JHI Devar Torah on Parshat Shelach

PARSHAT SHELACH – SUBCONSCIOUS INFLUENCES AND SUDDEN DOWNFALL
By Rabbi Dov Berish Ganz

Much of Parshat Shelach deals with the tragic story of the spies that the Jews sent to scout the land of Israel.

G-d had promised that the Children of Israel would inherit the Land of Israel. Yet, as the Jews were about to conclude their triumphant march from Egypt to the Holy Land, they began to doubt the certainty of this outcome. So, they appointed 12 people - one from each tribe – to secretly enter Israel and ascertain whether its inhabitants could be defeated. Upon returning, the spies denounced Israel and G-d’s assurance that it could be conquered. This turned the hearts of the people against The Almighty. Other than two individuals (Yehoshua and Calev) and the entire Tribe of Levi, all of the Jews spent a night weeping over the fact that they were now facing this ‘situation.’ The calendar date of that fateful night was the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, i.e. Tisha B’Av.

For this sin, the entire Jewish Nation was punished. Instead of entering Israel immediately, they were made to first wander in the desert for 40 years. During that period, the entire generation that was supportive of the spies perished, and only their children merited entering Israel. Throughout Jewish history, Tisha B’Av became a day of communal misfortune, fasting, and mourning. Over the centuries several major national catastrophes occurred on Tisha B’Av. Notable among them was the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.

What was the character of the people who precipitated such tragedy? Surprisingly, the Midrash writes that due to their singular piety, these people wehad been previously designated as the princes of each of the tribes. The Midrash (Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar, 16:5) writes further that whenever Moshe (Moses) selected one of the princes as the spy who would represent his tribe, he then consulted with G-d who concurred that the person chosen was indeed supremely righteous. This was the ‘Dor Deah,’ the G-dly generation that beheld the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation at Mt Sinai, and these 12 men were among the most righteous members of that entire group.

How could such supremely devout individuals become involved in such supremely terrible wrongdoing? The Zohar (Targum Zohar 3:158 – quoted in the Chumash Otzar Hamidrashim) explains that the spies fell prey to bad (or evil) counsel. They reasoned that as long as the Jews remained in the desert, they would continue serving as their princes. Once everyone entered Israel, however, they themselves would no longer be qualified to serve in those exalted positions. Moshe would therefore appoint other princes in their place. This led them to speak critically as a way of dissuading the Jews from entering Israel.

The previous question remains unanswered. If these 12 individuals were so truly righteous, how could they sin so egregiously? The fact that they acted in order to protect their jobs is hardly an answer. People of integrity – let alone of extreme piety – do not inflict catastrophe upon a nation for such selfish reasons.

In truth, this type of question can be posed about other incidents in the Torah. For example, when an Angel told Sarah the wife of Avraham (Abraham) that she would bear her first child at the age of 90, the Torah relates that she did not believe it (Bereishit 18:12). Traditionally observant Jews have always accepted that The Almighty can do anything. This is echoed in the old Yiddish expression: “Ven Go-t vil, shissed ah baisem.” (When G-d so desires, a broom shoots.) Sarah’s measure of faith in G-d was far beyond that of the average “traditionally observant Jew.” Her level of prophecy exceeded even that of her great husband (Rashi, Bereishit 21:12). If so, why did she not believe that G-d could grant her a child?

When it comes to such questions, I have a tradition on this matter from my Rebbe (primary teacher of Torah) who received it from his Rebbe who received it from his Rebbe, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel - AKA the Alter of Slabodka (1849-1927). To apply this tradition to understanding the case of Parshat Shelach…

One must say that without question, the once righteous spies fully believed that as G-d had promised, the land could have been conquered. Furthermore, they would have never knowingly sinned in order to retain their jobs and they would have never blasphemed G-d and His Holy Land for almost any reason. People of far lesser spiritual stature would not act in this manner, and the same is all the more true of such great individuals.

Nevertheless, there were apparently legitimate questions and concerns over how exactly their findings should have been presented. As they themselves said, from a practical perspective, the conquest would be extremely difficult. Among other obstacles, there were giants who dwelled in Israel who alone could have defeated all of the Jews in conventional battle. How could these facts and realities be presented truthfully without creating a nation-wide outbreak of fear and panic? Evidently, those great people had the wisdom and integrity to do just that. Somehow, they had the capacity to faithfully report what they beheld while at the same time not turning the people away from Hashem.

However, it remained true that their leadership positions might have been lost had the Jews entered Israel. This created within them an unseen and subconscious bias. Once a bias is present, one’s objectivity is compromised. It becomes like the case of a judge who accepted a generous bribe from one of two litigants appearing before him for a lawsuit; objectivity becomes impossible. In the case of the spies, their bias led them to exaggerate, however slightly, the difficulties that the Jews would face when attempting to conquer Israel. That additional and untrue measure of doubting Hashem’s ‘Promise and Prowess’ snowballed into an outright panic during which all of the people involved, including the spies themselves, began to openly doubt the Power of Hashem. Eventually, a great national tragedy ensued.

This demonstrates the sudden and extreme damage that can be caused by hidden biases. As already alluded to in this Dvar, the Torah describes other sinning of great people that is explained by attributing the mistakes to unseen biases. For example, the Midrash writes that Joseph’s righteous brothers decided to sell him into slavery in Egypt because of jealousy. Their father gave Joseph alone the coat of many colors. That jealousy was subconscious and undetected, but it could have taken hold over an extended period of time. Furthermore, in the end, it “only” resulted in Joseph being sold. In the instance of Parshat Shelach, however, the Zohar writes that the spies “took bad counsel.” They reasoned that if they denounced Israel upon their return, they could keep their jobs. The implication is that this was the first time that such thoughts entered their minds (albeit subconsciously). The resulting damage was enormous. The spies themselves and an entire generation of the Jewish people perished.

It is positively frightening. Without warning, an unseen bias can suddenly take hold within the human mind and quickly lead to personal and worldwide devastation.


How can one combat the unseen mind-bending influences of bias? In fact, this is an entirely separate subject. One concluding thought that can be mentioned is the Talmudic phrase: “On each and every day, man’s evil inclination overpowers him and seeks to destroy him, and were it not for the fact that The Almighty helps, man would be incapable of resisting this onslaught” (Talmud, Succah, 52a). It is indeed true that a man alone cannot avoid falling prey to the unseen mind-bending influence of bias. But man is not alone. With sincerity, devotion, and prayer, one can merit Hashem’s Protection from Above against biases (and other temptations to sin as well).