Weekly Sidra: Shelach Lecha (Send for yourself)
Torah Portion: Bamidbar/ Numbers 13:1-15:41
Haftorah: Yehoshua / Joshua 2:1-24

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, "Go, reconnoiter the region of Jericho." So they set out, and they came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there.  The king of Jericho was told, "Some men have come here tonight, Israelites, to spy out the country."3 The king of Jericho thereupon sent orders to Rahab: "Produce the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole country."4 The woman, however, had taken the two men and hidden them. "It is true," she said, "the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. (Joshua 2:1-4)

The focus for this week’s reading is the sending of the spies to report back on the state of the land.  As the story goes twelve men were sent out and only two (Joshua and Caleb) gave a good report.  The Haftarah also talks about spies being sent out to spy out the land of Jericho.  This time only two spies go out and they are protected by Rahab a prostitute.

As the old saying goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover”!  I am sure the men could have found someone nobler or of better character than the town prostitute.  Imagine the gossip.  Did you see those guys going into that hooker’s house, I wonder what they are doing there?

It is easy for us to be quick to judge others.  Which would you hire the smelly beggar on the street, or the person with the three piece suit?  We are able to see the outer shell, the clean cut, good-looking person, the boy or girl next door.  We can look at the outside, but only God can look at the heart.

Even though Rahab was a prostitute she had a heart for God.  Perhaps knowing that the spies represented the God of Israel she hid them.  It may have been an act of repentance on her part and a tikkun (repair) of the sin of the spies for the bad report.

We just never know where we will find the hand of God.  It may be a beggar or even a prostitute.