This week’s perashah is called Shelah—“Send.” The children of Yisrael have arrived at the southern border of the Promised Land, after spending so long in the wilderness. They have undergone many trials and have had to adapt to desert life. At last, they stand at the edge of the land “flowing with milk and honey.” The Eternal—praised be He—commands Moshe:

“Send for yourself men to scout the land of Kena‘an, which I am giving to the children of Yisrael.”

Our teacher Moshe chooses twelve leaders—one from each tribe of Yisrael.

Previously, Yitro had advised Moshe to appoint men of integrity and courage over every group of ten, fifty, hundred, and thousand. Now, Moshe chooses twelve men with those same traits. The Torah tells us how the scouts entered the land and witnessed the blessing of Heaven upon it. However, they perceived obstacles in acquiring it:

“And they spoke ill to the children of Yisrael about the land they had explored, saying: The land through which we passed to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it were men of great stature” (Bamidbar 13:32).

The commentator Rashi explains that they saw funeral processions everywhere. Seeing this, they lost heart and returned with an evil report of the Land. This attitude is common among those who lack emunah—faithful obedience. They always perceive things as being against them. As our Sages say:

“Ha-posel, be-mumo posel”—“One who disqualifies, does so through his own flaw.”

In psychology, this is called projection. A person may react to crisis in one of four ways:

  1. By projecting their faults onto others (projection)
  2. By repressing their emotions
  3. By blinding themselves to reality so as not to feel
  4. By facing the pain and surviving the crisis

Apparently, the leaders Moshe sent did not have sufficient emunah to conquer the Land. As a result, they blamed Moshe and the Eternal for having brought them so far. Here we see two kinds of leaders: Yehoshua and Kalev, on one side—men of faith—and the other ten, weak and afraid.

A true leader does not show signs of fear before the people, for his words have the power to either strengthen or destroy the hopes of those who follow him. Aḏonay—praised be He—expects us to trust in His words and wonders every day. But it is we who block ourselves from receiving what He promises.

Consider how elephants are trained through physical and psychological subjugation. For months, they are held by thick chains. Once trained, a simple straw rope is enough to keep them bound. Why don’t they try to break free? Because they are mentally chained. Many of us are just like that—imagining giants, inventing obstacles, when in fact, freedom is right in front of us.

Recall the words of Yosef in Mitsrayim when he reunited with his brothers:

“What you intended for evil, Aḏonay transformed for good.”

May it be the will of Heaven that we may live with emunah, and receive the blessings ahead of us without fear.

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