“The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father’s tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst.” So, Moses sent them from the desert of Paran by the word of the Lord. All of them were men of distinction; they were the heads of the children of Israel … These are the names of the men Moses sent to scout the Land, and Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua (Bamidbar 13:1-3, 16).”

We have all had ideas that in the moment appeared to be good and solid and in retrospect were flawed and impetuous. Our ancestors were just a few steps away from the actualization of the promise Hashem had made to Avraham. The Land we had dreamed of and pined for was within arm’s reach. Moshe appointed tribal representatives to go in and scout the land. The goal, to bring back necessary reconnaissance information and inspire the people to enter, engage, and conquer the land. Before dispatching the scouts, Moshe pulled Hoshea aside and gave him a special blessing in which he changed Hoshea’s name to Yehoshua. The commentaries are intrigued by the meaning and timing of this name change, but I want to focus your attention on a moving passage in the Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin Chapter 2):

Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Acha: The (letter) YUD that God took from the matriarch Sarah’s name (Sarah was originally Sarai) came and prostrated itself in front of God and said, ‘Master of the Universe, You have uprooted me from the name of this great and pious women, what will be with me? God explains, ‘Do not fear, in the past you were the last letter in (Sarah’s) name, now you will be the first.’

The Rabbis explain that the letter “YUD” which was added to Hoshea to make it Yehoshua was the YUD removed from Sarai’s name when she became Sarah. What is the connection between Sarah and Yehoshua? There are many approaches, but there is something else I would like to focus on. What intrigued me most was the distressed YUD. The YUD is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Perhaps, the YUD represents the YID (Jew in Yiddish). There are times in life when we feel so small, times in life when we feel insignificant and then when we finally manage to achieve some level of connection, it is often taken from us as a result of circumstances beyond our control.

There are so many within our community who feel marginalized and small. There are those battling mental illness whose scars are not visible on the outside. Yet, day after day, these individuals and their families face overwhelming challenges that at times seem insurmountable. There are those who have difficulties with life relationships. Men and women who have so much love to give but can’t seem to find the right way to express their feelings or don’t have a partner who is receptive. There are those who struggle financially and feel trapped in their mountain of debt and obligation. And of course, there is the community of cholim (those who are physically ill) whose life and the lives of their family members focus on treatments, appointments, trials, and clinical studies, desperate to find the cure that can restore health and normalcy. There are many beautiful and holy YUDs who are struggling and are trying to find their way. And often, these YUDs open their hearts before God and say, “Ribbono Shel Olam (Master of the Universe), I feel so lost; I feel so listless. I thought I had a place in this world, and now I am not sure.” To which God responds, “My dear YUD, I promise there is greatness and beauty waiting for you. You feel like you are at the end of your rope, I promise you that your circumstances represent new opportunities for growth and self-actualization.”

The YUD may be the smallest letter, but it has incredible power and potential. You see, YUD is the one letter which also represents the name of God. The smallest letter, yet the most powerful one. Sometimes, it is the smallest Yid (Jew) who can disseminate the greatest amount of light.

The drama unfolded quickly. The spies returned from their reconnaissance mission to the Land of Israel and delivered a disastrous report.

They told him (Moshe) and said, “We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant. The Amalekites dwell in the south land, while the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountainous region. The Canaanites dwell on the coast and alongside the Jordan …. We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we (Bamidbar 13:27-31).” 

With just a few words, a few short sentences, the meraglim (spies) created a storm of panic, anxiety, and fear amongst the nation. With this negative report, the dream that had guided our people since the times of Avraham was in peril of collapsing.  One man, Kalev, tried to control the damage and steady the people. “Caleb silenced … and he said, “We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it, Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah (Bamidbar 13:30).” We can do this, we can overcome this struggle, we can take our land and assume our destiny.

How are we to understand Kalev’s response to the claims of the spies? The spies advanced valid points. There are mighty nations who outnumber and can outfight us. Yes, the land is wonderful, it flows with milk and honey, but how will we be able to overcome these challenges? And Kalev’s response is simply – we can do it. He does not respond materially to the claims of his fellow tribal leaders. How did he expect to shift the tide and convince the people that indeed they could and should enter the Land of Israel?

