“Do not fear them, for Hashem, your G-d, He will fight for you.” (Devarim 3:22)
Each year, Parshas Devarim is read the week before Tisha B’Av. In this parsha is recounted one of the most seminal events in Jewish history – the sin of the spies. The spies Moshe sent to scout out the Land of Canaan came back with a negative report, and the Jewish People cried that night. Because of this, Hashem decreed that the generation which did so would not live to enter the land. The Mishna in Taanis tells us that this tragedy took place on Tisha B’Av.
Why did the Jews cry? Because the spies recounted the might of the inhabitants of the land and said the Jews would never be able to conquer them. Though Yehoshua and Kalev argued that the Jews could easily win, the Jews were not swayed by them, and listened instead to the words of the spies who were so negative. Herein lies the tragedy.
What was the difference between the arguments of the spies and the arguments of Yehoshua and Kalev? The spies presented the facts on the ground as they were. The inhabitants were mighty, and they did have fortified cities. Under normal circumstances, the Jews could not defeat them. But we, as Jews, do not live under normal circumstances.
The final posuk of our Parsha is Moshe telling the Jewish People that Yehoshua has been imbued with the greatness to lead them to the Promised Land, and that they need not fear its inhabitants as they don’t have to fight them, Hashem will do it. This doesn’t mean they will not go into battle, it just means the success of their actions will be dependent on Hashem’s involvement.
When the Jews initially declined to go into the land, and the decree was made, some contrite Jews decided to go up to Canaan the next day. Moshe told them not to because they would not succeed. They didn’t listen and were killed. As the spies had said, they were no match for the mighty giants of the land. The only way they could have won, was if Hashem was approving of their mission, and fighting for them.
Perhaps this is why this Parsha is read at this time every year. We enter a period of mourning because the Bais HaMikdash has not been rebuilt; because we have not rebuilt it. It is because we doubt whether Hashem is in our midst, and this pushes Him away. We become especially vulnerable to our enemies then, because He isn’t fighting for us.
We should reflect on the lessons of this parsha, learning from our mistakes, and focus not on our enemies, but on making sure we are living the way Hashem wants us to, doing the things He asks of us. If we do that, we will have nothing to fear from our enemies because Hashem will be on our side, fighting for us, and then we will once again return to the Land of Israel with no one standing in our way. Then Tisha B’Av will be turned into a holiday, celebrating that we finally got the message.
