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    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?”