21 Jun ASK NOT WHETHER, BUT HOW WHY WERE THE SPIES CONDEMNED FOR REPORTING THE FACTS?

The difficult we

do immediately;

the impossible

takes a little

longer. —

G e n e r a l

Montgomery

The Hole in the Roof A rabbi stands

before his congregation and reports to

them that a massive hole has been

found in the roof of the synagogue.

“Now I have good news and bad

news for you,” the Rabbi continues.

“The good news is that we have the

money to repair it; the bad news is

that the money is in your pockets.” If

We Win? The story is told that years

ago the Israeli parliament, or

Knesset, convened an emergency

session to figure out a solution for the

Israeli economy. One brilliant

minister said, “Let’s declare war on

the U.S., and then, in the wake of the

utter destruction America will bring

upon us, we will receive billions of

dollars for reconstruction, like

Germany and Japan. “Sounds great,”

responded another member of the

Knesset. “One problem: What will

we do if we win the war?” Twelve

Jews on a Mission This week’s

portion, Shlach, tells the story of 12

men who were dispatched by Moses

from the desert to go and survey the

Land of Canaan and its inhabitants.

The purpose of their journey was to

prepare the Jewish people for the

subsequent conquest and settlement

of the Land. Upon discharging the

spies on their mission, Moses

presented them with a list of

questions they needed to answer.

“See the Land,” Moses said to them.

“How is it? And the nations that

dwell in it—are they strong or weak?

Are they few or numerous? And how

is the land in which they dwell—is it

good or bad? And how are the cities

in which they dwell—are they

open or are they fortified?”

When the twelve spies returned

from their 40-day tour of Israel

they presented to the people a

report of their findings. “We

arrived at the Land to which

you sent us,” the spies said,

“and indeed it flows with milk

and honey and this is its fruit.

But the people that dwell in the

land are powerful, the cities are

greatly fortified and we also saw the

offspring of the giants. We cannot

ascend to that people for it is too

strong for us,” the spies proclaimed.

The report demoralized the Jewish

nation and drained it of the

motivation to enter the Land. As a

result, the spies died in a pandemic

and the entire generation died in the

desert, never making it into the

Promised Land. Only 39 years later,

in the year 1276 B.C.E., did the

children and grandchildren of this

generation cross the borders and

settle the Promised Land. Kill

the Messenger? One of the many

questions raised by biblical

commentators concerns the

reason for the spies receiving

punishment. Moses gave them a

detailed list of questions about

the Land; he instructed them to

make their own observations as

to what will await the people

upon their arrival. This is exactly

what the spies did. They came

back with an answer to all of

Moses’ questions and reported

what they perceived to be the

reality. If Moses expected them

to cover up their observations —

that the Land was inhabited by

mighty men and its cities were

greatly fortified — he should

have never sent them in the first

place! Why were the men faulted

for relating what they had seen?

Introducing Paralysis The

answer is that if the spies had

merely related to the people the

reality of the situation as they

saw it, everything would have

been fine. But they did more

than that. They used the

difficulties they observed as an

excuse to capitulate in the face of

crisis. Had the spies returned and

said, “Hey guys, we have seen a

mighty people and well-protected

cities in the Land, so now we need to

devise an effective strategy of how to

go about our challenging mission,”

they would have fulfilled their task

splendidly. The moment they

responded to the obstacles by saying

“We cannot do it anymore,” they

swayed an entire people to abandon

their Hashem-given destiny. The

spies are condemned for substituting

the legitimate and important question

“how will we do it” with the

despairing and helpless conclusion

“we can never do it!” Conquering

Your Darkness Each of us has a

domain in our life that needs to be

conquered, a terrain that needs to be

transformed into a “holy land.” Some

of us need to battle fear, insecurity,

temptation, addiction, or shame. We

must confront trauma or challenges

within our marriages and families.

Since the challenges that lay in

recovery’s path are at times

frightening, we are naturally tempted

to believe that we are incapable of

overcoming our darkness and we

surrender to the obstacles. The

feeling is understandable, but if you

surrender to it, it will rob you of the

opportunity to liberate your life and

arrive at your personal “Promised

Land.” The option of resignation

compels you to remain stuck in a

barren desert made up of shame,

insecurity, and weakness. The

question ought never to be, “can I do

it?” The resources to repair the hole

in our personal roof are always

present. Every problem can be dealt

with. Hashem has sent you into each

of your life’s journeys with the power

to bring light into your darkness, and

discover your own inner infinity, as a

Divine ambassador of love, light, and

hope. The only legitimate question

is, “how do I do it?”