The Tragedy of the "Meraglim" - Historians and Revisionists

In Parshat Shelach, we read of the tragedy of the "Meraglim," the unfaithful and disloyal spies, the "revisionists" who sought, successfully, to negate Jewish History up till that point.  We see that the modern phenomenon occurring in the State of Israel is not really new; rather, it existed from the beginning of Jewish History, and testifies to the fragility of man's memory and of his faith in HaShem. 

There is a universal tendency not to feel gratitude; to imagine that one's accomplishments are attributable to one's own genius, or power or skill.  Or the self-destructive attitude that one's righteous cause is not truly just.  As David HaMelech put it, "Kol HaAdam Kozev," "Everyman seeks to negate the Truth." (Psalms 116:11)

Origins of Disaster

We can see the seeds of disaster from the beginning of the Project. It is a large group that is being sent - one can imagine the fanfare, the send-off party, the roar of approval from the crowd at the departure of the brave group of leaders who have the "right stuff."

We shall see the contrast in the Haftarah, where "Meraglim" were also sent out, but there quietly, in secret; only the leader of the People, Yehoshua, knew about it.  In the words of the Talmud, "Blessing is found only in that which is hidden from the eye."

Fruit of Disaster

When the "Meraglim," the Spies of the Parshah, come back from their mission, they readily admit to the half-truth of what HaShem and Moshe had promised… "We came to the Land to which you sent us, and truly it is a land flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit." (Bamidbar 13:27)  And they display the beautiful fruit of the Land. 

But then they throw in the poison, "Ephes," "Zero," - the beauty of the Land means nothing! (The word "Ephes" is so strong that it entered the World of our Prayer in the "Aleinu" Prayer, where we say, "Our King is true, there is 'Ephes,' absolutely nothing, beside Him).  "Ki Az HaAm," the People in the Land are fierce, … and we saw giants there, …, Amalek lives in the south and the Chitim, the Yevusim and the Emori inhabit the mountains, …"

Kalev ben Yephuneh of the Tribe of Yehudah, who along with Yehoshua, representing Ephraim, were the only spies who remained loyal to HaShem, silenced the People.  The Torah uses a strong word, "VaYahas," similar in sound to "Ephes."  This is the word used by the Prophet Chavakuk when he says, "And the L-rd is in the Habitation of His Holiness - Be silent before Him, all the earth!

Kalev confidently assures the People, "Alo Na'Aleh V'Yarashnu Otah," "Let us surely go up and conquer the Land," "Ki yachol nuchal lah," "for we can surely defeat them!" (Bamidbar 13:30)  I remember hearing that great expression from the mouth of Moshe Dayan, General of the Israel Defense Forces, on the eve of the Six Day War, when he rallied the People of Israel at that incredibly tense time.

But Kalev's great expression of faith is drowned out by his "colleagues," "But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We will not be able to overcome the People there, for it is stronger than we are."  (Bamidbar 13:31)  RASHI goes so far as to say that the word they used, "mimenu," referred not to the Jewish People, but to Almighty G-d Himself, blasphemously asserting that the Nations of Canaan were more powerful than G-d!

Instead of the confidence and pride they should have felt in being the "Chosen People," and therefore not being subject to defeat, they heard "And we were in our eyes as grasshoppers, and so were we in their eyes." (Bamidbar 13:33)

How quick the transition from "And they believed in HaShem and in Moshe, His servant." (Sehmot 14:31) to the cowardice and unfaithfulness of "And the People wept that night… Why is HaShem bringing us into the Land where we will fall by the sword; our wives and our children will be taken captive; … let us turn around and return to Egypt." (Bamidbar 14:1,3-4)

What is the defense against this tendency towards ingratitude and faithlessness?

It is by remembering our glorious history of close association with HaShem; remembering our Exodus from Egypt all the days of our lives.  "That you may remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your life." (Pesach Haggadah)  Day and night, in this world and the next!

In our time, we should fight, with all the means at our disposal, against those who,  with unbelievable "chutzpah" deny events within our own memory: the Holocaust,  the unending hostility of the Arab Nations, the miraculous rise of the State of Israel in  the face of impossible odds, the great miracle of the Six Day War and the Capture of Yerushalayim.

"For Your Miracles are with us every day, and Your Wonders and Your Goodness are with us at all times - evening, and morning and afternoon." (from the "Modim" (We Thank You) Prayer of the Shemoneh Esray)

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel