In a recent lecture, Rabbi Alon Anava has announced his intention to initiate a 40 day plan to reverse the sin of the spies and to “sweeten” God’s divine judgement upon the world.
Without getting into specifics, Rabbi Anava implied that the program will involve learning Bible and praying. And although he acknowledges that a divine judgement cannot be reversed, Rabbi Anava believes that just 10 men can change the entire course of the End of Days judgement.
“I think that 10 men can change the entire destiny of the entire planet” Rabbi Anava says referring to a minyan, the amount of men required for a collective prayer according to Jewish law. However Rabbi Anava welcomes many more throughout the world to join. This includes via the internet. Exhibiting a ‘more the merrier’ attitude, Rabbi Anava said: “even greater 10,000”
The significance of the 40 days coincides with the 40 days it took the spies to scout out the land of Israel. The mission began on the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. That date falls on Sunday, June 21. The spies’ mission lasted until the 9th of Av. The 9th of Av is notoriously known as a date of bad omens for the Jewish people including the destruction of the first and second temples.