Parashat Shlach

By Rabbi David Shasho

In Parashat Shelach we find that Klal Yisrael made a mistake. They sent the Meraglim to spy out the land even though Hashem had already clearly told them the land was good and that they were going to inherit it. Klal Yisrael didn’t listen. Rashi quotes a Gemara in Masechet Sotah that Hashem promised they would make a mistake because they didn’t trust him and because of this lack of trust they would be banned from entering Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Yaakov Naimon asks why they were given such a bad punishment for this mistake. To be banned from Eretz Yisrael and to die in the desert? Why so harsh? He answers that there are different levels of Emunah and belief in Hashem. The first level is that we all know and believe Hashem created the world. There is a higher level that everything we do and accomplish is all from Hashem. Whether it be strength,money, or wisdom, we believe it all comes from him. A level even higher than this is even when something incomprehensible happens to us and doesn’t fit with our logic, we still believe it’s all from Hashem. This is the real test of Emunah. This is what happened to the spies. We still suffer from their sin until today and every year on Tisha b’av we mourn for that which started from the spies. The spies walked into the land and saw people were dying everywhere and thought, “This doesn’t make any sense, Hashem said this is a good land!?”

The true test of emunah is when things don’t go as you planned and you don’t understand why things are happening. Do you still trust that there is a creator in the world running the show? When we left Egypt the Jewish people “believed in Hashem and in his servant Moshe.” So we did have Emunah/Faith, but on what level? The Jewish people wanted to get out of there anyway so it was a great idea to believe in Hashem and leave Egypt. This is a lower level of Emunah. Now they had to trust Hashem in a situation where they didn’t necessarily have an advantage.

The Ramban explains how Hashem runs the world. A person merits things based on the level he trusts in him. You get what you believe you get. If you rely on Hashem for everything you need, you will get everything you need. When you realize everything comes from Hashem everything will come from Hashem.

A woman had an older daughter who couldn’t find a Shidduch and nothing was working out. The Shadchan asked the mother, “How do you view your child?” She said, “My daughter is older and there isn’t much hope for her anymore. She will probably remain single the rest of her life.” The Shadchan responded, “You can’t think like that otherwise that’s how it will be. You need to believe that she can find the right one. You need to think it every day; you need to imagine your daughter in her wedding dress and that it will happen.” Hashem can do anything. That is what she did and not too long later she found her match.

Rabbi Yisroel Salanter said that if a person really believes he will win the lottery he will win! But it has to be one hundred percent belief. A man once came to him with a ticket and said, “Rebbe I am going to win the lottery.” The Rabbi asked him how much the ticket was worth and the man answered one hundred thousand dollars. The Rabbi offered to buy it from the man for eight hundred thousand dollars right now. The man agreed and Rabbi Yisroel knew the man didn’t really believe because if he really believed, why would he settle for less?

Let us always be positive and believe with all our hearts that Hashem is in control of every fiber of our lives and if we do, anything is possible. Whether it be in business, life matters, health, shidduchim…If you believe Hashem can do it, it can be done.

Shabbat Shalom