Malkie and I are very touched by the warm and kind wishes expressed to us following the birth of our son Eliyahu. We look forward to being able to reciprocate to you on many happy occasions.
This week’s Torah portion contains the tragic story of the Meraglim – spies. These men were dispatched to the Promised Land with instructions to scout the nature of the land, the people, the fruit, and the strength of their armies and cities. They returned with a negative report that addressed all those questions, which landed them in hot water and resulted in the people of Israel being stuck in the desert for 40 years. The obvious question is, why were they punished for telling the truth? They saw giants and cities with mighty armies. The fruit was unusually large and scary looking. All they did was tell it like it is. For that they were blacklisted forever? If the intent was just to have them rubberstamp G-d’s plan then why bother to send them at all?
They say that when you testify in court you are never to offer more than the answer to what is asked. For example, if the attorney asks “do you have the time” the answer is “yes” not “yes 10:30.” In the case of the spies, they overstepped their role and made a cardinal mistake. When Moses sent them to scout, all he wanted was a report on an answer to the questions. Their job was not to draw any conclusions based on the report. It was meant to be “we report, You (G-d) decide.” Erroneously they decided to add to the report by concluding “they are too strong for us (Him). The decision to conquer the land had already been made by G-d. They were supposed to offer clues as to the best way to implement that decision. The addition of drawing their own conclusion was not welcome.
There is a lesson to be learned here. Often we are faced with challenges to doing the right thing. Our job needs to be figuring out the best way to overcome those challenges. Concluding that the challenges make doing the right thing impossible is “above our pay grade.” At the end of the day we must remember that “doing the right thing” has Hashem on its side. Therefore even giant overwhelming challenges do not render anything out of reach.
On behalf of Chabad of Louisiana I extend deepest condolences to the Haspel/Stone/Berenson families on the passing of Mrs. Byrde Haspel. She lived a full long life and leaves a legacy of good to her family and community.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin