In Parshas Shelach, we read about the report of the spies whom Moshe sent to explore the land of Israel. The Jews’ response to their negative report was immediate: "Our wives and children will surely be taken captive by the strong people living there. Let us appoint a new leader and go back to Egypt." G-d, therefore, decreed that these Jews would not be allowed to enter Israel. But their children, the next generation, would.
Why is there such an emphasis on children, in both the complaint of the Jewish people and in G-d's response? Because children played a role of great significance, both in the inheritance of the Land and the mission with which the Jewish people are entrusted.
The sages comment, "A baby breaks into crumbs more than he manages to eat.” This means that a young baby only utilizes a portion of the food he is given, and the rest lands up on the floor.
This saying can also be understood spiritually. Someone who possesses little wisdom is like a baby, and the food is like Torah. An ‘adult,’ who utilizes his time, devotes most of his life to doing mitzvot and fulfilling his life’s mission. A ‘child’ wastes his time with foolish and extraneous matters, losing sight of his Divine purpose. Most of his spiritual sustenance, Torah, then ends up undigested and unassimilated, “crumbs on the floor.’
This, in fact, was the claim made by the spies: "Why must we enter the Land of Israel and waste our precious time involving ourselves with physical matters? Here in the desert where all our physical needs are miraculously met, we can devote ourselves totally to learning Torah. For even if we will have time to learn once we enter the Land, most of our day will be wasted! It is far better to stay in the desert than to lower ourselves to that level!" they claimed.
To which G-d responded: "Your children...will be the ones to inherit." Even though the generation of Jews which left Egypt was on a very high spiritual level, devoting their lives to studying the Torah, it was precisely the children, those possessing little Torah knowledge, who would be allowed to enter the Land of Israel. The new generation would be required to pursue a different path, working hard to provide the physical necessities of life, while at the same time imbuing their surroundings with G-dliness and holiness. For this is what G-d really wants Jews to do. Our mission in life is to lead a normal, physical existence, while at the same time following the precepts of the Torah.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
