This week's parsha contains the episode of the spies. The Meraglim were sent to scout the Land of Israel, for the future settling of the Jewish People there. G-d comes to Moshe saying: “Send forth for yourself men, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan” (Bamidbar 13:2). Noting the interesting additional phrase לך (for you), Rashi quotes the Midrash Tanchuma which says that the idea to send out the spies was not a commandment from Hashem – rather it was a response to the people's request to do so.
When the spies come back, all of them (aside from Yehoshua Bin Nun and Calev Ben Yefuneh) deliver negative reports of Eretz Yisrael. Thoroughly scaring the Nation, the Meraglim cast doubt in the hearts of the people about entering the Land.
The Torah recounts the entire response of the Nation:
“The people wept that night. All the Children of Israel murmured against Moshe and Aharon, and the entire assembly said to them, “If only that we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only that we had died in the wilderness! Why is Hashem bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and young children will be taken captive! Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt!’ (ibid. 14:1-4).
Distressed upon hearing the Nation's hysterical response, “Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before the entire congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel” (ibid. 5).
In analyzing the verses, there seem to be two parts or stages of the Nation's response to the report of the Meraglim. The Nation first responds by speaking to Moshe and Aharon and questioning why G-d would bring them out to the desert to die. They also add “Is it better not for us to return to Egypt?” That is the first stage. In the second stage, they speak amongst themselves and act upon their doubts: “They said to one another ‘let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt!’”
Towards which part is Moshe and Aharon’s response? One might have expected Moshe and Aharon to react to stage one – to the blasphemous statements hurled towards them. However, it seems from the pesukim that they “fell on their faces” only directly after B’nei Yisrael said, “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt.” The fact that B’nei Yisrael were doubting Hashem did not immediately elicit the great distress of Moshe and Aharon. Rather, only once the Nation expressed the desire to appoint a new leader did they respond in such a fashion. What was it about this second stage that so greatly distressed Moshe and Aharon more than the first?
I would like to suggest the following: One could reason that the initial fear of the people was not only understandable, but perhaps even justifiable. The response of hysteria to the fear-mongering reports would be natural, especially when we examine the intentions of the Meraglim. The Midrashim are rife with explanations impugning the motives of the spies; how they added superfluous details just in order to scare the Nation. For example, the spies mention: “Amalek dwells in the area of the south” (ibid. 13:29). Rashi quotes the Midrash Tanchuma that points to their ulterior motives for mentioning Amalek: “Since they [B’nei Yisrael] had already been ‘burned’ by Amalek, [i.e. previously having had a war with them] the spies mentioned it in order to strike fear in them.” Is it any surprise, then, that the Nation was indeed scared?
However, the test of life is not about how we initially react, but how we let that affect us. The mistake the people made was not in being afraid; the mistake was letting that fear overtake them, and lead them down a path of devastation. This is, in my opinion, the key to understanding Moshe and Aharon's response. Moshe and Aharon implicitly felt that for the Nation to respond in fear and worry was ultimately justifiable – how could they react any differently to such terrifying news? However, when they heard the people conspire and say: “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt!”– that conclusion elicited Moshe and Aharon’s intense reaction. This was, in fact, devastating. That the people, rather than confront their fear and filter it through their logical thought processes (which if they had done they would have surely recalled G-d’s unending devotion to them), followed their fear down the dark and winding road towards blasphemy, leading them to conclude to return to Egypt. This response was unforgivable, and would ultimately barr this generation from entering the Land of Israel.*
Too often we guilt ourselves when we don't initially respond the way we would like. But that is not always the test! Sometimes, our challenges are too difficult and we cannot expect more of ourselves. However, what is in our hands is if we let that emotion or fear overtake us, causing us to come to false judgements and conclusions about the world, the people we love, but more so – ourselves. Sometimes all that is needed is for us to slow down, give ourselves and others a chance, and make our decisions with a level-head. And when we think it through, we can be confident in the knowledge that Hashem is always with us.
Shabbat Shalom
*So great was the Nation’s unwarranted panic and crying, it would serve as the catalyst for our national cry of thousands of years: Tisha B’Av. The Gemara in Ta’anit (29a) tells us: “That night was the night of the Ninth of Av. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: You wept needlessly that night, and I will therefore establish for you a true tragedy over which there will be weeping in future generations.” It is interesting to note that what is highlighted as their sin is that they “wept needlessly”. In light of our explanation, their weeping would not have been needless had they allowed it to lead them towards greater faith and reliance upon G-d. However, since their weeping only resulted in furthering them from G-d and taking negative action, it retroactively was characterized as needless.