Rav Kalonymous Kalmish Shapira (1889–1943), was the Grand Rabbi of Piacezna, Poland. The Rebbe spent three years (1939-1942) in the Warsaw Ghetto. On Shabbos, he would deliver rousing Divrei Torah and lift the spirits of his broken brethren.  These Divrei Torah were written on scraps of paper and buried in a canister inside the Ghetto. On Shabbos, June 22, 1940, Parshas Shlach, the Rebbe addressed this very question. “If the spies spoke with reason, saying, “the people are aggressive, and the cities are large and well-fortified,” why did Kalev not enter into a debate with them, trying to demolish their argument and reasoning? Why did he limit himself to the simple statement “We must go forth?” The Rebbe explains that Kalev was teaching us an important lesson. Sometimes, you have to believe you can succeed even if you can’t immediately see the path to success.  God could have made this entire process much easier. God could have easily struck fear into the hearts of the inhabitants of the land, cause them to run away, and let the Jewish people enter an uninhabited and peaceful Land of Israel. God could have easily driven out the Amalekites and the Hittites. He could have caused the giants to kneel before the Jewish people, but He didn’t because God wanted us to see the challenges and believe in ourselves. God wanted to us to the see the challenges and believe that we could and would overcome them. This was to be an exercise in national development. Kalev does not argue with the spies because he agrees with their concerns, comments, and observations. There are mighty nations, significant odds, and factors working against us. But always remember, Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah, we can do it.  How? I don’t know yet. What is our strategy? We have to discuss. But we must approach this situation with one clear and indisputable reality – if we put our minds to it, if we believe in ourselves, our God, and one another – we will be successful. The sin of the spies is that they were unable to conjure up a vision of national salvation; they were unable to see beyond their current realities and were only able to see what was right in front of their eyes. They were unable to create and retain a hopeful and optimistic outlook and were unable to see with their heart and soul.

Too often, we give up on meaningful, personal goals and aspirations because their actualization is fraught with challenge and adversity. There are giants that stand between us and the realization of our dreams. We can’t see a way around the difficulties and feel that we may be better served going back to our personal Egypt, the land of mediocrity and under-performance.  Kalev’s words are a rallying cry for every Jew. Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah, we can do it. We must find the strength and the courage to create a vision of success and accomplishment. When we embark on a life initiative, we must begin by visualizing what success looks like. We must believe in ourselves. We must believe we can rise to the occasion and accomplish what we know we must.  Our ancestors chose to ignore Kalev and admitted defeat in the face of the giants and challenges that stood in their way. Let us rectify the sins of the past, Ki Yachol Nuchal Lah. (Reprinted from 5778)

What began as a simple reconnaissance mission descended into a slander campaign against the Land of Israel, Moshe and ultimately, God Himself. The Meraglim (spies) were upstanding men, leaders of their respective families and tribes and yet profoundly misunderstood what they saw in the Land of Israel. They managed to convince the people that entering and conquering the very land promised to Avraham Avinu had now become impossible. They convinced the Jewish nation that it had all just been smoke and mirrors, that they had been betrayed by Moshe. The Divine response was quick and decisive. The spies died in a plague and the nation was condemned to roam the desert for the next four decades. The generation which left Egypt would not enter the Land of Israel. Instead they would perish over the next forty years, leaving their children to conquer and inherit the land.

At the end of this dramatic parsha God gives us the mitzvah of Tzitzis:

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner. This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray. So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments and you shall be holy to your God. I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord, your God.” (Bamidbar 15:37-41)

Every mitzvah is important but why is this particular mitzvah given now? Does the placement of this mitzvah somehow correlate to the sin of the spies? Is there some deeper message which God is conveying to us?

The biblical mitzvah of Tzitzis requires that one of the strings be dyed with techeiles (blue dye). The Gemara explains:

Rabbi Meir said:  Why is Techeiles different from all other colors (i.e. why did the Torah command us to dye the string of the Tzitzis blue instead of some other color)? Because, Techeiles resembles the sea, the sea resembles the sky and the sky resembles the Throne of God.” (Menachos 43b)

The light blue color the Tzitzis reminds us of our all-important mission – the need to establish a relationship with God. We have many responsibilities during our time in this world and a meaningful relationship with God allows us to accomplish and grow. The blue string reminds us that spirituality is a “step-process.” One cannot immediately go from Earth to the Throne of God. There is a progression, there is a process. First you think of the sea, then to the heavens and ultimately, God Himself. Spiritual accomplishment is like climbing a ladder; if you try to get to the top in one step, you will fall. Meaningful spiritual accomplishment must be advanced through a series of small, concrete, and sustainable steps.

Yet, we find something interesting in regard to this mitzvah. It is not obligatory. One is only obligated in Tzitzis if one has a four-cornered garment. If one never possesses such a garment one could go through an entire lifetime never fulfilling this mitzvah (contemporarily we go out of our way to obligate ourselves in this mitzvah by wearing a four-cornered garment). But if this mitzvah (and its message) is indeed so important then why is it not obligatory?

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l explains that God decides many things. He decides if I will be tall or short, rich, or poor, wise, or foolish. But God does not decide the quality of my character, who I become and what I want from life. I must decide about what I want to accomplish, who I want to be and what contribution I want to make to this world. The mitzvah of tzitzis reminds me of my capacity to grow, to be great and accomplish incredible things. But only I can activate these abilities. God can command me to do many things. He can command me to keep Shabbos and the laws of Kashrus. He can command me to be honest and charitable. But He cannot command me to grow as an individual – this is a choice I must make. God cannot command me to be as vast as the sea, as luminescent as the heavens or to grab hold of His Throne. Only I can choose this for myself. Thus, the Torah makes the mitzvah of tzitzis and its accompanying Techeiles optional, something you must actively choose to do rather than one that is automatically required.

