – Bamidbar, OU Press, NY, NY.
[8] Weissman, Y. (1983). The Midrash Says. The Book of Bamidbar, Benei Yakov  Publications, Brooklyn, NY.
[9] Wikipedia, retrieved 7/14/2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant .
[10] Goldin, S. (2014). Unlocking the Torah Text. An In-depth Journey in the Weekly Parsha - Bamidbar, OU Press, NY, NY.

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