09 Jun SHLACH: WHAT OTHERS THINK

The meraglim
told Klal Yisrael
about the giants
who lived in Eretz
Canaan. They said
(13:33), “We felt
like grasshoppers,
and that is how they
perceived us.”
The Midrash states,
“Hakadosh Baruch
Hu forgave them
for saying ‘We felt like grasshoppers,’
but Hashem didn’t forgive them for
saying ‘that’s how they perceived us.’
Hakadosh Baruch Hu told them, ‘How
do you know which impression I had
them think of you? Perhaps they thought
you are angels?’”
This is a crucial lesson. Many people
have a low self-image and think everyone
looks down on them. Other people’s
opinions are very important to them,
and when others think negatively of
them, it hurts them immensely. But one

never knows what others are thinking.
Perhaps Hashem put into the hearts of
others to look up to you and to consider
you special. Maybe they even think you
are like a malach. Why do you think so
poorly of yourself?
Thinking good about yourself is essential
because this will encourage you to act
in a proper way. If you think lowly of
yourself, you will likely fall to sin and
bad middos.
The Chidushei HaRim zt’l explains
that the negative image of the people
in the desert was their primary sin,
which caused them to sin with the
meraglim. Therefore, Moshe told the
meraglim “strengthen yourselves…”
Moshe understood that they have
negative self-esteem, and they have to
strengthen themselves and think better
of themselves.
The Sfas Emes asks that the Gemara
(Sotah 35.) states that the meraglim
heard the Canaanites say, “We see

people; they look
like ants, crawling
in the vineyards.” It
seems that it wasn’t
only the meraglim’s
imagination. They
actually heard the
Canaanites looking
down at them, thinking
of them like insects.
The Sfas Emes answers
that the problem began
with their negative
self-perception. This
influenced others to
look at them. “Since
they were small in their
own eyes, and they
consider themselves
like grasshoppers, this caused others to
see them that way.”
This happens often. The way one views
himself is what he portrays to others.
Since they considered themselves small,
this caused others to see them as small.

Had they believed in themselves, the
Canaanites would have respected them
more. Perhaps they would even consider
them like malachim. But they looked
down at themselves, which is how others
viewed them, too.