Rashi mentions what the spies carried on their shoulders: “Eight of them took a grape cluster, one took a fig, and one took a pomegranate. Yehoshua and Calev did not take anything, for the intention of the others was to present a slanderous report, saying, ‘Just as its fruit is extraordinary, so its people are extraordinary.’ If you wish to know how much one of them carried, learn from the stones they set up at Gilgal: Each man carried on his shoulder one stone from the Yarden and set it up at Gilgal. The Sages weighed them, and each stone weighed forty seah. It is a fact that the load a person can carry on his shoulders is only a third of the weight of the load he can carry when others help him lift it.” (Sotah 34a)
One of the most well-received and beloved tourist attractions in all of Israel is the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. In fact, the Biblical Zoo was the most popular tourist attraction in Israel from 2005 to 2007 and logged close to three-quarters of a million visitors in 2009. The original zoo was a tiny establishment in the center of Jerusalem, on Rechov Shmuel Hanavi; however, following the 1948 War of Independence, the zoo was relocated to a 15-acre plot in what was then the outlying neighborhood of Romema, where it remained for the next forty years. During this time, the quaint and not overly developed zoo became a local institution that was widely frequented by both religious and non-religious visitors, if not for intellectual edification, then as a form of identification with the city and the numerous animals mentioned in the Torah.
For much of the forty years at its location in Romema, the zoo also had the distinction of being situated not far from the Tchebin Yeshivah in Jerusalem. Day after day, the Rosh Yeshivah, R’ Avraham Genichovsky zt”l, would walk past the Biblical Zoo on his way to preparing and delivering his daily Gemara shiur at the yeshivah. One day, as he was hurrying along deep in thought, he heard the cries of a child emanating from the entranceway of the zoo. He stopped and noticed a young boy crying incessantly. R’ Avraham walked over to the boy and said in Hebrew, “Why are you crying?”
Between sobs, the little boy told him that he was lost and could not find his parents. Well, R’ Avraham couldn’t very well just let the child remain there weeping, so he took him by the hand and led him inside the gates of the zoo.
At that moment, the Rosh Yeshivah looked about and realized that the zoo was a big place and there were quite a lot of visitors in the park. As it was a warm day and many of the guests—including the young boy at his side—were not religious Jews, he surmised that the level of tznius in the park would not be what it should be, and this gave him pause. What was he to do, and how was he to find the boy’s parents without being forced to look at things that he knew were forbidden to view?
Finally, he came up with a plan of action. “Mottek,” sweet child, “let’s help you find your parents,” said R’ Avraham. Without another word, he hoisted the little boy onto his big, broad shoulders and told the boy to be a “scout” on the lookout for his father and mother. The boy giggled gleefully, enjoying the unexpected ride on the shoulders of this man who was not only a “giant” in height, but more importantly, in Torah and Derech Eretz. Then, off they went: a small, obviously delighted chiloni boy perched safely and securely on the shoulders of one of the preeminent Roshei Yeshivah in all of Israel. As the boy gazed about searching for his parents, R’ Avraham, hat in hand and long beard trailing to his side, turned his head downward and focused his eyes on the paved walkways that circled all about the expansive gardens of the Biblical Zoo. The crush of visitors made it hard to walk, but R’ Avraham never looked up once; he just kept his eyes peeled to the ground and walked from one path to another. What a sight it must have looked like to the other guests!
Finally, he heard the words he was expecting. “There he is! There he is!” shouted a relieved and excited woman, and before she could even get close, R’ Avraham swung the little boy off his shoulders and down to the ground. Then, without even waiting for a word of thanks, he turned and walked quickly out the front gates of the zoo.
R’ Avraham would later say that this was perhaps the only time he ever gave a shiur in yeshivah without any preparation. “But what else should I have done?” he asked. “Leave a crying child all by himself? I could never do that!”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com . To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
