פרשת שלח
In this week’s parsha the Jewish people sent out spies to scout the land. The purpose of the mission was to report what they saw. Moshe told the spies to take note of the people, were they strong or weak? He also told the spies to take note of the land itself, was it good or bad, how difficult would it be to conquer the land? The spies journeyed to Eretz Yisrael and came back with the following report: the land was beautiful. However, the spies reported that there was “zero” chance that the Jewish People could conquer Eretz Yisrael because the inhabitants were giants and their cities had state-of-the-art fortifications. In the final analysis, the dream of living in Eretz Yisrael would have to be abandoned. As a result of this report, the spies were punished severely and died gruesome deaths.
What did the spies do wrong? They were sent to report what they saw and they gave an accurate report! Why should they be punished for fulfilling their mission?
The Ramban says that the problem wasn’t what the spies said, but how they said it. It’s true that conquering was going to be a tough job. However, claiming that there was zero chance of victory denied Hashem’s omnipotence, which had a tremendous impact on others causing them to weaken their bitachon. This was what warranted the brutal punishment of the spies. Rav Hanoch Leibowitz comments on this Ramban that we see from here the great power even one word (efes — “zero”) can have on a person. Even in the matter of trust in Hashem, upon which we Torah Jews build our entire lives, one single word can have a great effect. Therefore, we should be cautious with our words and be aware of the effect the things we say may have on other people. The Tiferes Yisrael says in the 3rd chapter of Pirkei Avos that when one talks with others his primary goal should be to bring the other person closer to Hashem. Therefore, we should be very careful that our words don’t achieve the opposite, has v’shalom. The Steipler, Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, writes in Chayei Olam that even though the purpose of his book was to strengthen and clarify principles of belief for the reader, he had to leave out many important points because they involved the discussion of the rejection of heretical ideas. Just to expose a person to such ideas, even for the important purpose of discrediting them, writes Rav Kanievsky, can be to some people incredibly harmful and is therefore not generally permitted. Even for one who is not struggling with matters of belief, just one thought of heresy crossing his mind can damage his bitachon. Rav Kanievsky continues, noting that just to read one book or one article in a newspaper can negatively impact a person for years. Indeed, the Steipler says that this is the primary reason the youth have such difficulties with these issues. They are not cognizant of the fragility of their emunah, and as a result are not careful to guard it properly.
Furthermore, we shouldn’t only be cautious regarding outside influences, we must also be vigilant about our influence on ourselves. The Michtav Me’Eliyahu says that a person himself can weaken his own trust in HaShem by being overly involved in their earnest efforts to succeed in life in Olam HaZeh. This can cause them to lose sight of the omnipotence of Our Creator and the reality that it is He who runs the world. The Michtav Me’Eliyahu brings the Ramban, who says that even though sending out the spies seems like the normal effort required to conquer the Land, this was in fact the Jews’ first mistake. Hashem did great miracles for the Jewish people the entire time they were in the desert. Now he was telling them to enter Eretz Yisrael. What were they so worried about – hadn’t they experienced all the supernatural miracles since leaving Egypt? Hashem was with them every step! Despite this, they chose not to rely on Hashem for their success and instead to trust their own cunning strategies to succeed. This was their sin – they should have trusted in G-d! At their level, they should have known that they did not need to make these extra efforts, which caused a weakening in their trust in Hashem. The Michtav Me’Eliyahu writes that on our level we also have an obligation to make appropriate efforts, without ever denying our reliance on Hashem. If a person focuses too heavily on his own efforts, he may unwittingly decrease his emunah. From Parshas Meraglim, we see how careful one must be in balancing his reliance on Hashem and the efforts Hashem requires of him. Every person must contemplate whether he personally is still putting his faith in Hashem, or in his own efforts instead.
So what can one do to strengthen his faith in Hashem and ensure that he is not overemphasizing his own efforts? The Ramchal writes in Derech Hashem (section 4 chapter 5) about this very struggle. G-d put man in a world that envelopes him in spiritual darkness. The world requires man to exert himself to survive, which creates a risk of being overly involved in these endeavors. However, Hashem gave us a remedy: shachris. We should reframe our outlook on life and realize that davening itself is really the most critical instrument leading to our success. In other words, we should view our morning prayers as our primary effort, while our other activities during the day are only secondary. When we begin our day davening to Hashem for all that we need, we should realize that anything that happens today is in G-d’s hands. No one has the power to help us or hurt us without Hashem allowing it. Whether we want to learn well today or to close a business deal, the most important effort is our davening! Certainly,when a person lives with this view of life, he will always be aware of his dependence on Hashem. The Chazon Ish gives similar advice, saying that a person can greatly strengthen his relationship with G-d if he trains himself to daven for things constantly. If a person takes even a moment before going to work to say, “Hashem, please help me be successful today,” and thank Hashem for every gift that comes his way, he conditions himself to have trust in Hashem, and not in his own efforts.
My father of blessed memory would constantly work to make sure that his faith in G-d wasn’t slipping. After my father passed away, we discovered many letters that he wrote to himself that contained vows he took upon himself, and also words of self-rebuke. One of the notes he wrote which left a deep impression on me was one in which he was rebuking himself for being afraid. “How can you be afraid when Hashem is with you?” he wrote. Through this, he strengthened his deep connection and complete reliance on G-d. If we really believe Hashem is taking care of us, what do we have to be afraid of? Nothing is impossible and as long as we are doing Hashem’s mitzvos we have nothing to fear. Just rely on the Kodesh Baruch Hu, and the the Kodesh Baruch Hu will certainly take care of our needs. As Dovid HaMelech said in Tehillim 23, “I will not fear evil, for you are with me.”
May we all be zoche to have the strength to completely trust in Hashem!!!