Summary of the Parasha

Shelach Lecha (“Send for yourself”) tells the tragic episode of the scouts. Twelve men, one from each tribe, set out to scout the promised land for forty days. On their return, ten of them describe a wonderful land that is impossible to conquer. Only Caleb son of Yefuneh of Judah and Joshua son of Nun of Ephraim stand up for the conquest. The people weep all night and threaten to stone Moses and Aaron.

God wants to destroy the people; Moses pleads for them and obtains forgiveness. But this generation will wander forty years in the desert, one year for each day of scouting, and only Caleb and Joshua will enter the land. The ten scouts die on the spot. According to tradition, that night of weeping was the 9th of Av, which would become a day of misfortune in Jewish history.

God then gives laws to be kept in the land of Israel, such as challah, and the parasha ends with the tzitzit, to remember the mitzvot.

Summary of the Haftara

“Vayishlach Yehoshua” (“And Joshua sent”)
Text in Joshua 2:1–24

Forty years later, Joshua, Moses’ successor, prepares to enter the land. He sends two spies, discreetly, to Jericho, the most fortified city in Canaan. They are hidden by Rahab, who tells them that all the inhabitants tremble before Israel. In return, she and her family will be saved when the city is taken, thanks to a scarlet cord hung from her window. Their report: “God has given the whole land into our hands”. Rahab will change her life and, according to tradition, marry Joshua.

Parasha-Haftara Connection

In both texts, spies are sent toward the land of Israel. But the second time, the lesson has been learned: only two spies, discreetly, and a report full of faith. This time, the people enter the land for good.