By Shalom Olensky
This week in the Torah:
Moses sends twelve prominent Jews to scout out the Land (to be) of Israel. They return, ten of them with a negative report which resonates amongst the nation, despite the efforts of the remaining two emissaries who give a positive report.
So severe was this lack of faith in the eyes of G-d that that date (the ninth of Av) was set as a day of mourning for generations, and that generation died out in the desert with only their wives and children entering the Holy Land.
This week in the Torah is called “Send” – G-d’s assent to Moses’ request (on behalf of the nation) to send the aforementioned scouts.
Question:
After this story is told, this week in the Torah contains many major Mitzvos (Divine Commandments) including the Mitzvah of Tzitzis (to apply a special fringe to each of the four corners on a four-cornered garment worn by day) – a Mitzvah said to remind us of all the Mitzvos.
Why, then, is the Torah-given title for this week in the Torah (“Send”) a word which seems to only reflect the aforementioned story but not the behavioral instructions this week in the Torah?
Answer:
The story indeed contains lessons of great import to the fulfilling of all the Torah and its Mitzvos…
Question:
What was the sin of the negative report on the Land? The scouts were actually instructed to report what they saw, which they did!
Answer:
The sin was in their conclusion that due to the circumstances, it would be impossible to take the Land. This was unfaithful to G-d’s Commandment that they were to, indeed, take the Land. Although the scouts were sent to evaluate, it was not to decide destiny based on the laws of nature. Rather it was to plot out, to the extent that nature would allow, the certain-to-be fulfillment of G-d’s command to take the Land. Nature must be employed, but reliance is meant to be placed on G-d alone.
Explanation:
Surely, a human being, “of flesh and blood,” would not command someone to do something if there was not certainty in the capabilities of the agent to fulfill the command.
All the more so the Creator, Righteous and Kind G-d Almighty does not ask of a person what the person cannot fulfill.
Hence:
The lesson of great import from the aforementioned story. Crucial to overcoming the intermittent challenges to Torah and Mitzvah fulfillment is the consciousness that G-d empowers each and every one of us with all the faculties and tools necessary to carry out His Commandments.
(Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. 13, Shlach)
