As we all know, Parashat Shlach Lecha begins with the story of the twelve spies sent by Moshe Rabbeinu to see if the land was barren or fertile, inhabited or desolate. The spies return after 40 days of scouting the land with mixed news. On one hand, they report that the land was flowing with milk and honey, but on the other hand, they disparagingly warned that the inhabitants were too strong to be defeated. They described the dwellers as giants, adding that they felt like grasshoppers in comparison, and that the giants perceived them similarly.
This was their first sin, as they failed to understand that their role was not merely to record and report objectively what they saw, but also to view the land through the lens of HaShem’s promise that it would be given to them, no matter what. Furthermore, these ten spies could have kept their lack of Emunah to themselves instead of spreading it to the rest of Am Yisrael. Had they done so, all of Am Yisrael might have been spared the punishment of wandering for 40 years. They could have simply shared their concerns with Moshe and sought his guidance on how to address the people without disheartening them.
At the end of the Parasha, we learn about the very special mitzvah of wearing Tzitzit. I would like to suggest that there is a strong connection between this mitzvah and the sin of the spies. Regarding Tzitzit, it says, “Uritem oto, u’zechartem et kol Mitzvotay - You shall see them and remember all of My commandments.” The Torah tells us that Tzitzit serve as the ultimate reminder, a mitzvah with the power to bring all commandments to our attention. Additionally, the Torah adds “VeLo Taturu Achrei Levavchem VeAchrei Eneichem - and you will not be misled by your heart and your eyes.”
It is not by chance that this mitzvah is written in the same Parasha as the story of the spies. In both cases, it says, “U’Ritem - You shall see.” For the spies, it says, “You shall see the land,” and for Tzitzit, it says, “You shall see them [the Tzitzit].” After the terrible mistake of the spies viewing the land only at face value, the Torah teaches us the proper way of viewing things through the commandment of Tzitzit.
The Tzitzit teach us to transform something seemingly simple into something very spiritual. This also explains why women don’t have to wear Tzitzit, as they were not part of this sin. In fact, the Kli Yakar writes that HaShem said, so to speak, that it would have been better to send women to spy the land than to send men.
I would like to end with a story about viewing things in the right way. Once, the Chafetz Chaim was traveling with his Talmid. On the way, they got a bit hungry and stopped at an inn in that town. After confirming that everything was kosher, they sat down to eat. At that point, the Chafetz Chaim was very well known, and it was a great honor for the host to have the Chafetz Chaim dine at his inn.
After they finished the meal, the host asked if the food was satisfactory. The Chafetz Chaim said that the food was very delicious and thanked him. His student also said the food was good but mentioned that it lacked salt.
As soon as the host left, the Chafetz Chaim got very upset with his Talmid. The Talmid didn’t understand what he had done wrong. The Chafetz Chaim explained that the host would go to the back and yell at the cook because of this, causing her to become upset and possibly be fired. She would go home without money to feed her children. All this suffering would be caused by a small complaint about a little salt.
The student questioned how the Chafetz Chaim could predict this and whether he was a prophet. The Chafetz Chaim responded that he was not, but he could foresee the consequences. He took his student to the kitchen, where they saw a lady about to leave with tears in her eyes, just as the Chafetz Chaim had predicted. This is the vision and foresight of a Gadol, to see beyond the physical surface. This is where the spies failed.
May we all have a positive view of things, and may HaShem give us the strength to turn seemingly negative situations into positive ones through our Emunah and trust in HaShem in every step of our lives, Amen.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Eliyahu Tal