What happened to the spies? How did they commit this terrible sin? Because they lost their way. Somehow, they forgot about what “they wanted out of life.” They forgot that from the inception of our peoplehood, when God first communicated with Avraham, the goal was to bring us to our Land. They became so overwhelmed that they forgot to look beyond their immediate circumstances to the beautiful sea, heavens and Throne that awaited them. When the spies saw the “problems” in the Land they had a decision to make. Should we fall prey to small mindedness and throw our hands up in defeat? Or should we choose something bigger, better, and holier for ourselves? Unfortunately, they made the wrong the decision and we still feel the impact to this very day. God gave us the mitzvah of tzitzis in the immediate aftermath of the sin of spies with the hope that its beautiful message would inspire us to be better in the future.

 God controls many things – but the one thing He places in our hands is the decision between greatness and mediocrity. The blue strand of tzitzis reminds us that through small, determined, and consistent steps we can find our inner greatness, overcome our challenges, and build a beautiful relationship with our Father above.

It was a tragic and traumatic event. What began as a simple reconnaissance mission descended into a slander campaign against the Land of Israel, Moshe and ultimately, God Himself. The Meraglim (spies) were upstanding men, leaders of their respective families and tribes and yet, something went so terribly wrong and these leaders led their constituents astray. They managed to convince the people that entering and conquering the land promised to Avraham Avinu had become impossible. They convinced the Jewish nation that it had all just been smoke and mirrors, that they had been betrayed by Moshe. The Divine response was quick and decisive. The spies died in a plague and the nation was condemned to roam the desert for the next four decades. The generation which left Egypt would not enter the Land of Israel, but die in the desert. The next generation would ascend and conquer the land.

The Parsha ends in a striking way:

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner. This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray. So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments and you shall be holy to your God. I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord, your God.” (Bamidbar 15:37-41)

The Mitzvah of Tzitzis (tying fringes on the corner of our garments) is an important one but why is it given now? How does the placement of this mitzvah somehow correlate to the sin of the spies?

The biblical mitzvah of Tzitzis requires that one of the strings be dyed with techeiles (blue dye). The Gemara explains:

Rabbi Meir said: Why is Techeiles different from all other colors (i.e. why did the Torah command us to dye the string of the Tzitzis blue instead of some other color)? Because, Techeiles resembles the sea, the sea resembles the sky and the sky resembles the Throne of God.” (Menachos 43b)

The light blue color of the Tzitzis reminds us of our all-important mission: to establish a relationship with God. We have many responsibilities during our time in this world. Establishing a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with God allows us to accomplish them all. The blue string reminds us that spirituality is a step-by-step process. One can’t immediately go from Earth to the Throne of God. There is a progression. First you go to the sea, then to the heavens, etc. Spiritual accomplishment is like climbing a ladder. If you try to get to the top in one step, you will fall. Meaningful spiritual accomplishment must be advanced through a series of small, concrete steps. As such the mitzvah of Tzitzis teaches us an all-important approach to life. Spiritual growth must be a priority, establishing a relationship with God is an ultimate goal for which we strive.

Yet, we find something interesting in regard to this mitzvah. It is not obligatory. One is only obligated in Tzitzis if one has a four-cornered garment. If one never possesses such a garment, he may go through an entire life-time never fulfilling this mitzvah (contemporarily we go out of our way to obligate ourselves in this mitzvah by wearing a four-cornered garment). But if this mitzvah (and its message) is indeed so important then why is it not obligatory?

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l explains that God decides many things. He decides if we will be tall or short, rich or poor, wise or foolish. But God does not decide what we want from life. We must each decide what we want to accomplish, who we want to be and what contribution we want to make to this world. Themitzvah of tzitzis reminds us of our capacity to grow, to be great and accomplish incredible things. But we can only activate these abilities if we choose to do so. God can command us to do many things, but He cannot command us to strive for growth. This is a choice we each must make. Thus, the Torah makes the mitzvah of Tzitzis something one must actively choose to do rather than being required.

The spies lost their way. Somehow, they forgot about what “they wanted out of life.” They forgot that from the inception of our people, when God first communicated with Avraham, the goal was to bring us to our Land. They became so overwhelmed with the details of existence that they forgot to look beyond their immediate circumstances to the beautiful sea, heavens and Throne that awaited them. When the spies saw the “problems” in the Land they had a decision to make. Should we fall prey to small mindedness and throw our hands up in defeat? Or should we choose something bigger, better and holier for ourselves? Unfortunately, they made the wrong the decision and we still feel the impact to this very day. God gave us the mitzvah of tzitzis in the immediate aftermath of the sin of spies with the hope that its beautiful message would inspire us to be better in the future.

It is easy to get caught up in the rapid pace of life. We juggle multiple responsibilities and wear many hats. It is important to take the time to write a life mission statement. What do we want to accomplish? Who do we want to be? What impact do we hope to have? How will we measure the success of our lives on this earth? It is not enough to wear Tzitzis, we have to live Tzitzis. Do we want growth? Do we want spiritual success? Do we want a passionate relationship with God?

May we be privileged to explore the depths of our personal sea, ascend the heights of our individual heavens and feel the warmth and closeness of the Divine.