What the spies saw – Sh’lach L’cha
Twelve men, a delegation drawn from all the tribes of Israel, enter Canaan to investigate the land. They are impressed with its physical features and fertility. They call it “a land flowing with milk and honey”.
But when they come to Hebron, something scares ten out of the twelve. They now see no hope of conquering the inhabitants. Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb, remain optimistic.
What happens at Hebron?
The ten acknowledge it is a great, historic city. But they are intimidated by its giant inhabitants. Their spirit defeated, they believe it is useless to proceed.
But Joshua and Caleb? The giants they see, says Rashi, are spiritual giants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, buried in Machpelah. They lag behind the main party in order to seek the counsel of the patriarchs.
Perhaps Abraham says to them: “To me came the command to take my son and ascend the mountain of Moriah. Did I know we would both emerge alive? Yet duty is duty; it has to be done, however daunting. For you, the tribes of Israel, performing your God-given role and bravely settling the land will not be easy, but I beg of you, emulate my faith and go ahead.”
From Isaac comes this message: “What did I do when l needed water? l patiently dug again my father’s wells even though the Philistines had stopped them up. Like me, you must urge the people to persevere. There will be opposition, but that is no excuse to melt away. If what you are doing is commanded by God, you have to overcome obstacles and persevere.”
Jacob’s says: “I made a vow that if God went with me on my way, then I would always go with Him on his way. Joshua and Caleb, God will indeed accompany you and the Children of Israel. You will not be alone. He will be with you; be with Him and make His way your way.”
Reinforced in their faith and optimism, Joshua and Caleb rejoin their colleagues and try to persuade them to go ahead and enter the land. But the ten spies and the people will not be persuaded. The conquest of the land has to wait until the pessimistic generation dies out,
The lesson Joshua and Caleb learned speaks to our generation, for we too have had fearfully difficult tasks in the post-Holocaust era. We have had to build and upbuild Israel and protect it against impossible odds. We have had to give Judaism a new lease of life after losing so many centres of Jewish intensity.
We could have gone for the soft option and said It was too hard to create a Jewish state, too hard to reconstruct Judaism, But that would have betrayed our ancestors and denied our children. It would also have impoverished the world.
Joshua and Caleb waited for a better time; we cannot and dare not wait. Our motto has to echo the Perek, Im lo achshav, ematai -“If not now, when?”
